TIP LINE

If you have any news tips, gossip or rumors you would like to share or any ideas for future post. Please send an email to: 6vwts@notsharingmy.info or contact us on Twitter: @IndyRepublicanX

You do not have to leave your name. We appreciate greatly your support.


Showing posts with label Mitch Daniels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mitch Daniels. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Never Jim Banks & Never Mitch Daniels: The Only Choice.

Paul Ogden has written an article that outlines very well the reasons why Jim Banks should not be the Republican nominee for U.S. Senator. We like Paul share his disdain towards Banks. We had reasonable encounters with Banks long ago, but he has since decided to go for a ride in the clown car of Trumpism. 


U.S Representative/Loser Jim Banks


In writing about Banks, Paul points out very ably Banks deficiencies:

Banks is trying to brand himself as a "proven conservative."  He is anything but.  Besides being an election denier and flouting the Constitution that he took an oath to support, hardly conservative positions, he voted for huge spending increases during the Trump era.  Banks has no problem with reckless government spending...as long as it is a Republican in the White House.

Given how badly election deniers lost in 2022, the nomination of Banks might put the seat into play, especially since it is a presidential election year when Democrats tend to do better in Indiana. It is easy to see the Democrats picking up a lot more metro Indianapolis area votes if Banks' is on the ballot.  In fact, Banks would probably lose Hamilton County and possibly take several Republicans in that county down with him.


Former Indiana Governor and Midget version of Trump, Mitch Daniels

As much as we are usually on the same page with Paul on the issues, we must take issue with his premise that Mitch Daniels would make a better candidate for the Senate as opposed to Banks. Paul’s assessment of Mitch Daniels as a potential Senator:

Fortunately, Indiana Republicans may have a better choice in 2024.  Former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is considering a run for the Senate.  I was not a big fan of Daniels as Governor.  He seemed to run a very loose ship and many of his appointees engaged in substantial mismanagement, which sometimes bordered on corruption.  Daniels did not seem to exercise much in the way of oversight over state agencies when he was governor. He'd just appoint someone and immediately check out.

We like Paul we’re not fans of Daniels tenure as Governor. We have a much more negative view of Daniels tenure than Paul does. Daniels didn’t seem to run a loose ship, he did run a loose ship. Also his appointees mismanagement didn’t border on corruption it was corruption! As for him appointing people and checking out, Daniels as anyone who has dealt with him at all can attest is a control freak, the corruption of his administration happened because he allowed and encouraged it to happen! His appointees didn’t go to the bathroom without his permission! As the old saying goes: “A fish stinks from the head down.” So if his administration was bad that’s on Daniels.

There are the issues at the Department of Child Services which may have resulted in the death of Tajanay Bailey back in 2007, the bungled privatization of FSSA which tied the state up for about a decade and cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and not to mention how his creation of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) in essence expanded pay to play politics, and let’s not forget the disastrous “Reign of Error” his administration created at the Department of Workforce Development. Not to mention the role that Daniels lackey Jim Atterholt played at the Indiana Department of Insurance played in forcing out Paul at that agency for just doing his job! 

Paul lastly had this to say of Mitch Daniels:

But when it comes to developing policy, which is the role of a United States Senator, Daniels is excellent.  While Banks' claim to be a conservative is performative, Daniels is an actual conservative, especially when it comes to fiscal matters.  As President of Purdue University, Daniels stopped the explosive growth in college tuition which has for decades outstripped inflation.

All we can say is by what yardstick is Paul using to call Daniels a conservative? If it’s respect for rule of law, Daniels fails. He failed to ensure the law was faithfully upheld when he was Governor, if he had given a damn about the law Paul would never have been fired from the IDOI! And the debacles at the state never would have happened. If we are to go by Daniels record in fiscal matters there Daniels gets a big fat “F”. It’s debatable just how much Daniels has reigned in college tuition at Purdue, but even conceding Paul’s point, the wastefulness of the FSSA debacle alone would outweigh any cost savings at Purdue a hundred times over! In regards to policy, Daniels mismanagement and corruption as Governor happened because of policy and law changes he enacted as governor! As for holding elected officials accountable, Daniels will do no better a job of that than Jim Banks. As Paul knows from personal experience Daniels goes after whistleblowers and protects the offending government officials! We will put links below to some of he and the late great Gary Welsh’s articles documenting Daniels attacks against whistleblowers.

We are proud to have Paul’s support, friendship and encouragement especially since our dear friend Gary Welsh passed. But on this issue we must disagree with him. Like Paul as someone who believes in the traditional conservative principles of Burke, Russell Kirk, Goldwater, Reagan and Buckley. I would like nothing more than to see a good republican be elected to the Senate from Indiana. But I would rather have a good liberal than a faux conservative like Banks or Daniels as senator. I will not vote for a Republican or Democrat who doesn’t stand for the rule of law, limited government and upholding the Constitution. Because none of those are supported by Jim Banks or Mitch Daniels I will not ever under any circumstances vote for either of those fools. 

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

IBM Ordered to Pay $78 Million to the State Ending Decade Long Lawsuit

Good afternoon friends! Well it appears that the decade long shit show IBM-FSSA lawsuit has come to an end. IBM has been ordered by the Indiana Supreme Court to pay $78 Million to the state over the bungled welfare privatization performed during Mitch Daniels “reign of error” as Governor. Olivia Covington over at The Indiana Lawyer gives the lowdown on this case:

In its second opinion issued in the years-long dispute between Indiana and IBM Corp. over the failed contract to create a new Hoosier welfare system, the Indiana Supreme Court has allowed IBM to collect post-judgment interest on its $49.5 million damages award. However, that interest will date back only to a 2017 judgment on remand, not the original judgment entered in the company’s favor in 2012, and only serves as an offset to the greater sum IBM owes the state.

Justice Steven David wrote for the court in the Wednesday opinion in International Business Machines Corporation v. State of Indiana, acting on behalf of the Indiana Family & Social Services Administration19S-PL-19. The justices, excluding Justice Mark Massa, heard their second round of arguments in the case in February.

