Tomorrow will be a good day for America if…
I am excited about tomorrow’s election. I truly hope that the “Tea Party” helps elect a large number of Americans who believe in smaller and more responsible government. Here is what I am hoping for tomorrow:
1. I truly hope the Republicans gain a majority in the US House of Representatives. The last four years under a Democratic majority in the House under Nancy Pelosi has been a disaster. The Democrats added five trillion dollars to the National Debt in four years; this is astounding and future generations will have to pay for this forever. The older I get the more I realize that “gridlock” is good.
2. I hope that Harry Reid (D) is no longer the Senator from Nevada. He has been a horrible majority leader and has served too long.
3. I hope that Rand Paul (R) is the next Senator of Kentucky. The liberal media has developed a pathological hatred of the man and thrown everything at him that they can.
4. I hope that a large number of small Government conservatives are elected as Republicans. I then hope that they are not co-opted by the Republican establishment.
5. I hope that turnout tomorrow is higher than it was in 2006. More Americans need to learn what is going on in this country and they need to vote. Both Parties are running up the National Debt and this needs to stop.
6. I hope that far fewer people vote for a Party ticket. Voting for all of the members of one Party is just stupid and I truly wish people would stop doing it. It is absurd to think that all of the members of one Party are better than all of their opponents across the board.
7. Updated on Election Day at 1:28 PM. I hope that Lisa Murkowski is no longer the Senator from Alaska. Her antics affter her loss in the Republican Primary are deplorable and show that she is too attched to her position as US Senator.
Mike
My ballot for tomorrow
As is my custom; the day before the election I post my voting plans for tomorrow…
US Senator, Rebecca Sink Burris (L). (I cannot vote for Coats, he is a carpetbagger from the East Coast).
Sec of State, Mike Wherry (L). This race is the ballot access rate for the Libertarian Party. I want to keep the Libertarian Party on the ballot because our two Party system is destructive.
State Auditor, Tim Berry (R).
Treasurer, Richard Mourdock (R).
US Representative, Scott Wise (L). This was the toughest race on the ballot for me…
State Senator District 15, Jack Morris (D). His opponent is long time incumbent Tom Wyss (R). Tom Wyss is a nanny state big government Republican who keeps enacting new seat belt laws. He has been in office too long and needs to be replaced.
State Representative 85, Paul Leslie (L). Phyllis Pond (R) has been in office way too long and needs to be replaced.
Judge, Superior Court, Wendy Davis. This was hard for me as well; I had a hard time choosing between Griffin and Davis. There is no way I was going to vote for the incumbent Scheibenberger.
County Auditor, Tera Klutz (R).
Sheriff, Ken Fries (R).
County Commissioner District #3, Therese Brown (R).
I will vote against putting the proposed property tax caps into the Indiana Constitution.
Mike Sylvester
Property tax caps on the ballot next week (Wonkish)
It is rare that I find myself in agreement with the Journal Gazette and opposing Governor Mitch Daniels. It happens so rarely that it is notable.
Next week Hoosiers get to decide whether to put the property tax caps in the Indiana Constitution. Putting them in the Indiana Constitution will make them almost impossible to change. I oppose the property tax caps because they are unfair. Basically property taxes are capped as follows:
- Homes that are a primary residence of a taxpayer are capped at 1% of assessed value.
- Rental Properties, Farms, Land for Mobile Homes, and Long Term Care facilities are capped at 2% of assessed value.
- Business Real Property (Land and Buildings) are capped at 3% of assessed value.
- Business Personal Property (Equipment, Furniture, Computers, etc) are capped at 3% of assessed value.
Note these caps will be not apply if the voters pass a Referendum authorizing additional taxes.
I completely oppose these caps because I do not feel that they are in any way fair. I would have supported the property tax caps if they had been the same for all types of property. For example I would have supported them if the caps would have been 1.5% for all classes of property.
YLNI The Vote
As part of Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana’s mission to engage and empower young leaders, it is hosting a Candidates’ Night Thursday, October 21, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. A number of candidates seeking office at the Federal, State, County, City and Township levels this November will be in attendance. The event will feature brief introductions from the candidates, but is largely formatted to encourage the candidates to meet and greet attendees on a one-on-one basis.
YLNI’s candidates’ brochures will also be available, which provide information about candidates for Allen County voters. A PDF version of the is available for download at www.ylni.org. In addition to information about the candidates, the brochure contains: information about the amendment for vote on the ballot, district maps, and election day information. Please contact sam@ylni.org for questions regarding the event or brochure.
Its the economy stupid…
The Democrats are going to lose a significant number of seats in Congress this coming November. This is due to several reasons:
- The Party in power almost always loses seats in the mid term elections.
- The economy is struggling and headed for the toilet again.
