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Thursday, April 6, 2017

Carl Brizzi's Law License Suspended for 30 Days

Last night WRTV reported that former Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi has been suspended from the practice of law for 30 days. For advocates of good government Carl Brizzi has been a major irritation for many years. Gary Welsh and Paul Ogden have chronicled his nefarious legal career on their blogs. WRTV's report starts out with the disclaimer that Brizzi in the past has served as an on air legal analyst in the past. Jordan Fischer over at WRTV writes:


The suspension stems from two incidents in 2008 and 2009 while Brizzi was still serving as prosecutor.
Brizzi was accused in 2008 of failing to disclose a 50-percent stake in a real estate venture with former criminal defense attorney Paul Page. An investigation by the Indiana Supreme Court's Disciplinary Commission ultimately said the evidence showed that the omission was inadvertent, and found no violation.
A second incident in 2009, also involved Page, drew more condemnation from the disciplinary commission.
In a disciplinary order filed Wednesday, the commission pointed to "high unusual" intervention by Brizzi in instructing his chief deputy to allow a criminal defendant being represented by Page to a class "D" felony rather than a class "C" felony.
Brizzi told RTV6 last year he thought the issue had been settled after he received two letters from the disciplinary commission in March 2015 saying there was no
reasonable cause to believe that you are guilty of misconduct which would warrant disciplinary conduct."

But then in May 2016, the commission filed a verified complaint for disciplinary action against Brizzi in connection to three alleged incidents of professional misconduct.
"They sent a letter last year stating all matters were closed," Brizzi told RTV6 last year. "The disciplinary commission's pursuit is surprising given their representations plus the fact that the matter is eight years old."
The Supreme Court's ruling will prohibit Brizzi – who now operates a private law practice in Fishers – from practicing law for 30 days, beginning May 1.
His license will be reinstated following his 30-day suspension. 

Longtime readers of Advance Indiana and Ogden On Politics will recognize the name Paul Page. Page was at the center of the bungled federal prosecution of real estate mogul John Bales. The failed prosecution involved the leasing of a property in Elkhart to the Indiana Department of Child Services. Gary Welsh writing on this years ago says:


Brizzi didn't pay anything to gain a 50% stake in that Elkhart building that was leased to the Department of Child Services under a sweetheart deal. This came after he decided not to pursue a criminal investigation of DCS officials in the Tajanay Bailey case that he had announced months earlier, an agency that coincidentally employs his ex-wife. The sweetheart lease deal was brokered with the same guy representing the state with whom he executed a sweetheart lease deal for office space for the prosecutor's office.


To the amazement of many then US Attorney now Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett decided instead of prosecuting Brizzi that he instead be referred to the Indiana Attorney Disciplinary Commission for possible disciplinary action. Tajanay Bailey was a 3 year old girl that was killed by her mother's boyfriend. At the time serious questions arose as to the conduct of various Department of Child Services workers in Tajanay Bailey's case. Back in 2007 soon after Tajanay's death Brizzi promised a full investigation into the matter. Strangely no such investigation to our knowledge has ever taken place. Advance Indiana wrote about the case:


Many of you will recall the tragic killing of 3-year-old Tajanay Bailey in November, 2007. She was beaten to death by her mother's live-in boyfriend at the troubled Phoenix Apartments where she and her mother lived. Subsequent new stories told a troubling tale of how case workers for the Indiana Department of Child Services had badly failed in their mission to protect children like Tajanay. According to a story in the Indianapolis Star, Marion Co. Prosecutor Carl Brizzi expressed deep concern about DCS's handling of the case and promised a complete and full investigation. Specifically, Brizzi wanted to know why DCS officials had failed to notify police after they learned Tajanay had been physically abused in the home in 2006 and why she had been returned to that same home. At the time Brizzi made those comments, Tajanay's tragic killing was all over the news. As time passed, we never heard from Brizzi again about DCS.

We now know that DCS entered into a lease agreement with L&BAB LLC in 2008 to lease a 13,000 square foot building for $248,500 a year that the business had acquired in Elkhart, Indiana only five months after the company purchased the building in February, 2008 and just three months after Brizzi said he planned to investigate DCS' handling of the Tajanay Bailey case. According to the IBJ, the 50-50 owners of L&BAB are Carl Brizzi and Paul Page. Brizzi was not required to pay anything to L&BAB for his 50 percent stake in the company. The deal raised eyebrows of many people in the legal community, largely because Page represented a number of criminal defense clients adverse to Brizzi's office at the time and other questions have been raised about whether Brizzi cut favors for Page's clients. Did the investigation of DCS' handling of the Tajanay Bailey case suffer because of the business deal Brizzi and his partner struck with the agency? It's a fair question to ask in light of recent disclosures about decisions his office has made.


Carl Brizzi also has gained notice for his bungling of the case of former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White. Brizzi as upset as he maybe by having his law license suspended. Old Carl B is glad that he is only receiving a 30 day suspension instead of hard prison time that the rest of us "little people" would receive. He is certainly getting off much easier than Paul Ogden did in front of the Disciplinary Commission. Mr. Ogden was fined $10,000 and given a 30 day suspension for simply criticizing a judge in an email. Never mind that the judge in question had been removed from the case that Mr. Ogden was speaking of in his email under the lazy judge rule. For further details of Paul Ogden's kangaroo court farce click here. We would encourage everyone out there to post comments on every site you can find carrying Brizzi's suspension story. And point out how Brizzi is getting less than a slap on the wrist when he deserves much worse. Email all the legislatures, the Governor's office, and every media outlet in Indiana. Also call all the newspapers, radio and TV stations and demand they run stories that detail Brizzi's sordid past in detail. If they refuse then leave comment's online, start your own blog's, don't let up. Keep the pressure on. Worse case you just simply make the Indianapolis Media Complex miserable. Don't ever give up. And to the parasites of the political class out there. Gary Welsh's followers are mad as hell! We will honor and continue Gary's quest until you are all defeated! Let us all comrades turn to the song stylings of the great Twisted Sister's song for inspiration and motivation:







Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Marion County Republican Chairman Jim Merritt Blows Smoke at Matt Tully

Vacation was outstanding. But know time to get down to business. In a previous blog post we brought you the story about RINO State Senator Jim Merritt was seeking to run ruin the Marion County Republican Party by seeking election as it's chairman. Since that time as we expected Merritt has been successful at becoming Marion County GOP Chairman. He recently sat down with our most hated establishment flunky Matt Tully to spout nonsense about how he will revive the Republican Party in Marion County. Tully writes:


Marion County Republican Chairman Jim Merritt


Jim Merritt understands the task he’s taken on. It’s a tough one. Politically speaking, it doesn’t get much more daunting than this.
Merritt, the longtime state senator from Indy's northeast side, recently won his bid to become the new chairman of the Marion County Republican Party.


 Republicans have been swamped in every countywide election in recent years. They control none of the major offices in a city that has tilted more and more heavily to the Democratic side in recent years. Hillary Clinton won the county by 82,000 votes last year. Mayor Joe Hogsett won 62 percent of the vote in 2015, joining a long list of Democrats who have won big here in recent years. The GOP has lagged badly on fundraising.