At issue in the litigation is a contract between IBM and the state requiring IBM to develop a new welfare system that utilized a centralized call center to handle customer requests. The new system, colloquially known as “modernization,” was meant to be a shift away from the prior welfare system that emphasized face-to-face contact with customers.

But the state terminated the IBM contract in 2009 after modernization began experiencing problems. Instead, the state created its own welfare system, known as “hybrid,” that combined the call center with the former face-to-face model.

Both parties filed breach complaints, and the Marion Superior Court initially determined modernization’s failure was not a breach of IBM’s contract. Instead, the state was ordered in 2012 to pay IBM $49.5 million for the costs of equipment and assignment fees.

Barnes & Thornburg attorneys John Maley and Peter Rusthoven, counsel for the state in the IBM litigation, released a statement Wednesday afternoon saying they are pleased with the court’s ruling.

“Hoosiers will finally benefit from IBM’s multi-million-dollar payment of this judgment,” the statement said, referring to the $78 million owed to the state.

The article does mention the ruiling was 3-1 in favor of the state. Justice Mark Massa did not participate in the ruling since he worked as General Counsel for Governor Mitch Daniels who had ordered the IBM contract canceled. We have blogged previously on this issue once or twice before. Personally we feel that IBM was royally shafted by the state and should have not been forced to pay the state anything. On the other hand though IBM should have realized that doing business with the state was a bad idea. Especially since after IBM was given the heave ho, Affiliated Computer Systems (ACS) was put in to do the work. This was a big problem because then FSSA Secretary Mitch Roob had previously worked for ACS. Why this matter was never investigated by the US Attorneys Office in Indianapolis is a mystery to this day. Barnes and Thornburg’s role in representing the state is particularly troubling because as Paul Ogden pointed out back in 2012 that Barnes and Thornburg had lobbied the state to get ACS put in charge of the states welfare privatization project. Paul Ogden said at the time:

According to Judge Dreyer, the services provided by ACS were the major source of the complaints, Nonetheless, IBM ended up being discharged from the while ACS remained on as part of a "hybrid system."  Conveniently for ACS, a former executive theirs, Mitch Roob, headed FSSA, when IBM-ACS won the original privatization contract and yet another ACS executive, Mike Gargano, headed FSSA during the litigation over IBM's discharge.

The State, i.e. FSSA, ended up suing IBM to recover under the contract.  IBM countersued, claiming that the State breached the contact through its termination.  But who does the Daniels' administration insist the State hire to represent the State?  None other than Barnes & Thornburg the very law firm that represented ACS in lobbying to get the contract and still represents ACS to this day.  

Let me summarize what appears to have happened. ACS lobbies state officials to oust IBM so ACS can have the lucrative Medicaid privatization contract to itself.  ACS eventually succeeds.  The State sues IBM, perhaps to counter the inevitable breach of suit IBM was about to file.  After, IBM sues, the State hires Barnes & Thornburg, ACS's attorney to represent the state.

The State appears to be nothing more than a proxy for ACS. This case is essentially ACS v. IBM, yet we taxpayers are on the hook to pay Barnes & Thornburg, ACS' attorneys, $9.6 million.  That is uttterly outrageous.

Given that federal money here is involved, I too wonder why there has not been a federal investigation opened up by the FBI into this matter.  There certainly should be now that the facts here expose troubling, if not illegal, conduct by government officials and private lobbyists.

Between attorneys fees and the cost of the original contract with IBM. We estimate that the state has easily put us taxpayers on the hook for well over $500 Million. This whole mess could have been avoided if the Daniels administration had just listened to what some of his own people told him and given FSSA caseworkers new computers. Instead “Little Man” Mitch was determined to privatize food stamp delivery no matter what. Daniels and his bagman Governor “High Tax” Holcomb seem content knowing they slit the wrists of us taxpayers to feed the vampire looters and moochers who have helped through their demonic means to advance their political careers. 

Some of INDY REPUBLICANS allies in the cultural war against President Trump. Have tried to assuage our concerns about Holcomb by saying he is not on the side of Trumpian tribalism and authoritarianism. Don’t be fooled. Former Governor Mitch Daniels his boss whose legacy Holcomb carries out. Mitch Daniels created the tribalism, authoritarianism, and waste and theft of taxpayers money that would have been an embarrassment even in Tsarist Russia. We the men and women of truth, the guardians of freedom and justice for all will continue to fight until the Daniels-Holcomb Syndicate is a distant memory. 

Sunday, January 20, 2019

Help Fight Scientology & Other Cults

Some time ago. We had posted an article about the unlikely alliance between the racist, anti-Semitic Nation of Islam and the bigoted, hated filled thuggish cult of Scientology. Since that time we have had more of a chance to look into the Church of Scientology and have become avid fans of Leah Remini's show "Scientology and the Aftermath" on A&E. In our studies of Scientology we all here have noticed some very scary similarities to how Scientology operates and the way that the Indiana political class operates. Especially the bullying tactics used by the head of Scientology David Miscavige and former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. Both operate cult's of personality, both are extremely short men with inferiority complexes, and they are both bonkers. They also are not above ruining the lives and reputations of their opponents real or imagined. According to Tony Ortega a former writer for The Village Voice and now the operator of "The Underground Bunker" an anti-scientology website. Ortega claims that in the 1990's that private investigator's working for the Church of Scientology were sent to Indianapolis to spy on several executives at Eli Lilly. Among those is now former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. Daniels has declined to comment on the matter. We first became aware of the Church of Scientology and it's activities in the mid-1990's when the Church filed an ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit against Eli Lilly and Co. to get them to stop making the anti-depressant Prozac. Although the cult at most has only about 25,000 to 40,000 members worldwide they still exercise far too much influence. So after much prayer, meditation and bible study we have decided to try to help in what way we can the fall of any and all destructive cults. From the Bipartisan Syndicate of Mitch Daniels, Bill Oesterle, Eric Holcomb, Ann & Ed Delaney, Evan Bayh and Andre Carson here in Indiana. To more national and international threats such as the alt-right, social justice warrior extremists, Keith Ellison, the Cult of 45, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and many more.

