Commenting on this year's Indianapolis municipal election on his blog today, Jim Shella can't help but show his bias in favor of Mayor Peterson's re-election. With five weeks to go before the election, Shella predicts "turnout will be low." He explains, "There are few exciting races, especially in Indianapolis where Republican Mayoral candidate Greg Ballard is still running a stealth campaign and few voters know who represents them on the City County Council." "Voters dislike incumbents, but one strategist tells me that polling indicates they don't like candidates, either." " The best protest vote for some will be no vote at all." Shella thinks the public has already forgotten about the property tax crisis, not to mention widespread discontent with government run amok.
Shella is scheduled to moderate a debate between Peterson and his GOP challenger this Thursday night. You can bet he has already figured out in advance what his spin on the two candidates will be following the joint appearance. It will go like this: Peterson didn't make any mistakes and Ballard failed to say anything that will make a difference with voters. Ergo, Peterson won and Ballard lost. Ballard needs to be alert. Rest assured Shella will make every attempt to trip Ballard up on some meaningless nuance during the debate, which he will immediately jump on as evidence Ballard isn't up to the job. If I were Ballard's campaign manager, I would have never agreed to a debate moderated solely by Shella. He is convinced Ballard is a loser, and he will do everything in his power as moderator to make sure voters come away with that opinion. Hopefully, Ballard has been well-prepped for this important televised appearance with Peterson.
20 comments:
Does Ballard still want to privatize the Marion County Fairgrounds?
No Wilson!
You are such a Pin Head. I did hear that Bart wants to eliminate IndyGo so you have to walk to Andria's office. You could ask SweetPea for a ride if you can find the invisible crook!
Who knows what Mallard wants to do? His campaign is invisible.
I used to watch Shella but since he can not be fair and objective and he lets Ann Delaney run her mouth I don't bother. It is no different with his pieces for channel 8.
I don't know why the Peterson trolls are being so mean here? Shella is pimping the man the best he can.
Wilson 00000....go back to sleep
Shella on Ballard:
"The Republicans have not one, but six candidates, all of them no-names." 2-23-07
"So, you ask, when Republican Greg Ballard is still putting together a campaign organization (his press secretary doesn't have business cards yet), why spend the money?" (6-12-07)
"Look for Greg Ballard to get some TV commercials on the air next week. The Republican candidate for Mayor of Indianapolis has a little money (the ads will be 10 seconds long) and suddenly Bart Peterson has some vulnerabilities." (7-20-07)--Information provided to Shella by person who spoke w/o authority or knowledge
"Still looking for Greg Ballard for Mayor TV ads? Me too. The ads for the Republican candidate originally planned for this week are produced and ready to go, according to a source, but will not begin this week." (7-26-07)--More disinformation fed to Shella to make Ballard look bad
"Unlike most challengers, Greg Ballard did not request a debate. We offered one. Mayor Bart Peterson agreed and even issued a press release to that effect. We await word that Ballard will take part." (8-24-07) Shella helps O'Connor out with debate negotiation strategy.
"Campaign representatives for Greg Ballard responded to the last posting in this blog by calling and saying they are "definitely in" for televised debate with Bart Peterson." (8-24-07)--later same day. O'Connor strategy worked.
"Then you have the Fraternal Order of Police endorsing Greg Ballard in the race for Mayor. After they endorsed Greg Jordan four years ago, the FOP got handed some bad contracts and a police merger by their political enemy Mayor Bart Peterson. Do you think they could learn something from the First Lady?" (9-12-07) Finding reason to disparage even the positive news
"Lora Miller left as campaign manager with less than two months to go. She was a novice at this and her departure will be easily explained by some. Yet her replacement comes from within the campaign, has less experience, and the shift is a hint at disarray in the campaign. Plus, did I mention, its September." (9-13-07)-More disparaging of Ballard campaign.
"Forget the fussing about amateur ads on the Internet (authorized or not, the effectiveness is questionable.) Greg Ballard says real television ads for his campaign will hit the air before the end of the month." "He indicates, however, that financing for the ads depends on fundraising events planned for the next couple of weeks. Pretty soon it will be time to get the campaign organization in gear." (9-18-07)-More disparaging of Ballard because he campaign isn't purchasing air time from Shella's employer.
A decision on when to start the ads is still pending but the source says radio ads will begin in the near future.
"More disparaging of Ballard because he campaign isn't purchasing air time from Shella's employer."
This, and Shella's other comments, are factual. I don't know whether Ballard is up to the task, or whether he is a looser. Those are Advance Indiana's words, not Shella's. The fact is there is no mayoral race in Indianapolis. Advance is attempting to make something out of nothing.
Well, if you think Peterson has it in the bag, then there's no reason for Democrats to bother coming out to vote, correct? Just stay home and get ready for the next four years with Mayor Peterson.