"Ass Kisser" Tully quotes Merritt as saying:


“The Republican Party is in limbo in Marion County,” Merritt said. “We have to improve ourselves. I wouldn’t want to invest in the Republican Party locally right now.”
But he did, adding county chairman to his gig at the state Senate, where he has been a powerful voice on issues such as hunger and opioid addiction in recent years. He says he has to start “with the basics, the blocking and tackling of politics” as party chairman, recruiting new precinct workers and raising money. But then the party must focus on doing a better job of offering ideas and an “urban Republican model” that can appeal to more people.

“We have to show people that we can challenge Democrats and lead the county on tough issues,” he said. “In Indianapolis, we cannot be the party of ‘no.’ Not this time. This city obviously has crime problems, fiscal problems, infrastructure problems. There’s an opportunity to show that a Republican model of a big city can work.”
Unlike in many larger cities, Republicans at least don’t have to go too far back in history to find big moments of success. Former Mayor Greg Ballard won a surprise victory in 2007 and then cruised to re-election four years later. Former Gov. Mitch Daniels, elected in 2004 and 2008, won the county big. Those two men, known for running pragmatic, idea-driven administrations that didn’t get caught up on social issues and appealed to voters from both parties, have provided the road map for success in a big city, Merritt argues.
“We’ve got to be about having a broader appeal,” he said.


As evidence of that, Daniels won the county by almost 50,000 votes in 2008 after running, in large part, on a message of government efficiency, thinking bigger and making Indiana more attractive to employers. Four years later, fellow Republican Mike Pence, with his well-established position as a socially conservative leader, lost the county by 80,000 votes. That 130,000-vote swing tells you a lot about what kind of Republican can sell in Indianapolis.


The above paragraphs shows why under Jim Merritt the Democrats are in no danger of losing their dominance in Marion County. If anything the Marion County GOP will only continue to shrink. It's true that Greg Ballard was elected as Indianapolis Mayor twice and both times Mitch Daniels ran he carried Marion County. The problem is that Daniels was running against very weak opponents. That is the only reason he carried Marion County. In 2012 and 2016 both times the Republican Gubenatorial Candidate lost Marion County by large margins. Mike Pence did better in Lake County than he did in Marion and there are no republicans in Lake County! Ballard only won in 2007 because Bart Peterson was stupid enough to shoot himself in the foot prior to the election by pushing to raise Indianapolis's property taxes. In 2011 he narrowly won reelection against a very weak opponent. So citing Daniels and Ballard as a way for republicans to regain ground in Indianapolis is not a good suggestion. The baseline republican vote in Marion County is around 40% and that seems to be dropping each election. Greg Ballard is not very well liked by rank-and-file republicans due to his nonstop taxing and spending, his hostility to gun owners, and his turning the keys to Indianapolis over to the establishment hacks in both parties.




Merritt is moving the county party out of its standalone location and into the state party headquarters, a cost-cutting move but also one he hopes will help the local party better coordinate with a state organization that has won a solid string of elections in recent years. He believes he has a better chance of growing the party locally with the election of Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican who has won praise across party lines.


He is focusing on local races in 2018 and helping current GOP council members better get the word out on their initiatives. He is already scouting for 2019 mayoral candidates, but he knows the party must improve its infrastructure in order to attract a top nominee. Above all, Merritt said, the party must market itself as a force trying to improve the community by offering smart ideas on core city issues.
“If we do our job and add solid people to the organization and support a broad range of candidates, we have a chance,” he said. “Greg Ballard proved it, and that wasn’t so long ago. We have a chance to win in this county. But we have to give people a reason to want to be Republicans.”


Why Merritt thinks that Eric Holcomb will be able to help rebuild the Marion County GOP is beyond us. If the above photograph of Merritt is any indicator than it would seem likely that Merritt just has no damn clue what the hell he is doing! He looks like his brain is struggling to deal with his own stupidity! Holcomb lost Marion County by a large margin last year in his race for Governor. And years ago when Holcomb was the State Republican Chairman he did less than nothing to help out the Marion County GOP.  Holcomb seems like the person to go to if you want to mess things up in Indianapolis! Merritt is the last person who should be speaking about building the party up. He is one of the insiders that tried to defeat Christine Scales in the 2015 Primary and was probably a factor in her leaving the Republican Party. If Matt Tully had any brains he would have asked Jim Merritt for specifics on how he intends to fix the GOP. But he won't because that would cost him points with the members of his circle jerk club! Time will tell but so far there is no reason for us to believe that Merritt will do anything other than to continue turning the Marion County GOP into a wholly owned subsidiary of the Marion County Democratic Party.

Friday, March 31, 2017

Indy Republican will be back after a short break

IR is truly grateful and appreciative of all the support we are getting. We all are going to take some much needed R & R. After a short break to rest and gather some more topics for blog posts. We will be back on and eager to engage with you all. In the meantime fill free to use the contact form or email us at: 6vwts@notsharingmy.info and we will be glad to hear what you have to say. See you in again soon.

Monday, March 27, 2017

Mike Pence Weasel, Liar and Slave to Washington!

Good Evening. Hope everyone is taking it easy and trying not to get to sucked into the craziness out there. As you all know by now. The IR team are not supporters of former Indiana Governor now Vice President Mike Pence. You may recall our recent blog post about his email scandal.  We all have been chided by many of our fellow republicans for saying that Mike Pence is nothing more than an opportunistic clod. Given Mr. Pence's conduct over the past week or so in regards to his unsuccessful attempt to "persuade" many of his former congressional colleagues to sell out there principles and support the American Health Care Act, aka AHCA, aka RyanCare, aka TrumpCare/ObamaCare Lite. We feel more than vindicated in our assessment of Mike Pence as a man and as a politician. Over at Redstate.com Jim Jamits has written an article critical of Vice President Pence titled "Never Trust Anyone Who Asks You to ‘Take One for the Team’"


Jamitis writes:


As someone who used to have high hopes for what Vice President Mike Pence might do for the conservative movement and who never got on board the Trump train, I wasn’t thrilled that Pence enthusiastically became Trump’s running mate. I had mixed feelings.
Part of me said that it’s good someone like Pence would have Trump’s ear, but another part wondered whether I had been wrong about Pence from the beginning. How could a solid ideological conservative submit to a guy like Trump?
Some of the anecdotes reported in the wake of the AHCA failure make me think Pence is just another Washington insider driven by politics instead of principle. Politico Magazine describes how the Freedom Caucus and their policy concerns were treated by the White House.


Quoting from Politico Jamitis says:


They hoped for a meeting with Trump and an opportunity to negotiate some major policy changes directly with him. Instead, they found themselves hauled into the less-than-inspiring Executive Office Building for a pep rally with Vice President Mike Pence, chief of staff Reince Priebus, Bannon, and other members of Trump’s inner circle—but not the president himself. (As an aside, it’s impossible to ignore the failure of Pence, Price and Mulvaney, three former conservative darlings while in the Congress, to sell more of their ideological brethren on this bill.)


