Clinton Packs The House in Fort Wayne
So here’s a few photos of the crowd that is gathering. It’s still about 90 minutes before they open the door but the line is already wrapping around the building. But not everybody is happy - one guy is circling the building with a sign of protest.
1st In Line For Bill Clinton
I got an interview with the two guys that showed up first to get in line for the Bill Clinton event here at the Grand Wayne Center. They showed up at 9:30am but the Secret Service threw them out. Despite being here all day they still seemed to be in good spirits…
A History Lesson for the Journal Gazette
To be fair this lesson isn’t solely for the JG - it applies to Paul Helmke and other anti-gun individuals that continue to spread misinformation about the last time the Supreme Court took up a 2nd Amendment case. In today’s JG there’s an editorial discussing the current 2nd amendment case before the Supreme Court - Washington DC v Heller. In this editorial the JG refers back to the 1939 Miller case and states that the Supreme Court ruling was in favor of the collective rights argument and not that of the individual right. They also use the term “70 years of precedence” which gets thrown around a lot by the anti-gun crowd.
However, I want to set the record straight and let everyone know that the Miller case back in 1939 did NOT affirm the collective rights argument whatsoever and it’s time the JG, Helmke and others started debating the issue honestly.
County Option Income Tax
As expected the city will have to look at the options regarding an income tax increase to offset the state’s property tax cap. In today’s JG both councilmembers Tom Smith and Karen Goldner said they are expecting the city to find ways to cut spending before increasing taxes. I think we need to have a thorough community discussion on this issue to find out what residents are willing to pay for and what they’re willing to live without. Here at FWP, we started down that path and we plan on continuing the discussion into the future.
One thing is certain, Mayor Henry would be wise to propose serious solutions and not send the city controller out to show a bunch of draconian budget cuts to try and scare the people into accepting a tax increase. I suppose a nice gesture would be for the mayor to eliminate the 3 new positions that were budgeted for his own office…
(Photo by Scott Spaulding of DFWB)
Letter Supporting Steve Shine
The JG printed my letter to the editor in support of Steve Shine’s work as chairman of the Allen County GOP:
Shine pushed party toward inclusion
I want to respond to a particularly harsh letter about Allen County Republican Chairman Steve Shine, “Time has come for Shine to go” (March 3). In that letter Shine is accused of “shilling” for the pseudoconservative agenda. As a member of the opposition party, I certainly do not agree with everything and everyone Shine has supported, but I do believe he has pushed the party in the direction of inclusion and diversity. Shine is extremely proud of his record in these areas and rightfully so. He is also genuinely interested in getting more people involved in the political process and personally helped me promote an event with that very goal.
County chairman is a thankless position, but Shine deserves a lot of credit for all the hard work he has done to support and advance the Republican Party over the years. He is somebody I respect even if I disagree with him politically.
JEFF PRUITT Fort Wayne
Bill Clinton Coming To The Grand Wayne Center
Former President Bill Clinton will be on hand for the “Solutions for America Rally”. The event will be held at the Grand Wayne Center starting at 6:45pm. There will be a sign making party tonight at Democratic Party HQ at 6:30 for those that are interested. I’ve attached the press release below…
Response to Republican State of the Party Address
I thought it would be fun to give my response to Republican county chairman Steve Shine’s state of the party Address - sort of like how the opposition party gives a speech after the President’s State of the Union. I want to make sure everyone knows that I’m not an official spokesman for the Democratic party - this is simply my opinion…
Allen County GOP State Of The Party Video
Republican State of the Party Address
I recorded the entire speech which will be up shortly but I wanted to touch on a couple of brief points first.
- Chairman Steve Shine announced that he would not decide on his future as chairman until some unspecified date in the future. Early on there was speculation that he would announce his plans in today’s speech but that did not happen.
- Shine apologized to the executive committee for disbanding them during last year’s mayoral race.
- He also announced there would be a Republican townhall meeting on May 3rd at 10am and Congressman Mike Pence will be involved.
- No protection for any class of property taxpayer other than homeowners.
- No referendums on capital projects or other spending controls on local government.
- No reform of the assessment system.
- No elimination of property tax levies.
More to come…
Property Tax “Compromise”
I think it’s a bit disingenuous to call this a compromise - it’s almost exactly what the governor wanted and nothing like the ridiculous plan put forward by state Democrats a week ago. Just so we all remember let’s recap the Democratic plan:
Absolutely NONE of that is in the “compromise” bill. The only compromise I see was exempting Lake and St Joseph counties which should’ve been done via referendum and not mandated by the state. So what exactly was the point of putting forward a politically inferior bill and then caving a week later? It makes absolutely no sense and only served to undermine the Democratic party’s progress in this state. Somebody might want to tell the speaker that if he is going to put forward his own plan it should be one that 70% of the people aren’t against and it should be done before the 11th hour…