[Not that Beth White can run an election but that's beside the point]
Word is that Eric Dickerson has volunteered to organize Greg Ballard's Election Night Victory Celebration...
Pay no attention to Wilson. Few do.
I don't think Ballard will win, but I'd like a good race, and we're just not getting it. The conspiracy theorists get fanned hourly by IndyU, and once in a while, that happens here, too.
Shella is right about half the time. Which makes him 200% better than Tully, and most of the rest. Did you ever stop to think, however mean-spirited the observations may be, that they're (mostly) correct?
I remember not so awfully long ago, that we Democrats were in the same pickle the GOP finds itself now. These things tend to ebb and flow, and Democrats would be wise not to gloat. 'Tis rude and unseemly. (hint, Wilson...)
Bart by eight to ten.
Was Ballard invited to the big party that Murray Clark and Fred Glass threw last week for the Dem and Repub movers and shakers in Indy?
You see, Ballard is not a part of the inner circle of the Downtown K's.
Ballard reminds me of when Democrat Brad Sendon ran against Hudnut when the Dems couldn't find anyone to run for Mayor. But at least Brad was a Party insider unlike Ballard. Both were just cannon fodder.
Ballard was at the Capitol Caucus, so there goes your conspiracy theory, 9:21. Get over it.
Uh, it doesn't answer the question: was he invited? I doubt it. (It CAN be checked)
I keep hearing a lot of people say they like it that Ballard isn't deep into party politics.
That's the problem. Too many politicians pander to the party and not to the people to whom they are charged to serve.
The GOP is in bed with Peterson and everyone knows it. It's dirty politics at its worst in Detroit south.
Hopefully the people will save this race for the people and Ballard will get elected. There are some October surprises in store for sure.
I see Jen Wagner taking a shot back at me for criticizing her bust bud, Jim Shella. Anyone who follows his reporting picks up pretty quickly on the fact that he relies on her often as a source. She does an excellent job getting out her message for Democrats through Shella. I would think as highly of him as she does if he was carrying water for my message as well. People who have watched him on Indiana Week In Review week in and week out for years know that what I'm saying about his bias is absolutely true.
Are you guys really suggesting that Ballard crashed the B&D Capital Caucus? He was there. I'm sure he was invited. Pop goes the conspiracy theory.
And Gary, I find it strange that your strategy of getting the media to pay attention to what you say involves slinging mud at them and calling them biased.
Jim Shella talks to just as many Republicans as he does Democrats. Hell, we all talk to -- and about! -- each other.
I know you're desperate to shore up Ballard as a candidate. You did the same thing for Eric Dickerson, and it was just as sad to watch.
You've now blamed everyone from the media to Tom John to Murray Clark for a basic premise that you seem unwilling to admit: Greg Ballard's a lousy candidate, and his campaign has been equally lousy.
With respect to your near-constant media-bashing, as my dear mother has always said, you'll catch more flies with sugar than you will with salt.
And as an added bonus, you won't wind up looking like someone who's hopelessly devoted to losing candidates.
Jen, my darling, my parents taught me that it is better to stand by one's principles and lose than to lose one's principles and win. The machiavellian thing might be your style, but it's not mine. Knock it all you want. I sleep with a clear conscience at night. You have hurled insult after insult at Ballard--a man you have never met and know little about. He has a wife and two children. I just really don't like the casual way in which you go about leveling very personal attacks against people. You do it all the time over at Taking Down Words, showing a picture of Daniels, Skillman or someone else and making a comment with sexual innuendo, their mental aptitude or worse. It's not enough to point out your policy differences with them. You have to find a way to personally injure them in some way. I'm all for political humor, and some politicians in particular invite it, but you really take it too far sometimes. You say it's sad to watch, but you bother to comment because you fear some people might be buying into my message. To people like you, I don't belong. I'm not part of your little elite clique of thinkers who think they know better than all the rest of us who just crawled up out of the sewer. You just do your little thing over there, and I will do mine here. I'll leave it to others whose message they want to buy into.
"With respect to your near-constant media-bashing, as my dear mother has always said, you'll catch more flies with sugar than you will with salt."
Jen honey, since when did you start using sugar to catch flies? The only thing flying through the air around you is mud.
Jen, as a blogger, I don't see Gary's role as being a person who sucks up to the media. You are spokeslady for the Democratic Party. That's your job. I like it when bloggers act as critics of the media from different perspectives so I can better filter what I'm reading in the newspaper and watching on the television news. Keep doing what you do so well, Gary. We need your perspective.
Why worry about Jen. The Dem State Party she works for is one lost Governor's race from shutting it's doors anyway.
With Hillary at the top of their ticket I'd be sending out resume right now if I were Jen.
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