On our webpage you will see a list of links on how to help aid the opposition to Scientology. We highly recommend Mike Rinder's blog "Something Can Be Done About It". Mike is the former International Spokesman for the Church of Scientology, he has been out since 2007. And at a high cost to him he has engaged in acts of atonement for his sins and has helped to save many from the pain of Scientology. Tony Ortega's "The Underground Bunker" is another great resource for news on all things Scientology. Tony is a great writer and his and Paulette Cooper's book "Battlefield Scientology" is a must read. Jeffrey Augustine has a wonderful website "The Scientology Money Website" along with the "Surviving Scientology" YouTube Channel & iTunes podcast. Also on Mr. Augustine's website is a look at what Scientology actually teaches about Jesus Christ. The Aftermath Foundation which was started a few years ago is a great organization to donate to in order to help those who are trying to escape from Scientology and get back on their feet. Also former Scientology superstar Aaron Smith-Levin's YouTube Channel "Growing Up In Scientology" is always worth a look. If you have any further information on these on any other destructive cults please contact us via email or the contact form on the webpage version of the blog. 

Sunday, October 28, 2018

When Will The IBM-FSSA Debacle Ever End?

As many of our readers are undoubtedly aware. For the better part of the last decade now. We Hoosiers have been on the hook for well over a half billion dollar debacle because “Godfather” Governor Mitch Daniels and his stooge Mitch Roob had to enter into a boneheaded contract with IBM/ACS to privatize Indiana’s welfare system. We blogged about this last year and about a month became aware of some new developments in this case.


Callahan also reported:

The three-judge court also found that IBM is entitled to interest on nearly $50 million in state fees that Welch ruled Indiana owes the company. 

Judge Heather Welch had rejected IBM’s request for interest on those fees, but the appellate court reversed the decision and sent the matter back to Welch to determine the amount of interest IBM is owed. The court specified that the interest be calculated for the more than six years that have elapsed since another Marion County judge found in 2012 that Indiana owed IBM $49.5 million in state fees.

John Maley, one of the private attorneys representing Indiana in the case, called Friday’s ruling “a significant victory for Hoosier taxpayers.” He said the state’s attorneys believe Welch ruled correctly on the interest issue and that they will be conferring with state officials “regarding that narrow legal issue and possible further review.”

IBM spokesman Doug Shelton said the New York-based company is disappointed by the ruling and plans to appeal.

“IBM invested significant resources in its partnership with the state to help turn around a welfare system described at the time by Indiana’s governor as one of the worst in the nation,” he said in a statement.

Indiana and IBM sued each other in 2010 after then-Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican, cancelled the $1.3 billion contract that his administration reached with the company to privatize and automate the processing of Indiana’s welfare applications.

Under that deal, an IBM-led team of vendors worked to process applications for food stamps, Medicaid and other benefits. Residents could apply for the benefits through call centers, the internet and fax machines. But the contract was pulled in late 2009, less than three years into the 10-year deal, following complaints about long wait times, lost documents and improper rejections.

Not mentioned in the article is that former Assistant State House Assistant Leader Eric Turner had owned a building which was then leased by ACS to be used as a welfare call center. IR and the late great Gary Welsh have blogged about Turners legal and ethical issues.

It’s extremely frustrating to the IR crew and those of us on the front lines of fighting the most corrupt state government in the nation that this whole shit show over at FSSA is still going on. But as long as it is we and others like us will continue to report it. Don’t worry Gary. Your crusade will continue and intensify. Until our state is rebuilt. Good night and God Bless!

Friday, October 12, 2018

This Months Upcoming Posts

Just wanted to say that we here at IR appreciate and value all of our readers. We wanted to give you an idea of some upcoming columns this month. We have received some information from some of our sources and we are hoping to follow up on them. And if there is enough meat on the bone to publish it. INDY REPUBLICAN looks into what we all can. But we are not paid for blogging, we don’t have suponea powers, and we all work full time jobs. So we do what we can. Anyway as promised some upcoming stories for this month:

Brian Bosma’s woman troubles

Mitch Daniels attempts to stay relevant 

State Employee Whistleblowing and hopefully much more.

Once again thanks for your continued support and we will be posting more soon.

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Tribalist Mitch Daniels urges Graduates to Reject Tribalism

Three weeks ago David Bangert of the Lafayette Courier & Journal reported that former Indiana Governor now Purdue University President Mitch Daniels in a speech he gave to this years graduating class a call for people to resist political tribalism.

From Bangert's report:

The biggest challenge facing this graduating class, Daniels said, “will involve the repair and renewal of trust among ourselves as a people.” Daniels’ speech was set along themes similar to his commencement addresses from recent springs. (Purdue tradition holds that the president gives most commencement speeches, rather than calling on guest speakers.) He called the class of 2018 new aristocrats, privileged elites “of a knowledge economy” who might well be tempted “unintentionally to segregate from their less blessed, less well educated fellow citizens.” 

Daniels had some other things to share with this year's graduating class:

“As we trust each other less, trust in the institutions of our society has eroded in parallel.  Almost no sector – government, business, the media, even higher education – has escaped a steep drop in public confidence.  Some constant vigilance and skepticism about centers of authority is a healthy, all-American instinct.  But ultimately, to function effectively as a free and self-governing people, we must maintain some degree of faith that our institutions and those leading them have our best interests at heart, and are performing their duties with sincerity and integrity.  And today, we plainly lack such faith.

“There are plenty of culprits here, starting with too many who have misused positions of authority.  The so-called social media – I have come to think of it as ‘antisocial media’ – enables and encourages hostility from the insulated enclave of a smartphone or a laptop.  People say things to and about each other that they would never say face to face, or maybe even think, if they knew each other personally. 

