Weekend Thoughts
July 26th, 2009 at 6:30 pm by Jim Shella under Jim Shella's Political Blog
Thoughts I felt I should share based on recent and upcoming news events:
-The recent firing of two Republican ward chairs supports my theory that GOP leaders worry about the conservative direction of the party at a time where is opportunity for growth in the middle of the political spectrum.
-Rep. Henry Waxman’s (D-California) planned subcommittee hearing in New Albany tomorrow points up that Rep. Baron Hill (D-9th District) really does have clout in the health care debate. Will the hearing convince Hill to support President Barack Obama, or give him political cover to vote against him?
-Sarah Palin’s exit from office causes Mitch Daniels national profile to rise even more.
Tags: Barack Obama, Baron Hill, Henry Waxman, Mitch Daniels, Sarah Palin
No, the terminations certainly don’t support your theory. There is absolutely no basis for claiming that the two WCs were terminated because they were too conservative. It was 100% due to the fact that the two ward chairmen publicly bucked party leadership on who they were going to support in SD 30. Even if Vaughn could would have been the more conservative candidate and Schneider the more moderate, the result (the terminations) would have been exactly the same.
I have watched this party operate for 23 years. Party leadership simply does not care about political philosophy. County GOP leadership cares about control and influence-peddling. Schneider didn’t play that game, but Vaughn did and that’s why they backed him strongly. But PCs who live in that district are very anti-establishement. They did not like it when leadership, including Mayor Ballard, tried to tell them who to support. That’s why Schneider won with conservatives, moderates and liberals who are PCs in that district. You take out the mummy dummies, and Vaughn maybe won the votes of 12 actual PCs. He got slaughtered.
The story you are missing is the vote was a big backlash against the Mayor. We have a Republican Mayor who is incredibly unpopular among the GOP rank and file. When he came out and endorsed Vaughn it was the kiss of death for that candidate. That spells big trouble for the Mayor down the road.
I happen to agree with Mr. Paul Ogden on his points.
It so happens to be that Mr. Shella has constantly towed the established rulers of our city even to the demise of stepping on regular Hoosier folk for his own gain or to protect the insiders from ridicule. We are all too aware that the Indiana Week in Review show (http://www.wfyi.org/indianaWeekInReview.asp) in which Mr. Shella hosts only brings in insiders without considering the true voice of the public–that’s why blogs and social networking sites like Facebook & Twitter are taking off and the news industry is a dying business.
In regards to the two persons who were fired, I happen to have a few conversations with Elizabeth Carlson and she has never stated she would join the Libertarian party, but she has reached out to Libertarians to join such groups as the Republican Liberty Caucus and form coalitions and help provide a stronger base for the Republican party on certain issues. As a Libertarian, I have also found myself in the umbrella of Democrats too who also share similar concerns about the role of government and we have forged tremendous friendships and a mutual respect for each other.
What I have learned though, is that the establishment inside the Marion County GOP does not care about having true fiscal conservatives under their tent. They play the role of being a Republican, but act like a RINO (Republican in Name Only) and support big-government idealism. The distinction between the two political parties now is merely based upon which friend gets our money when a particular party takes power. We learned that all too well with the Capital Improvement Board (CIB) when Mayor Ballard was elected and the gold went from Ice Miller to Barnes & Thornburg law firm.
In any case, I do want to note that I was once a Republican and I realized nearly 16 years ago that the Republican party had left me. They have violated their own principles and recently I have learned all too well that they want their members to tow the party line and then if the members follow their own conscience, they are then removed from their roles. When Ed Coleman left the GOP and became the first City Councilman to become a Libertarian, it wasn’t because Mr. Coleman did not try to have behind the scenes discussions with his party, it was because when he attempted to get the facts and make a responsible decision, he was treated as an outsider even though he was following the very principles of transparency and limited government that the Republicans once followed.
Lastly, I must express that we are experiencing a renaissance within the Libertarian Party as our membership continues to grow and we are attracting talented people. I believe that in the next 4-8 years, the Libertarian party will grow into a major party here in Indiana and throughout the USA and I am looking forward seeing the party which represents the very cause of economic and social liberty take shape and mold America back to it’s Constitution roots that once believed in the people and feared the government.
Shella? Have you been paying attention? This is not about moderates vs. conservatives.
This is The People vs. The Government Thieves.
Why do you think there are non-partisan tea parties all over the country? Why do you think Ron Paul is so popular with the liberal hippie types?
Dude, you are a clueless old man.
Wahington Township has ALWAYS bucked “downtown”. It has happened for more than 30 years. It is no surprise that the endorsement of Ryan by the Mayor and County leadership would result in a backlash. But it is also true that the Ward Chairs serve at the pleasure of the County Chair and so loyalty is treasured while failing to support the chosen candidates are treasonous.