Archive for the ‘Governor’ Category

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(Originally posted by Gonz O. Defenestrator at When the Going Get’s Weird, the Tough Turn Pro.  Reprinted with permission)

Greetings again fellow flacks, hacks, and dumpster Divers! This is commentary and I am chagrined to be back in the realm of serious stuff and beg that you don’t throw old, rotten vegetables at me for taking up so much space. Sometimes you just gotta speak out.

Trust me. I’d rather be writing about Obama-blather (his or hers) and the Democrat Party’s slow spiral into insanity. But, I digress…

I recently had to go through the quadrennial “Happy Birthday” pilgrimage to the BMV to get a new drivers license. Let me just say it was no where near the experience I “enjoyed” a scant four years ago. (Friendly, courteous, and fast … In and out … 17 minutes. Certified. I timed it with my citizens Eco-drive Chronograph wristwatch) With all the problems I had had with some of the things in this administration, just the fact that the BMV works is enough to earn my eternal gratitude.

So the administration is trying something new and innovative and all of a sudden the local cage-liner reports that LaPorte County lawsuit seeks to halt welfare privatization. The lawsuit, filed by Messr. Friedman, Esq., is interesting because of this little tidbit from the Tim Evans story which is both instructive and enlightening:

LaPorte attorney Shaw R. Friedman, who is representing the eight Hoosiers who filed the lawsuit, said in a statement.”The only thing that Mitch Daniels and Mitch Roob will respect is a court order, and we aim to get that for them.”

Roob called the suit “transparently political,” noting Friedman is a former Democratic Party leader in LaPorte County. FSSA also rents office space from Friedman and his father, Roob said, and they stand to lose money if the agency moves its county office to a new location.

Look, dissent is a healthy thing. Debate is an integral part of our Civil discourse. But using the Courts to get your way when you lose at the ballot box, to stifle innovation, or to derail a part of the administration priorities, is just wrong.

So I am wondering: “Who is Shaw Friedman?”

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Governor Daniels spoke to a the Indianapolis Rotary Club yesterday and announced his “Taxpayer Protection Agenda” which is a two-step proposal which is to further strengthen Indiana’s protection of taxpayers.

In short this is what he’s proposing:

First, the governor called for final legislative passage of a constitutional amendment to make permanent the caps on property taxes contained in the landmark tax cut bill approved during the 2008 session of the Indiana General Assembly.

The second proposal, the Automatic Taxpayer Refund, would ensure that any tax revenues beyond those needed to maintain a balanced budget and adequate rainy day reserves be sent back to taxpayers in the form of a refund.

Audio of the Governor’s speech can be heard below.

Saturday morning I got the chance to participate in a motorcycle ride with none other than Governor Mitch Daniels. The Governor arrived on his Harley, and when he arrived he took a few minutes to look at the other bikes at the rally point. There was about 20 or so bikes for the first leg of the trip - going from 79th & Fall Creek to Cicero via Lapel. Nice ride on a Saturday morning, through the Indiana country. Ahhhhh….. Just a bunch of guys out for a ride.

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Earlier, I pointed out the differences between the Republican Governors Association giving money to Mitch Daniels (a small proportion of his total campaign war chest), and Jill Long Thompson receiving three quarters of her money from out of state (and from hyper-liberal special interests that are diametrically opposed to the beliefs of most Hoosiers, at that).

If you don’t see the difference between getting one dollar in eighteen of your campaign funding from a big out of state group, compared to three dollars out of every four, then you’ve really been spun.

Moreover, if you don’t understand the difference between the Republican Governors Association (whose only mission is to elect more Republican governors) and far left special interests like the pro-abortion group Emily’s List or the SEIU labor union, then you’ve also really been spun.

The RGA isn’t giving Mitch Daniels money to own him.

Emily’s List and SEIU pretty much now own Jill Long Thompson; they seem to be giving her unlimited money in clear expectation of a return on their investment in the form of the enactment of far left policies if she is actually elected (unlikely as that might seem).

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When Mitch Daniels has raised almost $13 million so far for his reelection, an additional $725,000 from the Republican Governors Association is not a big deal.

It ends up being less than one eighteenth of the total amount that Mitch has raised, not that the Democrat Governors Association has yet made a similar investment in the Long Thompson campaign.

By contrast, some 75% of the total money raised by the Long Thompson campaign has come from far-left special interests from outside of the state of Indiana.

I’ll grant that $725,000 is a lot of money. So is the $1.25 million that came from the pro-abortion group Emily’s List and the labor union SEIU.

The difference is that money from out-of-state groups like Emily’s List represents an overwhelming majority–three dollars in every four–of the money given to the Long Thompson campaign.

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This is a bit more than just finding some loose change under the sofa cushions, no?

INDIANAPOLIS — The state has ended the latest fiscal year with its third consecutive balanced budget.

State officials closed the books on the fiscal year that ended on June 30 with revenues exceeding spending by about $321 million. That was in part due to spending restraints ordered by Gov. Mitch Daniels that included some agencies not filling vacant positions and delaying some capital projects.