Jamitis responds to Politico by stating:


It’s impossible to ignore the failure because for the Freedom Caucus it was probably impossible to ignore the the defection of these men to the cult of Trump. They had abandoned their principled roots for a seat at the table of power.


The incident paints a picture of Pence as just another cynical Washington horse trader trying to score the political win even if it meant arbitrarily discarding the notion of actually repealing Obamacare.


Quoting again from Politico:


Members of the Freedom Caucus realized right away that there would be no negotiating. Pence tried to pump up the conservatives, telling them the fight was theirs to win and that they needed to help Trump and Ryan score a victory for the new administration. The plea landed on deaf ears. “Take one for the team” was a phrase repeatedly deployed; [Emphasis added]


Jamitis offers these parting thoughts about Pence's attempt at negotiating with strong arming his fellow republicans into doing the will of his D.C. masters:


In the GOP, being asked—or told—to “take one for the team” means two things. One, you are not really considered part of the “team,” and therefore your only value is as cannon fodder or as a scapegoat. Two, your values, principles, and campaign promises are worth spit to whomever is asking you. Only your vote matters and you should expect no reward from the team for selling it to them cheaply.


In theory, making a sacrifice for the good of something bigger than yourself can be a noble act, but when asked to compromise your principles for a dubious good, follow your instincts and not the crowd.


After a lifetime of working and being active in the republican party. We are in agreement with Mr. Jamitis's view of what "taking one for the team" really mean in the world of politics. What Jim Jamitis and many others many not quite realize is that Mike Pence doesn't have any principles! Of course the Indianapolis media's refusal to actually point out the truth about Pence probably explains a lot as to why so many people have such an unrealistic view of Pence. Dan Carden of the Northwest Indiana Times pointed out last year on twitter that Mike Pence had stated on his 2011 tax return that he and his wife Karen lived in Arlington, Virginia back when he was getting ready to run for Governor:



Dan Carden
Oh hey, look who said he lived in Arlington, Va. in 2012 while running for Ind. governor
by: Dan Carden @nwi_DanCarden


This is interesting because Article V, Section VII of the Indiana Constitution states:


Section 7. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor, who shall not have been five years a citizen of the United States, and also a resident of the State of Indiana during the five years next preceding his election; nor shall any person be eligible to either of the said offices, who shall not have attained the age of thirty years.


So how could Mike Pence meet the eligibility requirements to be Governor if as he stated on his 2011 Income Tax Return that he and his wife lived in Virginia? As all taxpayers are aware the address you put down on your Income Tax Return is supposed to be the address at which you are currently residing when you file taxes. Former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White was crucified by the Indiana political, media and legal establishment because they allege that he voted in the wrong voter precinct one time! So using the standard applied to Charlie White former Governor Pence should have some awkward questions to answer! It is amazing to all of us that the Hillary Clinton campaign didn't do more opposition research on Pence during last years presidential race. No doubt Indiana and National Democrats have this and other information to use against Pence should he ever decide to run for President. We are all grateful that some of our fellow conservatives and republicans are waking up and seeing that Mike Pence is not our friend. Pence is nothing but a scheming little weasel that the republican party should toss out on his ass! We here at IR in the meantime are more than happy to see "Pampered Pence" be used as a piñata for frustrated republicans! Hope you enjoy being a global joke Mike!


Here is Mike Pence's real self!:










Sunday, March 19, 2017

Indiana Democrats stupidly reelect John Zody State Chairman

Yesterday Hoosier Democrats met and voted to keep John Zody as their state chairman. We have to ask. Do Hoosier Democrats ever want to win anything? Why do you guys vote to keep this guy after you got massacred last year? Yes we know you picked up one state house seat. But John Gregg lost his bid for Governor against fake Republican Eric Holcomb, Glenda Ritz lost her bid for reelection, and to top it off you guys picked Evan Bayh to run for his old senate seat! So what else would possess democrats to give John Zody another chance to be state party chair? Do you guys want to become more irrelevant? For our state and country to survive and thrive we need two viable political parties. Of course Hoosier Democrats would rather continue their domination of Marion and Lake Counties than actually win and have any real influence. Both parties in Indiana would rather play not to lose rather than play to win. We have news for you guys. Real Republicans throughout Indiana want to actually win. We aren't satisfied with keeping every mediocrity that runs on our team in office. So to our Democratic friends do yourselves and all Hoosiers a favor and actually go after the corruption in both parties. 

Saturday, March 11, 2017

Oops! Mike Pence Did It As Well! The Day Mike Pence Became Hillary Clinton!

Image result for mike pence is hillary clinton meme
MIKE PENCE AS HILLARY CLINTON



Greetings Brother and Sister rabble rousers! As we have previously pointed out on this blog. The late great Gary Welsh compared Mike Pence with Rod Blagojevich. A belief we all share here at IR. But we never thought that we would ever be lumping Mike Pence in with Hillary Clinton but we believe that is a fair and accurate assessment of Pence given his ongoing email scandal and the fact that he used a private AOL email account to conduct state business on. We can all recall how former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton email scandal during her time running the State Department. Mike Pence's email scandal is a long and sordid tale, but it is one that must be told.  Miss Hussein is one of the only great reporters  remaining at the Langley controlled "Pravda Indianapolis"  Indianapolis Star. As some of you are aware Mike Pence has been fighting since last year to keep many of his emails he sent while he was governor a secret from we the people. Starting with Fatima Hussein's February 27th, 2016 article Ms. Hussein writes:




Vice President Mike Pence continued to fight to keep secret a political white paper emailed to him while he was Indiana governor, petitioning the Indiana Supreme Court not to review a public records denial for the controversial papers.
If opened, the communications could reveal a slew of Republican political strategies that Pence and dozens of other U.S. governors devised to fight former President Barack Obama and an executive order of his concerning immigration.
If the justices take the case, the court also could redefine the bounds of open, public communication for Indiana's executive office.





The case stems from a public records request made in December 2014 by Indianapolis attorney William Groth, a Democrat, who was gathering information about the former Republican governor's use of outside counsel for the immigration litigation and its cost to Indiana taxpayers.
Pence produced the requested emails “but those documents included substantial redaction,” including a white paper the governor failed to produce, according to court records.


The white paper in question contains legal theories used by many governors in their decision to join State of Texas et al v. United States of America, which challenged the Obama administration's executive order regarding immigration.
After Groth filed suit in Marion County Superior Court, a judge ruled in favor of Pence, saying the redactions the administration made to the public record were "proper."


This January, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that Groth does not have the right to view the political white paper, but disagreed with the governor's contention that it would violate the separation of powers doctrine for the judiciary to second guess the redactions.


That was an important finding to advocates of government transparency, who feared a Pence victory in the suit could set a broader precedent that would embolden future governors to refuse to disclose or heavily redact public documents with no court oversight.
Earlier this month, Groth petitioned the Indiana Supreme Court to take up the case.
Indianapolis attorney Greg Bowes filed the 19-page petition on behalf of Groth claiming the appeals court erred in determining that the white paper did not have to be released because it was "deliberative material" for the purpose of preparing for litigation.
Groth is arguing the Court of Appeals improperly applied the attorney-client relationship doctrine because the white paper was emailed to a wide range of people outside of the attorney-client relationship. He is also asking the court whether the court of appeals improperly created a "deliberative materials exception" to state public records.


