An Open Letter to Brian Bosma, CC: The Indiana Republican Establishment

Speaker Bosma -

I hope you are proud of yourself.  Actually, I am quite sure that my hope is unnecessary....I BET you're proud of yourself.  I bet you are gloating to your fellow GOP buddies about you really pulled a good one off.  And to some degree, I guess you did.

But allow me, for a moment, to be frank with you about what you are doing, and what will end up happening because of it.

I understand and accept in your position that when HJR-3 was introduced, it was your duty and responsibility to assign it to committee.   That's your job.  And you did it.

But when you realized that the committee that you assigned it to wasn't going to get the bill through, you had another duty and responsibility: let the committee continue with its assigned duty and allow it to die.  You sent it to the committee, you should accept the outcome from that committee as you would with any other law.

Instead, though, you did something horrible and despicable.  You realized your precious anti-gay amendment was doomed, so you did something unprecedented and yanked it from that committee and had it reassigned to another.  And you chose one not only heavy with Republicans, but Republicans you knew would fall in line and vote as you ordered them to.

And the committee did exactly as you wished.  With barely more than 24 hours notice, they arranged a hearing, heard some testimony, and called a vote before anyone could even review the testimony.  And, just as you anticipated (or demanded), the vote came down right along party lines.  Your Republicans won the vote 9-3.  Now, the bill is off to the full house for them to vote on.

So here's what you've done:  first, you've prolonged the inevitable.  This bill is doomed.  It has little to no chance of clearing the House, and even if it does it is nearly guaranteed to die at the hands of voters.

Second, you are making Indiana a laughing stock.  Across our nation stories are being published reporting on what you are doing.  And they aren't positive ones.  In fact, they are telling tales of what backward, extremist bigots we Hoosiers are.  And I don't like that, because you don't represent us well.

Third, you are destroying the Republican Party.  I'm not a Republican, so I'm not personally hurt by this.  But you ARE a Republican.  And it's YOUR party...you're one of their highest leaders.  And the people of this state, and our country, are looking at the moves you and those like you are making and are abandoning your party at an alarming rate.  The Republican Party is dying, and you are one of the causes.

Fourth, you are driving residents away from the State of Indiana.  You are driving current residents out, and you are driving potential residents to other states.  Good people.  Smart people.  Entrepreneurs.  Business leaders.  White collar and blue collar alike.

History is watching you, Speaker Bosma.  Your legacy is now tainted forever.  Whether or not you are successful, which you will not be, you will be a name that goes down in history as one of the most disgusting and vile people in Indiana history.  In a few generations, your name and the names of those like you will fill textbooks, and those reading them will find you despicable and wonder how a society ever would have elected someone like you to lead us.

It's probably too late to stop history from frowning upon you, Mr. Speaker.  But it's not too late to end this before it goes any further.  Let this bill die.  Don't continue to let this path of yours tarnish the name of our great state or its citizens.


Sincerely,


Josh Featherstone

Indiana Education Reform: Who Got a Mandate?

The 2012 election is now a few days behind us.  What's left now is just trying to decipher what it all means.  Sometimes, it's easier to tell what voters want.  Other times, though, the voters send confusing messages with their decisions at the polls.

When it comes to education reform in Indiana, voters sent the more confusing message.

First, they elected a new Superintendent of Public Instruction.  Many in the political circles around the state were surprised by the outcome of this one.  Incumbent Tony Bennett spent well over a million dollars on the race, and was supposed to win without much trouble.  Glenda Ritz seemed to be unheard of by most as they headed into election day.

She won, though, with big numbers.  Quite an upset.  And when that happens, you have to accept that it is a clear message and mandate to other politicians: we support what she stands for...make it happen.

But then something else happened.  The Republican majority in the General Assembly, the very ones that put the recent education reform and voucher program in place, grew.  And they grew a lot.  The voters of Indiana gave the GOP a super-majority in both houses of the General Assembly, and they gave them a Republican governor, too.

Basically, Indiana voters told the GOP, "Here's our State.  We trust you.  Do with it what you wish."  And when that happens, you have to accept that it is a clear message and mandate to other politicians.

