Todd Rokita-Luke Messer Primary Battle getting nasty Part I of II

Congressman Luke Messer

Former Indiana Secretary of State now Congressman Todd Rokita 

Indy Republican has been asked by many of our readers to cover the ongoing feud between Congressmen Luke Messer and Todd Rokita in their potential battle for the GOP Senate nomination to take on incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly next year. This feud is even more bizarre given that neither Mister's Messer or Rokita have officially filed to run in next years Senate primary. 

IR apologizes for our delay in covering this slug fest. But due to the myriad of twists and turns in this case we felt a need to gather more information before proceeding to write about this in depth. So we have decided to do our first two part blog post. The Rokita-Messer dispute stared back in May of this year attacks started to appear in the press on Luke Messer's wife Jennifer over a contract she has to perform legal tasks for the City of Fishers for which Mrs. Messer is paid $20,000 per month. 

Brian Slodysko reported for the Associated Press on May 11, 2017 "Fishers pays Rep Luke Messer's wife 20K/month" had this to say: 

A burgeoning Indianapolis suburb has paid the wife of an influential congressman $580,000 since 2015 for legal consulting she largely does from the Washington, D.C., area, an unusually large sum even in a state rife with highly paid government contractors, according to a review by the Associated Press.

Jennifer Messer, the wife of Republican Rep. Luke Messer, makes $20,000 a month working as a contract attorney for Fishers, according to the AP's review of public documents. That's drastically more than either of the city's two staff attorneys are paid — or many other government lawyers in Indiana.

In a statement issued late Thursday (May 11th, 2017), Luke Messer defended his wife's job, calling her "the brains of the Messer outfit" and pointing out that her work as a lawyer predated his political career.

Both Jennifer Messer and Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, a rising Republican star in Indiana, say the arrangement has been beneficial to the city and helped usher in an era of "unprecedented" economic success in the growing suburb of about 85,000 people.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness responded by defending his city's contract with Jennifer Messer. John Tuohy reported Mayor Fadness's response in the Indianapolis Star's Hamilton County News section on May 12th, 2017. Mr Tuohy reported the following:

Amid a torrent of criticism on social media, Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness on Friday defended his $240,000 per year hiring of Jennifer Messer, the wife of U.S. Rep. Luke Messer, to handle city legal business from Washington, D.C.

Fadness said the contract with Messer saves the city money, and he has no plans to drop her. Messer said the implication she was being paid gratuitously for little work was "straight-up sexist."

"She has worked with Fishers since 2010, well before her husband was in Congress, and authored every major economic deal we've completed for the past several years," Fadness said in an interview with IndyStar. "I looked around and concluded she was the most qualified and experienced outside lawyer we could hire."

If anyone is interested click here to look at Jennifer Messer's contract with Fishers.

Jennifer Messer also responded to criticism of her legal work for Fishers in an Op-Ed published on May 15th, 2017. Mrs. Messer's wrote:

Last week I (Jennifer Messer) was featured in a news story about the fact that I provide legal services for the city of Fishers. The story was unfair, intellectually dishonest and straight-up sexist. You know the charge — congressman’s wife (by the way I have a name; it’s Jennifer Messer) gets paid too much for not really doing very much — leaving the presumption that me and the local municipality are doing something wrong.

Well, these are the facts:

• I (Jennifer Messer) have worked with Fishers for nearly eight years, and Fishers was my client two years before my husband was elected to Congress.

• I am paid well for my legal services but the city is paying less today for legal services than it was before its contract with my firm.

• I work diligently for Fishers and have never, in eight years, taken my job for granted. My job is a privilege — not just because I love the economic development work that I do, but because I work with a group of rock-stars. These are people who wake up every day and want to make Fishers a better place for its residents, potential residents and businesses.

• There are simply no facts suggesting that Fishers has received anything as a result of my husband being a member of Congress. Put simply, the premise of the entire Associated Press story is false.

Before we proceed to the most recent developments in the Messer-Rokita Smackdown. We all would like to comment on Jennifer Messer's Op-Ed.

Indy Republican does not necessarily believe that the criticism's of the City of Fishers contract with Jennifer Messer are completely unwarranted. We don't know. But as far as we have been able to discern Jennifer Messer is absolutely right in stating that there is no evidence her contract with Fishers has anything to do with her husband being in Congress. The fact that she was hired two years before her husbands having been elected to congress would seem to undercut the allegation that she was hired because of her husband. Legitimate questions could be raised as to whether her contract with Fishers is a wise use of taxpayer money. But that is a matter for the municipal government in Fishers it has nothing to do with Congress. Our suggestion to Todd Rokita's campaign or whatever parties are involved in these pieces designed to damage Luke Messer is: Confine your criticisms to actions that have been performed by Congressman Messer himself. Leave Jennifer Messer out of this. You may regret attacking Jennifer Messer. God knows we would!

