Comments on Advance Indiana™: What To Do With Our Corrupt Marion County Republicans?

Brian, We have given Mayor Ballard 26 months of &...

2010-03-17T16:01:56.948-05:00

Brian,

We have given Mayor Ballard 26 months of "chances." All he does is stab us in the back and betray Republican principles. The man governs as a liberal, big government, corporate welfare loving, gun rights hating Republican In Name Only. (RINO).

I can hardly think of a Republican princple that Mayor Ballard has not betrayed. The only Indiana Republican I can think of who is even comparable to Ballard is former State Senator Virginia Blankenbaker who was also despised by rank and file Republicans.

Please tell me why we should support someone who has betrayed virtually every Republcian princple there is and is governing as a less competent version of Peterson? Is Ballard going to suddenly wake up and govern like he ran? 26 months of history says "no."

I deal with the Ballard administration on the legal front line. You would not believe how much the Republican Ballard administration defends the Peterson shenanigans pulled off after the 2007 election. You would also not believe how much the Republican administration is willing to defend wrongdoing by the Democratic Sheriff Frank Anderson.

Please give me some reason to support Ballard besides the fact he has an "R" by his name. After 26 months, I don't see any other reason to "give him a chance."

Good post Gary. I agree about the "blackeye&...

2010-03-17T14:15:58.868-05:00

Good post Gary.

I agree about the "blackeye" that certain members of the GOP have brought to Marion County.

Growing up in Lake County, there are times I see no difference in the problems the Democrats have there with what the GOP does here.

But I also don't think that we should give up on Greg Ballard.

The man deserves the chance.

So sorry. My comment should have said back soon ,...

2010-03-17T13:44:17.537-05:00

So sorry. My comment should have said back soon , not bad.

This is one of the best articles I have read. Than...

2010-03-16T19:57:11.286-05:00

This is one of the best articles I have read. Thank you and thanks for all the well written comments.

I hope the hospital trip is short and you are bad soon.

I look forward to future articles.

get better soon. if there is anything i can to to...

2010-03-16T15:04:29.497-05:00

get better soon. if there is anything i can to to help, let me know.

Take it easy Gary and get well! Our prayers are wi...

2010-03-16T14:09:21.495-05:00

Take it easy Gary and get well! Our prayers are with you!

Gary, seriously, it's time to think about Albu...

2010-03-16T10:55:45.540-05:00

Gary, seriously, it's time to think about Albuquerque, Vegas, or Phoenix.

Imagine a pyramid of political power. At the very ...

2010-03-16T10:27:49.527-05:00

Imagine a pyramid of political power. At the very top are the corporations that run this town. Directly underneath are various politicians and political operatives acting under multiple motives [ego; financial gain; revenge; sociopathy; et cetera, et cetera, et cetera]. These include political party leadership [lawyers and lobbyists]. As long as the actors lower down the pyramid don't aberrate in ways that damages the credibility of the entire structure they are tolerated [e.g. Brizzi, Plowman, Monroe Gray, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera]. If they do they get toasted. At and near the bottom of the pyramid are many well-intentioned [non-delusional] political activists such as many of the committeepersons of both parties who innocently and inadvertently hold up much of the corruption. If the committeepersons of both parties [who actually agree on a lot of things other than guns, abortion, immigrants, et cetera] ever go together they could make a change.

Rest well, and take care.

2010-03-16T07:53:04.690-05:00

Rest well, and take care.

Sorry to report that I'm back in the hospital ...

2010-03-16T06:51:20.137-05:00

Sorry to report that I'm back in the hospital to treat blood clots in my lungs. Probably will be here for a few days. I don't anticipate blogging much this week.

Good article! We had to clean house with Republica...

2010-03-15T22:35:52.301-05:00

Good article! We had to clean house with Republicans up here in Crown Point a couple years ago. Mayor Dan Klein offered a company called Plasmatronics half a million dollars to open up in CP. They never came (in fact they have now claimed bankruptcy...probably because they were claiming to make/sell a product that didn't exist or even work!...hmmm no scam here!), but most of the money was paid out. Now the FBI is investigating as some of the claims that city paid were paid for services that were never rendered. It's funny that klein had some contributions from Indy that couldn't necessarily be traced to a real company or person. Couldn't be that there was something funny going on now could there be?

