I'm starting a Young Democrats Chapter in the Wabash Valley, but based in Terre Haute. Our first meeting is on June 9th (Tuesday) at Coffee Grounds at 6. We will need to approve a constitution, elect officers, set an agenda, and become chartered with the national organization.
Well my friends we came through another election year in Marion County with pretty decent results at the county level. Indy went overwhelmingly blue for Obama, we gave Andre Carson a margin of victory even his grandmother never achieved and sent 2 new Dems to the Statehouse to represent us in districts the R's used to own with John Barnes and Mary Ann Sullivan.
All in all it was a successful year for Marion County Democrats, so why does this holiday season cause the junkiest of political junkies amongst us to have a little heartburn about our prospects for the future? Well when you read Jennifer Wagner's piece at that link above it becomes clear there are some folks who are more than a little reticent about the prospects for our county party in 2010 and 2011.
Welcome to the Virtual Town Hall with Mary Etta Ruley, Democratic candidate for Congress from the Indiana 5th Congressional District. Mary Etta is facing off with notorious Republican Representative Dan Burton on November 4th and has come here to Blue Indiana to drum up support for her campaign to replace one of the most embarassing representatives in the nation and our state.
To listen to the podcast on Blog Talk Radio click the play button below or click on the Blog Talk Radio logo to visit her profile where you can listen in with host Christopher Brown, candidate for Hamilton County Council At Large. We want to thank Thomas Cook for allowing us to use Blue Indiana for this town hall and special thanks to Christopher Brown for hosting the show.
I got this in an email from some friends at the JLT campaign (thanks David and Daniel!) and I wanted you all to be aware of this next weekend. The JLT campaign has been busy organizing with the Obama field offices and other candidates down the ticket across Indiana for an event they are calling Knocktoberfest which will run next weekend on Saturday and Sunday. The goal is to knock on 100,000 doors across the state next weekend in the biggest volunteer push ever organized by the Indiana Democratic Party. Here is the email I received from Naeemah Jackson, JLT's Field Coordinator:
Dear Friends:
Well, here we are, 23 days until the 2008 election, and we're happy to note that Jill is running neck and neck with Mitch Daniels - in spite of his enormous corporate funded war chest, TV advertising blitz, and big green yard signs. This success speaks to the tremendous grassroots support that continues to grow every day for Jill. What I'm asking you today is if you will step-up and help Jill cross that finish line first!
We need your assistance in talking to voters who have yet to decide who they will be voting for on Election Day. Any and all hours you can spare on the phones or walking door-to-door and talking to these voters will make the difference on whether we get the kind of change Jill will bring to Indiana, or four more years of the same with Mitch.
We're at our offices at 804 N. Delaware Street, seven days a week.
Monday-Friday - 9:00 am to 9:00 pm
Saturday - 9:00 am to 8:00 pm
Sunday - 10:00 am to 9:00 pm
Please give me a call or e-mail to let me know when you want to come in and help us get this job done. I don't have to outline the changes that are needed in Indiana, but what I do want to impress upon you, is that we can't bring about those changes without your help. I look forward to hearing from you soon. See the attached flyer about an unprecedented event coming up next weekend. Thank you.
Naeemah Jackson
Field Organizer
Jill Long Thompson Campaign
The email address to contact Naeemah Jackson at is njackson@hoosiersforjill.com and the phone number to the office in Indianapolis is 317-635-5455 extension 135.
Securing the votes in Congress to pass real immigration solutions into law isn?t going to be easy. The next President ? no matter who wins ? will need to lead his own party first to get it done.
Last Saturday Stephanie DeKemper and a number of local officials and dignitaries helped open one of the newest Obama-Biden Change for Indiana offices on the westside serving the Pike and Wayne Township areas where District 92 is located amongst others. Stephanie attended the office opening and spoke with supporters and future constituents before heading out into the neighborhoods surrounding the office to canvass for her own campaign, but to join with other Obama supporters in spreading their messages as well.