In Part II we will continue our coverage by discussing some interesting alterations that have been done on both Luke Messer and Todd Rokita's Wikipedia pages.

To be continued........

Remember to have a party after your vasectomy!

We thought we had heard it all. But the idea of partying with friends to celebrate having a vasectomy is a new one for us. If anyone wants to know more about this completely stupid activity that only Mike Pence would think is cool. Remember Mike Pence has no balls! Read Harriet Torry's "It's a Vasectomy Party! Snips, Chips, and Dips with your Closest Friends!" Published in today's Wall Street Journal. Thoughts anybody?

In Defense of the "Armchair Sleuth", we wouldn't need them if the ISP had a better image!

Exhibit A: Unsolved murder of "Pixie" Grismore shows why we need "armchair sleuths"

It was reported in yesterday's Indianapolis Star that the Indiana State Police wanted people on Facebook to stop posting pictures of men that the users think bear a resemblance to the composite drawing of the suspect in the February murders of Liberty German and Abigail Williams. The two were murdered in February east of Delphi. The article is entitled: "ISP to Facebook users: Stop "armchair sleuthing" on Delphi murders".

Vic Ryckaert reports:

Indiana State Police are urging users of the social media platform to stop posting pictures of men alongside the composite sketch of the Delphi murder suspect.

"Those are of no value and take up investigative time," said Capt. Dave Bursten, ISP's chief public information officer.

Investigators have received more than 500 new tips since they released the composite sketch of the man they believe killed 14-year-old Liberty German and 13-year-old Abigail Williams.

The girls disappeared  Feb. 13 while hiking near Monon High Bridge in a wooded, remote area east of Delphi. Their bodies were found the next day about a half-mile from the bridge.

Bursten on Wednesday cited a growing problem of "armchair sleuthing" by people who have combed websites to find mugshots of random men who resemble the sketch. Some people post their dubious detective work on Facebook, he said.

"A person that does that may open themselves up to some civil liability," Bursten said. "They will have to suffer the consequences of their own stupidity."

"They are placing themselves in legal jeopardy, and they are doing absolutely nothing to help the investigation," he said.

Tips, legitimate tips that is, on the murders should go to the hotline, (844) 459-5786, or abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com, Bursten said.

First IR would like to express our most sincere sympathies to the friends and families of the two women killed in the Delphi murders. And if anyone out there has information about this case please call the police.

Contrary to the statements made by Captain Dave Bursten. The reason we need "armchair sleuths" is exactly because of the distrust many people  have regarding the ISP. Longtime readers of Gary Welsh's Advance Indiana blog might recognize Captain Bursten's name. Gary first made mention of Bursten back in May 2011 in his post about the unsolved 1978 murder of Mary Beth "Pixie" Grismore of Marshal, Indiana whose death is rumored by some to have been a political cover up. Grismore who was found murdered in Ohio in 1978 was rumored to have had an affair with former Senator Birch Bayh. Welsh had pointed out how although the Ohio Attorney Generals website has Grismore's case mentioned on their cold case website here. That the ISP didn't not list the case on their website. 

Welsh did here from Captain then Sergeant Bursten of the ISP. Welsh wrote in 2011:

UPDATE: Sgt. Dave Bursten, public information officer for the Indiana State Police, has confirmed the Grismore case is still an open investigation. He said the closing of the Terre Haute post and revamping of the agency's website is why her case is not listed as a cold case file. Bursten said anyone with information or tips regarding the case should telephone the agency's hotline at 1-800-453-4756.

Two months later in July 2011. Gary Welsh posting about the still unsolved disappearance of Indiana University student Lauren Spierers. Welsh mentioned that the ISP still had not put Pixie Grismores case on their cold case website.

Welsh had this to say in his July 2011 post:

The Indiana State Police don't even have her case listed on their website as a cold case file, a fact a police spokesman told me was simply due to an oversight during a revamping of the department's website. Nearly two months after I raised the question, the omission has still not been corrected. Her case is listed on the state of Ohio's cold case list, even though all investigatory leads led them right back to Indiana. No, the Indiana State Police have no intention of trying to discover who actually murdered Mary Beth Grismore. Let's hope Indiana police are truly interested in solving the disappearance case of Lauren Spierers.

