Liars, tramps and thieves (from NWI Politics)

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Northwest Indiana - Still the home of dirty politics - liars, tramps and thieves

SIGN STEALERS

The Indiana District 01 Congressional race.   I know Mark Leyva and Eric Olson well enough to know that neither of them are dirty politicians.  One of those two men will hopefully win the Republican nomination and carry the fight to Pete Visclosky.   Sadly, there are remnants of the old time Northern Lake County dirty politics going on.   Campaign signs of South County Congressional candidates are disappearing from private property.   Eric Olson reported, if I have this right, eight known thefts in one day!   Campaign signs are costly (around three or four bucks a pop and maybe more) but beyond that to steal an opponents sign is the act of a cowardly and low-life cretin.  Is that strong enough?   Signs are a way for Americans to express their first amendment rights and the villains behind this need to be nabbed!  I hope the candidate and individuals behind this sign stealing get caught by a Cedar Lake or St John cop!!!

At least this year I have not yet heard of any death threats. 

With Dan Coats being hammered in the polls and Don Bates and Richard Behney falling behind, it appears to be fight to the finish for Marlin Stutzman and John Hostettler for US Senate, Republican side.   Certainly the RNC can pour money down on Dan Coats for a last burst of advertising but since he has yet to even disclose his campaign finances that probably does not happen.

One learns a lot about candidates and their followers in times like these.   The Stutzman camp has been quite civil to his fellow grassroots candidates and so have the vast majority of their followers.   Unfortunately the Hostettler side has been passing a chopped up and heavily edited youtube purporting to show Stutzman giving uncertain answers to almost unintelligible questions.   With changes in background noises and patchy images there is nothing professional about the video it is of far lesser quality than the Dan Rather faked Bush papers.

Secondly we have the false charge that Marlin Stutzman voted for the largest tax increase in Indiana history or something similar.  In fact, a Federal unfunded mandate plus a rise in unemployment meant that more workers were fired or laid off.   This is not a tax increase, it is an unemployment increase thanks to the Obama Administration.   So what did Marlin and fellow Republican Senators accomplish?

"Senators also successfully delayed $400 million in new unemployment
insurance premiums from going into effect in 2010. By
avoiding premium increases, lawmakers hope employers large
and small will be in stronger positions to retain or add employees.
Lawmakers also passed initiatives to help Hoosiers recover
from the national recession:

• new employer tax credits will be offered
to businesses relocating or incorporating in Indiana.
Qualified businesses must hire 10 or more -
full-time employees, not including owners.

• small business tax credits will be expanded
to make small employers with fewer than
35 workers eligible for Economic Development
for a Growing Economy (EDGE) credits.

• small business ombudsman will be an advocate
for small employers with state agencies,
helping navigate regulations, streamline paperwork and coordinate
due dates. Also, the ombudsman will monitor outdated, ineffective
and overly burdensome reporting requests and red tape.

• h.i.R.e. (Helping Indiana Re-start Employment) initiative
will offer tax incentives to employers who hire and train unemployed
and underemployed Hoosiers."

The Legislature had to adjust the unemployment insurance law and they had to try to keep that adjustment from hurting Hoosiers.   Marlin and Sue Landske and the other Senators didn't vote for a tax increase, the managed to put off a tax hike that was caused by growing unemployment.  Obama caused the increase, not the Hoosier legislature and certainly not Marlin Stutzman.  If you hear anyone pass along that misinformation kindly teach them?   It is easy to learn things online.

By the way, Brian Bosma asserted to me personally that this was the only way the Republicans could manage to work within the law, and deal with the Democrats in Indianapolis and also save businesses from taking one in the kidneys in 2010.  Because of a conversation I had with John Hostettler in which I suggested how things had gone down in Indianapolis I asked Brian himself and had about a ten minute conversation covering this topic and confirmed what is published on the Senate website appropriate to Marlin Stutzman.

My Senator is Sue Landske, the second ranking Senator and a great name in Indiana and she has the same story.  Read her own website.

~

There are a number of wing nuts that are infiltrating the Tea Party movement.  Of course we could expect Democrats to insert people to act badly and make the whole group look bad.  But sometimes when the primary gets close and the going gets tough we can all be tempted to be a wing nut.   May we all try to be patient with even the most heinous remarks by fellow grassroots people and hang in there.  I am really trying to do it to the best of my ability.   Of course, I am a crusader by nature, a man of principle I certainly hope and to the wing nuts I might seem to be the wing nut.

Let's try to stay positive and play fair, okay kiddees?  Cut out the lies and the thieving and promote the GOOD things about your particular candidate rather than trying to take the legs out from under everyone else?