Calling Groth's lawsuit "unfounded" in court documents, Joseph Chapelle, Pence's attorney from Indianapolis law firm Barnes & Thornburg, last week filed the 30-page response.


Chapelle told IndyStar that the appellate court majority’s decision should stand and that if the Supreme Court takes on the case, "it will be an opportunity for the court to clarify the separation of powers doctrine."
In the latest court documents, Chapelle maintains that Pence will use executive privilege as a defense in the future. "There are policy reasons for executive privilege," Chapelle said.
Groth told IndyStar Sunday that he wants to see transparency in government.
"Hoosiers are entitled to and should continue to demand more, rather than less, openness from all governmental officials, but especially from their governor," he said


The fact that Pence has an attorney from Barnes and Thornburg handling this situation is enough to make us think Pence is terrified of these emails being publicly released. Longtime readers of Advance Indiana and Ogden on Politics will recognize the name Barnes and Thornburg. They are the law firm that has represented the state in the FSSA Privatization debacle, also they fought like hell trying to save former US Senator Dick Lugar's butt! Word is that they went so far as to get WXIN the Fox affiliate in Indianapolis to spike a story about Lugar's residency issue that the station had planned to air in 2011 click here to read Paul Ogden's recounting of that incident. Other nefarious individuals associated with B&T over the years have included: Former Marion County Prosecutor Scott Newman and Democratic State Rep. Ed "Why Did I meet with some mysterious person in a Parking Lot" Delaney.  We are especially curious as to what Mr. Chapelle's reasoning is behind his claim that "There are policy reasons for executive privilege." That Pence is claiming as to why these emails shouldn't be released. For what policy is Chapelle referring to? And what policy could possible trump our right to know what Mike Pence was doing with the taxpayers money? This sounds a little to much like Nixon's bullshit claim of executive privilege during the Watergate Scandal!


Ms. Hussein wrote in her November 21, 2016 "Pence's legal team argues to keep emails secret":


"The statute (Indiana Access to Public Records Act) itself cannot get into the governor's personal papers," said Joseph Chappelle, Pence's attorney, from the Indiana law firm Barnes & Thornburg, referring to the legal bounds of the Indiana Access to Public Records Act.
Legally, the burden is on the governor to prove the documents are protected from public purview.


What we are curious about is if these were Mike Pence's "personal papers" as his lawyer says they are then why did he email them to 30 or so different people in several different states? Since it is Pence's job to show why these documents in question should be shielded from public purview it is reasonable to assume that he would not have sent such sensitive information to over two dozens parties! So either he believed they were sensitive at the time and chose to brazenly send them out to 30 people. Or more likely in as we believe he only adopted the stance that these emails should be kept secret when Mr. Groth asked for them. It is true that Pence's office had large amounts of his AOL emails that he sent out turned over to now Governor Eric Holcomb's office recently after he was called out on the carpet. But Pence's continued pursuit of keeping some of his official emails secret inspires no confidence in him. Pence might as well put on a blonde wig and a blue woman's business suit. Based off of his lack of transparency with his official emails the verdict is in. Mike Pence is now Hillary Clinton.



Update: WISH-TV has a story about Mike Pence defending his use of a private email account for state business. As usual his Propaganda Minister Spokesman Marc Lotter talks about how great his boss Mike Pence is. Click here and here for our past posts about Lying Marc Lotter.



Monday, March 6, 2017

Indiana Will Be Restored!

Good evening friends. As all of you out there have been witness to  the sin and vice that makes up much of the world around us. It is only natural to feel discouraged and beaten down at times. What must be kept in mind is that any trouble no matter what is only temporary. IR's staff is besieged with inquiries as to how to fight back and reclaim our state and our nation. The answer is multilayered but part of the answer is it is not just enough to expose the darkness in our world. We must also practice and promote positive active goodness in our own lives. Gary Welsh was and still is a great man. He was wonderful at fighting and exposing the corruption of today. But one area our dear departed comrade sometimes fell short in was in not focusing on what is right in our lives and the goodness we can and will accomplish. We can say with the utmost confidence that Indiana and the rest of these United States shall achieve great heights and continue to be the "shining city on the hill" that will be respected by all good people everywhere. We can say this due to what we see and hear everyday. There are people who are striving to achieve goodness and who choose not to give into the darkness. Even if they are not readily visible they exist and you can be one of them. At IR we don't write to get readers. We have readers so that we may write. We have received much great feedback since we started almost a year ago. We all were inspired to our lives calling by the writing of Gary Welsh, Paul Ogden, Jon Easter, Charlie White and many others like them. Perhaps we are planting the seeds for more such men and women to emerge and say to the powers that be: "Enough"! We are not naive this process will take sometime. Decades or more possibly. But the more we get out the truth, the more shackles are broken the sooner we will achieve our values. Let us dedicate ourselves to the "great task remaining" Each day we shall continue to work for the emancipation of the spirit of mankind. We are the disciples of reason and the soldiers of freedom! Let us stand together and show the world the spirit of Gary Welsh is not only not dead but is just barely started it's fight for goodness!

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Tabloid Indianapolis Star Peddling more Pro-Establishment Propaganda

In yesterday's edition of Pravda Indiana. The Stars digital producer Dwight Adams wrote here about how according to US News and World Report, Indiana's State Government is ranked the best state government in the United States. The Hoosier State was given this distinction it is said because of "Indiana's excellent credit rating, low pension fund liability, and budget transparency." Indiana Governor Eric "Bagman" Holcomb in response to the Star's Press Release report about how Indiana has the greatest state government in the known universe said: "Strong leadership over the last 12 years has made our government efficient." "It's my (Eric Holcomb) goal to continue this success and elevate our position on all fronts."

IR is curious as to just what "success" Governor Holcomb wishes to continue. Is he referring to the disastrous reign at FSSA of Mitch Roob? The incompetent reign of the IDOI and IURC by Jim Atterholt who unjustly fired Paul Ogden? Does he wish to continue the legacy of "Godfather Governor" Mitch Daniels of firing and destroying state whistleblowers like the venerable Paul Ogden? Does Holcomb intend to continue turning a blind eye towards misconduct committed by the likes of former Indiana Schools Superintendent Tony Bennett? If so then the hell with Holcomb and his definition of success!

Drivel like this out of the "Downtown Mafia's" paper of record proves conclusively that the Indianapolis Star is no longer home to people like Dick Cady and Ruth Holliday. But now serves only to spew out whatever Matt Tully and his circle jerk club are told to write by their paymasters. We encourage people to checkout Dick Cady's book "Deadline Indianapolis" for a glimpse as to what the Star used to be. No doubt Advance Indiana's Gary Welsh is laughing from his grave at Indiana being given the "Best Government" designation! We all here long ago canceled our subscriptions to the Star. We advise all of you to do the same. Let's drink to the day when the Star is gone!

