Herald-Times columnist Mike Leonard has done it again. As you may recall, Leonard committed a serious breach of journalistic ethics in 2006 by fabricating a Congressional vote that never took place and attacking Mike Sodrel based on that fabrication. Now, he is lying about Governor Mitch Daniels.

On February 28, Leonard wrote:

Daniels has stayed consistent in his drive to write property tax caps into the state constitution. Even though the caps already are state law.

We’ve seen the wisdom of that philosophy already. Public education is getting slammed, higher education is taking hard hits — especially at Ivy Tech.

There is a major problem with Leonard’s argument. Ivy Tech is not funded by property taxes. Leonard is attempting to lead H-T readers into believing that Ivy Tech’s operating budget is funded by property taxes, and their operating budget has suffered as property taxes have gone down since the reforms implemented a few years ago.

That is not true. It is a lie. That means Mike Leonard is a liar.

(Read more after the leap)

Governors, Mitch Daniels and Bobby Jindal are gambling with the dignity of their beloved states. When the Colts defeat the Saints in the Super Bowl this Sunday, the Louisiana Governor will fly the Colts flag in humiliation over the Pelican State. If, the Colts lose…well, not to worry.

Clearly, Jindal is glutton for punishment. I have a great deal of respect for Governor Jindal and we can only hope this giant of conservatism will recover politically after bringing shame upon his beleaguered state. Such a folly could haunt his career for years.

We can trust these men to live up to their end of the bargain…however, Democrat Governor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley disgraced the Old Line State when he reneged on a similar bet he lost with My Man Mitch over the Colts-Ravens playoff game. Did I mention he was a Democrat?

Go Horse!

Follow me on Twitter!

My family voted for Ehrlich…

But seriously. It seems Gov. Daniels and Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley had a friendly wager over the Indianapolis Colts and the Professional Football Franchise from Baltimore formerly known as the Cleveland Browns game last week involving crab cakes and flying the Colts flag on the Governor’s car and sending a picture to Governor Daniels. Well, it seems O’Malley has weaseled out of his end of the bargain…

From the IndyStar:

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s office says he has settled a wager with his Indiana counterpart over last weekend’s football game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Indianapolis Colts.

Part of the wager called for the losing governor to put the opponent’s flag on his vehicle, and a pennant with a Colts logo could be seen attached to O’Malley’s vehicle next to the statehouse Wednesday.

But wait a minute! What’s that in the fine print on the banner?

O’Malley has attached an old Baltimore Colts pennant on his vehicle rather than an Indianapolis Colts flag.

Many Maryland residents are still irked about the Colts departure from Maryland in 1984.

O’Malley already has sent crab cakes and Smith Island cake to Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels.

What an exciting Tuesday!  We have the Massachusetts special election (can Scott Brown actually pull out a victory?) and then this evening, Mitch Daniels is giving his annual State of the State address.  We’re hoping to  have it covered in both locations.  Indiana’s own intrepid political consultants Kurt and Kristen Luidhardt have been working the Scott Brown campaign and might (stress might as they are a little busy today) be available to give updates periodically through the day.

Also, we’ll be live blogging Governor Daniels address this evening starting shortly before 7pm.  It’s going to be an exciting day, so may sure to keep checking back here throughout the day.

Bet you never thought you’d see the day that Speaker Pat “The Hair” Bauer loosened his iron fist enough to let the property tax caps pass out of the House.

It probably would have been the lead story in state politics, were it not for events down south (which got much more attention, at least in these parts).

From the Indy Star:

Lawmakers in the Indiana House voted this afternoon to place property-tax caps into the state constitution.

The 75-23 vote by the Democrat-controlled House was viewed as the most difficult legislative hurdle left to making the tax limits permanent in Indiana’s founding document.

Now, a vote before the Republican-controlled Senate is the only remaining step before voters would have the final say in the November election.

(Read more after the leap)

In case you missed it, Congressman Mike Pence had the following editorial in the Indy Star this morning.

