I’ve been accused of a lot of things in my day, but I’ve never been accused of being part of a grand conspiracy, until now.  In his Internet radio program, local social activist/irritant Mmoja Ajabu accused me, as well as half of Marion County, of being part of a conspiracy against Brandon Johnson.

I would try to explain it to you, but it would just make your head hurt.  So instead, I will let the good Reverend take care of it.

ajabu unleashed and unmedicated

I can’t make this stuff up.  My only response is that sometimes a cigar really is just a cigar.

I don’t have a lot more to say today about the near month long legislative walkout/standoff at the Indiana House of Representatives so I’ll let the lawmakers do the talking for me.  Speaker Brian Bosma said Wednesday they are looking at “all their options” which could include recall legislation or bringing back the “anti-bolting statute” which was on the books for years which basically fined lawmakers $1000 a day.  According to history, it was that law that kept Democrats from fleeing the state in the late 1860s to avoid ratification of the 14th Amendment.  I’ve embedded a copy of the law and it’s history at the bottom of the post.

Bosma Walkout

And if you listen to this interview with  Democrats Win Moses (Ft. Wayne) and Gail Riecken (Evansville) you’ll hear Moses say that all this will be resolved before the end of April adjournment date.  I kept asking if that meant Democrats would be back eventually?  It’s an interesting verbal dance, to say the least.

Democrats Walkout

This has all boiled down to one issue, union wages on local government projects.   The House will be in at 10 a.m. today and will likely adjourn by 10:20 a.m.

We all knew it was coming, Tim Durham of Fair Finance was indicted today on numerous charges in what federal prosecutors called the biggest case of white collar crime in the history of Indiana.  Durham is accused of bilking more than $230 million from more than 5,000 investors.  I’ve embedded the audio from today’s news conference at the U.S. Attorneys Office so you can hear it for yourself.  In part one, you hear Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Morrison outline the charges against Durham, his partner James Cochran and accountant Rick Snow.

In parts two and three he and staff discuss why the investigation took nearly a year and a half to complete and whether any other individuals will be indicted.

Durham Indictment – part 1

Durham Indictment – part 2

Durham Indictment – part 3

Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma says his caucus’ patience with absentee Democrats is wearing thin. I frankly don’t blame him.  Democrats have been gone since February 21.  Their absence has cost the taxpayers of Indiana more than $368,000 in lost productivity.  Their list of demands has gone from one to 11 to four to three and if the last exchange of letters between the Speaker and Democratic Leader are to be believed the two sides are now down to two (vouchers and project labor agreements on public projects).

So far, the GOP has only made one major concession, pulling right-to-work legislation off the table.  Democrats have conceded everywhere else.  Their latest concession seems to be on charter schools and if you take a close look at the Democratic Leader’s letter (I’ve embedded both leaders’ letters in this post), they seem to be agreeing to Republican tinkering with vouchers.

What’s also interesting in all this is that as the GOP works on bills to make it more palatable for its own members; it seems that Democrats are using those changes as reasons to drop their objections.  This is a brilliant strategy for a group with no real end game.  As Republicans work out their own issues on legislation, slowly take them off the table.  And if I were the Republican Speaker, I would not appreciate being played like this and I’d start planning a little retaliation.

I would not bring back right to work legislation, but whatever I could do to politically screw the other guys, I would.  And I’d do it by not only going after them, well I would with some redistricting in the six or seven remaining competitive districts, but I’d also make sure to work with friends on the second floor and across the rotunda that there were extra special budget cuts in appropriations that went to the absentee members districts.  And that’s just to start.  The list of possibilities is endless . I know this because I’ve had plenty of time to think of this stuff as members have been absent.

As a famous Chicago humorist once said, “politics ain’t no bean bag”.  Mr. Speaker, it’s time to stop getting played, pick up gavel, and start using it as a hammer.

Either someone jumped the gun this afternoon  or Indiana Congressman Andre Carson had a change of heart on a continuing resolution to keep the federal government running.

His Office sent out a news release shortly after the House of Representatives passed the resolution.  It read as follows…

Carson opposes latest Continuing Resolution

D.C. – Congressman André Carson released the following statement today in response to the House vote on another short-term spending bill. Congressman Carson voted against the three-week extension.

______________________________________________________

“While most Americans agree that reducing the deficit and spending are important, it should not be at the cost of critical investments that put people back to work. By refusing to compromise on a measure that funds the government for the full year, Republicans have forced another temporary extension to fund the federal government.

“Today’s vote continues the climate of doubt that is hampering our economy. The uncertainty from week-to-week combined with the random and irresponsible cuts pushed by Republicans is undermining our nation’s recovery and job creation.”

