Archive for November 26th, 2007

With the Indy Star reporting the obvious today, that the post below points out, it appears that the 7th is now wide open. Plenty of Democrats who reside in the 7th Congressional have been salivating for this moment for years. It could also be fair to state another obvious remark in that the Democrat primary is sure to be one of more vicious primaries we’ve seen in years. What it could come down to is the Carson Machine versus the Bayh Organization. Which is more scary? It hard to say at this point. But with names like Andre Carson, Carolene Mays, Greg Porter, Melina Kennedy, Mike Rodman, Woody Myers, Carl Drummer, David Orentlicher and I’m sure others to eventually be thrust into the rumor mill, infighting in the party is sure to happen if not already.

And what of the Republicans? Well, the names Larry Shouse and Wayne Harmon aren’t going to scare anybody. We already have a proven candidate in current State Rep. Jon Elrod who has announced, but what to make of the suddenly silent Eric Dickerson? Remember, just days before the recent election he re-emerged to endorse Greg Ballard for mayor. I really like Eric. I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with him since he ran in 2006, but the longer he waits, the less likely it is he’ll run.

Now I’m hearing from credible sources from outside the blogging community that former Indianapolis City-County Council candidate Bruce Henry is considering throwing his hat into the ring. Does he have what it takes to launch a credible primary challenge? With twenty plus years of service to his community as a police officer, a solid family life he could present himself as an attractive “outsider candidate” in the same way that made Greg Ballard so appealing to voters. But apparently Politico.com doesn’t think so:

Whoever takes the elder Carson’s place on the Democratic side of the ballot will likely face off against Republican Jon Elrod, a 30-year-old state representative whose candidacy is viewed favorably by the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Granted, at this point no who has currently announced presents themselves as a serious challenger to Representative Elrod so it’s easy for The Politico to make such statements. Plus, if the NRCC is looking Jon’s way that could be a pretty good sign for him.

Either way, 2008 is going to be quite the year in the 7th Congressional district. With Congresswoman Carson’s deteriorating health, anything is possible. All the players involved in this race should prepare for the unexpected.

After a couple of days of unclear signals about her political intentions, Carson makes it official that she is NOT running for re-election.

This time, the results are about elements of Daniels plan to fix property taxes.

And, for the governor, it’s pretty good news.

The Indy Star has an article, and here are the results:

Would you be willing to live with a higher sales tax if it meant your property tax would go down?
Yes: 62%
No: 27%
Not sure: 11%

This doesn’t surprise me. The arguments now are not much different than those that were used in 2002, the last time that the state’s sales tax was increased (as a way to offset property taxes, no less). Same arguments, same circumstances. The only question is whether or not the additional stuff in the governor’s plan will make sure that this is the last sales-tax-hike-for-property-tax-drop.

What about your state income tax — would you be willing to live with a higher income tax rate if it meant your property tax would go down?
Yes: 45%
No: 42%
Not sure: 13%

Also not surprising, since people see far more directly the impact of the income tax on their wallets than the sales tax.

The governor is proposing to allow state residents to vote on major projects by schools and local government agencies that would require tax increases. In your opinion, is this an excellent, good, bad, or terrible idea?
Excellent: 12%
Good: 46%
Bad: 22%
Terrible: 12%
Not sure: 8%

Also not a surprising result.

All in all, much better results for the governor than the Sunday poll.

More pertinently, it gives an indication of the sort of shift his numbers could see once (or if) his plan is approved by the General Assembly.
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From the opinion page of the Indy Star:

I think we should get a “congressional refund” from Baron Hill and the other Democrats who were elected last fall. If they were a business, they would have been arrested for false advertisement. Since we can’t get our money back, it would only be fair if they resigned instead.

They all ran claiming they would clean up the overspending and stop earmarks. Since elected, they have done just the opposite. They have voted in lock-step with the big-spending Democratic leadership and have done nothing but waste money every time they send a bill to the Senate, as was done recently with the water conservation and children’s health insurance bills. Those bills increased spending by billions upon billions of dollars. They have also been obsessed with stopping our war effort by defunding the military, which none of them mentioned in their campaigns.

Jerry Sullivan
Indianapolis

But Mr. Sullivan, Baron’s former employer needs those earmarks for its clients.

They’re important, or something.

Surely you don’t mind your tax dollars going to the clients of the lobbying firm that Baron worked for (but didn’t, of course, lobby for).

Right?