...and yet all these years the well-meaning fools ...

2010-03-15T11:32:43.336-05:00

...and yet all these years the well-meaning fools who want good government stay with the filthy Republicans.

Had you left the party years ago and defected to the libertarians, we'd have the clean government we all want already.

The Marion County GOP is full of sociopaths. How much more proof do you need? It is not going to ever be cleaned up.

The mayor also conveniently forgets to tell us tha...

2010-03-15T11:29:44.352-05:00

The mayor also conveniently forgets to tell us that the legal fees received by Barnes & Thornburg on behalf of Veolia water will be astronomical.

The problem is the corruption is now starting to c...

2010-03-15T09:24:17.833-05:00

The problem is the corruption is now starting to cost the taxpayers 'BIG' money! I could look past them handing out contracts and putting a few thousand dollars in their pockets. Big now it's huge contracts and bond payments. When they blow up (Lucas Oil and the Water Company) it cost the people of Marion county millions! I honestly think we have started on the decline of the American empire. I don't know if you caught the story on Yahoo but Social Security is projected to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes — nearly $29 billion more.
How long will the rest of the world finance our debt? What's really disgusting is that state and city governments are starting to act like the Federal government and spend money they don't have. It doesn't seem to matter if you are a Republican or a Democrat. We are heading down the same road as England. Eventually they will have to raise taxes to pay for all of this silliness. I can understand why people are saying I will take care of myself and screw the rest of the world.

Thank you for this very principled report. I do s...

2010-03-15T00:49:05.721-05:00

Thank you for this very principled report. I do share your disillusionment. Most people will continue to not even bother to vote in our local elections, even though Libertarians go to so much trouble to give them a choice.

Cato, I agree totally that Vaughn is not a stooge...

2010-03-14T20:13:42.607-05:00

Cato,

I agree totally that Vaughn is not a stooge of Ballard, though I would point out that Vaughn himself is definitely a stooge. He is bought and paid for by B&T's Grand and Loftus.

I don't agree that he has a long career ahead of him on "The Team." Vaughn's career in any sort of a leadership position expires on Election Day 2011. Vaughn, Tom John and others are going to be run out of town for the damage they've done to the Republican Party. Vaughn may be able to hold onto his seat on the council as a back bencher but his days as a leader in the GOP will be gone.

Cato makes an interesting point about politicians ...

2010-03-14T19:21:49.630-05:00

Cato makes an interesting point about politicians who are afraid of the moneyed movers and shakers.

It is easy to forget that lots of our elected folks are just regular people and in many cases probably look up to the wealthy and connected. Sometimes people want so badly to be 'part of the club' that they don't stop to consider whether the club is serving everyone's best interest.

Those who are willing to question everything and buck the system from time to time are generally easier to respect than those who just rubber stamp it all.

What the current crop of politicians seems to igno...

2010-03-14T17:14:52.154-05:00

What the current crop of politicians seems to ignore is they are elected to serve the best interests of their constituents - not their party, not their employers and certainly not their own careers.

Vaughn is absolutely not a stooge for the Ballard ...

2010-03-14T15:58:53.592-05:00

Vaughn is absolutely not a stooge for the Ballard administration. Vaughn was part of the control group that got Ballard elected.

Vaughn predates Ballard. Vaughn is an attorney who has a long career ahead of him on The Team. Ballard is the current stooge of Vaughn and the big people behind Vaughn.

Ballard is an empty vessel who has no ability to say "no, thanks" to the moneyed interests, because he's afraid of them, and he can't find troops and leadership anywhere else.

Remember, the Republicans openly backed Peterson over Gilroy, and Ballard has been advised that he needs to play ball, or he'll be a very lonely man. If he had his druthers, Ballard might very well bring you, me and Ogden in to run the administration, but Ballard is afraid that guys like us can't protect him from the big Republicans.