“Our various modern media lead us to, and feed us from, information sources that reinforce our existing biases.  They put us in contact with other tribe members, but rarely those who see things differently.  We’re starting to resemble ominously our primitive forbearers, trusting no one outside the tribe.
Daniels has no business lecturing anybody about the dangers of tribalism. During his eight year "Reign of Error" as Governor he was the ultimate tribalist and political hack insider. His ego is so enormous that he had his face plastered throughout every state agency and government building. His bungling of FSSA, DCS, the BMV, and his creation of the IEDC the ultimate tool in which to give away taxpayer money to those who bow before this pathetic runt of a man. Daniels misuses his authority everywhere he goes. Who can forgot the still questionable conduct of the Department of Child Services years ago involving the tragic death of Tajanay Bailey? A sad story which we, Paul Ogden and Gary Welsh have all written about. Mitch Daniels may preach about unity, and individualism when it suits him. Don't be fooled! He is an evil nasty little troll who deserves nothing less then the excoriation not the following of Hoosiers.

An old friend of IR's who  has detailed knowledge of the inner workers of the Daniels Cartel had this reaction to Daniels speech:

Haha...he would know all about tyranny...his first step everywhere he goes is to consolidate agencies/divisions under lt. Governor under him, try to end more local Gov’t to help him consolidate power into fewer local offices so he can have B&T push their folks to control easier and then move all the Purdue of Purdue foundation money into a new entity so it was easier for him to control...would say the Mitch Mafia could be characterized as a tribe...or a personality cult

Unfortunately the high priest of the Cult of Mitch, Eric "High Tax" Holcomb is now our Governor. Hold onto your wallets and liberties before old Eric takes them all away. Our sources tell us there is more trouble brewing for DCS. Will let you know if we hear anything. Once again this is IR and the Gang wishing you all a good night!

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Tim Swarens Hypocritical Attack on Todd Hoekita w/Update


Tim Swarens Opinion Editor of The Indianapolis Star

Earlier in today’s Indianapolis Star. Tim Swarens an editorial writer for the establishment paper of record penned an article “Todd Rokita wants to be your Jerk in the Senate”. We have written about Swarens being a bitch for the Hoosier political establishment before. As his column today shows he is still in the establishment’s pocket after all these years.

It is no secret that the IR team has no problem hurling criticism at Todd Hoekita as a reader of ours loves to call him. Truth compels us to point out that not everyone who goes after Theodora Todd Rokita is any better than him. Swarens article is proof positive of that.

Todd Rokita attempts Jedi Mind trick “You will vote for me!”



Todd Rokita, in his bid for a U.S. Senate seat, has worked carefully to craft an unusual, perhaps effective image of himself: I'm a jerk.

Why would any candidate want to encourage such a perception? Well, Rokita's other message to Republican primary voters is that Washington squashes nice guys faster than Donald Trump on a Twitter rampage. And it will take someone who doesn't care about good manners or good taste to be an effective fighter for Hoosiers in the D.C. swamp.

What other Indiana Republican today would criticize Mitch Daniels, even indirectly, for correcting a structural deficit in the state budget by reducing a property tax subsidy way back in 2005? Who else would release a campaign commercial that essentially says it was a mistake to build Lucas Oil Stadium and expand the Indiana Convention Center? Who besides Rokita would criticize the sitting Republican governor and state legislative leaders for increasing the gas tax to improve Indiana's neglected streets and highways?

What Swarens should be asking is why aren’t most Hoosier Republicans criticizing Mitch Daniels for using taxpayers money to pay for Lucas Oil Stadium? As for Holcomb’s raising gas taxes, and hiking user fees to maintain our roads. Why should this be necessary given that “Major Moves” which Mitch Daniels pushed for and signed into law in 2006 was supposed to provide for Indiana’s road needs for decades?

Todd Rokita deserves no credit for his criticism indirect or otherwise of Daniels and Holcomb. As some the following from the Indy Republican mailbag will make clear:

TR (Todd Rokita) actually has never been their Daniels and Holcomb’s) bitch he criticizes them to "raise" himself to their level of perceived "stature" not bc he cares about the issues”

“Rokita is a little bitch, a thief, etc, but he has never been in the Daniels/Holcomb orbit...Daniels and Holcomb are evil strategists. Todd is like the insecure irrational Prince in Shrek 3 whose mommy has groomed his fragile ego”

Matt Stone from Indy Student Blog pointed out why Democrats should welcome Rokita being the GOP Senate Nominee:



UPDATE: Todd Rokita was asked by CBS4’s Dan Spehler about his statement in early 2016 in which he called Donald Trump “vulgar, if not profane”. Here is Rokita’s laughable attempt to walk back his 2016 statements on Trump:


Sunday, February 25, 2018

Fox’s Steve Hilton Explains why State Government Corruption is such a threat

Yesterday Steve Hilton the host of Fox News’s “The Revolution” gave a monologue on why we need to drain the swamp at the state level. We found this video to be very well done and informative. IR used to love much of the Fox News Channels programming. But have grown fed up with its transformation into a propaganda arm for Donald Trump. We still like Shepherd Smith, Brit Hume, Brett Baier, Chris Wallace and Juan Williams. But they are now minority voices at FNC. Seeing Hilton’s monologue gives us hope. 

Here is Hilton’s piece:



Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Denver GOP to Mike Pence: "We are just not that into you."

Karen and Mike Pence


Good evening boys and girls! Well as always we are impressed by the quality of our readership. One of the most talented, most interesting and most extraordinary people in the universe has told us of a news item we all thought would be of interest to all of you.

John Frank writing today for the Denver Post has a story about just how badly Colorado Republicans want to pay to hear Vice President Mike Pence ramble endlessly speak.

John Frank writes:

Because of a lack of demand, the Colorado Republican Party is offering a Groupon-like deal to see Vice President Mike Pence.
Pence is the headliner for a party fundraiser Oct. 26 at the Denver Marriott Tech Center, where the lowest-priced tickets originally cost $275.
The party announced the event weeks earlier but struggled to sell the tickets available. So now it’s lowering the cheapest ticket to $150, a 45 percent discount. A couple can attend with a two-for-one deal at the original $275 price.