Monday, February 20, 2017

Indiana Legislature Seeks to End Access to Public Records

If Hoosiers needed anymore proof that the Indiana State Legislature is the absolute worst in the United States. Then look no further than Tony Cook's article entitled: "Should you have to pay $20 an hour for a public records search?". Cook's article first published in the Indianapolis Star on February 17th, 2016 is in reference to the attempt by a large number of Indiana lawmakers to make access to public records even more difficult.







Cook writes:


"The cost to access public records could rise sharply under a bill the Indiana House approved Thursday.
House Bill 1523 would allow state and local governments to charge up to $20 an hour for public record searches. Those fees would apply when government officials spend more than two hours searching for a record requested by journalists or members of the public.
The House voted 62-25 in favor of the measure. It now goes to the Senate.
Lawmakers passed a similar measure in 2015, but then-Gov. Mike Pence vetoed it, saying "the cost of public records should never be a barrier to the public’s right to know."

Rep. Kathy Richardson, the Noblesville Republican who introduced the bill this year, said 27 other states and the federal government allow similar fees to address the costs of fulfilling large public information requests.
Her colleague, Rep. Karen Engleman, said that as a former Harrison County auditor, record requests could consume a lot of staff time.
“Some people come in and ask for hours and hours of research to be done,” Engleman said. “We don’t get paid anything for doing that.”


Opponents argued that citizens shouldn’t be required to pay for records created and maintained with their own tax money. They also fear the measure could allow government agencies to charge large fees for information they want to hide.
“I just think as a matter of principle these records belong to the taxpayers. Government records are the people’s records. The employees in whatever level of government are paid for by the taxpayers. They are our employees. They work for us,” said Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington. “To have to come in and pay to get access to your records I just think is not a good principle, not a good policy.”
He cited a case in Florida where a county sheriff’s office charged a newspaper $339,000 for a request seeking emails containing gay slurs. Other counties quoted as little as $37 for the same request.
“I think you’re going to open it up to where people come in that are looking for stuff the government doesn’t want them to see, they’re going to get a really high fee,” Pierce said.
State law currently allows local governments and most state agencies to charge a fee for actual copying costs, but not for the time employees spend gathering records."



As the article notes a bill just like this one did pass in 2015. But in perhaps the only good move that Mike "Pampered" Pence made while he was Governor he vetoed this insane piece of legislation. Gary Welsh and Paul Ogden have both blogged on this their articles can be found here, herehere, and here. This bill is nothing more than politicians attempting to shield themselves from being held accountable by the voters that they are supposed to be the servants of! So that you know who is looking out for you and who is only seeking to protect themselves from we the people. We have provided below the names of the legislators so far that have supported and opposed this bill. If you want to do your best to make a difference contact each and every legislator by phone, email, mail, and fax and tell them you want this bill HB 1523 destroyed! Make them fear you the voter! As promised here are the traitors who have voted for this garbage already also listed are the patriots that voted against this bill:


Judases who have voted for HB 1523:
Authors of this POS:


Rep. Kathy Richardson-RINO, Noblesville. Email: courtney.heiden@iga.in.gov
Rep. Phillip GiaQunita-D, Fort Wayne. Click here to contact him.
Rep. Karen Engleman-RINO, Corydon. Click here to contact her.
Rep. Kevin Mahan-RINO, Hartford City. Click here to contact him.                                     

 Other Representatives who voted for HB1523:

Arnold, Llyod-RINO  

Bacon, Ron-RINO   

Baird, Jim-RINO   

Beumer, Greg-RINO   

Borders, Bruce-RINO  

Braun, Mike-RINO 

Brown, Tim-RINO  

Burton, Woody-RINO, Johnson County  

Carbaugh, Martin-RINO   

Cherry, Don-RINO  

Clere , Ed-RINO  

Cook, Tony-RINO (Not INDYSTAR Tony Cook)  

Culver, Wes-RINO  

Davisson, Steve-RINO  

Eberhart, Sean-RINO  

Ellington, Jeff-RINO 

Friend, Bill-RINO

Frye, Randy-RINO

Gutwein, Douglas-RINO

Hamm, Dick-RINO

Heaton, Bob-RINO

Heine, David-RINO

Huston, Todd-RINO

Jordan, Jack-RINO

Judy, Christopher-RINO

Kerickhoff, Cindy-RINO

Klinker, Shelia-D

Lawson, Linda-D

Lehe, Don-RINO

Lehman, Matt-RINO

Leonard, Dan-RINO

Lucas, Jim-RINO

Lyness, Randy-RINO

May, Chris-RINO

Mayfield, Peggy-RINO

McNamara, Wendy-RINO

Miller, Doug-RINO

Morris, Bob-RINO

Negele, Sharon-RINO

Nisly, Curt-RINO

Ober, David-RINO

Olthoff, Julie-RINO

Pressel, Jim-RINO

Siegrist, Sally-RINO


Slager, Hal-RINO

Smaltz, Ben-RINO

Smith, Milo-RINO

Soliday, Ed-RINO

Stemler, Steven-D

Steurwald, Greg-RINO

Sullivan, Holli-RINO

Thompson, Jeff-RINO

VanNatter, Heath-RINO

Washburne, Thomas-RINO

Wesco, Timothy-RINO

Young, John-RINO

Ziemke, Cindy-RINO

Representatives that voted against HB 1523:


Austin, Terri-D 


Bartlett, John-D 


Brown, Charlie-D  


Candelaria Reardon, Maria-D 


DeLaney, Ed-D 


Dvorak, Ryan-D


Errington, Sue-D


Forestal, Dan-D


Goodin, Terry-D


Hamilton, Carey-D

Harris, Earl-D

Hatfield, Ryan-D

Kersey, Clyde-D

Macer, Karlee-D

Moed, Justin-D

Morrison, Alan-Real Republican

Moseley, Chuck-D

Pelath, Scott-D

Pierce, Matt-D

Porter, Gregory-D

Pryor, Cherirsh-D

Shackleford, Robin-D

Summers, Vanessa-D

Taylor, Joe-D

Wright, Melanie-D

             


                                








Sunday, February 12, 2017

Jim Atterholt going back to IURC

Hello all! Earlier this year we blogged about how political hack and Daniels-Pence retread Jim Atterholt was begging and pleading with Governor Eric "Bagman" Holcomb to be given his old job back at the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission doing whatever the utility industry wants. Apparently his pleadings not surprisingly worked and good old Eric had decided to give Jimmy Atterholt his job back. The Indianapolis Business Journal reported on February 9th, 2017 about this. From the IBJ:


Gov. Eric Holcomb on Thursday (February 9th) announced Jim Atterholt, former chairman of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, will once again serve in that role.

Atterholt will replace former IURC Chairwoman Carol Stephan, who stepped down Jan. 1 after 2-1/2 years.