Ballard has been told that if he plays his cards right, he'll be set in Indy for the rest of his life.

Erich, I agree...Indy politics is strange. Both ...

2010-03-14T13:59:12.179-05:00

Erich,

I agree...Indy politics is strange. Both the Ds and Rs look out for each other when it comes to these insider deals that makes the corporate elites in the city rich at taxpayer expense. Both parties seem to be run by one entity - a corporate community that loves the corporate welfare both parties have handed out at the expense of the taxpayers

Excellent post and an example of why you're so...

2010-03-14T12:47:45.832-05:00

Excellent post and an example of why you're sorely needed in the blogosphere! Before the Kool-Aid drinking Republicans start criticizing you as a traitor for speaking ill of fellow Republicans, let me offer this food for thought.

The Bible says that judgment begins in the House of God, and we can apply this same principle to politics as well. Unless we're willing to clean our own Republican houses, we're nothing less than hypocrits when we chastise Democrats for their misdeeds.

As a mother and grandmother, I can offer another analogy. If my child or grandchild were caught stealing a candy bar from the corner drugstore, would I be much of a parent if I tried to cover up or ignore his/her petty crime? Of course not!

A good parent would march that little butt right down to the store and have him/her confess his crime, apologize, and take whatever punishment he/her has coming.

It's called tough love, and it's a good prevention method for children who could well grow up to commit more serious crimes if the small ones aren't nipped in the bud.

Some of the alleged crimes being committed by Republicans in Indy are not small ones, and one can only wonder if these crimes could have been avoided had fellow Republicans criticized the smaller ones a little sooner rather than overlook them for the sake of party unity.

I want to belong to a party that I can be proud of. Some of the actions from some Republican officeholders are shameful, and it's so bad that others from around the country are starting to watch and wonder if Indiana has been infected by the corrupt politicians from the neighboring state of Illinois.

I hope and pray that the feds go after every evil doer in our party, and if that makes me a disloyal Republican, then maybe it's not a party worth supporting anymore. I'm hopeful that there's something left to salvage once the dust settles.

I agree, Paul, that the council Rs need to functio...

2010-03-14T12:25:52.258-05:00

I agree, Paul, that the council Rs need to function more independently, but that's not happening. Ryan Vaughn, a stooge for the Ballard administration, is the CCC President. The litmus test for appointing Kent Smith's and now Lincoln Plowman's successor is perceived loyalty to Ballard. There are perhaps two R councilors at most who aren't afraid to buck Ballard.

I don't live in the area or understand what is...

2010-03-14T11:58:25.010-05:00

I don't live in the area or understand what is going on, but there is something seriously wrong with the Democratic party, even if it is simple ineffectiveness.

In Iowa we have a Democratic legislature, Democratic governor, but a Republican auditor who does a good job pointing out whatever he can find, and some things he can't quite find. :-)

So glad you are back!

Varan, I agree that the current Republican admini...

2010-03-14T11:11:04.982-05:00

Varan,

I agree that the current Republican administration is simply engaging in the same corrupt, insider dealing, "let's make our friends rich with taxpayer money" activities the Republican administrations have done since about the very beginning of Uni-Gov.

There is a huge political difference now though. Back then a Republican administration could do that and still glide to re-election on the heels of a solid Republican majority in the county. That's gone. The Ds have a solid majority in the county now. The only way for Ballard to have won re-election was to pursue an ethical, good government, populist type agenda. Mayor Ballard in fact ran on that in 2007. Governing as a Republican country club type will have disasterous results.

It's too late to salvage Ballard though. The best thing that Council Republicans can do is to distance themselves and try to hold onto their own districts.

Mayor Ballard and his people cannot win re-election playing the same old country club politics played during the Hudnut and Goldsmith administrations.)

Well said, varangianguard.

2010-03-14T09:50:38.019-05:00

Well said, varangianguard.