Unfortunately as of this writing no trace of Lauren Spierers has ever been found. 

Welsh last all of us can tell mentioned Bursten in a 2014 post regarding an investigation the ISP was conducting at the request of the Marion County Prosecutors Office. 

Here is the master's last known mention of Bursten:

Hey, Capt. Bursten, I'm still waiting for ISP to include Pixie Grismore's unsolved murder on your cold case list that you told me a couple of years ago was going to occur in short order. Isn't her case just one in a long string of cases your agency has deep-sixed for corrupt political motives?

Indy Republican's staff recently checked the ISP's cold case website and even after six years the Grismore case is still not on their cold case list. This hardly inspires confidence in Captain Bursten that after six years they still have apparently done nothing to solve Pixie Grismore's murder or the disappearance of Lauren Spierers. Also the forcing out of the ISP's former corruption commander Sgt. Ryan Harmon after Harmon kept pushing on a sex scandal at Martinsville High School click here for more information on Harmon's case. There is also the questionable conduct of Indiana State Police Detective Paul Hansard regarding the railroading of former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White. Click here for information on Paul Hansard.

Our position is unless or until the ISP shows a willingness to take steps to salvage its reputation among Hoosiers. Then we say  to Captain Bursten that if he the ISP keeps giving the impression that they are not able or willing to investigate crimes committed in Indiana. That he should get used to their being a lot more "armchair sleuths", not less. 

So to all the fellow "armchair sleuths" out there we salute you!

Easily Fooled Opportunist Mike Pence should resign the Vice Presidency now!

Mike Pence praying that people are buying this bullsh@! he is peddling

Good evening everyone in cyberspace! Well we here at IR had thought we could give Mike Pence at least till Halloween to prove himself as Vice President. Old Mikey though continues to exceed the already low opinions we have of him. Only six months into what we hope will be his only term as Vice President. We honestly can say we have seen enough. Our advice to the Vice President is: "Resign now while you still can!" After countless denials of what is going on in the administration that he is part of. He is either a fool, a damned liar, or both. 

In an article published on IndyStar.com today called "Vice President Mike Pence unaware of Donald Trump Jr's Russia meeting" Tony Cook reports:

"The Vice President is working every day to advance the President's agenda, which is what the American people sent us here to do," Pence spokesman Marc Lotter said in a written statement. "The Vice President was not aware of the meeting. He is not focused on stories about the campaign, particularly stories about the time before he joined the ticket."

Trump's oldest son released emails Tuesday showing he knew the damaging information he was seeking about Hillary Clinton was being peddled by the highest levels of the Russian government. 

Told that the Russians had "incriminating information" about his father's Democratic campaign rival, Donald Trump Jr. responded: "If it's what you say, I love it."

The emails appear to back up the most damning revelation in New York Times reports that Trump's closest associates and family members actively sought information they knew was part of a high-level Russian government effort to support Trump's campaign.

Pence has repeatedly denied any contacts between Trump associates and Russia since taking office as vice president.  

During a round of Sunday morning news show appearances in mid-January, Pence told John Dickerson of CBS' Face the Nation that there had been no contacts. 

"I think to suggest that is to give credence to some of these bizarre rumors that have swirled around the candidacy," Pence said at the time.

That same day, Chris Wallace of Fox News Sunday, asked Pence if he had asked whether there had been any contacts between Trump associates and the Russian government or its intermediaries.

"Of course not," he said. "Why would there be any contacts between the campaign?"

A month later, Trump's national security adviser Michael Flynn was fired for lying to Pence about contacts with a Russian official. 

Pence has also said he did not know Flynn had secretly lobbied for the Turkish government, despite reports claiming Flynn had actually disclosed to the Trump transition team back in January that he was under a federal investigation.

Pence was leading the transition team at the time.

Once again Tony Cook writes another article that is so good we can't figure out why he is still employed by The Indianapolis Star also known as the CIA's paper of record. He points out very well about how it is strange that Pence claims he didn't know that former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn had lobbied for Turkey. Even though it appears that Flynn disclosed this to Trumps transition team which Mike Pence was in charge of!

Also as we have chronicled on this blog several times. Pence spokesman Marc Lotter is not to be believed on anything. He is a former lackey of "Godfather" Governor Mitch Daniels and former Indianapolis Mayor "Boss Greg" Ballard!

Also his actions as Governor ranging from his stiffing the Hoosier state with the bill for Bicentennial projects, to picking Eric Holcomb as his successor, and appointing that dumb as a door post Rick Hite to run the Indiana Civil Rights Commission. These actions as Governor and his unbelievable denials and asskissing he has committed as Vice President show clearly he needs to leave political life entirely. 