The state ended the year with nearly $600 million in its main checking account. That combined with savings accounts left the state with a budget surplus of about $1.4 billion.

State Auditor Tim Berry said Thursday that Indiana is on firm financial ground, while 29 other states — including the four surrounding Indiana — are facing fiscal woes.

Democrats, interestingly, think that the money should be given back to the people of Indiana.

This is a novel concept for Democrats; I am sure they will shake themselves out of it soon.

Jill Long Thompson should probably be careful what she asks for. Nothing would turn this election into a shattering and party-destroying two-to-one thumping like the Governor deciding to use the budget surplus to help alleviate gas prices by temporarily doing away with the sales tax on gasoline (or calling a brief special session and asking to get that authority, since the AG’s office doesn’t seem to think that he has it already).

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Bellwether Research and Consulting, who released the poll that Jim mentions below show Governor Daniels with a commanding lead heading into the upcoming general election, crushing JLT by 14% points. Not only that, but more Hoosiers have confidence in our state economy that the national economy. In somewhat surprising though not startling numbers, JLT only has support from 60% of her party! Numbers like these make you wonder if Jill Long Thompson is the Democrats version of Linley Pearson.

Linley who?

Exactly.

Representative Terry Goodin (D-Crothersville) authored a bill—that ended up passing the Democrat controlled House, the Republican controlled Senate, and was signed into law by the Republican Governor. This law required that stores that planned to sell sexually explicit materials to pay a $250 fee and register with the Secretary of State saying what types of materials that they planned on selling. The expressed reason for this law was to help localities with zoning issues.

Well, this law died an ignominious death by being declared unconstitutional (regarding the first amendment) by U.S. District Court Justice Barker.

The post-mortem after the jump.

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If I had a dollar for every time that I heard some anti-war liberal complain about Mitch Daniels’ estimate for the cost of the Iraq War, I could probably pay for a good chunk of the cost of the war. At the very least, I could buy an entire island someplace tropical and retire.

This week, Brian Howey has taken a break from his usual worship of the Obamassiah to run some drivel by one of his columnists slamming Mitch Daniels for his estimate of the cost of the Iraq War.

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From the NWI Times comes this latest blow to the gubernatorial hopes of Jill Long Thompson and Dennie Ray Oxley II:

The re-election campaign of Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels got a boost Monday from the men and women in blue. He picked up the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police of Indiana.

“Governor Daniels has earned the respect and support of those of us who work in law enforcement and public safety and his door has always been open to us,” FOP President Tim Downs said in a statement. “Mitch Daniels has worked hard to develop strong and effective relationships with law enforcement and he’s always responded to our needs. The FOP appreciates Governor Daniels’ leadership and we enthusiastically support his re-election.”

The Professional Firefighters Union of Indiana endorsed the Republican governor last month. Cam Savage, a spokesman for the Daniels campaign, said the endorsements underscore a wide base of support in the race against Democrat Jill Long Thompson. Neither union backed Daniels four years ago.

“In the past several weeks, parts of our state have been hit hard by bad weather, and, of course, police officers, along with other first responders, are always on the scene, often risking their own safety, to help their fellow Hoosiers,” Daniels said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing to work with the FOP in the years to come.”

Who’da thunk it?

Unions endorsing a Republican for governor?

And public safety unions at that.

…this is how you handle disaster relief.

From Hat Chat, the official blog of Hoosier Ag Today:

No sooner had the flood waters stopped rushing across more than 20 Indiana counties, than top state officials were on the scene assessing the damage. One of the first was Governor Mitch Daniels. Close behind him was Lt. Governor Becky Skillman. On the surface, this seems only logical (this being an election year and all). Yet, from my perspective, it is more than that. These two have put out the word to all state agencies to get busy and provide relief. Skillman called it an “all hands on deck” approach.

The agencies are responding 24/7. I have been getting e-mails at 10 pm from the State Department of Ag and the Governor’s office. While government is by its nature inefficient, this time around Indiana is giving efficiency a good try. FEMA could stand to take a few lessons.

While this is a terrible storm for Indiana, it is the perfect political storm for the administration. For the past week, the news coverage has been dominated with stories of the Governor meeting with flood-displaced Hoosiers and promising help. Meanwhile, poor Jill Long Thompson sits on the sidelines watching helplessly.

Daniels and Skillman are acting like effective leaders- something I hope voters remember in November.

In addition, Lt. Gov. Skillman and eight other agency heads held a conference call last Friday with over 100 mayors and local officials to give an update the situation in southern Indiana. Skillman said “We know that community leaders need good information to help in their disaster recovery efforts. Governor Daniels and I want to make sure that we continue to move at lightning speed to get people the assistance they need.” She went on to say “The Governor and I have traveled the state surveying the flood damage, and we have talked with Hoosiers who have lost their homes, businesses, and crops. As the floodwaters recede, the real work begins. Today’s call helped us answer questions that many people are bringing to their local officals.”

Now that’s real leadership in the wake of the past weeks disaster and recovery.