The problem we're faced with, though, is the voters mandates are in conflict with each other.  The goals of the new Democrat Superintendent of Public Instruction and the goals of the super-majority General Assembly are not going to be the same.

Of course, both sides are claiming their mandate is the superior one.  Governor Mitch Daniels and Governor-Elect Mike Pence announced that the election of Ritz does not mean that there will be any rollback of the voucher programs.

Democrats are crying foul, saying Ritz's huge numbers mean that, in fact, it is their mandate which should take the lead.  Jon Easter of Indy Democrat Blog titled a post on the issue, "Indiana GOP Leaders Losing Ever-loving Mind??"

So what should our politicians do?  That thing which all politicians should do: compromise.  The GOP should allow Glenda Ritz to do her job in the way she best sees fit, in accordance with the laws in place when she took office.  Ritz should accept that, and do the best job that she can with what she has to work with.

What shouldn't our politicians do?  Try to out-do the other side and create a war.  The GOP should wait until after the 2014 elections (and the mandates they may bring) before they attempt to expand any of the reforms they have put in place.  Glenda Ritz shouldn't put a fight up against the General Assembly asking for the reforms of the last few years to be rolled back.

For all intents and purposes, both sides should agree to not make any major changes for now.

Don't believe that is what is going to occur, though.  Political parties love to ram through legislation when they have no opposition to fear.  Expect the GOP to spend the next two years doing whatever they want to whoever they want.

That's what the voters said to do, I guess.  But if they use that authority to actually lower the powers of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and step all over another mandate the voters gave at the same time, don't expect the Democrats to be quiet about it.  Tread lightly, Republicans, or you'll see your new found powers evaporate just as quickly as you obtained them.

The GOP Labored Hard to Keep Ron Paul Quiet

It's Labor Day.  A day that most use as an extra day of rest as a reward for their hard work the rest of the year.

Today, I am going to show you some hard work done by the Republican Party at their convention last week.  Sure, it's been over for a few days.  Still, I am bothered by what I saw.

The Republicans fought their hardest to keep Ron Paul and his supporters quiet.  Here's some great news coverage from Fox 19 News in Cincinnati. Ben Swann's "Reality Check" segment covers how the GOP not only changed the rules at the last minute, but also went so far as to script doing so.  They also kept a person heading up those voting against the rules change trapped on a bus circling the stadium while the vote was approaching.  The video runs about 5 and a half minutes.  The entire thing is worth a peek, but it starts to get really good around 1:14.






Even many Republicans are disgusted by how this unfolded.  Here's former RNC Chairman Michael Steele in an interview with Jon Stewart on the Daily Show.  He makes it clear that he believes the actions of his own party are disgusting.




If you, too, find these actions disgusting, please share these videos.  Help inform those that might not realize what is happening behind the scenes.

Do I Owe the GOP Voters a Round of Applause? Nah.

I feel like I should give the GOP some credit here. Kinda. Sorta. Maybe.

The GOP is the party that questioned Obama's religion in 2008. And 2009, and 10, and 11, and today. For some reason, the possibility that Obama might even maybe be Muslim, despite all evidence otherwise, seemed to be a topic of much concern to the members of the Grand Ole Party.

Sure, they been concerned about Obama's birth certificate, too. More so, even. But the amount of concern over his religion has not been slight.

Now, though, the Republicans have selected a 100% non-protestant presidential ticket. Mitt Romney is Mormon.  Paul Ryan is Catholic. A surprise from this party in many ways.

My initial reaction is to wish to applaud the GOP. After spending the last few years concerned about the potential non-Christian beliefs of Obama, they seem to have finally set those religious concerns aside. They have, themselves, chosen a presidential candidate that isn't Christian. And his Veep choice, although Christian, isn't Protestant.

It feels like a huge leap.

But I'm skeptical. I'm sorry, but I just have my doubts about how "accepting" the traditionally Christian Right Republicans have become with other religions.  My concern is this: just how accepting would the Republicans be if the Mormon candidate wasn't one of their own? I'm afraid the answer is, "not very."