C'mon Mikey! You are obviously stressed out, and tired after rolling out of bed at noon everyday. Public life doesn't suit you. Find something else worthwhile and salvage something of your dignity. Just resign and leave Washington. 

A reader of ours posted a comment back in May of this year saying: "MIKE PENCE IS POLITICAL MENTAL PORNAGRAPHY TO THE CRITICAL THINKER PLEDGING ALLEGIANCE TO RESCUE OF THE REPUBLIC." We of course are not sure what kind of porn they are comparing Pence to. It could be 1990's scrambled porn, midget porn, etc. Who knows!

Here are what some others think of Vice President Pence:

John Weaver @JWGOP

Replying to @BillKristol

The Sgt. Schultz act won't survive. Jerry Ford without the lasting friendships, integrity or balls.4:53 PM · Jul 11, 2017 from Cannes, France

51 Retweets

236 Likes

Lane Terrell @WorldTrvlrDaddy·6h

Replying to @JWGOP and @BillKristol

Exactly! @JWGOP This whole episode will amount to a very short resurrection of his career.

Middle Is @MAmichigander·6h

And when it's all done, we in Indiana respectfully request that he and his mother stay the hell away from us.

    https://twitter.com/BeingKimmieToo/status/884848982048088064

Vote out Pledge Breaking Congressman Markwayne Mullin!

Rep. Markwayne Mullin RINO-OK

According to a July 5, 2017 article by Cristina Marcos published on thehill.com Congressman Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma has decided to violate his original pledge to serve only six years in congress and run for another term. 

Marcos writing for The Hill reports:

In a video posted by his campaign, Mullin said he and his family originally only expected a six-year run when he first launched a bid for the House in 2012.

But after feeling frustrated during his first two terms trying to work with the Obama administration, Mullin said he wanted to stick around while President Trump is in office.

"We looked at each other and we said, 'We're running again,' " Mullin said of a conversation with his wife, Christie.

"We understand that people are going to be upset. And we get that. We understand it," Mullin said. "I'm not hiding from that. Because we did say we were going to serve six years."

Mullin appeared jointly in the video with his wife, who said they initially worried that a tenure in Congress would negatively impact their family and plumbing business.

"We truly felt like we would serve six years and have to come back and patch together our family, like pick our business up," Christie Mullin said.

But their worst fears never came to fruition, she said.

"Our kids said, 'Dad, yes, you have to run again!' " she said.

Markwayne Mullin attributed his decision to having a better understanding of how politics works and said his position has simply evolved over time.

"I don't think there's one person that's never changed their mind six years apart from each other or how they would approach things," Mullin said.

This is not the first time that Congressman Mullin has drawn criticism during his time in office. Back in April Mr. Mullin was under fire for saying that it is "bull crap" the idea that taxpayers pay his salary.

On April 13. 2017 Nikita Vladimirov wrote: 

Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) faced off with constituents at a town hall this week, telling the members of the audience that they don't pay his salary.

"You say you pay for me to do this? That’s bullcrap," Mullin said at the town hall in Jay, Okla., according to a video of the incident.

"I pay for myself. I paid enough taxes before I got here and continue to through my company to pay my own salary. This is a service. No one here pays me to go,” he added.

After constituents pushed back, Mullin reiterated that being a lawmaker is not "how I make my living."

“I’m just saying ... this is a service for me, not a career, and I thank God this is not how I make my living,” he said.

The article states that Mullin owns Mullin Plumbing. Which is presumably how Mullin makes most of his money since he claims not to be a "career politician".

IR knew nothing of Mullin until this past week. But just judging by the tone that Mullin takes and the overall dishonesty that permeates from this man's mouth. He should be voted out of office! 

Fortunately Republicans already have a good candidate challenging Mr. Mullin in next years GOP congressional primary. His name is Jarrin Jackson. He ran against Mullin in the 2016 primary. He is an Afghan War veteran, an executive of a nonprofit organization, and a fierce advocate of term limits. He also opposes nation building. If anyone is interested in helping Mr. Jackson in his bid to oust Mullin from Congress you can click here to go to his website and help out his campaign. 

Hill's Columns on Mullin:

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/340698-gop-lawmaker-reverses-term-limit-pledge?amp

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/328615-gop-rep-bullcrap-to-say-taxpayers-pay-my-salary-i-pay-for

Mullin's Primary Challenger Jarrin Jackson's website:

http://jarrinjackson.com/