The video above was shot before she headed out to knock doors all day, and the photo slideshow below shows the unity on display at this great event. I want to thank David and Daniel Flack for their assistance and for keeping me informed of all things Obama in the state and for helping to arrange this great photo opportunity for the candidates of Pike and Wayne Township.
Former Today show anchor and native Hoosier Jane Pauley visited with Hamilton County Democrats at their county headquarters on Sunday Spetember 21, 2008. Pauley is a supporter of Senator Barack Obama and came to fire up the base in her visit to her fellow Bloosers. Pauley stated in her speech that now she is in private life she feels able to speak out on behalf of fellow Democrats like the Obama-Biden campaign.
The above video was shot by my associate Richard Ruzewski of RL Design who attended the speech. He said the atmosphere in the room was very electric and you could feel the energy her visit brought to the assembled crowd gathered for her speech. The entire speech lasted a little over 35 minutes and her entire remarks are contained in the above video. For more information about Bloosiers, the new social network for Blue Hoosiers, visit us at our website.
I grew up on the street next to Jane Pauley's teenage home on the east side of Indy. She always served as a model of someone who could escape Indy successfully alongside David Letterman and so when I saw this my heart warmed a little:
Former "Today" show host Jane Pauley will visit the Hamilton County Democratic headquarters, 802 Mulberry St., Noblesville, at 2 p.m. Sunday to help energize volunteers, said Party Chairman Keith Clock.
Sam Hasler at Trifles in Anderson, IN has a video segment from Chris Matthews' Hardball showcasing Indiana's 500,000 new voter registrations as his Big Number for the night last night.
Sorry, MSNBC embeds don't display on Blue Indiana, go check out Sam's place for the embed.
(This playlist includes videos featuring Nels Ackerson, Mary Etta Ruley, John Barnes, Stephanie DeKemper and Ken Kern)
The HobNob candidate gathering held every year in an election year was last night at the Indiana State Museum and my videographer Karen Sensney and I were there to capture as many candidates as we could on video and photo. We were able to catch up with 5 candidates on video including (in order of appearance) Congressional candidates Nels Ackerson (D-CD04) and Mary Etta Ruley (D-CD05), along with Indiana House candidates John Barnes (D-HD89) and Stephanie DeKemper (D-HD92) and Indiana Senate candidate Ken Kern (D=SD32).
Below you will find a mosaic of photos taken at HobNob 2008. Mouse over a square to see a larger clickable view to take you to the full size photo. Special thanks to Karen Sensney for her yeoman's work on the camera at this event.
But Terry was born on December 7th, 1999. He has never NOT KNOWN a time when George W. Bush wasn't President.
And we've been sitting on the couch after Adam gets home from work, watching the DVR playback of the convention highlights... both of us WEEPING LIKE CHILDREN. Holding hands, looking at each other occasionally, realising that we LOST OUR GODDAMNED COUNTRY when they stole that election... and we knew it, we knew we knew it, but we DIDN'T KNOW what we didn't know.
Oh, we railed, we thundered at the television, we shushed each other because the baby was sleeping, then we'd go out to the patio and whisper-shout at the heavens at the INJUSTICE of it all...
But we just DIDN'T REALISE what would happen -- HOW COULD WE???
And we sit on the couch watching this Democratic Convention...
The Committee to Elect Pam Hickman would like to invite the public to a meet and greet with the candidate at the Illinois Street Food Emporium on August 8th from 4:30-6:30pm. Come and listen to Pam Hickman as she addresses your issues and those of your neighbors in District 87.
For more information about the Illinois Street Food Emporium visit their website or stop by their location at 5550 N Illinois St. We look forward to seeing you there!
(I'm a sucker for on-the-ground reports. - promoted by Thomas)
I gotta say I agree with this:
"I want to suggest that the old theory that Labor Day is the start of the fall campaign is yesterday's news.