Colorado Republican Party Chairman Jeff Hays tried to put his best spin on the news, writing in an email Wednesday: “Due to popular demand, we have made more tickets available at a new lower price.” But the same invite later says space is limited.
Daniel Cole, the party’s spokesman, clarified: “We are hearing from a lot of people that they very much want to see the vice president but the tickets were too expensive.”
He added: “We couldn’t fill the large room at that ticket level.”
The party initially indicated it planned to sell 800 tickets but later said the expected attendance is 400, a goal it expects to meet. The room holds 900 for typical banquet events, according to the hotel.
Cole declined to release the number of tickets sold to date, adding that he never expected the event to sell out because of the size of the room. And he disputed the idea that ticket sales were a reflection on the Trump administration.
The move to add cheaper tickets creates another tier of seating. The original $275 ticket is now reserved seating “in the best locations,” Cole said. The new, lower price is open seating. Both tickets include dinner.

“All Republicans want to see the vice president, and many Republicans can’t afford the $275 ticket,” he said, citing grumbling online from party activists since the fundraiser was announced.

"All Republicans want to see the vice president?" Do you seriously expect us to believe that Mr. Cole? All of us here at Indy Republican as well as many republicans we know throughout the nation can think of almost nothing less we would like than to see the Vice President! A longtime reader of this blog has said to us that "Mike Pence is political mental pornography". By the tone of their voice we assume they are comparing Pence to being on par with late 1990's era scrambled porn. Perhaps midget porn. We are not that sure yet. Pence is continuing to bleed support. All we can say is we hope that the Colorado GOP has something better than Mike Pence available to pump life into it. Otherwise they should just get used to being in minority status in Colorado for the foreseeable future.

Word to the wise for Mike Pence:

Mister Vice President. We here at IR maybe just little nobodies to you and the Washington blue bloods you hang out with. But for once in your miserable life, use your brain. Listen very carefully to what we are about to tell you, Each day you stay in the national spotlight is one day closer you get to political extinction. You have never run for president yourself, as Governor you allowed yourself to be bullied by Mitch Daniels and his gang, and since you have become Vice President you have made one blunder after another. You are obviously in over your head. Resign as Vice President and get the hell out of D.C. before it destroys you.

IR believes in the redemptive power of prayer. But we are not going to lose sleep waiting to see if Vice President Pence decides to be smart and leave political life.

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Did Former Workforce Development Commissioner steer nearly $1 Million to their former company?

Steve Braun

Recently INDY REPUBLICAN reported here on the resignation of Indiana Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Steve Braun in preparation to run for congress. Now to our extreme surprise word is out that Steve Braun may have some conflict of interest issues he is embroiled in. Hayleigh Colombo at IBJ.COM has an article she wrote yesterday entitled “Former DWD chief used ex-colleagues to build key data tool” has the details.

Ms. Colombo reports:

When Steve Braun stepped down last month from leading the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, his key initiative was in place and operating: a $3.6 million data system designed to predict demand in Indiana for about 800 occupations.

It was something the Republican had been working to execute almost since then-Gov. Mike Pence tapped him in late 2014 to lead the agency.

Braun—a former state legislator who had sold an IT consulting firm a decade earlier for $40 million—believed the key to cracking the workforce code was the use of forecasting and analytics tools to anticipate the state’s labor needs.

And now, as Braun readies a run for Congress, his system is starting to produce results that he and other advocates say will give the state unprecedented insights into current and future job demand, information that is being used to inform decisions about the way hundreds of millions of dollars in education and training funding are allocated.

Braun, 57, said he wanted to create an “ecosystem to give us a very unique strategic advantage when it comes to how we educate our people with the right skills at the right time to fill the jobs today and in the future.”

But not everyone is fully comfortable with the process that led to the development of what’s called the Demand Driven Workforce System or what some fear is an overreliance on the data to make decisions affecting thousands of Indiana high school and college students.

For one, a key part of the work was done by Chicago-based Inquidia Consulting  a 25-employee data-analytics firm that was started by several of Braun’s former employees from Braun Consulting, the IT firm he sold to Minneapolis-based Fair Isaac Corp. in 2004.

Now here comes the juicy part:

Inquidia—which reaped nearly $1 million over two years from the DWD— also employed Braun’s son Jonathon as a senior data architect and consultant at the time Inquidia started working for the state in 2015.

Steve Braun himself was a minority shareholder in Inquidia until shortly before the agency sought firms to bid on the project in 2015. Braun said he once owned 27 percent of the firm.

And Braun told IBJ he championed Inquidia’s involvement from the start. (Wonder why? Could it have something to do with his son having been employed at Inquidia?)

“As we looked around in terms of people that could do it for us, we weren’t comfortable that there were vendors in the current system really that … were capable,” Braun said. “I knew my guys could because this is what we did.”

Hayleigh Colombo also points out in addition to the possible conflict of interest. The project may not work as the state hopes it will.

Observers say another potential problem is the data itself. Experts say there’s no system—no matter how well designed—that can fully predict what jobs will be available in a decade or more. And they worry that decisions based largely on the information might miss the mark.

Michael Hicks, the director of Ball State University’s Center for Business and Economic Research, said the DWD’s goals are laudable. But he said the state must be careful not to rely on the information too much or as if it’s 100 percent accurate.

“If the numbers are wrong and we’re deploying resources in places that are inappropriately educating people for those jobs, we’re screwing them over,” Hicks said. “There’s no polite way to say that.”

Hayleigh Colombo reporting on the deal with Inquidia:

The state’s contract with Inquidia struck some DWD employees as a potential conflict of interest—or at least the appearance of it—from the start. But the agency’s general counsel, Jeff Gill, told IBJ he was “confident we had screened Braun from any involvement” in the deal.

Braun said that—on the advice of DWD attorneys—he divested his Inquidia stake. State rules say officers and employees “may not knowingly have a financial interest in a contract made by an agency.”

State code also says an individual employed in an agency “may not contract with or supervise the work of a business entity of which a relative is a partner, executive officer, or sole proprietor.” The DWD said Braun’s son Jonathon was not in one of those leadership positions at Inquidia when he was an employee there from 2014 to 2016.

Braun submitted an amendment to his state financial disclosure on July 15, 2015—about two weeks before the request for bidders was released—stating that “as of June 30th, I have divested my entire minority shareholder position of Inquidia Consulting Inc. I no longer have any financial interest whatsoever in Inquidia.”