I'd bet a paycheck that if the GOP ticket was Protestant-Protestant that the GOP voters wouldn't be near as cool with a pair of candidates that weren't the same. I have little doubt that there would be a thousand memes floating around on Facebook that make fun of Mormonism and Catholicism (especially Mormonism), and indicating that the candidates were unworthy of your votes because of it.

The Republicans simply don't have a history of religious tolerance. Quite the opposite. Year after year, candidate after candidate, issue after issue, the Republicans seem to find fault in those that are not Protestant, or at least Christian.

Because of that history, I just don't buy what is currently going on. I feel like there are probably tons of Republicans out there right now that are offended by the religious choices of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. I feel like if it were Obama or another Democrat that all sorts of hell would be being made of this. (All unofficially, of course, which is why I'm speaking of GOP voters instead of the official Party.) But since it's a pair of Republicans, they are turning a blind eye.

If you're a member of a non-Protestant religion and you have political aspirations, don't expect the same respect for you in the future. Unless you're a Republican, of course. Then you get a pass.

Ron Paul and Republicans: It's Decision Time

Dr. Ron Paul
(image credit: paul.house.gov)

There's been a lot of chatter in the blogosphere and the news lately about whether Ron Paul may abandon the Republican Party and choose to run for President on a third party ticket.  It's not exactly a surprise to be hearing these rumblings.  However, as the first presidential primaries draw closer, it is time for both Ron Paul and the Republican Elite to make a decision on how they want to proceed.

 

The first decision needs to be made by the Republicans.  It's time to answer a question: Is it more important for a Republican to win the presidency, or is it more important for Barack Obama not to?  That's the decision the GOP may be making when they decide to support or not support Ron Paul.

 

Let's break that down.  First, don't give me that "third party candidates steal votes" crap.  It isn't true.  Our votes do not belong to candidates, they belong to us.  If I vote for a third party candidate it's because they earned it.  If a major party candidate loses by a margin smaller than the amount of third party votes, then that candidate did not earn a win.  The winner wins because they earned the most votes.  The loser(s) lose because they were not successful at earning the number of votes they need.  That is fact.  You would be unable to convince me otherwise.

 

Next, Ron Paul is doing pretty well.  He is raising a ton of cash.  He is obliterating the competition in straw polls.  In head-to-head comparisons, he fares extremely well versus Obama.  The only people that don't seem to like him are the Republican Elite and the media.  Hell, even the media is slowly starting to come around.

 

But, as noted, the Republican brass don't seem to care for Paul much.  No matter how well he does, they just can't come to embrace his libertarian ideals.  More, I believe that they dislike him because he does what he believes is best rather than simply falling into line.

 

Now, though, the Republicans are going to be faced with a major problem.  There is growing belief that Ron Paul will be unable to earn the Republican nomination for President.  Because of that, the calls for Paul to run on a third party ticket get louder and louder.  On Saturday, ABC news reported that the director of the Manhattan Libertarian Party had specifically called for Paul to run for the LP. (Because of his libertarian ideals, and his 1988 run for president on the Libertarian ticket, the LP seems to be the most likely spot for Ron Paul to land if he ran as something other than Republican.)

 

The problem for Republicans has to do with Ron Paul's enormous popularity with those outside the Republican Establishment.  If Paul ran on a third party ticket, he would most certainly earn a huge number of votes, including a part of the Electoral College. If the votes are split three ways, there is little chance that a Republican candidate will earn enough votes to win the Presidency.  In fact, because of Paul's attraction to people on both sides of the aisle, a Third Party Ron Paul could quite possibly earn more votes than the Republican counterpart.

 



(image credit: wikipedia.org)



So, the Republican Elite have themselves in a pickle.  Their choices are: A) Suck it up and throw their support behind Ron Paul, a candidate they don't seem to care for but that has a real shot head-to-head versus Obama, or; B) Risk Ron Paul running on a third party ticket, in which case the GOP has no chance of 2012 victory.

 

That being said, I doubt that the Republican Elite have the intestinal fortitude to give enough support to Ron Paul to give him a shot at the nomination.  That would require conceding.  Conceding anything is not something the two major parties are known to do.