I say that the weekend of the 4th is the new official start. Sure, Mitch Daniels began TV commercials long ago, but Jill Long Thompson just hit the campaign trial for real. Its joined!
The ability of a candidate for public office is often shown in the manner that they interact with the public. Events such as CarmelFest, held last week, was a great opportunity for Pam Hickman to show off her ability to listen to future constituents and work with them on the issues. It is inherent in her belief that she works for you, not the other way around.
My crew caught Pam Hickman, the Democrat running in Indiana House District 87 which covers the far northside of Indy, parts of Carmel and Zionsville, while she was connecting with voters enjoying the atmosphere at CarmelFest, one of the largest outdoor festivals in the district. You will see in the video how engaging Pam is with potential voters and future constituents.
Pam is waging a vigorous battle in a formerly uncontested Republican district and has the determination, the will and the wits to unseat Cindy Noe, an enemy of teachers and students everywhere in Indiana. Pam has put together a fine team to take on the Republican machine that thinks it owns her district.
Pam is an owner of Patora Jewelers in Indianapolis, a business she and her partners built from scratch in the early 90s. She is a former teacher at the Indiana School for the Deaf and has a special education background before marrying Dr. Buzz Hickman and opening Patora Jewelers.
Pam wants to ensure every child in Indiana gets a great public education. Having been a teacher, Pam understands the educational industrial complex and can help navigate the murky waters of education policy and funding with aplomb.
To find out more about Pam Hickman, visit her website at www.pamhickman.org. Pam will make a great representative for her district and is a solid Democratic candidate vying to take another seat in the Indiana House this November. We have a field of fantastic Democratic candidates this year, and in the coming weeks I will be introducing you to some of the other great candidates my team and I at Layman Media are working with this year.
Fraud: "deceit, trickery or breach of confidence, perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage."
The HBO movie "Recount" tells the story from the Democratic Party point of view that the 2000 presidential election was improperly won by George W. Bush because of the trickery of his fellow Republicans and the Supreme Court. That has been shown to be untrue by no less a source than the reliably liberal and pro-Democratic New York Times, but facts rarely influence propaganda.
Here's a better example of fraud straight from the donkey's mouth that you can bet will never be told on film. It comes courtesy of 12-term Congressman Paul Kanjorski. During a town meeting last August in his Pennsylvania district, Rep. Kanjorski made a remarkable statement about the 2006 election in which Democrats recaptured the majority. Rep. Kanjorski acknowledged that he and his fellow Democrats "sort of stretched the facts" about their intention to end the war in Iraq and bring American troops home.
A video of his remarks, now on YouTube, shows Kanjorski explaining that Democrats pushed the rhetoric about the war "as far as we can to the end of the fleet - didn't say it, but we implied it - that if we won the congressional elections we could stop the war." Democrats also promised to bring down gas prices if they won a majority. That worked out well, didn't it?
"Now anybody who's a good student of government," continued Kanjorski in a condescending manner, "would know it wasn't true." I wonder how non-students of government felt about that insult? "But you know," he said, "the temptation to want to win back the Congress - we sort of stretched the facts."
Many politicians "stretch the facts" at some point in their careers, but this was more than that. While Republicans do the same thing on another level - like campaigning for spending cuts and then outspending Democrats when they become a majority - what Kanjorski has admitted to is outright fraud. Those who don't believe in the war, which includes some Republicans, had a right to believe that if they cast their votes for Democrats in the 2006 election, a Democratic congressional majority would end the war. Instead, while huffing and puffing about it, Democrats have continued to approve funds for Iraq and Afghanistan, attaching numerous pet pork projects. Pork covers a multitude of sins.
Some Democrats have made their careers by lying about Republicans and their attempts at necessary reforms of Social Security. My Democratic friend, Bob Beckel, likes to tell the story of his mother who lived in Florida and called him after seeing campaign commercials, which he produced, that claimed Republicans were about to eliminate Social Security. Beckel says he told her, "Mom, don't worry about it. You vote for Democrats on Tuesday and come Wednesday your Social Security will be back."