Indianapolis-based Knowledge Services, a state procurement contractor, released a “request for project services” seeking a vendor to help with the workforce system on Aug. 4, 2015. Responses were due two weeks later, on Aug. 18.

Inquidia was one of six bidders, according to DWD, and was ultimately selected. Also bidding were CSpring, SEP and STLogics Corp., all of which are based locally, as well as Lafayette-based Roeing Corp., and Ohio-based Sogeti USA, which has an Indianapolis branch.

Most of the unsuccessful bidders did not reply to IBJ’s request for comment.

But Raman Ohri, president of SEP, said nothing about the bidding process for the DWD contract seemed unusual—“other than the result.”

“The work was something we are well suited for,” Ohri said. And he said the company typically scores well in competitive bidding situations.

“In this case, we were the cheapest,” he said. But he said SEP scored low “for suitability of our solution.” (Very curious)

Braun said that he “wasn’t on the scoring team” that reviewed the bids and made the decision. “I completely stepped back once I divested,” he added.

Gill told IBJ that Steve Elliott, DWD’s chief information officer, and Jeff Tucker, a DWD IT specialist, “led the entire” bidding process. But it’s not clear who made the final hiring decision. (Conveniently as DWD Commissioner Braun was Elliott and Tucker’s boss and could have very easily applied pressure to them to award the contract to whomever he wanted)

DWD said in a written statement that it “cannot, for a variety of reasons–including confidentiality–provide a list of people who were involved in the scoring process, other than to say it did not include Steve Braun.”

(Our response to DWD’s saying cannot tell us who was involved in the scoring process is BULLSHIT! How is the scoring of a contract that involves millions in taxpayers money not a matter of public record? Without the list of scoring officials we have no way of knowing whether or not Steve Braun was one of the officials)

“The final decision was collaborative, and was based on the approved scoring process that was set forth,” DWD spokesman Bob Birge told IBJ in an email.

Gill rejected IBJ’s request to view evaluation forms used in the RFP scoring process. He said Indiana law gives agencies discretion to withhold from public disclosure “records that are intra-agency or interagency advisory or deliberative material.”

Braun said the vendor request “certainly was not tailored” to give Inquidia an advantage. But he also said, “It was clear in my mind that they were the best” option for the job. (Word to the wise Mr. Braun you should stop talking)

By mid-September 2015, Inquidia had inked out a deal with state officials, according to a signed work order provided to IBJ, in the amount of $481,160, including $28,000 for travel, lodging and meals. That contract called for Inquidia to create an “employer demand data strategy roadmap” and an “infrastructure and platform roadmap.”

Throughout at least part of the contract, Inquidia employees, including Jonathon Braun and others, used office space at the DWD, Steve Braun said.

Gill said Pence’s office recommended that DWD clear the contract through the Indiana Ethics Commission. Two months after it was signed, Gill wrote to then-Inspector General Cynthia Carrasco concerning two issues: Braun’s son Jonathon’s employment with Inquidia and Braun’s divestiture of the company.

The Office of the Inspector General determined “it does not appear that a potential conflict of interests exists” under state code. Staff attorney Stephanie Mullaney said in a reply to DWD that while it appeared appropriate statutes had been followed, “you may consider, out of an abundance of caution, to continue screening the commissioner from any involvement with Inquidia, particularly with respect to any potential issues, review, or other matters that may arise regarding any part of this project.”

State Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, questioned the timing of Braun’s disclosure of the situation to the Inspector General’s office.

“The main concern is that it would have been better if Steve, who I have the highest regard for, had gotten the ethics opinion before going forward,” DeLaney said. “I don’t see a suggestion he made 5 cents off of this. But the system is a little strange where you get an ethical opinion after the fact.”

In the fall of 2016, the state used a change order to bump up the contract by another $100,000, bringing the total cost of Inquidia’s work for DWD to $981,160.

The state’s payments for the work ultimately went to Knowledge Services, which in turn paid Inquidia. That means the payments do not appear on the Indiana Transparency Portal, according to Indiana Department of Administration spokeswoman Molly Deuberry. The contract does not appear there either. (So much for open and transparent government. Gives some insight into what kind of Congressman Braun would be)

State Senator Luke Kenley said regarding DWD’s contract with Inquidia: “You need for that kind of a deal to be made if that’s the best purchase for the state but you need to have the transparency that’s going to provide enough openness,” Kenley said. “It sounds like the question is, ‘Did they do it well enough?’ It’s not just to make sure that the taxpayer is getting the best deal, but that the taxpayer is getting an honest deal.”

Ethics experts say this is a deal that deserves scrutiny.

“While I can appreciate they sought to create a level playing field, the fact that [Braun] admits ‘I knew my guys could do it’ makes it at least appear to have been preordained,” said Julia Vaughn, executive director of government watchdog group Common Cause Indiana.

Gerry Lanosga, an assistant professor of journalism at Indiana University, said “it always strikes me that there are a lot of companies that do the work in question and it seems convenient and coincidental that this company happens to be the one” chosen.

“Officials really should think about and ask themselves what would it look like to someone on the outside when there are relationships or connections with vendors that could lead to a perception of conflict of interest and possibly a gaming of the system,” he said.

INDY REPUBLICAN would like to commend Hayleigh Colombo for having written another outstanding article. DWD has been abysmally run since at least 2005. The fact that this agency has managed to escape so much public scrutiny for so long is incredible. This story reminds all of us here of another conflict of interest involving then DWD IT Director Roy Templeton back around 2005. DWD awarded a contract to a company that Templeton had a financial interest in. Surprisingly although the United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General said DWD should not have awarded the contract. To the best of our knowledge nothing has ever been done to the agency or Templeton. It is long past time that the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Labor reign in DWD.

Gary Welsh and Paul Ogden reported on Roy Templeton’s conflict of interest back in 2009. Click here and here for their articles.

Click here for a chart from the Indiana Business Journal outlining Braun’s connection to Inquidia.