The problem is that Carson voted for the resolution.  Which later read the following…

Carson STATEMENT ON latest Continuing Resolution

Congressman André Carson released the following statement today in response to the House vote on another short-term spending bill.

______________________________________________________

“While most Americans agree that reducing the deficit and spending are important, it should not be at the cost of critical investments that put people back to work. By refusing to compromise on a measure that funds the government for the full year, Republicans have forced another temporary extension to fund the federal government.

“In order to prevent a shutdown I supported today’s resolution. The uncertainty that is caused by week-to-week funding must come to an end because Americans demand that we do better.”

As I can attest personally, always double check before you hit send.

The saga that is Indiana’s political scene continues to play itself out.  Here’s today’s assessment of events…

House Democrats are entering into their fourth week of self-imposed exile.  A number of us in the media think they will return this week, although it won’t be Tuesday.  There are some positive signs; more talks on “procedural” issues between House Speaker Brian Bosma and Democratic Leader Pat Bauer.  A bill that would alter how project labor agreements are done in Indiana is being amended to allow for more referendums on some measures and the Republicans are amending their school voucher bill which would reduce the number of students eligible to take advantage of the program.  We’ll see if that’s enough to get them back or at least move to Danville.  Illinois, not Indiana.

There’s more turmoil at the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office.   Spokesman Jason Thomas has become the second key staffer to exit in a matter of days.  Thomas resigned today.  Chief of Staff Sean Keefer resigned Monday.   And here’s the big kicker, blogger Paul Ogden had an interview around noon today to fill Keefer’s vacancy.  (Insert your own jokes here).

Dr. Tony Bennett is going on the offensive.  A fake memo, purported to be from the Department of Education has been circulating with false information regarding school reform.  The State is investigating.  But then again, when someone compromises the integrity of an I-STEP exam because they think a question favors school vouchers, is anyone really surprised?

And I really need to make amends with Democratic Mayoral Candidate Melina Kennedy so I can get on her news release media list.  Today, she put out a release calling for tougher controls on sales at gun shows.  She also wants the city to sign an on-line petition against illegal guns, which is something on four Mayors in Indiana have done in the past and something her former boss Bart Peterson wouldn’t even do.  She also says she’s open to the idea of amnesty.  I thought after proposing gang amnesty when she ran for prosecutor in 2006 would have been lesson enough.   Oh well, this is why I’m not on the media list, nor do I get my e-mails or phone calls returned.

And I know Brandon Johnson hasn’t had the best of weeks lately, but I think he and his family might want to get a new “spiritual advisor”.  The famous, or should I say infamous, Mmoja Ajabu has been counseling the family.  I wonder if they’re aware that Ajabu has advocating using deadly force against police officers on his Internet radio program and he recently threatened to kill a fellow member of the clergy.  You might say that’s just Ajabu being Ajabu, but the clergyman took it so seriously that his church is now providing him and his family with temporary security.  I can’t make this stuff up.

On Saturday morning I was having breakfast with a few political friends, when I had gotten word that Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White might be stepping down. As someone who trades in political gossip and rumor, this was good stuff. Let’s face it. The Friday news conference outside the Hamilton County Courthouse was not one of White’s finer moments. And his chief of Staff, Sean Keefer, has turned in resignation the same day. And from everything I’ve been able to gather, that news conference was the reason why. I immediately sent White a text message and threw that information up on Twitter. Within five minutes I heard back from White telling me he was neither stepping down nor stepping aside. A few minutes later he called and so we talked for about 30 minutes.

White did not talk about the facts of the case, simply once again repeating that he was innocent and there’s a lot more information out there that will back him up. He also said he had no concerns that that Friday’s news conference would hurt his case. And that the office could function, despite his indictment. He declined to comment on why Keefer stepped down. Nor would he comment on the news that his Press Secretary, Jason Thomas, may be resigning on Monday. He did say the office’s other 75 employees are doing a great job serving the people of Indiana.

White spent quite a bit of time disputing the claim that the Indiana Secretary of State is the “Chief Election Officer”. He said most of those election functions are carried out at the County level and most of what the Office does is ministerial in nature.

He did admit to being out of his main office a couple days last week, but said one day he worked from home and the other day he spent in the Securities Division, which is in the Government Center. When I asked if he will be back in the office Monday he said, “Yes, I love my job and I love coming into work. I’m a fighter and I’m not going anywhere.” He also expressed concern that the ordeal was having on his family.

When we concluded our conversation and I was going through my notes, I tried to run through my mind an analogy that would fit all this. I wanted to keep the Charlie Sheen/Japanese nuclear reactor meltdown references down to a bear minimum if at all. And I all I could come away with was your typical Shakespeare character, whose drive, determination and ability to focus on one thing, bring him to power, but those same character traits are what become his downfall.