Atterholt, a former lawmaker, most recently served as chief of staff to former Gov. Mike Pence. He was IURC chairman from 2009 to 2014. Atterholt is also a former commissioner of the Indiana Department of Insurance.
“Jim Atterholt’s history of service and depth of knowledge on utility issues make him the best choice to lead the IURC, particularly over the next four years,” Holcomb said. “IURC’s work will be central to my focus as governor to provide great customer service for Hoosiers in every corner of the state.”


If Holcomb is truly saying that Atterholt is the best person to run the IURC and to provide great customer service to Hoosiers. Than Holcomb needs to seriously rethink his idea of what "great customer service" is! As we, Gary Welsh and Paul Ogden have pointed out before Jim Atterholt should have his ever widening butt kicked to the curb! His past history at the Indiana Department of Insurance and his previous tenure at IURC show him to be completely ill suited to run a lemonade stand! Let alone the IURC! The article does point out that there is bipartisan support for Atterholt to go back to ruining running the IURC:


A nominating committee of four Republicans and three Democrats interviewed and made recommendations to the governor for selection on Feb 3. Holcomb said the decision was “unanimous."
The IURC is a powerful agency that regulates $14 billion worth of electric, natural gas, telecommunications, steam, water and sewer utilities. It approves utility projects and determines how much utilities can charge customers.


This of course is not news to us or to those who have been paying attention at all to politics in good old Honest-To-Goodness Indiana! For decades now the IURC whether it by run by Republicans or Democrats is simply interested in screwing over the rate payers and carrying out the will of the Bipartisan Cabal that runs much of Indiana state politics!


Holcomb has shown that his time as Governor is the time of the second rater!

Should Hoosier Republicans Form a Third Party?

Should real Hoosier republicans form a third party? That's a question that is being asked of us a lot these days. With there being no discernible differences between the two major parties in Indiana. At least in the area of good government. It is a question that most if not all serious conservative/libertarian republicans must ask ourselves. It's certainly a tempting thought to declare the party of Bill Hudnut and Rex Early dead and buried and walk away to create a new party one dedicated to individual liberty and freedom. But for reasons we will elaborate on. We here at IR have come to believe that starting a new political party would be ultimately counterproductive. Before we get to why we are not in favor of forming a new political party in Indiana. We wanted to provide some new information about the Indiana GOP's plans to hike the states gas tax. On January 25th, 2017 the Indianapolis Business Journal ran a story entitled "GOP lawmakers draw criticism for calling tax hikes 'user fees'" the same day a bill to raise gas taxes and vehicle fees for Indiana passed through the House Roads and Transportation Committee according to a story on WISH-TV's website. With the obvious abandonment of fiscal responsibility by Governor Eric Holcomb, Rep. Ed Soliday, State House Speaker Brian Bosma, and the Marion County GOP Leaderships pushing for higher taxes, along with the gutting of the State Board of Accounts. It understandably makes us ask "Why are these people Republicans?" The only answer we can come up with is they are Republicans merely out of convenience rather than ideology. The only core conviction that Daniels, Holcomb, Bosma and McQuillen hold is they believe they are entitled to serve in public office. Recently we reported about Christine Scales decision to leave the Republican Party to become a Democrat. We here at IR cannot speak for Mrs. Scales. But in our minds we cannot help but think that if the Marion County and Indiana Republican Party had a few more people like Christine Scales and fewer apparatchiks like Mike McQuillen she might have stayed.

Alright now to why despite the temptation to do so. We here at IR would oppose Hoosier Republicans bolting the GOP and forming or joining a new political party. One of the biggest reasons is the immense difficulty inherent in attempting to win an office as an independent or third party candidate. Take a look at the case of former Republican Congressman Ron Paul who ran for President on the Libertarian Party line. He did not earn a single electoral vote when he ran in 1988. However when he returned to congress as a Republican in the mid 90's and then twice ran for the GOP presidential nomination he did much better. Congressman Paul has generated far more interest and attention for his ideas as a republican than he ever did as a libertarian. As a difficult as it is to reform a political party. It can only be done by changing the parties office holders and structure. After all why should a political party be open to any change if the activists who seek it all walk out? Lastly one issue that has not been brought up much is: Are third parties any better run than the two dominant political parties? Many a disgruntled republican in Indiana has left to join the Libertarian Party. Many have left the LP because in this state at least the Indiana Libertarian Party is just a social club that likes to play games with both parties. For an alternative political party they spend time kissing up to people like Democratic State Rep. Ed Delaney and pseudo republican and former Angie's List CEO Bill Oesterle. We feel that the State and National Republican Parties have a heritage that is to beautiful to surrender to the Daniels, Holcomb's, Oesterles, and Ballards! We believe as President Reagan did that what our state and nation needs is not a third party but a revived and vibrant second party!

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Residency Issue Cost Former Indiana School's Superintendent Tony Bennett a seat on the Clark County Council

Finally some good news this week for a change! Earlier today it was reported that former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett was originally set to be appointed to a seat on the Clark County Council. But apparently is ineligible to take the seat because he has not resided in the county for the required period of time need to serve on the council. Elizabeth Beilman writing for the News and Tribune reports on this issue:


Former Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett won't be serving on the Clark County Council after all, as he doesn't meet the residency requirements to hold office.
State law requires office holders must have lived in the district they represent for at least six months and within the county for at least a year.
The Clark County Assessor's office recorded Bennett became the owner of his Jeffersonville home Sept. 8, which doesn't meet the six-month requirement to live within the council district. His former home in New Albany was transferred to a new owner Aug. 29.
Bennett confirmed Thursday he has only lived in Clark County about six months, having previously lived in Floyd County.
"I'm not aware of any [such law]," he told the News and Tribune when informed by the newspaper of the residency requirement. "Frankly, I would assume [Clark County GOP Chairman Jamey Noel] would know that."


Bennett said he would step aside and allow someone else to fill the seat.
"I had no intentions of running when the two years were up," he said of the District 2 term. "I strictly saw this as serving the county."
Attorney Larry Wilder, often hired to represent local Republicans, took fault.
"Sometimes when you have lawyers that don't read every word in a statute, they give bad advice," Wilder said. "Tony and I talked about the opening, and I spoke with [Noel] as well, and they both asked a question about eligibility to serve and quite honestly, I made a mistake."
Bennett was one of two Republicans caucused onto the board Wednesday evening in a surprise move. But Bennett wasn't named to fill the seat vacated by Mike Popplewell, who resigned amid misdemeanor charges.
Instead, Bennett was going to represent District 2. Brian Lenfert, sitting District 2 councilman, was elected to fill Popplewell's at-large seat.
A call to Noel was not immediately returned.