To read the United States Department of Labor’s full report on the Roy Templeton incident click this link: https://www.oig.dol.gov/public/reports/oa/2009/05-09-001-03-390.pdf

UPDATE: Originally we said $3.6 Million in the blog post title. The original amount was closer to $1 Million. Sorry for the mistake. It has now been corrected. Thanks to Hayleigh Colombo for pointing out the mistake.













Monday, August 7, 2017

Will someone finally blame Mitch Daniels for his foul ups with FSSA's Welfare Privatization?


Mitch Daniels after his lobotomy 

You would think after the better part of a decade we the taxpayers would finally be able to put former Governor Mitch Daniels now infamous welfare privatization scheme behind us! But if today's story in the Indianapolis Star is to be believed we maybe nowhere near the finish line on this.

Earlier today Fatima Hussein and Tim Evans wrote "IBM owes $128M in welfare privatization". Mr. Evans and Miss Hussein give some background on the ongoing pissing match between IBM and the State of Indiana:

The state of Indiana has won a judgment for $128 million in damages in a lawsuit against alleging IBM breached its 2006 contract to modernize delivery of welfare services by the Family and Social Services Administration.

Marion Superior Court Judge Heather Welch awarded the damages in an order today, according to a statement issued by Barnes & Thornburg, which represented the state in the lawsuit. The suit has been going on since the state terminated IBM's contract in 2009 claiming the company's performance was poor.

IBM intends to appeal the latest ruling "which is contradicted by the facts and the law," says Clint Roswell, an IBM representative in an emailed statement to IndyStar.

"IBM worked diligently and invested significant resources in its partnership with FSSA to help turn around a welfare system described at the time by Indiana’s governor as one of the worst in the nation," Roswell said.

The Indiana Supreme Court ruled in 2016, according to the statement, "that IBM was owed around $50 million for certain unpaid fees and equipment charges, but rejected over $53 million of IBM’s other claims, and held that IBM had breached its contract with the State as a matter of law." 

The Supreme Court then sent the case back to the trial court to determine the amount of the state’s damages.

The net result of today’s ruling, the statement said, is that IBM now owes the state more than $78 million, plus interest at 8 percent from the date of the judgment.

Evans and Hussein provide a condensed account of the events leading up to today's ruling:

The case stems from a $1.37 billion,10-year contract that IBM and Indiana entered in 2006. It was hailed at the time as the solution for fixing one of the nation’s most-troubled welfare systems.

The state, though, canceled the contract three years later after a flood of complaints about the system from clients, their advocates and federal officials. At the time, the state had paid $437 million to IBM.

The two sides sued each other for damages. In 2012, a Marion Superior Court judge awarded $52 million to IBM.

In 2014, though, the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the ruling and ordered a determination of damages suffered by the state. Indiana was seeking $177 million in a breach-of-contract countersuit against IBM. The Indiana Supreme Court then took up the case.

John Maley and Peter Rusthoven of Barnes & Thornburg, issued a joint statement saying they were gratified by the latest decision. “We are very pleased the court awarded $128 million in damages for IBM’s failure to keep the important promises it made to the State of Indiana,” the statement said.

“This has been a long, tough battle with a big corporation that refused all along to take responsibility for its poor performance," the statement said. "This hurt Hoosier families most in need, who depend upon the help of the Family and Social Services Administration. Today’s ruling is another victory for those families, for our State, and for all our citizens and taxpayers. It also vindicates the consistent determination of former Governors Mitch Daniels and Mike Pence and now Governor Eric Holcomb that IBM must be held responsible for not doing what it promised.”

As frequent readers of the late Gary Welsh's Advance Indiana blog and Paul Ogden's Ogden on Politics blog will note. The state bears at least as much and probably more of the blame for screwing up Indiana's welfare programs! John Marley and Peter Rusthoven might want to avoid pointing fingers. According to rumor the biggest reason why Mitch Daniels did not run for President in 2012 is because the Obama administration would have had the US Attorneys Office in Indianapolis investigate and possibly prosecute many key players in the whole IBM-FSSA-ACS debacle. The fact that IBM is going to appeal the most recent decision in this case should give former Indiana Governor now Vice President Mike Pence pause about ever running for another office! This problem won't go away even if IBM loses. Also Marley and Rusthoven are probably hoping nobody will ever ask them about their law firms representing the state, while having a non waivable conflict of interest in doing so since they also represent ACS as well. Click here to read more about the conflict of interest. 

The late Carl Moldthan who worked for Mitch Daniels and argued against the privatization of welfare services warned of problems that would emerge back in 2005. But Mitch Roob was hell bent on privatization. And as Gary Welsh pointed out IBM was most likely a placeholder put on so that they could be later fired and Roob's former employer ACS could step in.

Here are some extracts from both Gary Welsh and Paul Ogden's work documenting the whole FSSA nightmare:

Carl Moldthan's time at FSSA:

"When Moldthan arrived at his his new job, Mitch Roob wasn't quite sure how to best utilize him. Because there had been so much talk about privatizing the services administered by the county welfare agencies, Moldthan suggested he be tasked to visit all of the offices, learn better what they were or were not doing right and make recommendations to Roob and his management team. Roob thought that sounded like a fantastic idea so off Moldthan went to visit every single county welfare agency--all 105 of them--over the next several months. During the course of his visits, Moldthan would make no fewer than 70 suggestions to Roob and his superiors on ways of improving the agency's operations, changes if implemented, he claims would have resulted in hundreds of millions in savings. Little did Moldthan know at the time that his common sense ideas would be met with scorn, laughter or otherwise summarily rejected by his superiors and would culminate in earning him a trip to Roob's office where he would be undressed for being the most disloyal person Roob had ever met."

"What Moldthan came to learn was that Roob was going to privatize the work done by those county welfare agencies come hell or high water. Anyone who didn't believe in privatization should leave, an offer Moldthan gladly accepted after less than a year on the job. Moldthan also learned that Roob had no intention of saving money from privatization. After all, the county welfare agencies comprised only $180 million of FSSA's multi-billion dollar budget, representing just 7% of the agency's entire budget. Surely there were other more effective ways of findings savings at the agency than getting rid of your front-line workers."