 

This brings us to the decision that needs to be made by Ron Paul.  He could wait for the Republican Elite to make a decision, but that decision is predictably a negative one for Paul. The problem is, if he waits for the Republicans to decide then they could stall.  My understanding of sore loser laws is that if Paul loses a GOP primary, then most states will not allow him to run for the same office on a different ticket in the subsequent general election.

 

That means Paul must decide about a third party run before the primaries, which gives him precious little time to do so.  Thus far his answers to questions on this issue have been relatively vague, but seem to lean heavily towards not doing so.  Of course, he's still running for the Republican nomination, so acting like he's considering defecting would be a sure-fire way to end any shot he has at an R nod. So, for now, it makes complete sense that Paul denies any third party rumors that are out there.

 

If, though, Ron Paul is serious about his intentions to be President, and all indications are that he is, he and his campaign team have to be seriously looking at the Third Party possibility.  Within a month, unless polls show him much stronger among likely Republican voters, Paul will need to decide whether to hang up his hat or to run for another party.

 

Paul's decision about a third party, though, will mean he will need to consider many of the same things that the Republican Elite will need to consider while thinking about him. If he runs as a third party candidate, there is little chance that the Republican candidate will earn enough votes to win the Presidency.  Paul, on a third party ticket, may earn more votes than the Republican, but will have a difficult time earning more votes than both the Republican and the Democrat.  In that case, it would appear that the Presidency remains under the grasp of Barack Obama. So, is it more important for Ron Paul to win, or for Obama to lose?

 

The Republican Elite and Ron Paul are both nearing the zero hour for a decision to be made.  I'm sure there are Republicans everywhere begging Ron Paul to not run third party.  I'm sure, also, that Ron Paul is using that to apply some leverage to his fellow Republicans.  "If you don't want me to go, you'd better get out there and start supporting me." The GOP probably won't offer that support, thinking they are calling Ron Paul's bluff.

 

Historically, though, Ron Paul is not known for bluffing.  I wouldn't be at all surprised if Paul announces a third party run within the next month.  If so, it's just one other story that's going to make 2012 one hell of a ride.

The Impending Death of the Tea Party

According to a recent CNN/Opinion Research survey, more than half of Americans now have an unfavorable opinion of the Tea Party.  I must admit, I am not surprised.  Truthfully, I am shocked that it took this long.

The Tea Party started with the best of intentions, and the greatest of goals.  LOWER TAXES.  REDUCE SPENDING.  That got our country's attention. Our citizens are sick of the spending, and they are sick of the taxing.  The Tea Party got really popular, really fast.  Like most boom towns, you could expect some of that initial surge to wane.  This is more than just a standard settling, though...opinions of the Tea party have actually reversed.

Why would this happen?  Did our public suddenly change their mind on wanting spending reduced?  Did people spontaneously realize they wanted more taxes?  Of course not.  The change wasn't our attitude towards these things, the change was within the Tea Party itself.

You see, the Tea Party lost its focus.  It was originally an independent organization with its own set of ideals.  It became nothing more than an arm of the Republican Party.  People didn't lose their interest in lower taxes and reduced spending, they only maintained their existing disappointment with the GOP.

Once Tea Party supporters began to make the realization that their support was, more or less, Republican support, they lost their desire to stand with the group.  The Tea Party supporters are aware that the Republicans don't stand for real spending cuts, only for small and insignificant cuts that they use as political ploys to claim victory.

Those who no longer support the Tea Party changed their mind on the group because they feel we deserve more.  If all they wanted was to support the Republicans pathetic attempts at lowering the budget, then they would have supported the Republican plan from the word "Go."  That wasn't what they wanted, though...Tea Partiers wanted greater cuts than the Republicans would be willing to offer.

Now the Tea Party's infiltration from Republicans is nearly complete.  The Tea Party itself now is just another group out there saying "Please vote GOP!"  Our citizens have caught on.  The original Tea Party is gone.  What remains is a masquerade.  That's not what yesterday's Tea Party supporters signed up for.