- The Democrats have irritated a large number of Republicans and Independents with their health care reform bill. Worse yet for the Democrats their own base is not excited by the bill they passed.
I do not expect the Republicans to take both the Senate and the House; however, I do expect them to gain a significant number of seats in both the House and the Senate.
Mike
A Quick Thought on Derek Pillie’s Announcement
I realize Mark Souder is not the most popular guy these days but it seems like bad form to me to add his successes to your official bio without ever mentioning the guy’s name. Afterall, Souder did give Pillie a nice job, and the only reason Pillie has the name recognition he does is through his link to former Congressman Souder. This willful omission makes the bio an awkward read…
Derek A. Pillie, 34 (born June 9, 1976), has worked on behalf of the citizens of northern Indiana for nearly a decade. Since 2000, Derek has served on the staff of Indiana’s Third Congressional District, most recently as District Director. In that role, he oversees Indiana operations of the office, including constituent outreach and helping taxpayers solve problems with federal agencies. He also worked on crucial economic development projects including the preservation of hundreds of jobs at magnet wire facilities in Fort Wayne, protecting veterans’ access to local inpatient care and ensuring the long-term survival of the Air National Guard presence at Fort Wayne International Airport.
[...]
Olinger for 84th District Caucus
Obviously I don’t have a vote in the upcoming GOP caucus to fill the seat being vacated by State Representative Randy Borror but that won’t prevent me from opining. It looks as if the list of candidates will continue to grow but I’m fairly confident that, regardless of how many people join, my support will go to Jon Olinger.
I worked with Jon during his FWCS campaign, and while we may not agree on everything, I can assure you that he is a solid conservative candidate. And most important to me, and the future of this state, is that he has consistently championed fiscal responsibility. He was the sole voice of sanity on an FWCS board run amok with financial foolishness that is now paying for their previous largess. Of course this was also a major reason he was targeted and defeated during the FWCS race.
I have nothing ill to say towards the other candidates but I do know that if Jon is selected he will be an excellent representative of the 84th district…
Note: I am not affiliated with any campaign Olinger may currently be running
My Caucus Predictions
A few days ago I posted my initial caucus predictions. Those predictions have changed a small amount due to several factors. First off Phil Troyer dropped out of the race. Secondly Mark Souder sent a facebook message that seems to attack Stutzman. Third the phone calls I received from candidates. Fourth the direct mail pieces I have received so far.
I was called by the following candidates: Stutzman, Borror, Brown, Elijah, and Morris.
Local Fox TV 55
The local FOX affiliate is polling 125 3rd Congressional District Committeemen concerning the Saturday caucus. They will post their results online tonight at 10 PM and it will be discussed at the 10 PM newscast.
Tonight I will also be updating my predictions for the Saturday Caucus. Several things have changed and I will change my predictions accordingly.
Mitch Harper over at Fort Wayne Observed has decided to endorse a candidate around 4:30 PM today. It will be interesting to see who he endorses; however, I would be willing to bet you that he will endorse Marlin Stutzman. That being said; I have no idea who he will endorse; I am just making a wild and uneducated guess.
Updated at 4:38 PM. Well I completely missed the direction of the Fort Wayne Observed endorsement and I should have known better. You should check it out.
Mike
The actual Souder Facebook message
This post contains the actual email sent to three media sources on 6/7/10 at 3:07 PM and it contains the actual facebook message that former Congressman Souder sent. There are no editorial comments in this post; it is provided so that you can see it as is.
First the email:
From: Steven Clouse [
mailto:stclouse@gmail.com]
Sent: Mon 6/7/2010 3:07 PM
To: jeffn@indianasnewscenter.com; Niki Kelly; mattg@kpcnews.net; bhowey2@gmail.com
Subject: Congressional caucus - message from Souder
Last night at 8:03 PM I received the attached personal message from former
Congressman Mark Souder. This repreents the only communication I have had
with Mr. Souder since his resigation from office last month. I do not know,
nor do I care to speculate, as to his motives for sending the message, via
Facebook, to me last night. According to the header of the message, the
message was sent to myself, and Randall Kirkpatrick, chariman of the Noble
County Republican party. After much deiberation with Mr. Kirkpatrick, it
was our decision to release the statement so that the voters on Saturday
have as much information before them as possible. At the time I am sending
this to you, Mr. Kirkpatrick will soon distribute the message to his fellow
county chairmen, as well as to the Noble County precinct officials.
As far as the ethicacy of releasing a message that appears to have been
intended to be a private message, let me state that given the subject matter
at hand, to not share this message would be as reckless as the acts that
drove Mr. Souder from office. Mr. Kirkpatrick did attempt to contact Mr.
Souder for an explanation this morning, but was not successful in reaching
him.
Sincrely,
Steven Clouse