Moldthan's warnings to Mitch Roob:

"Moldthan found a broken system. Moldthan pleaded the case for an alternative solution to privatization recommended by the consulting firm hired by Roob, but Roob and others rebuffed him."

Gary Welsh explains Mitch Daniels and Mitch Roob's real plans for FSSA:


I have always steadfastly maintained that it was never the intention of the Daniels administration to put IBM in charge of this major undertaking. I've contended that IBM's role was that merely as a placeholder to provide cover to Mitch Roob from criticism that he was steering the state's largest contract in Indiana history to his former employer (ACS). 

"Underscoring my view, Judge Dreyer noted evidence in the record that ACS's lobbyist, Joe Loftus, was lobbying state officials behind IBM's back to have it assume control of the contract and to oust IBM despite ample evidence that many problems with the implementation involved tasks performed by ACS. He cited testimony that Loftus "used his political contacts with the administration to help his clients, ACS and Arbor, with respect to Modernization" and "Anne Murphy relied on Joe Loftus as a source of information in her dealings with IBM." Judge Dreyer found that ACS was interfering with IBM's contract "by directly lobbying the Governor, and the State was unable or unwilling to redirect the revenue necessary to adequately fund Modernization with IBM." Judge Dreyer found that Loftus' lobbying actions were creating distrust among the contract partners. He cited an e-mail exchange Loftus had with Roob in which he said, "I expect to get a lecture today from IBM reminding me that they are the Prime." Loftus added, "They just don't get it." Dreyer found that Loftus' communication behind IBM's back "presumably violated its contract with IBM and the state was in violation of the terms of the MSA, which provided that IBM was the sole point of contact with regard to contractual matters." Loftus' communications included conversations directly with Gov. Daniels and one of his top staffers, Betsy Burdick, who is the sister of Brian Burdick, the Barnes & Thornburg attorney who signed the contract on behalf of the firm to represent the state in its lawsuit against IBM despite its obvious conflict of interests. Loftus' actions were that of a snake in the grass, completely stabbing IBM in the back to win the contract for his client. Dreyer noted that ACS officials testified that Loftus' communications behind IBM's back "were contractually prohibited." As Dreyer put it, "The Court is unable to find that IBM breached the contract by failing to adequately manage ACS at the same time ACS and the State were talking behind IBM's back."

For the life of me, I do not understand why a criminal investigation has not been launched by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office. This has got to be one of the most corrupt deals in the history of Indiana state government. Hundreds of millions of federal tax dollars were being misspent simply so big campaign contributors of Gov. Mitch Daniels could make a lot of money with no concern at all to the services being provided using those tax dollars. One of the administration's biggest critics in the state legislature is a Republican lawmaker, State Sen. Vaneeta Becker (R-Evansville). “The whole thing could have been avoided if the state from the beginning had just provided new computers and additional training to caseworkers,” she told the Star's Mary Beth Schneider. “A lot of this could have been avoided and a lot of costs.” Gov. Daniels, for his part, was totally unapologetic about the outcome and says he expects the decision will be overturned on appeal. Even if the state loses on appeal, he told Schneider that the more than $52 million the state will be required to pay IBM was irrelevant because they "are so tiny compared to the savings we’re achieving.” The state has spent more than a half billion dollars to date on the privatization effort. What do you expect from a guy who told Congress when he was OMB Director that the Iraq war would only cost taxpayers $50 billion? Oh, and did I mention that Gov. Daniels put a former paid consultant for ACS, Mike Gargano, in charge of FSSA after Roob's successor, Anne Murphy, left the agency after a short stint running the agency?

There were lots of hiccups along the way, some of them IBM's fault, some of them the fault of subcontractors like ACS, some of them the fault of FSSA and some due to circumstances beyond both parties' control attributed to the explosion in claims caused by the Great Recession. The undisputed facts show the state devised metrics for measuring IBM's performance and an overwhelming number of those metrics were on target. What few were under-performing were moving in the right direction when Gov. Daniels abruptly terminated IBM's contract and handed its work over to ACS entirely to fulfill, which I believe was the objective all along. Roob just needed IBM as a placeholder not to make it so obvious he had steered one of the most lucrative contracts in the state's history to his previous employer, although everyone knew that was his objective all along beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Gary Welsh predicted Indiana would try to screw over IBM:

Sometimes justice works, and sometimes justice works in mysterious ways. This is one of the most corrupt and sad chapters in recent Indiana government history. There should have been criminal prosecutions for what took place involving this contract in the Daniels administration and what continues to take place to this day. Unfortunately, I don't see much upside for IBM finding justice in this state, and its attorneys would probably be well-advised to pick up its marbles and go home without being stripped too bare of its clothing before leaving the state by the wheels of justice in Indiana, which can work in very mysterious ways. IBM should have realized it was lying down with dogs when it got involved in this taxpayer feeding frenzy years ago and the inevitable result of waking up with fleas.

Paul Ogden on FSSA debacle and Barnes and Thornburg's conflict of interest representing the state and ACS:

The State, i.e. FSSA, ended up suing IBM to recover under the contract.  IBM countersued, claiming that the State breached the contact through its termination.  But who does the Daniels' administration insist the State hire to represent the State?  None other than Barnes & Thornburg the very law firm that represented ACS in lobbying to get the contract and still represents ACS to this day. 

Let me summarize what appears to have happened. ACS lobbies state officials to oust IBM so ACS can have the lucrative Medicaid privatization contract to itself.  ACS eventually succeeds.  The State sues IBM, perhaps to counter the inevitable breach of suit IBM was about to file.  After, IBM sues, the State hires Barnes & Thornburg, ACS's attorney to represent the state.

The State appears to be nothing more than a proxy for ACS. This case is essentially ACS v. IBM, yet we taxpayers are on the hook to pay Barnes & Thornburg, ACS' attorneys, $9.6 million.  That is uttterly outrageous.

Given that federal money here is involved, I too wonder why there has not been a federal investigation opened up by the FBI into this matter.  There certainly should be now that the facts here expose troubling, if not illegal, conduct by government officials and private lobbyists.