Kanjorski has taken cynicism about Washington and politicians to a new and lower level.
No wonder the disapproval rating of Congress is higher than it is for President Bush.
In cases of fraud, the victim usually has redress in the courts. With political fraud, voters must seek redress at the polls. They should start - but not stop - with Rep. Kanjorski, who is faced with his first competitive race since 2002. But he has a lot of co-conspirators and even one who is not a "good student of government" ought to know when they've been duped by fraudulent political practices.
Cal Thomas attacks the Democrats for not living up to their election promise. The Democrats have the President fighting them, who vetoes every bill that tries to fulfill their election promise of getting out.
By attacking Democrats for lying, Thomas ignores the bigger, more fraudulent elephant in the room. Does Bush saying "The Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons" (9/26/02) sound familiar? Or maybe McCain's claim that "We will win this conflict. We will win it easily." (9/4/02) or Rumsfeld's infamous "I can't tell you if the use of force in Iraq today would last five days, or five weeks or five months. But it certainly isn't going to last any longer than that." (11/14/02)
Kanjorski honestly admits his party lied. Bush lies about lying by blaming faulty intelligence. "Intelligence communities all across the world shared the same assessment. And so I was disappointed to see how flawed our intelligence was." (5/13/0 This contradicts a late September CIA testimony that found "no credible information that Baghdad had foreknowledge of the 11 September attacks or any other al-Qaeda strike." Is that double fraud?
We at Myers 2008 would like to invite you and all your friends and family to join us this Friday evening at Mugshots, 6525 N. College Avenue in Broad Ripple for a fundraising event for Dr. Woody Myers featuring Governor Davis and the Blues Ambassadors!
DETAILS:
WHAT: Dr. Myers to Host BLUES AT BROAD RIPPLE concert and rally featuring local legends Gov Davis and the Blues Ambassadors
WHEN: Friday, April 4, 6 pm
WHERE: MugShots
6525 N. College Ave
Indianapolis, IN
DETAILS: $10 at the door
21 and over please
To RSVP, call 317-687-0707
Come on out and join us for good music and good times and a chance to meet Dr. Myers in person! I'll be there too so be sure to say hi to me if you come out. Look for the big guy with the Bush's Last Day ballcap.
I just got off a conference call with the DCCC netroots outreach folks discussing the Special Election in IN-07 March 11th. I had an opportunity to ask a couple of questions and received some rather enlightening answers.
When asked if the DCCC would be supporting Andre Carson in the May Primary after the Special Election, the DCCC said that they would indeed be staffing and funding the Carson campaign against the other contenders in the crowded Primary field. The Primary includes candidates such as State Reps. David Orentlicher and Carolene Mays, as well as Dr. Woody Myers and Frances Nelson among other rumored but not yet official candidates.
The fact that the DCCC will be monkeying around in such a contentious primary is a slap in the face to the voters in the Special Election March 11th. Should Carson lose the Special to GOP nominee State Rep. Jon Elrod on March 11th, his campaign essentially is getting a do-over in the May Primary. This is truly an astounding turn of events, as prior to today the DCCC had been non committal about supporting Carson in the May Primary.
(An update from Joh on his new project. Be sure to check it out. - promoted by Thomas)
Hey everybody, Bloosiers has had a few more people join this week and we are starting to see more content being generated. Check out the posts from last week using this handy dandy widget with the Bloosiers blog feed displayed.
Bloosiers is the brand new social network for Blue Hoosiers like the readers here at Blue Indiana. I hope you will come on by the site and check us out. Celebrate the cultural aspects of life as a Blue Hoosier with your fellow Bloosiers, we've got a really cool video from Robert Rouse, and we have some music posted as well. Come on by and join us!
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The Committee to Elect Pam Hickman