I understand wanting to fight. If I was in White’s shoes I’d mount a vigorous defense as well, but there are different ways to do it. And I’m not convinced that White can successfully fend off his charges and carry out his duties at the same time as Secretary of State. I’m not sure anyone could do that in that position. This is part of the reason why the law allows the Chief Deputy Secretary of State to take over should the elected officeholder temporarily step down. That fact also ties into some speculation as to why Keefer may have resigned. In addition to being upset about White’s performance on Friday during his news conference, a number of Republicans have expressed concerns about him taking over the office since he was White’s campaign manager and Keefer taking over the office would not have done much to quell the controversy. In fact, it would have only added to it.

At the end of our 30-minute chat, I am more convinced than ever that White should temporarily abdicate his office and turn it over to the acting chief Deputy Secretary of State. He should fight the charges and if the grand jury did not get the whole story and there are boxes of documents that will prove his innocence then he should be back by the end of the year. But there’s no reason to try and fight this kind of war on two fronts. It never ends well, and sometimes when you win, you still lose. There’s no reason to take this almost Shakespearean tragedy and make it worse.

As someone who really enjoys covering and writing about local government, I was like a kid in a candy store Friday night at the University of Indianapolis watching the former and current mayors of  Indianapolis address the city’s past, present and future.  You would be surprised how much they agreed on things.  What I also found intriguing was while listening to them it conferred a belief I’ve had for quite some time, that Indianapolis gets the Mayor it needs for the issues that it faces.

The audio file I recorded was too big for the web blog, but I’ve linked the Indianapolis Star’s video. It was a two-hour event so keep that in mind. I really recommend you take time to watch this.  This is a great city with an amazing past and a very promising future.

Here are a few observations following this week’s news events…

1. Never say how many people are going to show up at your rally.  At the very least, low-ball it.  There’s nothing worse than saying 25,000 people are going to show up and only 8,000 (at best) actually do.  And make sure more than half of them are from Indiana.
2. If you’re the Indiana Secretary of State, might I suggest a media interview.   Your case is being fought in two courts, one of law and one of public opinion.
3. If you’re a Marion County Office holder, I hate to break this to you, but money is tight, you need to act like it.
4. If you’re passionate about the abortion issue, nothing is going to change anytime soon.
5. If  you’re name is Brandon Johnson, I truly hope you get your act together, or the next time we read about you it will be the obituary pages.
6. If you’re going to handout anti-illegal immigration literature near the Statehouse, it would help if you weren’t white and weren’t bald.
7. If you’re an Indiana House Democratic lawmaker, I’ll see you next week.

As I sat down at my computer getting ready to write another blog post, I dreaded writing about the stalemate at the Indiana General Assembly.  Now granted this one would have been a little different as House Speaker Brian Bosma and Democratic leader Pat Bauer both seemed to agree that progress had been made in their most recent talks, and if I’m reading my political tea leaves correctly, lawmakers could be back to work sometime next week.

But in all the shouting and posturing, one thing came to mind; this is supposed to be a fight for “working families”. But what exactly is a “working family”?   I know for some people the “working family” consists of blue-collar parents or the single mom trying to make ends meet.   And anyone who is not a small business owner or uses talents other than physical labor to make a living or is college educated doesn’t fit that definition.   My definition of a “working family” is a little more broad than some of my more liberal counterparts.

A “working family” is anyone who has to work for a living.   Is a couple that makes $50,000 a year more a working family than one that makes $125,000 a year, but has four children to support?  Is a single mom with two kids who makes $35,000 a year more of a “working” person than the Dad who makes $50,000 but has to pay child support?  I think the term “working family” has gotten overused in the Indiana political debate to the point where it has become a cliché.  If you have to go to work to make a living, as most of us do, you are a working man, woman, and hermaphrodite, whatever!  Working means you go to a job and get paid for services rendered.   There’s a difference between you working for your money and your money working for you.  The Lovely Mrs. Shabazz and I work very hard to get to that latter category.  And while we’re at it, aren’t millionaires part of “working  families” too if the millionaire has a company to run to support his or her family?

Let’s just settle this debate right now and say we are “fighting for working families”?  We all want  “working families”  to have  better schools?  We all want “working families” to keep more of their paychecks?   And we all want  “working families”  to enjoy sunshine, lollipops and rainbows.   We can debate over how to best  achieve those goals, but I think we all want the same outcome for “working families”.  Agreed?  I thought so.

Now that that’s settled, next time we’ll  focus our attention next time on those “non-working families” that live off the productivity of those who actually work for a living.