Move America forward with pro-growth agenda

By Mike Pence

As Hoosiers enjoy this holiday season, we remember the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform and the brave soldiers who will spend this holiday away from home. We owe our Armed Forces a debt of gratitude we can never repay.

While many families face the holidays without their loved ones, countless Americans face their own personal struggles. The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced that the national unemployment rate remains at a heartbreaking 10 percent and 11,000 jobs were lost last month. More than 15 million Americans now stand in unemployment lines across the country.

Indiana’s unemployment also has risen as more than 300,000 Hoosiers are now unemployed. Under the leadership of Gov. Mitch Daniels, our state is weathering the storm better than other states in the Midwest. Even with the greatest efforts, a state cannot reverse the trend if the federal government refuses to cooperate with wise economic policies.

In Indiana and around the country, families are asking, “When will things get better?” and “Where are the jobs?” These are important questions that deserve honest answers.

Earlier this year, President Barack Obama promised that his $787 billion stimulus package would keep the national unemployment rate below 8 percent and the rewards of massive deficit spending would be seen “immediately.” Since that time, the administration has insisted that its stimulus plan is working.

However, roughly 2.6 million American workers have lost their jobs since the president signed the stimulus bill into law. In the city and on the farm, millions of families struggle to balance their checkbooks this holiday season. The proposals being advanced in Washington to address these challenges are inadequate. Last week, the president hosted a “jobs summit” — another meeting with the same experts who crafted the first stimulus plan. And in Congress, there are more plans to grow government and place an even greater pile of debt on the shoulders of our children.

All this talk is a tacit admission that the policies of President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are not working. Record debt and runaway federal spending have taken our economy from bad to worse. If all this weren’t bad enough, there are still plans to pass a national energy tax and a government takeover of health care.

The American people know we can’t borrow and spend our way back to a growing economy. We need leadership in Washington that will help lift the burden on struggling families and unleash the innovative spirit of the American people. The way to bring America back is by helping working families keep more of their hard-earned money. House Republicans introduced an economic plan built on the pro-growth principle of tax relief for small businesses, hardworking Americans and family farmers. We also introduced comprehensive proposals to achieve energy independence and to lower health-are costs.

With many families hurting this holiday season, we must focus on what makes America great. To get this economy moving, let us work together on the time-honored principles of hard work and fiscal responsibility. With faith in God and in the American spirit, we can bring this country back and ensure that our best days are still to come.

Hoosier Access will be broadcasting tonight’s Indiana State GOP dinner featuring Governor Mitch Daniels. The broadcast will begin at 7:30pm and his speech is scheduled to start at 7:45pm.

While the nation’s unemployment rises, Indiana is on the right track today and announced that they are adding more jobs right here in Indianapolis.

Today the nation’s unemployment went higher today and it is at the highest it has ever been since 1983! This is not good news and now Congress and the President need to focus on job creation in the private sector, instead of trying to grow into a bigger and less efficient Government!

Then we see this report come out yesterday that Indiana was one of 11 States that are recovering from this recession.

See our Governor and Mayor get it, instead of spending more money and creating a bigger Government, they are focusing on recruiting more companies to our great State and City!

A counterpoint to some of my prior Mitch for President speculation, summed up shortly by Blue County in a Red State:

I’m not drinking Mitch’s cool-aid. He can boast of Indiana’s ranking on business taxes, or that we’re the best in the Midwest, but the fact is that he raised the sales tax to 7%, second highest in the nation. He signed legislation forcing Lake County to implement an income tax.

He is not a tax cutter, he’s a tax raiser.

I want to see Indiana on a road back to a 5% sales tax, and eliminating the income tax entirely, including the county “option” income taxes. Those 11 states that beat us in business taxes often have NO income tax whatsoever, and they all have lower sales taxes than we do.

Mitch boasts of drawing businesses to Indiana, but the fact is that most jobs are created by entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs need low personal income taxes to get started. They’re constantly cash-starved, and every dollar that goes to income taxes is a dollar that’s not available to the business.

Mitch just doesn’t get that.

Mitch also signed the biggest tax increase on business in state history, but I digress.

Speculation is also emerging about former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and Indiana Congressman Mike Pence.