Chelsea Schneider one of the only good reporters left at the Langley-Run Indianapolis Star had this to say:


Former Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett returned to Hoosier politics this week — but his stay was brief.
Bennett had been appointed to the Clark County Council in Southern Indiana on Wednesday. But a day later, Bennett said he would no longer serve after the News and Tribune reported he hadn’t lived in the county long enough to hold the office. State law requires a council member to live in the county for at least one year. Bennett told the newspaper he had lived in Clark County for about six months.
The development is the latest chapter in the high-profile Republican’s political career. He took a break after losing re-election as state schools chief in 2012 and resigning as the Florida education commissioner a year later.
After his selection, Bennett told IndyStar Wednesday that filling the vacancy was an “opportunity to do something that I think is really positive.”
“It’s just to serve the community I grew up in in a very positive way,” Bennett said. “I wanted to be a service to our county given my background. I have a good understanding of fiscal policy and budgeting.”
After learning he was ineligible for the seat, Bennett told the News and Tribune that he “had no intentions of running” when the current term was up.
Bennett and Clark County GOP Chair Jamey Noel didn’t immediately return requests for comment.


We are over joyed to hear that at least for now that Tony Bennett will not being serving in public office. It appears that his attempt to serve on the Clark County Council just went "A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-wop-bam-boom!" Couldn't have happened to a nicer lowlife! One can't help but wonder if Tony Bennett is thinking about why they chose to apply local residency law to him when so many other office holders have flouted residency laws to keep their offices! Former Senator's Dick Lugar and Evan Bayh both have. Former Governor Mitch Daniels lived at his house in Hamilton County even though the Constitution of the State of Indiana states that the governor must reside at the seat of Indiana State Government which the court's have interpreted to mean Marion County. But at least Bennett is grateful that he is not facing any legal repercussions for this. He is undoubtedly thankful that he was not charged with federal wire fraud violations from stunts that he and his staff pulled when he was Education Superintendent.


Paul Ogden and Gary Welsh both have written extensively on Bennett's time in office. Former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White has also discussed this at length on his podcast series "The Charlie White Show".


Especially of interest is a blog post by Gary Welsh over at Advance Indiana back on December 02, 2014. The post  is titled "Joe Hogsett And Terry Curry Gave Tony Bennett Pass On Multiple Wire Fraud Violations". Mr. Welsh gave some facts which should be reviewed in light of Tony Bennett's past and also the fact that he is clearly willing to seek office again. From the keystrokes of the Grand Master himself:


Before Inspector General David Thomas entered into a settlement agreement with former Education Supt. Tony Bennett this summer letting him off with a hand slap for using state employees and state resources for political purposes, he prepared another 95-page report in which his investigation concluded there were 100 instances in which Bennett or his staff violated federal wire fraud laws. For some reason, Thomas didn't bother to release that report at the time he entered into the state ethics settlement with Bennett, but State House reporter Tom LoBianco has now obtained a copy of the original report, which should have been posted on the IG's website for public inspection but wasn't.

. . . In a section labeled “Scheme to Defraud,” the inspector general laid out its case, saying Bennett “while serving as the elected Superintendent of Public Instruction of the State of Indiana, devised a scheme or artifice to defraud the State of Indiana of money and property by using State of Indiana paid employees and property, for his own personal gain, as well as for his own political benefit to be re-elected to the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.”  
The violations fell into five categories: political campaign fundraising, responding to political opponent’s assertions, calendar political activity meetings, political campaign call appointments and general political campaign activity.  
Through reviews of emails and calendar entries and more than 50 interviews with top Republicans and former staffers, investigator Charles Coffin determined that Bennett falsified mileage logs to cover fundraising trips and the use of two state workers as campaign drivers. The report also details 20 days on which Bennett used the SUV to go to local Republican fundraisers coded as “business” in his handwritten vehicle logs, as well as instances when trips to events billed as education-related also had calendar notes about political donors being present.  
Bennett also used tax dollars to send a staffer to attend the 2012 Republican Party convention on his behalf . . .
According to LoBianco, the report analogized Bennett's case to the recent federal prosecution of former Lake Co. Surveyor George Van Til, who pleaded guilty last December to six federal wire fraud counts related to the use of county employees and resources for his political campaigns. Bennett could have also been prosecuted for official misconduct and ghost employment under state law just like one of his predecessors, Harold Negley, who former Marion Co. Prosecutor Steve Goldsmith prosecuted on nearly identical charges. The question now that must be answered is why former U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett and Marion Co. Prosecutor Terry Curry, both Democrats, passed on prosecuting Bennett. What was the quid pro quo? Inquiring minds want to know. The answer should be quite obvious in both instances. Both of them should be holding their heads in shame for breaching their respective oaths of office.


Welsh then goes onto point out some interesting information about former Indiana Secretary of State now Congressman Todd Rokita and how one of the staff members cited in the Inspector General's report on Bennett office. Had a spouse who was mentioned in regards to alleged violations at the Secretary of State's office under Todd Rokita.


I (Gary Welsh) would be remiss if I didn't remind people that former Secretary of State Charlie White reported his predecessor, Todd Rokita, to the state's Inspector General and the Marion Co. Prosecutor, for similar violations after he and his staff uncovered campaign-related documents on the state's computers in his office when he took office. The spouse of one of the employees cited in the Inspector General's report on Bennett's office was at the center of those violations in the Secretary of State's office. Both the Inspector General and the Marion Co. Prosecutor's Office refused to investigate White's allegations. The State House media has refused to report on White's allegations because they don't like him and want him destroyed.

Here was my reaction last July when the IG's settlement agreement with Bennett was announced:
Clearly, the admissions made by Bennett involve violations of criminal statutes, including official misconduct and ghost employment under state law. Former Education Supt. Harold Negley was forced to resign and prosecuted for exactly those same offenses back in 1985 by then-Marion Co. Prosecutor Steve Goldsmith. The state ethics commission can recommend forwarding the findings to the prosecutor for further investigation, but nothing is stopping Marion Co. Prosecutor Terry Curry from acting on his own. It remains unclear why he sat back and allowed the Inspector General's investigation to play out before convening a grand jury to conduct his own independent investigation. Remarkably, Bennett's lawyers at Barnes & Thornburg claim they have an agreement with Curry not to prosecute him, which is a complete outrage if true. Curry claimed he planned to get tough on the prosecution of public corruption cases when he ran for office four years ago, but he declines to take any action in the most brazen cases set in front of him.
It is completely beyond reason as to why Tony Bennett was not charged like his predecessor in office Harold Negley was back in 1985 for pretty much the exact same offenses! Some democrats complained about the refusal to prosecute Bennett and such refusal certainly cost the democrats their chance to pick up some more elected offices. Why Todd Rokita has been allowed to skate by in the matter of their being claims made that their was campaign related documents on the state's computers is also astonishing. It is way past time that someone looked into Mr. Rokita and his tenure as Secretary of State! We all must be vigilant in regards to Tony Bennett. He and other's might have thought that with the unfortunate demise of Gary Welsh. That he and the other parasites and vultures that seek to drain the life blood out of the citizens of Indiana with nobody noticing them. Surprise! Gary Welsh maybe gone but his influence lives on! You know we will let the great actor Henry Fonda break it down for you:






Once again we are your host here at the Indy Republican Blog saying goodnight and be happy wherever you are. But before we leave you we want to share a little treasure from the good Tony Bennett and also a link to a podcast by that great freedom fighter himself MR. CHARLIE WHITE!


Here is Tony Bennett performing that great classic "Anything Goes" with Lady Gaga:











And last but certainly not least Charlie White's take on Tony Bennett: http://indianatalks.com/site/2014/10/the-charlie-white-show-10-29-14-podcast/





RINO Jim Merritt seeks to be Marion County GOP Chairman another reason why the Marion County GOP is Screwed!

It seems that the Marion County Republican Establishment has learned nothing from losing their greatest officeholder Indianapolis City-County Councilor Christine Scales! Word is out that Democratic Republican State Senator Jim Merritt has decided he is the cure for what ails the Marion County GOP. So he has decided to bestow upon them his great gifts be seeking to be their next chairman. Today's issue of the Indianapolis Business Journal has an article about Merritt's run for County Chairman:


State Sen. Jim Merritt is throwing his hat into the ring to become chairman of the Marion County Republican Party.
Merritt told IBJ that he “holds the party pretty close to my heart” and said his focus issues in the state Legislature—including poverty, hunger and addiction—are “ideally suited for Marion County and the urban Republican model.”
“If we don’t reach out to those addicted to drugs, those who are hungry, those who have vacant homes on their block, we are not doing our duty,” Merritt said. “I think the GOP should stand for community.”
Others are also expected to seek the leadership spot. A new chairman will be selected March 4 as part of the Marion County Republican Central Committee reorganization process.


IR has does not yet at this time have any information about any other candidates running for the chairman's position. Merritt may have ambitions beyond just being the new county chairman the article continues:


Many Republicans insiders believed that Merritt would run against Democrat Joe Hogsett, in the mayor's race in 2015, but he did not enter the GOP primary. The Republican candidate, businessman Chuck Brewer, ended up losing to Hogsett.
Democrats currently control the City-County Council, with 14 seats compared to Republicans’ 11 seats. Republican council member Christine Scales defected to become a Democrat this week.
Merritt, who represents portions of Marion and Hamilton counties as a state senator, said he believes "Republicans can win in Marion County with good organization.”


“We’re going to work on the grassroots,” Merritt said. “We’re going to work on raising money and working on communications and messaging. I think I can provide the leadership."
Merritt is seeking to replace Council Minority Leader Mike McQuillen, who led the party on a temporary basis until announcing he would step down this week.
"I believe that there is much work to do in my role as minority leader of the City-County Council, working with our Republican councillors to move the needle on thoughtful policy, hold the mayor accountable to the people, and prepare for 2019,” McQuillen said in a statement.
Asked if Merritt would be interested in running against Hogsett in 2019, he said he is focused on “reviving the party.”
“We’re not going to win the mayor’s office if we don’t have a strong party,” Merritt told IBJ.
Merritt said he counts on others running for the seat and that he will be working on a “full-throated plan of what I plan on doing in leading the party.”


A few thought come to mind. For one when Merritt says he is going to "work on the grassroots". We are all scratching our heads trying to figure out if there is any grass where this man walks. It is also beyond laughable the idea that Merritt could beat Hogsett in 2019! He is correct when he states that they will not win the mayor's office without a strong party. Merritt however does not have the intelligence, drive or leadership to rebuild the Marion County Republican Party. Writing on his blog a few years back the late, great Gary Welsh had this to say about Jim Merritt:


Readers should know a couple of things about Merritt. He is behind the cabal of good ole boys who drafted Tim Craft to move into Councilor Christine Scales' new third district and run against her in the Republican primary next year. He approved of the same council Republicans who never asked Lincoln Plowman to resign or leave the caucus after being indicted for taking a bribe from an undercover FBI agent booting Scales from the Republican caucus because of her conservative and independent streak. Former Chief of Staff Ryan Vaughn liked to copy Merritt on e-mails deriding Scales for putting her constituents ahead of their petty politics. Merritt would reply approvingly to Vaughn's cutting e-mails of Scales. Secondly, Merritt lobbied hard for the bone-headed decision to locate the Regional Operations Center at Alex Carroll's Eastgate Mall property despite the legitimate misgivings former Public Safety Director Frank Straub had with using that location. Know the man before you jump to support him.


All of us have only this to say. If the above mentioned facts by Gary Welsh about Merritt are any indication of his style of leadership. Then the hell with it! We will have no part of his faux brand of Republicanism!


For further reading:
http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com/2014/11/star-claims-exclusive-on-ballard-not.html

Marion County GOP pushes Christine Scales away




Christine Scales




Yesterday Indianapolis City-County Councilor Christine Scales announced on Facebook that she was leaving the Republican Party to become a Democrat. We here at IR have for many years supported Christine Scales and we all will continue to do so regardless of her party switch. We previously have mentioned the inept leadership of the Marion County Republican Party under former Mayor "Boss Greg" Ballard and current fellow RINO Traitor Mike McQuillen. Although we here are all very sorry that Councilor Scales has left the Grand Old Party. We certainly can sympathize with her decision to leave. She was treated abysmally by the apparatchiks that pass themselves off as republicans when real republicans like Paul Ogden, Christine Scales and the late great Gary Welsh are treated as pariahs for holding the parties officials accountable. As for ourselves we all have been Republicans for many decades. We will agitate for reform until we leave this world. The Republican Party of Marion County and of Indiana is not and has not been worthy of laying claim to the historic conservative and libertarian principles of the GOP for many years. There have been some positive developments such as the ousting of former US Senator Dick "Carpetbagger" Lugar in 2012 and the refusal of former Mayor Greg Ballard to run for a third term in 2015. But there is still a long way to go to reclaiming the Grand Old Party in the Hoosier state. As we have pointed out the state house republicans wish to raise our state gas tax, and continue to fund projects of dubious value such as the previously mentioned bicentennial projects that were started by former Governor and now Vice President Mike Pence. Along with shielding our state legislators emails from we the people. Former Governors Mitch Daniels, Mike Pence and now current Governor Eric Holcomb have all ran on making state government more transparent but have increased the secrecy surrounding government immensely. Former Governor Pence went as far as to push to keep his emails a secret and so far Eric Holcomb has shown no willingness to rollback previous administrations secrecy. If newly elected State GOP Chairman Kyle Hupfer so desires he can order a long needed overhaul of the Marion County Republican Party structure. Until the State Republican Party returns to its historic roots of limited government, opposing pay-to-play schemes, obeying the rule of law, and not blindly following ever yahoo that runs with an R after their name they will continue their deserved decline! If it must come to the point where the State GOP is reduced to rubble. So be it. All us true republicans will be there to rebuild and reclaim our parties heritage. Godspeed Christine Scales! And to all our fellow brothers and sisters in arms! In the words of the savior: "Let not your heart be troubled." John 14:1 also remember "Blessed are you who are persecuted for righteousness sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:10

Paul Ogden of Ogden on Politics fame and our colleague on the left and still the undisputed king of Indiana Democratic Bloggers Jon Easter have both written about Christine Scales Party switch. The links to their pieces are below:



Republican Indianapolis City Councilor becomes a Democrat:
http://www.ogdenonpolitics.com/2017/02/local-indianapolis-republican-councilor.html



Jon Easters post on Christine Scales party switch: