Election Follies, Part Six

It is July 25, 2006. I have a hearing today before the Indiana Elections Division. The reason is that I filed late- in January, 2005.

If I have to pay a fine for being late, so be it. I was late. It was an honest mistake. I went to visit my son for his birthday. Alex was living in Spain at the time, and he was first on my mind. The Committee to Elect Mike Kole was in its' infancy, and I was managing all the paperwork. We have a team that does this now. Major thanks to Ken Johnson!

I was a few days late, and will likely be fined on a per-day basis. So, can I get a $10/day reduction in the fine for every day that passed beyond one year of the filing date?

Probably not. It would mean the Division would be owing me money. So, why is it that the deadlines and timeliness are to be followed as a matter of law, but timeliness on the part of the Division is a joke? Shouldn't the Division be accountable on this in some way? I'll be accountable for being late, which is as it should be. It should be a two-way street.

Update: The hearing was delayed by 40 minutes, because one Election Commission member failed to arrive on time. Yep- we get fined for being late, the Commission or the Division is late? Laughs.

At any rate, being that this was my first time before the Commission, it was moved and passed that my fine should be reduced from the proposed $1,000 to $250, plus $2.50 postage costs.

The late filing was my mistake, so I want my supporters and contributors to know that the fine will be paid by me, out of my pocket. Your contributions will not be used to pay for my rookie mistake.

Election Follies, Part Five

After introducing the reader to four minor irritants caused by our election laws, now we come to a serious malady, as inflicted by the Elections Division. Observe this slap in the face, as delivered by the Legislature, via the Elections Division.

About 12 Libertarian candidate have had their candidacies declared invalid.

Are they felons? No. (Then again, a felon can still run for Congress...)
Have they made misleading statements with their filings? No.
Have they failed to file their papers? No.
Have they accepted a bribe? No.
Have they made threats against voters or opposition candidates? No.

So, what horrible crime have they committed against the people of Indiana? Nothing at all. They were bounced on a technicality. From the letter to the Libertarian Party of Indiana, from the Elections Division:

After their state convention, the LPIN was authorized by state statute to nominate candidates for offices listed in IC 3-8-4-2 and IC 3-8-4-10 if the LPIN did not nominate candidates for those offices at their state convention. IC 3-13-1-20 proscribes the process for filing these vacancies and provides, in relevant part:

"A candidate vacancy that exists following the convention of the party shall be filled by the state committee of the political party.... The chairman of the state committe shall file a notice of intent to fill the candidate vacancy with the official who is required to receive a certificate of candidate selection under section 15 of this chapter, The notice must be filed not later than ten (10) days before the chairman fills the candidate vacancy. (emphasis added)"

The "notice of intent to fill the candidate vacancy" described in IC 3-13-1-20 is a filing subject to SECTION 3 of House Enrolled Act 1011, which enacted a new statute, Indiana Code 3-5-4-1.9, that became effective March 23, 2006.

In other words, the Legislature passed a law that was designed to trip us up, and succeeded.

Glad that Indiana Legislature is hard at work for us, aren't you? They sure made the democratic process a thing for the rest of the world to behold here, didn't they? Let's show those people in Iraq how it's done!

My first reaction was that I wanted to be shown in writing that the other parties we held to the same standard. I'm not interested in getting their candidates bounced unless the IED positively refuses to acknowledge our candidates, in which case, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. But really, I want leverage by which the parties who wrote this mess would pull the members of the Division aside and say to them, "Hey look, we stand to lose a whole lot more candidates than the Libertarians do, so make this disappear". Alas, Dave Washburn of Hendricks County pointed out that the new sections of law were directed specifically at the Libertarian Party, without naming the Libertarian Party.

Specifically, IC 3-8-4-10 and IC 3-10-2-15 include only those parties which win 2-10% of the SOS race.

There is only one party in Indiana that this applies to. The Libertarians.

We never had to do this notification before. It was just one more hoop placed in front of the Libertarian Party, and we missed it. Some of the now disqualified candidates were going to supply the only opposition to an otherwise unchallenged incumbent. A real service this bureaucracy provides to the people of Indiana.

Can you imagine what it would be like if Coke and Pepsi wrote all the laws regarding the manufacture of soft drinks? That would be called collusion. With our elections, the Republicans and Democrats write the election laws. Why isn't that called what it is? It is collusion.

And, what about due process and equal protection under the law? Apparently, if Republicans and Democrats collude to exclude a minor party, those arcane notions can sail right out the window. Here's the final slap in the face from the Division:

To be sure, the division is bound by our laws, as we are a nation of laws. Unfortunately, in this case we do not agree with your interpretation with respect to how the law applies to the facts of this case. In any event, we certainly respect the right of the LPIN to disagree and seek redress in our courts.

Don't you love that high and mighty tone? These appointed, unelected directors of the Elections Division making pronouncements like this, disenfranchising these candidates and the constituencies they represent- no matter the size. And at once stating that the law is the law, and yet it is their interpretation that carries the day. The phrase 'arbitrary and capricious' comes to mind. This utterly lacks integrity.

Going to court over something like this is a joke- a bad joke. I have seen the Libertarian Party of Ohio deal with similar nonsense many times. Oh, they've won every case against their state, it's just that the case gets decided in December or January. Oh! Is that too late for you to get on the ballot? Oh, that's a shame!

Where do I fit in?

I believe that these candidates belong on the ballot. There is no good justification for excluding American citizens from the ballot at a time when we have soldiers dying in Iraq, fighting to give the Iraqis what we ironically lack here in Indiana- full minority party representation at the ballot box.

When I am elected Secretary of State, I will use the authority of that position, as Indiana's chief elections officer, to review and scrutinize the election code for fairness, to educate the people of our state of the inequities in the law directly and via the media, and to use the position to lobby the Legislature to strip unfair portions of the law away.

This is what a Secretary of State interested in integrity and accountability does. It is what a Secretary of State who believes in fairness does. It is what I will do.

Parade Brigade Marches On!

Even though I was slowed down by a rather pesky kidney stone, Kole's Parade Brigade still marched on in Elkhart Sunday afternoon, at the 4-H Fair.


Thanks to Rick Bowen for the picture, and my apologies to everyone in Elkhart County who hoped to welcome me there. I'll be back for the Millersburg parade on Saturday, August 19th!

Election Follies, Part Four

Perhaps you've heard, but there was a bit of a mess for Libertarians in Hancock County this year. It's hard to understand exactly what happened, because four quality candidates, including Phil Miller, Jennifer Bradshaw, and Tom Lake, all tried to file as Libertarians, were rejected by the Hancock County Clerk, turned to the Democrats and filed as Ds, with no objection from the Clerk.

Same people, different label, different result.

Now, it could be that Phil Miller is a scary name for a Hancock County Republican to observe on a Libertarian ballot. In 1999, Libertarian Miller ran for Greenfield City Council and won, defeating an incumbent who happened to be the Republican County Chair. Perhaps running as a Democrat is seen as a great albatross around the neck of Miller and the gang, whereas Libertarians have proven themselves able to dethrone powerful Republicans.

It's a pretty tough story to follow. I'm not sure I understand it completely yet, but here goes.

The Hancock County Libertarians held their county convention, but did not nominate any candidates at that convention. Instead, they chose to file post-convention, so that their candidates would be filed late in the filing period, so as not to give other parties time to react and file.

When the completed paperwork for the four candidates was presented to the County Clerk, Phil was told that their candidacies were invalid, because it was too late for post-convention nominations, and they used the wrong form. Panicked and desperate to keep four good candidates on the ballot, Miller contacted the chair of the Democrats and asked if they would accept him and the three others. After short deliberation, the Democratic Chair agreed to permit it.

Riddle me this- If it was too late for a Libertarian post-convention filing, why was it not too late for a Democratic post-convention filing? The deadlines for all three parties are the same! Also, if the Libertarians used the form the County Clerk supplied, why are the Libertarian candidates held accountable and not the Clerk? I would argue that the Clerk ripped off the people of Hancock County, and should be fined by the Indiana Elections Division. Tom Lake's letter to the Indy Star has more details.

Although these events have received scant press coverage, mainly in the Greenfield Recorder, there was a letter in today's Sunday Star:

Does anyone else find it odd that the Libertarian Party was not allowed to run candidates because of problems with forms and deadlines, but after they were denied, those same candidates were allowed to run as Democrats? We obviously have some problems with our election laws.

I constantly hear people complaining about having to vote for the "lesser of two evils." Maybe if we didn't have such prejudiced laws the voters could have more choice on the ballot and vote for someone they actually like.

Karen Valiquett
Indianapolis

I know the Libertarian Party is officially classified as a "minor party", but I don't recall reading in the code where we would have to suffer arbitrary dismissal from the ballot because of it. L's do one thing and are disqualified. D's do the same thing and are a-ok. Yes, Karen. I do find it odd.

In fact, it raises a larger issue- Why are we keeping people interested in running for public office off the ballot on the political label of their first choice?

There is an awful irony here that while we have American troops in Iraq, ostensibly fighting to establish a more democratic government with free elections and minority party representation, here the Indiana election laws, and the interpretations made by the County Clerks and the Elections Division, make it so we have fewer parties on the ballot than the Iraqis now have.

The quote from Secretary of State Todd Rokita about multi-party elections was therefore curious, when he told the Indy Star:

"We have to have some parameters, or we'd be like some country in West Africa with 18 different parties on the ballot."

What's wrong with having 18 different parties on the ballot? What's the harm? Why should the State's chief elections official object? The purpose of a political party is to advance a particular political point of view. I would find it amazing to think that even 18 parties could reasonably well represent each voter to his satisfaction. That's the point of free elections and representative government- that any point of view can be carried to the ballot, and then the voters as a whole decide if that viewpoint carries the day. If a party can't carry the day, they fail to be elected. But, everyone has had the chance to vote for those parties, and nobody was silenced.

Neither the County Clerks, nor the Elections Division, nor Todd Rokita, nor the Legislature have any business limiting the number political parties on the ballot. What purpose does it serve to keep minor parties off the ballot, other than to preserve the power of the two dominant parties?

Ah. Of course.

Fundraising Letter Has Been Sent

In fact, many readers may have already received the fundraising letter from the Kole Campaign. Here are some good reasons to contribute:

Keep the Libertarian Party on the Indiana ballot
Help the Libertarian Party earn Major Party status
Put election issues in the minds of Hoosier voters
Equip Libertarian election day poll volunteers with Kole t-shirts
2,000 Kole bumper stickers have been distributed- let's get another 2,000!
It's time to get the yard signs out to supporters
We need more 3' x 6' banners for the fairs and parades
Every penny left over buying Kole logo products will be poured into statewide advertising. We will defeat the Wasted Vote Syndrome for once and for all!

Contribute on line via this link.

If you received the letter, I'll be calling to follow up!

Election Law Follies, Part Three

I was contacted by John LaBeaume from the Libertarian Party's national headquarters in DC. He was asking me for a report on my campaign, so that he could include info on it for our supporters across the country. He said that he is impressed with what the Kole Campaign is up to, and that he would like our supporters to see some positive news on our candidates, and to show other candidates things that are working for other candidates.

Being a candidate who tries to implement what I've learned, I always give media people and important contacts the links for my website, my blog, and my online donations page. The media routinely reminds me that they won't publish the online donations link, and I expect that. This is what shocked me:

The national Libertarian Party advised me that it cannot post links to my fundraising page.

For crying out loud! I'm a Libertarian candidate, and the Libertarian Party cannot publish links to support me? In America? That's crazy! From John's email:

FYI: Thanks to the campaign finance law, we can not link to or even mention fundraising, esp. for a state – not federal – candidate.

Having said that, any thing we can do to drive traffic to, or interest in your campaign hopefully may bear fruit on the funding level down the line.

Well, the national Libertarian Party is a Federal PAC. As shown in previous posts, thanks to the campaign finance 'reform' laws, Federal level entities cannot talk to state level entities. So, we have to tip-toe through the tulips on fundraising. We can't say anything about money, but can hope people take an interest and find the fundraising page.

Does any supporter of the campaign finance laws feel safer knowing that when you visit the Libertarian Party's website, there will not be links to my website? Do you feel that representative government is strengthened by this?

What interests me greatly is to know whether or not the various state and county Republican and Democratic party organizations have created Federal PACs, because they all talk about and link to their Federal candidates. Because Libertarians play it straight and by the rules, we are punished.

If you go to the Indiana Dems' website, you will find that the only candidates they list on their candidates page are Federal candidates. Not a single statewide candidate or local candidate is listed.

If you go to the Indiana GOP's website, you will find that they list Federal candidates, and even include links to other Federal Republican organizations. The Rs do list their statewide candidates.

Do these state entities have a Federal PAC? That would be very interesting to know. They should. After all, members of their parties wrote the laws.

Campaigning in LaPorte County

Tuesday found me back up in LaPorte. The first stop was for a sandwich and conversation at the Nowhere Bar & Grille, with owners Ted and Helen Pfauth. They serve an excellent shaved prime rib sandwich!

Standing outside the Nowhere Bar & Grille with Helen & Ted Pfauth

Ted was one of the golfers at the ILBA event on Monday. We talked there and he invited me to stop by the next time I was in LaPorte. I told him I would see him tomorrow, then. That surprised him, but I was going to the Fair anyway.

I had spoken with Ted about the issues that affect his business, and he's clear that the Republicans and Democrats have failed him, and that Libertarians are the only ones talking about defending small business and property rights. He wanted to know where Libertarians stand on gun issues, because he feels that the GOP is letting him down here, too. I told him we are very plain about it, we back the 2nd Amendment and the Indiana Constitution without reservation, that you have the right to own a gun and to use it in self-defense, but you may never initiate force with it. I don't think he had ever heard as straightforward an answer as this before.

There were many Libertarian candidates that will be on the LaPorte County ballot staffing the booth along with several supporters, and I was delighted to be with them again, handing out balloons and bumper stickers.

From left, 2003 candidate for Mayor of LaPorte Mike Lysak, candidate for Indiana House District 9 Andy Wolf, candidate for LaPorte County Council District 4 Mike Sanders, candidate for Indiana House District 20 Greg Kelver, and candidate for Center Township Board Fred Lutterman.

Balloons to pass out and babies to kiss. I'm holding Fred Lutterman's grandson, Ben Dubbs.

Here's a link to the LaPorte County Libertarians' website, and to their candidates.

Campaign Finance Law Follies, Part Two

What you begin to see whent you examine the laws enacted as campaign finance 'reform' is that one size does not fit all- just as with most public policy. It creates winners and losers.

Since the laws are written by incumbents, you can bet that if incumbents face the effects of these laws, they will be the winners, and everyone else will be the losers.

I am a Libertarian candidate for Secretary of State. I am not raising millions of dollars. I am raising modest amounts of money. My goal is to raise at least $100,000 over the life of the campaign, and have raised less than $20,000 thus far, so I am the furthest thing from someone who is buying an election.

Some of these laws are designed to make it difficult for political action committees (PACs) to masquerade as simple grassroots organizations. These grassroots organizations that are organized under 501-c-4 are not allowed to endorse political candidates. The idea is to prevent a big corporate interest from forming a bogus grassroots organization for the purpose of funnelling dollars into it so as to make it look like the support of a candidate was coming from The People, rather than the corporate interest that might really be behind it. Seems like a good idea.

But, in the interest of transparency, they make people do a tiptoe through the political tulips, which I find distasteful.

I do work with genuine grassroots organizations, such as the Geist United Opposition. I have supported their fight against forced annexation by the Town of Fishers. Naturally, their contributors- mainly folks who are property owners in the Geist area in Hamilton County- are interested in supporting my campaign. I thought that one way they could support me is to endorse my campaign.

Sorry, that kind of speech is forbidden by law. Wither the First Amendment? Yes. Political speech has been curtailed by the campaign finance laws. The leaders of grassroots organizations cannot lend the name of that organization beyond a very limited usage.

So, the persons who would lend me their name have to completely divorce themselves from their affiliations. They have to sign on to my campaign strictly as Joe Citizen, and as a resident of their neighborhood.

Kind of defeats that whole interest in transparency, doesn't it? Wouldn't it be more transparent if they listed their affiliations?

With every law comes the law of unintended consequences. One size does not fit all.

I would like to urge readers for a change in the laws, but I cannot. It is forbidden. If I did, I would be subject to the Federal requirements spelled out under BCRA. Instead, I can only tiptoe through the tulips, dropping hints, but not speaking plainly. This is all that the law allows me to do.

So, are you satisfied with laws that have this blanket effect, that have no exemptions for legitimate grassroots interactions?

Next Stop, LaPorte!

Second trip to LaPorte in two weeks, in fact. This time, I will support the LPLP and its candidates at the LaPorte County Fair, tonight from 5-8pm.

Be sure to stop by and see us at the Fair!

Another Golf Report

I had the pleasure of sponsoring the Indiana Licensed Beverage Association's (ILBA) annual golf outing today in Elkhart, at the Bent Oak Golf Course. There I welcomed the golfers, distributed my Kole logo golf balls, displayed my large banner at the entrance, and served again as the official spotter for the hole-in-one challenge par-3 hole.

Campaigning at golf events is a new wrinkle for Libertarian candidates, so here's why I do it: The participants are having fun. They see me at the entrance, they see my sign, they tee up my golf balls, and they see me at the challenge hole. Some aren't terribly interested in talking policy, but many are. ILBA is a lobbying association that defends the rights and interests of its' members, so mostly, they are interested. There are many opportunities to talk with the members throughout the event. All must pass me on the challenge hole. I am a defender of small business and property rights. ILBA members are small business owners who are having their property rights attacked, so we have plenty of common ground.

Due to my extensive work across the state in supporting the hospitality industry as a whole in opposing the imposition of smoking bans and food & beverage taxes, I was a known quantity to many of the ILBA members.

While some of the bar and restaurant owners are Libertarians, many are life-long Republicans or Democrats. They all expressed dismay with these parties for the assault they feel has been directed at them. They cited the smoking and tax issues, but also noted that Daylight Savings Time is positively killing the bar owners. People enjoy the daylight, and by time they are done with their outdoor activities, they look at their watches and conclude it's too late to head to the bar.

What the ILBA members and the beverage industry folks told me was that government at all levels fails to consult with them as to the impacts of new legislation. The Daniels Administration didn't consult them before the DST cram-down. Town councils failed to consult them before passing smoking bans. (Interestingly, the bar owners who complained most about the bans were the ones who had no-smoke policies before the bans. They lost their edge and had their business model damaged when the new laws were passed.) Government failed to respond when the concerns of business owners are voiced, and it doesn't matter if we're talking about Republicans or Democrats, at any level of government.

Many of the ILBA members took my bumper stickers and business cards, and invited me to their establishments any time I am in their home counties. I was most honored.

We are campaigning smart. We are talking directly to constituencies that may not have been voting Libertarian in the past, but have good reason to abandon the parties they have been themselves abandoned by, showing them that voting for Mike Kole and the Libertarian Party is a viable option.

Campaign Finance Law Follies, Part One

Many believe that the amounts of money put into political campaigns is 'out of control', so they have championed campaign finance 'reform'. Laws have been written out of this feeling, and it is supposed that the citizenry feels safer because of these laws.

Allow me to begin a series of posts that shows how these laws have affected me in my campaign for Secretary of State. I am a Libertarian candidate for statewide office, and I have raised less than $20,000 thus far. It is a lesson in unintended consequences.

Did you know that I am forbidden from coordinating efforts with fellow Libertarians who happen to be candidates for Federal office?

It's true. Unless I form a Federal political action committee (PAC), I cannot knowingly communicate for the purpose of planning with Libertarian candidate for US Senate Steve Osborn, or with Libertarian candidates for US House District 9 Eric Schansberg, or in District 3 Scott Wise.

I am forbidden from sharing information with them, planning activities with them, doing joint advertising with them, and a host of others, unless I create a Federal PAC. I cannot even link to their campaign websites on this blog or on my campaign website. You will note that I only have links to non-Federal candidates.

I have no interest in creating the Federal PAC. It costs money in addition to the time and energy necessary to fill and file the paperwork. I have raised a modest sum of money thus far, and the people who trust in me and support my efforts with their modest dollars expect me to spend that money on promoting my campaign, not on hiring a paperwork jockey, or setting up shell organizations.

Any well-heeled candidate who doesn't mind the diversion of dollars, volunteer staffing, and energy can be free to set up the PAC and coordinate with their Federal candidates.

In other words, the Democratic and Republican incumbents, who generally have war chests, can afford it. Challengers, and especially those from minor parties, generally cannot afford it.

So, to the backers of campaign finance- Do you feel safer knowing that I cannot plan to attend a parade with Steve Osborn? Do you feel that representative government is made better by my inability to coordinate a press release with Scott Wise or Eric Schansberg?

Scott Wise's campaign contacted me and asked me to stand at his side when he announced his candidacy. I had to decline, because I have not set up a Federal PAC, and do not wish to be subject to Federal scrutiny under BCRA. Scott's campaign was unaware that the laws had this effect, so I advised them.

Obviously, I believe these laws are a sham. All these laws do is trip up, hinder, and waste the time and money of modestly funded challengers.

This is why Libertarians refer to the campaign finance 'reform' laws as Incumbent Protection Plans- because that's exactly how they play out.

La Porte Visit

It had been a while since I had been with the LaPorte County Libertarians, so I was delighted to visit Wednesday evening, for dinner and a meeting.

The LaPorte County group is outstanding. They have candidates running at every level, from US Senate candidate Steve Osborn, to Statehouse candidates Greg Kelver and Andy Wolf, to township candidates like Fred Lutterman. Their energy is refreshing and inspiring!

Here I stand with Kelver, Lutterman, and Wolf, from left.

It's a shame we didn't get a picture in daylight. The front office with the lighted sign will be seen in textbooks across the country. A maker of collegiate political science texts is including a picture of the front of the building as a header to a chapter on thrid parties. It will occupy a space formerly sporting a picture of Raplh Nader.

Quotes In IBJ

Reporter Chris O'Malley has an article in the current Indiana Business Journal on the proposed Nickel Plate corridor light rail system, from Noblesville to Indy, via Fishers. O'Malley requested the interview with me because when he was doing research on the article, he kept finding my name attached to commentary on the plans. Here's one quote, in context with others:

Still, it appears not everyone is sold on the massive expenditures necessary to launch a rail system or dedicated road for buses—the rapid-transit options local planners are contemplating.

Fishers resident Mike Kole recalls doing a double take at similar ridership projections he saw at an MPO meeting several months ago.

“I was surprised at how impassive the reactions were to the numbers,” said Kole, also a Libertarian candidate for secretary of state. “I was astonished. If we buy all this infrastructure, we’re going to be stuck with it for a long time.”

UCLA professor Peter Gordon isn’t surprised.

In other cities with new rail systems, at best 35 percent to 40 percent of passengers come from private autos—and many of them had been carpooling. Most are former bus riders whose routes were affected by the rail service, he said.

“Rail transit is a big waste today, but politicians love it as a jobs program that environmentalists support,” said Gordon, who teaches at the university’s School of Policy, Planning and Development and has studied the economics of some of the nation’s rapid transit systems.

That’s not the only reason for political support, said Randal O’Toole, senior economist at the Bandon, Ore.-based Thoreau Institute, an environmentally focused government watchdog.

Unlike federal highway funding, which is based partly on population and road miles, urban mass-transit projects tend to be funded based on which ones are most expensive, O’Toole said.

“Why do cities like Indianapolis want rail transit? Pork,” he asserted.

Interestingly, elected Hamilton County Republicans are leading the charge for this wasteful pork. They tout the importance of regionalism.

Well, understand then that regionalism means a giveaway to the people of Fishers and Noblesville, to be paid for by the people of Beach Grove, Southport, Greenwood, Avon, Carmel, Speedway, and Indianapolis.

In the end, three things are required for light rail to work:

1. The urban center must have high density.
2. The line must serve a lengthy commute.
3. The passenger's ride terminates in a place where having a car is a liability.

None of these things apply in Indianapolis, whereas they all apply in New York City, where I was last week, riding the trains.

I ride mass transit where it works- in places like NYC. Here I stand in Queens on the platform of the #7 train, for a ride into Manhattan, July 7, 2006.

Light rail, or monorails are bad policy for Central Indiana, through and through. Bus lines can make sense where there is proven ridership. Hyperfix showed there is enough demand from Fishers to Indy to justify three morning buses and three evening buses. Add that- but a billion for rail? Madness.

New York Pics

At long last, here are the New York pictures. My son Alex is 14, so I thought it was high time he made another visit to the city, feeling he could better appreciate it now than when he was 8, on his first visit.

My best friend, Steve Wainstead, lives in Queens, and he put us up for the duration of the trip. His neighborhood had amazing ethnic restaurants. There were many Mexican joints, but also Columbian, Ecuadoran, Indian, Thai, Afghan, Tibetan, and Italian- all in a three block span! We ate delicious kabobs at the Afghan restaurant.

Alex riding the #7 Train that John Rocker made famous.

We went to see "Spamalot" on Broadway. The theatre district was jammed with revellers.

Mike and Alex atop the roof of Tom Menner's apartment building, which is a tall building, but dwarfed by the Empire State Building.

From left: Alex takes in the Empire State Building as Steve Wainstead and Tom look on.

No trip to New York is complete without a visit to Central Park. Alex watches the wildlife in the Turtle Pond.

Letter From Ted Kennedy

I got a fundraising letter today from Ted Kennedy. Boy, talk about not knowing your audience. His letter is stumping for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Maybe Ted just doesn't know that the Democrats wussed out on Indiana, filing no candidate to challenge Dick Lugar. Maybe he doesn't know that I'm a candidate in the Libertarian Party's ballot status race. Maybe Ted Kennedy has more money to spend than sense.

The letter is an full-scale attack on George Bush. I don't like attacks that come without stating what you would do differently. Four pages of attacks on Bush especially, but also Karl Rove, Rick Santorum, and Katherine Harris. Not one word about what the Democrats would do differently if they controlled the Senate.

The envelope included a window sticker that reads, "Had Enough? Vote Democrat in '06". While I wouldn't mind seeing a good many Senate Republicans packing, I have no interest whatsoever in replacing them with Democrats. I want them replaced with Libertarians.

On The Road

One of the nice things about working on the road is extra opportunities for political events that weren't on the schedule.

This time, it's LaPorte. I'll visit the regular meeting of the LaPorte County Libertarians at their glorious headquarters building right downtown. I believe the meeting time is 7pm on Wednesday, so come on down and visit with the defenders of Liberty!

Temporary Whiteout

I understand that many were not able to see this blog over the past two days, getting only a blank white page. I checked it myself and found this to be the case. I republished, and it appears to be readable once again.

If you ever find a technical problem with this blog, please let me know about it so I can get it fixed.

I apologize for any inconvenience to you.

Update: Blogger was down for 90 minutes yesterday. For whatever reason, when Blogger came back online, Kole Hard Facts did not, despite most other Blogger pages coming back immediately. Link to Blogger's status report.

It's Illegal, So It Stops?

I laughed out loud when I read a letter about fireworks to the editor of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel:

Thanks for nothing

I want to say a big thank you to the people who approved the sale of formerly illegal fireworks. For a week or so, my 2-year-old and my 5-month-old did not get to sleep until midnight because of the noise of those fireworks in the neighborhood. Again, thank you for making them legal, and thank you to those people who obviously don’t have young children who set the hours when people can fire them off, and thank you to those in my neighborhood who have no respect for others when lighting off their two hours’ worth of grand finales.

I hope you are catching the sarcasm here; I am laying it on thick.

Michael Smith

Thanks for a fun letter!

These things were all true before the laws changed. It sounded no different in my neighborhood this year from last. It was noisy then. It was noisy last night. Laws that nobody is willing to enforce are a sham and cheapen respect for the law. Good that the restrictions were peeled back.

Hamilton County Report

The Noblesville Daily Times and Indy Star (both Gannett papers) shared a report yesterday on the various candidates appearing on the Hamilton County ballot.

While the article's focus was mainly on the township candidates, Hamilton County Chair and Kole Campaign Manager Rob Place got a nice mention in for me. From Chris Sikich's report:

Rob Place, chairman of the county's Libertarian Party, said Libertarians are focusing on Fishers resident Mike Kole's campaign for Secretary of State instead of local offices. Two Libertarians are seeking local office in Hamilton County, one each in Clay and Wayne Township, and Place said the party decided not to run for more offices to avoid being spread too thin. If Kole receives 10 percent of the vote, Place said Libertarians will become a major party with easier ballot access.

"We really want to make Hamilton County aware of who he is," Place said.

Libertarian Legacy of 2006

While the national Libertarian Party struggles with the reform the LPIN made several years ago, Libertarians will provide a real legacy to election history here in Indiana. Mainly, this will be the year average Hoosiers will see what a sham the tangled web of election laws, rules, and regulations is. They will see how the Rs & Ds collude to exclude, at the expense of better representative government.

Look for revelations of enormous numbers of shenanigans against Libertarians, coming soon.

It's interesting. Rs & Ds love to sneer at Libertarians, telling us that we are irrelevant, etc. Interesting that we are therefore treated like the greatest threat ever known. This of course, is yet another of the seven signs that Libertarians are becoming a threat to the power held by the other parties. Belittle, belittle, belittle as we grow, then smash! Eliminate.

The chronicles will begin shortly.

Back From NYC

Spamalot was great, we ate well, roamed Central Park, and were nowhere near the Holland Tunnell. The best thing was getting together with friends- Steve Wainstead put us up in Queens. Tom Menner and Greg McNair met us for meals. Pictures to follow shortly.

The older I get, the less I like New York. I can take the pace, but the crowds and the costs are so large. I like the elbow room Indiana affords.

The critics of suburban sprawl should spend a few months in New York, the land of 100% impervious surfaces and sardine-like density. The absence of greenery is simply crushing, even in Queens.

They Say The Lights Are Bright On Broadway

Thanks to Ame, Alex & I will be taking in our first Broadway production on Thursday, when we see Spamalot, the Monty Python-inspired musical. The blogging will be sparse as we spend three days in New York City.

Sure, Spamalot it isn't King Lear or Twelfth Night, but if you want to interest a teenager in stage productions, those classics may not be the best introduction.

I'm looking forward to staying with my best friend, Steve Wainstead. It's been nine years since he went to NYC, for a two-year experiment in living in the big city. Hopefully, Alex will have his taste buds in high adventure mode, as Steve now lives in Queens amidst a dazzling array of ethnic neighborhoods and their restaurants.

Notably, we'll take the #7 train that John Rocker infamously commented on, when we go from LaGuardia Airport to Jackson Heights, in Queens. Unfortunately, the Mets and Yankees will both be out of town.

Indiana Leads The Way

Alas, this is not good news. Indiana has the highest high school drop-out rate in the country. From an Indy Star report:

Indiana has the worst high school dropout rate in the nation, despite state efforts in the past decade to demand the best of schools and students.

Thirteen percent of Indiana teenagers from 16 to 19 quit school in 2004, according to last week's Annie E. Casey Foundation's Kids Count report. Indiana's dropout rate was flat from 2000 to 2004, while rates in 42 other states improved.

"It's bad news for Indiana, no matter how you slice it," said Bill Stanzcykiewicz, Indiana Youth Institute president and member of the Indiana Education Roundtable policymaking group. "We're known as a state for auto racing, we're known as a state for basketball, but we need to be known as a state that places a high importance on doing great in school."

Iowa and North Dakota had the lowest dropout rates at 3 percent.

Unfortunately, this report will inevitably lead to calls for more money for the schools. Ah, money, that magic problem solver.

We put too much money into the schools right now. That's right- too much money. What we lack and need is the undivided attention of parents, to support their children, and equally importantly, their teachers.

My own experience with my son and IPS was awful- not because of his teacher. She was extraordinary. That's no small compliment from this Libertarian, who has always taken a dim view of public schools. She called me on my cell phone any time he acted out or 'forgot' an assignment. She was excellent. With that sort of attention to detail, I asked her why the kids in her class weren't doing better.

She reported that most parents were worthless as support to their children's success. These are my words, of course, but that's what it amounted to. Most parents wouldn't take her cell calls. Frequently, she heard from parents that it was the teacher's job to educate, and the parent's job was to get the kids on the bus in the morning. Parents don't check on the homework. They don't insist that the TV stays off until a book has been read. They don't urge the kids to think of college as a goal. They don't speak to their children about the future much at all.

Most parents warehouse their kids for the day, very sadly. No amount of money will make the rate improve unless the behavior and attitudes of parents improves. This seems to be the white elephant in the room that never makes it into these reports.

It's Not Easy Being Third Party

It isn't just that the schools teach "two-party system". It isn't just that the legacy of third parties is scary to some voters because the only ones they knew of were communist. A lot of what makes it tough to be a third party is that the Republicans and Democrats like their duopoly, and collude to protect it. Ballot access laws in Indiana are difficult for new parties to overcome.

The old ballot access threshhold was a 0.5% statewide result in the Secretary of State's race. Once the Libertarian Party topped this level in the 1980s, the Republicans and Democrats conspired to raise the figure to 2%. Through perseverance, the Libertarian Party of Indiana has maintained continuous ballot access since 1994, despite losing access thanks to the colluding parties raising the bar.

It's nice to see some sympathy in the media for the Green Party. Many outlets, including NuVo and the Indy Star have covered the plight of the Green Party in their attempts to earn the necessary signatures to get a Secretary of State candidate on the ballot in the hopes of earning 2% for four-year automatic ballot access. It is curious, however, that the Libertarian Party, which has successfully leapt the hurdles, barely gets mentioned in the same sympathetic passages.

Observe the Indy Star's coverage today:

Stant, the Green Party candidate for secretary of state, was holding out a sliver of hope Wednesday that he would clear the hurdle, one of the highest in the nation. He and volunteers around the state had collected 20,000 to 25,000 signatures, tantalizingly close to the goal he'd been striving toward for more than a year.

"We still have a fighting chance," Stant said, before wearily adding that, really, the chance was "highly unlikely."

The truth, Stant said, is that "it's not easy being a political candidate when you're not a Democrat or a Republican. You're made to feel like a criminal. You're made to feel like someone who doesn't belong. That's very, very depressing."

I can appreciate this very much. But, we soldier on, and do what needs to be done until we can gain sufficient positioning to change the laws. More:

Leaders of the state Republican and Democratic parties think the 2 percent threshold is reasonable and fair.

Of course they do. It means they never have to worry about it, but others do. Also:

"The reason it's there is to make sure only credible candidates reach the ballot," said Mike Edmondson, executive director of the Indiana Democratic Party.

In other words, every Republican or Democratic candidate is credible. The Republicans have a candidate who espouses public flogging. Good thing only the credible candidates are on the ballot! Mr. Edmondson better not issue another complaint or comment about candidate Walker. Per Edmondson's quote above, Walker is credible.

In other words, any candidate who runs on a Green or other 4th party ballot is not credible, but should they merely run as a Democrat or Republican, they suddenly become credible. That's nonsense. More:

Murray Clark, the former state senator who is chairman of the Indiana Republican Party, said he thinks requiring signatures equal to 2 percent of the vote in the last election for secretary of state is "pretty low."

Secretary of State Todd Rokita, the Republican Stant hopes to challenge in November, said the state should have a discussion on where the bar should be set but added: "We have to have some parameters, or we'd be like some country in West Africa with 18 different parties on the ballot."

I'd like to set the bar thusly: If a political party in Indiana does not run a candidate for US Senate, it is automatically declared a minor party in Indiana, because only a real loser of a political party can't find someone to run for US Senate. If a party does not run a candidate in every State Senate and every State Representative race on the statewide ballot, it is automatically declared a minor party. If a political party fails to run candidates in at least 50% of the races in any given county, they are declared a minor party in that county. Hey- what's good for the goose... I get tired of the Republicans and Democrats crowing about being major parites, when they fail to meet these low threshholds. No excuses!

The real losers are the voters on Indiana, who are robbed of choices that would best represent their views. Rs & Ds really don't represent the views of the people very well. Look no further than the turnout numbers for the proof. 21% statewide for the Primary? That's embarrassing.

So what if there are 18 parties on the ballot? So what if there are some nut jobs on the ballot? You mean to tell me you think that government is devoid of nut jobs, and that the restrictive ballot access laws have made it so? Well, I want to step into your Wonderland, then, Alice.

If a candidate is not credible, the voters won't vote for him. Nothing lost by giving the voters the choice. Plenty is lost by restricting choices and low turnout. We end up with dissatisfied, disinterested citizens who become uninformed voters.

Lunch With Steve Keltner

I just had a terrific lunch with Steve Keltner, Libertarian candidate for Indiana House in District 88.

Steve is a very positive, solutions-oriented person, so I have no doubt that he will do well in his attempt to unseat Republican Brian Bosma.

Steve showed me Bosma's recent puffy taxpayer-funded mailing that brags on his great works in the House. Glaringly absent was any word on cutting a budget or spending less. Steve is going to make issue of the failure of the House to cut the budget even 1% while under Bosma's leadership. Steve is also running on his firm opposition to forced annexation. Given the chance to take a position by the Geist United Opposition, Bosma offered very weak statements.

I am looking forward to working together with Steve Keltner to put pressure on the Republican majority to actually deliver smaller government, lower taxes, and budget cuts.

It's About Time

The purging of the voter rolls is finally set to happen. From an Indy Star report:

The Justice Department agreed Tuesday to an Indiana plan designed to eliminate the names of people who have died and those who are listed more than once from the state's voter registration rolls.

Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita last week announced the plan to purge the rolls, following negotiations between state Republicans and Democrats. It would also target convicted felons and voters who no longer live in Indiana or in the county of their registration.

This should have happened many years ago, and then been on a regular schedule, per each four-year cycle. Many counties have had more voters on the rolls than actual population. That's absurd. Better late than never, I suppose.

Also, there is no good reason that the Libertarian Party was excluded from the negotiations. Including Libertarians has the effect of making the proceedings less partisan and more focused on the business at hand. Libertarians are on the ballot, so they should have been included. No effort was made by either party to include the Libertarian Party.

Hamilton County Meet-Up Tonight

Libertarians will meet tonight in Noblesville at Barley Island brewery & restaurant, at 7:30 pm. This is not a dry business meeting, but a fun, relaxed opportunity to talk about the issues of the day with others who believe in limited government and lower taxes.

You don't have to be a Hamilton County resident to join the conversation. See you there!

One of the Seven Signs

LPIN State Chair Mark Rutherford advised me long ago that I will know that I am gaining traction on something when someone gets personal about me or brings up the national LP's platform position on drugs.

This one is personal.

It seems that emails have been circulated to a variety of media outlets alleging that I was fired from my job with the Hamilton County Surveyor's Office for ghost employment. Among the outlets to receive the email was Abdul Hakim-Shabazz at WXNT 1430-am. Abdul has asked me to discuss the allegations on his radio show Monday morning at 7am, which I will do to clear my name.

For the record, I left on the most amiable terms with Kent Ward, Hamilton County Surveyor. I left his employment so that I could start my own business. As a courtesy to Mr. Ward, I stretched the customary 2-week notice into an 8-week period, so that he could take his time and find a suitable replacement. I even sat in on the interviews of prospective replacements. I was never disciplined for any infraction while a county employee, much less fired.

Seems the effort could be purely malicious. It certainly has nothing factual going for it as regards me or my employment history.

The email was signed "JQFR". This is an acronym for "John Q. Fishers Resident," an anonymous blogger who has posted comments on this blog many times, in favor of the Town of Fishers' attempt to forcibly annex the Geist neighborhoods north of 96th Street. I am a staunch defender of the Geist residents, and their right to self-determination.

I expect that some people will take issue with my positions. Some will even write that I'm an idiot. That's politics, and I can take that in stride. What I cannot and will not tolerate is defamation of character. Emails and website IPs are neither invisible nor untraceable. I will investigate these emails to learn who sent them. I will be eager to sue the originator for defamation of character.

Update: I appeared on WXNT's Abdul In The Morning show to respond to the allegations. I said many of the things you just read, above. A retratction statement was posted on this entry by JQFR shortly thereafter.

That was gratifying to a point, but once out of the bag, sometimes an allegation starts to take on a life of its own. My former boss Kent Ward called me this afternoon to let me know that Norman Cox of RTV6 called him to inquire about the allegations- after the retraction was posted. Mr. Ward indicated that the allegations were false, and Mr. Cox called it a non-story. It's great that this is a non-story on RTV6, but what kind of impression of me does Mr. Cox have now? Will I be treated with suspicion in the future should he interview me?

Moreover, Mr. Ward has better things to deal with than having his Office called into question. Did his reputation take a hit? I had to apologize to Mr. Ward for his having to deal with this thing. Imagine! I had to apologize!

I'm delighted that I'm having the kind of impact that makes some uncomfortable, but I'd like to see some of the other seven signs, thank you very much.

Calendar

Tomorrow's event is the Wayne County Fair, in Richmond Indiana. I will join Wayne County Libertarians in their booth and meet the voters there, from 7-9 pm.

Stop by and see us!

Visit To MicroVote

As a candidate for Secretary of State, one of the jobs I could possibly hold is that of the state's top elections official. So, with a prominent vendor of voting machines, MicroVote, located right in Indianapolis, in the Broad Ripple area, it was natural to visit their offices this morning.

Steve Shamo met with me and demonstrated the Infinity voting machine, and I grilled him on the fail-safes. One of the main things that interested me was the possibility of VVPAT- voter verifiable paper trails.

I learned that Microvote could do this, but has real concerns about it. (Diebold and ES&S currently have it.) Their big concern is Constitutional. The ballot is supposed to be secret. But, in the course of creating a paper trail, it records the votes in sequence. Especially in places where the precincts are small and only one machine is used, whomever views the paper receipts could trace back to learn who voted how. That's a problem that they haven't figured out how to overcome yet.

I appreciated Steve taking the time to give me the guided tour and to answer my questions. I feel greatly educated on the machines used in the majority of Indiana counties.

Steve offered to forward a link to an 11-minute video discussing pros and cons on the VVPAT. Look for that on an update entry soon.

Geist United Golf Outing

Today I attended the Geist United Opposition's golf fundraiser at Ironwood Golf Course. I didn't play, as the organizers asked me to be the judge for the hole-in-one contest hole, which was sponsored by Ed Martin, with the prize being a snazzy new red Nissan.

The joke was that I should have been standing by the pin. As the referee, I had to verify any hole-in-one, so I stood to the right of the green, near a stand of trees. I had four shots land within 15 feet of me. Something about the contest hole makes good golfers' shots sail wide.

This was a nice event, with 30 golfers and about 8 volunteers. I distributed my logo golf balls to all, and they were very well received. Unique, as campaign items go. GUO raised more money for their legal opposition to the forced annexation attempts by the Town of Fishers.

The golf balls are a little washed out in this photo, but they are truly first class. Libertarian Tim Oatess of the Image Edge produced them for the campaign. They will be available to supporters via the website very soon!

Campaign Update

Saturday was very pleasantly spent in Millville, in Henry County, for the Wilbur Wright Birthplace Celebration.

I was asked to hand out awards to kids who partipated in a "tractor pull". They rode a kiddie John Deere that was loaded down with a weight, and had to try to pull it 30 feet or so.



I really liked the museum site. Many community members pitched in to save the museum from relocation or even scrapping when under state control. The locals asked for and gained complete ownership of the site from the state. Libertarian Rex Bell of Hagerstown is among these people who contributed their efforts to create a really fine museum. Rex and his sons constructed two buildings. Others collected excellent Wright family artifacts, and designed other aspects of the site. It's an excellent example of how private control by dedicated citizens is better than public control by a distant bureaucracy.

Natural Constituency For Libertarians

As many of you know, I enjoy playing poker. I also play online- only the free games. I really don't like the idea playing for cash online, because it's not the full game. If I'm going to play for cash, I want to be able to see real, live human beings in front of me, so that I can read them. It's a big component of the game.

But, if people want to play poker online for cash, they should have that right in America. It's your money. It's your life.

Online poker sites have sadly been located offshore, as they are banned from operation in the US. Imagine the tax revenue they could be bringing to our country! Now there is increased talk of extending the bans on online poker to include playing, not just operation, in the United States.

A new lobbying group, the Poker Players Alliance, has emerged to oppose any bans on online poker. There are some familiar faces leading the lobbying. From a Poker Players Alliance press release:

Three of the biggest names in poker-Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson and Greg Raymer-and Radley Balko of the Cato Institute joined Bolcerek on the panel, each explaining why efforts to ban online gambling are misguided.

"We are here today to speak about the growing threat to poker as it relates to the online game," said Bolcerek. "We are here to defend the game and express our opposition to Congress' efforts to kill the sport and restrict our civil liberties."

This is a natural constituency for the Libertarian Party to pick up nationally. The timing is good- Texas Hold 'Em is an enormous fad nationally.

At the same time, it is of interest to me is that the various state governments are very happy to have lottery gambling which they control. The state lotteries tend to take about 60-70% as their cut. They advertise on TV & radio encouraging people to play. I haven't heard any calls from Congress to the states to give up their lotteries. Internet gambling sites, on the other hand, take about 10% as their cut. If nothing else, the state lotteries are guilty of a sort of price gouging.

Municipal Micromanagement

Two new municipal ordinances make me glad I'm out of the business of rental properties.

Speedway's new ordinance is especially awful. Do you really want landlords to be police? This is what they will have to become if fines to landlords result from tenant misbehavior. From WIBC's report:

The Speedway Town Council has approved some tough, new apartment regulations, despite protests from apartment dwellers and landlords alike.

The ordinance requires owners of rental properties to pay an annual licensing fee as well as a permit fee, per rental unit. The licensing fees were set at $25 for a landlord with five or fewer units. Those with more than five units will pay a $125 fee.

The ordinance also allows the Speedway Town Council to revoke the operating license of rental properties if those addresses see a lot of police runs.

Opponents say the fees are too high, and say they’ll just give landlords an excuse to raise rents.

And to become extra nosy. It isn't worth it to a landlord to lose his license just because a tenant does a lot of loud late-night partying. So, higher rent is just the beginning of the landlord protecting himself all the way to the expense of the tenant.

Greenwood recently passed an ordinance prohibiting the rental of a home within three years of its' construction. From an Indy Star report:

Mayor Charles Henderson says his plan, motivated by what he describes as a sour housing development deal, is designed to help maintain property values.

"I want to send a message that people deserve some protection and that anybody that buys into an addition can feel comfortable it isn't going to be turned into a rental community," said Henderson, whose idea could also face an up-or-down vote tonight. "It would help protect folks that get crossed up."

The Mayor also sends the message that if you bought thinking you would be there for a while, but got transferred to LA or Chicago within three years, you have to sell and take a major loss in sales commissions to the realtor. After all, the first several years of any mortgage payments are mainly interest, with little equity being built. I guess these people who get crossed up aren't in the Mayor's 'protection' plan. And it does little to help property values. If you can't rent it, you have to sell it fast, which means you sell at a lower price, which reflects poorly on the neighborhood.

It also prevents newer, nicer housing from entering the rental market in Greenwood. Is this a sort of plan to keep renters in older, deteriorating houses?

Local governments sure are making it harder to be a landlord in Central Indiana- and a tenant!

Oh, It's Soooo Hard To Do!

Pity the poor state Republicans. They had to be told not to get all excited and begin making plans to spend revenues that came in above forecast. It's tough because on the one hand you have a governor who promised to eliminate the budget by a certain date. On the other, you have little other than tax-and-spend Republicans in the Statehouse. From Mike Smith's AP report, found in the Fort Wayne News Sentinel:

When state tax collections came in far above the April target, Gov. Mitch Daniels made a big deal of it.

He brought state Budget Director Chuck Schalliol to a weekly meeting with reporters and touted the fact that revenue for the month was $206 million more than projected in December.

...

It's a tough spot for Daniels, who has pledged to eliminate what was a $600 million deficit in early 2005 by the end of this fiscal year on June 30. He said in March that the state likely would be able to afford statewide full-day kindergarten next year. He even hoped it could be implemented by the start of the 2007-2008 school year.

Many Democrats, including state Sen. Vi Simpson of Bloomington, say it's time to get that done. The price tag would be about $140 million a year, according to the Legislative Services Agency.

...

Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Meeks, R-LaGrange, said the state's first obligation should be eliminating the back payments. He said he was open to discussing full-day kindergarten, "but do we do that at the sacrifice of everything else?"

Meeks sent a letter to all Republicans, issuing a cautionary note about spending.

"I think it's way too early to talk about new programs," he said.

But, when the time is right, Republicans will be there to spend, spend, spend. Maybe sometime after June 30, when the Guv is in the clear.

Libertarians in the Statehouse wouldn't need a cautionary letter advising them not to go crazy on the spending.

It's an interesting article in other ways. Check out this item featuring Brian Bosma:

Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma said recently that "now that the state has balanced its budget," Indiana was in a position to move forward on new education opportunities. They could include a strong kindergarten program, state-funded textbooks for every child, remediation for struggling students.

It was just shown that the budget is not balanced. Could it be that he doesn't know the difference between red & black? Or, is that as Sen. Dirksen once famously said, "a billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you're talking about real money". We're only in the millions on this deficit, so maybe it isn't real money to Bosma yet, or to sadly unnamed State Senators. Again, from Smith:

The December forecast predicted that by the end of the two-year budget cycle in July 2007, revenues would exceed expenditures by $265 million. As fiscal leaders in the Senate note, that's not a lot of money distance between a deficit and a surplus when it comes to a current annual budget of about $12 billion.

This is how they think about your tax dollars. Had enough yet?

Rob Place's DC Report

As mentioned several times previously, Campaign Manager Rob Place attended the recent Campaigns & Elections seminar, "The Art of Political Campaigning" in Washington DC.

This was an incredibly valuable seminar for Rob and for the Kole Campaign, as we have come away with a streamlined plan for the months ahead. I have every confidence that what Rob learned will help us work smarter, and that we will see the results in November.

Here is Rob's report:

“Campaigns & Elections magazine put on a very professional conference. I was able to meet numerous other campaign operatives and political consultants from all over the country and quiz them on specific aspects of the Kole campaign. Most of the attendees were Republicans and Democrats, though there were a few independents and even some from other countries here to learn a few tricks of the trade.

Some of the messages were obvious – campaigns need three things: money, money, and more money. In today’s world consumers are bombarded with advertising on a constant basis, and the only way for them to hear your message is to reach out to them in a concerted, repetitious manner. This takes money – and lots of it. I’ve picked up a few good fundraising ideas, and you’ll be hearing about those in the weeks and months ahead. That being said, if you’d like to save us all some time you can just donate on Mike’s website right now.

Of course, the power of earned media shouldn’t be minimized and I’ve picked up a few tips on how to communicate effectively with reporters. Robert Trayhorn (of Sen. Rick Santorum’s campaign) and Flavia Colgan (of MSNBC) provided attendees with some excellent ideas on reaching out to reporters so that Mike is covered, but covered. Of all the workshops in the conference, this provided me with the most useful information.

The internet was another hot topic, and Joe Trippi (of Howard Dean fame) filled us on using websites and blogs to get a campaign’s message out. Mike’s been doing a great job with his blog already, and I would expect his opponents to follow his lead as the election season shifts into high gear. But will Todd Rokita and Joe Pearson allow public comments on their blogs? I doubt it, and they will be sending the message that they’d rather not have a frank discussion of the issues with Hoosier voters; unlike Mike, who is always happy to discuss the tough questions. In Joe Trippi’s playbook, score one for Mike.

I don’t want to go into specific ideas on strategy that I picked up, for obvious reasons. But needless to say, the trip was very informative, and really helped focus how successful campaigns need to be waged. I want to thank the Kole supporters who made this happen, and I hope to make you all proud in November!”

-Rob Place

I hope supporters will agree that this was a valuable, smart investment. If you haven't made a contribution in support of Rob's attendance at this seminar, please click through this link to make a donation. Contributions of even $10 go a long way.

Inclusion

It is gratifying to see letters like this one, in the South Bend Tribune:

I noticed in the May 23 Tribune it was reported the Democrats have named Joe Pearson as their candidate for Indiana secretary of state.

The article then went on to report that Pearson will be challenging Todd Rokita, the current holder of this very important office. The Tribune does a disservice to its readers, however, in failing to report Pearson and Rokita are also up against Mike Kole, the Libertarian candidate.

Furthermore, the Green Party is working to get Bill Stant on the ballot for secretary of state, something The Tribune recently reported.

The Tribune should stop pretending voters have only two choices come election time and tell the whole story every time.

Kathleen Petitjean
South Bend

I don't know Ms. Petitjean yet, but I'd like to. She knows the ballot status exactly, as newspaper reporters should, too. More voters would become better educated voters, as she is, if the whole story were told every time. You might even see better turnout at the polls.

IBJ Interview

I was interviewed by Chris O'Malley of the Indianapolis Business Journal earlier this morning. The subject was light rail and the possible project on the old Nickel Plate corridor that roughly parallels Allisonville Rd from Fishers to the Fair Grounds.

I've been making the case against the light rail for a few years now. Here are the bullet points:

• This project would cost a billion dollars without any overruns.
• A billion dollars gets about 4% of cars of I-69, on its best days, per MPO.
• IndyGo has an operating loss of nearly 80%, made up for by subsidies. Why extend this failure?
• A single corridor is hardly a network. How do you get around once de-trained?
• Indy is not a walking city, nor has the density where light rail works, as in NYC.
• Light rail isn't even the best use of the corridor. A trail & greenway would be.
• Light rail decreases adjacent property values while trails increase it.
• The people owning properties adjacent to the corridor haven't been asked what they want.

Mr. O'Malley indicated that the article would run in July. I can't wait to see it. Mainly, a lot of ranking Republicans- State Senator Luke Kenley, Hamilton County Commissioner Christine Altman, Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard, and Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear- are in favor of this boondoggle, and there has been very little questioning of the plan. The numbers are atrocious, and yet, there's the GOP going rah-rah. This is why Libertarians are firm that the Republican Party has nothing to do with fiscal conservatism.

Indianapolis once had a network of rails for commuters. It closed up shop in 1952, because it was losing money, even with a complete network. Why not open a bus line along this route first and see if it can hold its own? It would cost so much less than a billion.

Fighting To Claim Libertarians

It's funny- I almost wrote an entry on this thought a few days ago, when I noticed a Dionne column that used the word 'libertarian' in a positive light. Dionne isn't the first person I think of when I think of us, meaning libertarians. In fact, he's one of the last.

That's been happening a lot lately. I know, because I do searches in 20-50 media sites every day on the word 'libertarian' to see what comes up. More often than not in the past, the word 'libertarian' appeared alongside the word 'civil'. Now it seems, when a writer is ascribing virtue, they are describing someone or some policy as 'libertarian'.

Earlier this year, Mitch Daniels was describing himself (with the help of George Will) as a libertarian, and cited Virginia Postrel's book "The Future and its Enemies" as one of his guiding influences. Postrel is the former editor of the foremost libertarian monthly Reason.

Earlier today, Markos Moulitsas explained in great depth that he is a 'Libertarian Democrat'. For those who somehow don't know, Markos is "Kos", as in "Daily Kos"- the foremost political blog in the US, and the carrier of the chevron for many on the left in this country. Kos is featured in Time this week.

I don't think it is any coincidence that there is a very mainstream battle for libertarians. A recent report from the Pew Research Center, announced that only 9% of Americans are libertarians philosophically. So, the rest are liberal or conservative, right? Wrong. 15% are conservative, while 18% are liberal. The lion's share are ambivalent (42%).

That's useful information with the elections only 150+ days away, and Democrats and Republicans looking for ways to earn the edge. I don't know how you go about reaching people who are ambivalent. I do know how you go about reaching people who self-identify as clearly as libertarians do. You point out areas of agreement in order to lure them in. If either side can win that 9% libertarian bloc, they win in November.

Both left and right have the capacity to reach out to libertarians, because libertarians agree with those on the right who believe in economic liberty, while we agree with those on the left who believe in personal liberty. Expect a whole lot of pandering to us in the next 150 days. It's a good thing. It screams, "relevance".

The Kos entry is very telling. The first thing he does is bitch-slap the Libertarian Party. Harshly. That's because the one thing- the logical thing- that those who self-identify as libertarians should be doing is backing the Libertarian Party. Both left and right will be working hard to classify the LP as strictly irrelevant while singing the praises of our philosophy. That's quite a song and dance when you break it down. From Kos:

And what is the common thread amongst these candidates?

They are all Libertarian Democrats.

Ack, the "L" word! But hear me out.

Traditional "libertarianism" holds that government is evil and thus must be minimized. Any and all government intrusion is bad. While practical libertarians (as opposed to those who waste their votes on the Libertarian Party) have traditionally aligned themselves with the Republicans, it's clear that the modern GOP has no qualms about trampling on personal liberties. Heck, it's become their raison d' etre. (Emphasis is mine.)

What Kos points out about the GOP is correct. The thing he wants you to gloss over is that Dems haven't delivered on the civil liberties end either.

See, there's a reason I put the current poll up about wasted votes and failure to deliver. People are looking for alternatives this year like no other since 1974. Democrats really want to capitalize on flailing Republicans and lure new voters to undo Republican majorities. For their part, Republicans just want to hang on. Both will trot out the Wasted Vote Syndrome to thwart votes going to Libertarian candidates.

Indeed, this year, the biggest challenge I see for the Libertarian Party is to at last demolish the myth of the Wasted Vote Syndrome.

Mainly, there are wasted votes each November. If you are a libertarian and you wanted smaller government and less spending so you voted Republican, you wasted your vote. If you are a libertarian and you wanted more personal freedoms and you voted Democrat, you wasted your vote.

Once people realize that the only way to get what they want is to vote for candidates of the only party committed to libertarian principles, they will finally begin to get them.

Republicans enjoy burying libertarians in their Liberty Caucus, and why there is such a thing as the Log Cabin Republican is utterly beyond me. So, let's see what bogus holding corporation the Dems create for libertarians to be buried in this year, because you know they aren't going to go straight to the policy-making positions in the DNC any more than we did in the RNC.

The Kos post is getting a lot of comment among Libertarian bloggers: Cato-at-Liberty #1; Cato-at-Liberty #2; Reason Hit & Run; Hammer of Truth.

Jeff Pruitt asked me what I thought of Kos' take on Libertarianism. I think Kos gets some part of it, mainly the individual liberty part. That's the part I really expect the left to get. Remember, my roots as a youth were as a Democrat, because I believed strongly in the First Amendment and was opposed to a draft, and the Democrats were speaking my language on those things. Then Tipper Gore got involved with the PMRC, and it was all downhill from there with the Dems and me. It's true indeed that we have plenty of common ground, and I really am delighted to see Kos shine light on it. But, forgive my cynicism on the battleground. I've been taken for granted too many times in my short life thus far.

Stephen Gordon from Hammer of Truth says very well what I might say about Kos' take on corporate power and government:

That’s right, [Kos] actually said that government is a check on corporations’ power! Hello! Wake up and smell the reality. Government is the source of corporations’ power. Corporations have gotten very good at getting government to empower them to do whatever they want. Without government, corporations could not exist. And the less power government wields over the people, the less power the corporation can leverage to its own ends. (Emphasis original.)

There is nothing to be feared more than the government-business partnership. Government wields unlimited literal physical power, while business holds limited but vast financial power. Put them together and the little guy will be crushed like so much ant crap under the heel of a polished boot. The government-business partnership is precisely what gave us Kelo v. New London, a taxpayer funded Colts stadium with NK Hurst hanging on for survival, and thousands of other outrages.

Kelo wouldn't have been fighting to save his home without a developer partnered with the City of New London. NK Hurst wouldn't have had to fight to preserve their building if the Colts built their stadium on their own. Both would have told the developers, "Not interested!", and that would have been that. Only government has the power to evict. Corporations partner up to tap into it.

Government a check on corporate power. Sheesh. On that note, I could get going on the 'who is the utopian loon?' angle, but I think the point is made.

Update: The Kos post has more than 850 comments. They're worth skimming. While there is the Libertarian/fiscal conservative bashing and way-off descriptions of what a libertarian is, as you might expect, there is even more thoughtful dialogue. It's a glorious thing seeing libertarian ideas getting a serious hearing in a place like Daily Kos. Here's one particularly astute comment:

I think if you ask any libertarian to rank their trust of "government authority" in order from local, regional, state and federal choices, local would rank highest and federal lowest. So when you hear libertarians bashing government, most of the time it's the centralized federal government they're talking about. We all agree that all politics is local, but the Dems for some reason ignore that tenet to rush up to Washington to try to solve specific problems in a broad, one-size-fits-all approach which leads to massive bloat, waste and inefficiency. Libertarians I believe would rather the local/regional community address their issues in their own way, in ways that are most productive and relevant for their own communities, and look to their state level government for assistance only if needed. The federal government would be the LAST place they'd turn to solve problems in their communities. For Dems, it's the first place they turn, every time.

Got that right! Libertarians are not anarchists, as is often misstated. We fear centralized power, so when you hear a Libertarian describe Democrats as 'evil', 'completely wrong', or as 'opposite to Libertarian', understand that it's hyperbolic speech, but mainly a reaction to centralized government power.

Hat tip to Jeff Pruitt for the original Kos post, and to Andrew Lee for this comment.

How's Your Poker Face?

As many of you know, I enjoy playing poker. I have no idea if I have a good poker face or not. Here are some funny commercials from pros that were rejected by TV networks for air. Link.

I don't know- I think the one with Eric Siedel is airable.

Just a reminder: For those wanting to host a fundraiser at their home, I'm delighted to do Texas Hold 'Em nights.

Hold 'Em is an easy event to run because of its structure. There is no buy-in because that would be illegal gambling. There is a donation to the campaign, and then we play for fun using chips. You can find out whether or not I have a good poker face.

I'm available to do this almost every Friday night from now until Election Day. Contact Jenn Bradshaw by email to set it up.

Regulating Fun Out of Existence

In our quest to minimize potential harm to Americans, but especially to children, we have gone a long way towards squeezing the fun out of youth. The latest threat? Discussions about squirt guns. Check this out, from the Indy Star:

"I don't like squirt guns," said Mendez, 45, of the Northside. "I think toy guns send the wrong message, because what's next? I don't even like my daughter to touch them."

What a load. With that reasoning, let's ban driving 20 miles per hour, because it sends the wrong message. What's next? 55mph? 65?

In order to eliminate all the things that could potentially lead to other things, should we ban all the video games, the TV shows and the books? How about banning butter knives, because they could lead to cutting people, or, banning fire, because someone might think of burning someone. Good grief!

Squirt guns are just like anything on TV. It requires a parent to sit down with the child and explain. With toy guns, you explain to the child that real guns can kill, and that the toy gun, the squirt gun, is made for fun. You don't aim it at another child's face. You squirt each other to cool off, or to play tag, but not to hurt another. That's it.

I know that's really hard for many of today's selfish auto-pilot parents to get their arms around. Selfish, because they don't take the time to be parents, to talk to their kids. Don't leave parenting up to the government. Be the parent. You'll help preserve freedom in this country, you'll preserve your child's fun, and who knows, you might even draw closer to your child in the process of talking to them about how to use objects properly.

Black Expo Muncie Parade

I was delighted to be invited to march in the Black Expo Muncie parade by Carrie Dillard-Trammel, the Libertarian candidate for Indiana House, District 34.

Carrie knew absolutely everyone on the route. I have never seen a candidate sought out for hugs by so many people watching a parade. I thought Dan Drexler knew everybody, but he has nothing on Carrie, at least in Muncie.

Here are some pics from the parade.

Update From Washington

Campaign Manager Rob Place checked in with a quick report on the Campaigns & Elections seminar in Washington DC.

Rob has gathered some key ideas for the structural organization of the Kole Campaign, that we do not currently have in place- but will when he returns.

Rob has been sharing campaigning ideas with a candidate for Oregon governor, and even a Senator from Bermuda.

A very productive and interesting first morning at the seminar! More reports to follow.

Mr. Place Goes To Washington

Kole Campaign Manager Rob Place is off to Washington DC tomorrow to attend a critical seminar hosted by the highly respected Campaigns & Elections magazine, entitled, “The Art of Political Campaigning”.

Ds & Rs at the highest levels send their staffers to this seminar when it is offered because the information is so valuable. This is training Libertarian staffers unfortunately do not take advantage of frequently enough.

Because of Rob's and my commitment is to be the best we can be, Rob is going. Check out the seminar agenda!

If you support this kind of effort on Rob's part, and on the part of the Kole Campaign, please support us with a contribution to offset the cost, which was around $1,000 prior to any power lunches Rob may set up on the fly while there. Link to make an online donation.

Look for a report from Rob, with photos.

Rokita Catching Arrows

It was interesting to see an item in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette on the upcoming Democratic convention, where attention was given to incumbent Republican Secretary of State Todd Rokita, and to the political dynamics attached to winning Secretary of State:

The incumbent, Todd Rokita, should be vulnerable – he strongly supported an unnecessary voter ID law, and he refused to intervene in problems surrounding
voting machines until it became politically expedient to do so.

The secretary of state is Indiana’s top official overseeing elections and also has key duties in regulating corporations. And, to settle the question of which party controls the state House of Representatives in the event of a 50-50 tie, the party of the secretary of state would be given House majority status.

Not very flattering for Rokita. The Journal Gazette can round that out when they pick up my press release.

The 50-50 Indiana House tie possibility is coming up repeatedly, and as a watchdog effect should the Democrat win. Watchdog? It just means that partisan power shifts on party line votes. That's no watchdog. What would be a watchdog would be to have the Libertarian candidate win the Office. I'm not beholden to either Ds or Rs. Votes would only be predictable in one way- in favor of smaller government, every time.

Latest Press Release

The Kole Campaign has recently issues the following press release. I felt it was important to be out front on some important issues. While the press has taken the cue from Democrats on Voter ID as a top issue, I believe the turnout itself is a much greater issue.

As Secretary of State, encouraging turnout will be one of my a top priorities.

Primary Election Turnout Embarrassing

Kole Questions Secretary of State’s Priorities

Fishers, IN- It looks like the Secretary of State’s Office put the cart before the horse, spending $1.2 million on Voter ID education. It begs the question, why educate people on how to do something they aren’t likely to do?

The statewide turnout for the 2006 primaries was 23%. Several counties had shockingly low turnout numbers: Hamilton, 17%; Allen, 16%, Marion, 14%; Monroe, 13%, St. Joseph, 13%.

“I would be embarrassed by the primary turnout numbers, if it happened like this on my watch,” said Kole, adding, “Voter ID is a fine idea. Getting people to vote is an even better idea. As Secretary of State, I will make it a priority to encourage all Hoosiers to vote- regardless of political affiliation.”

Voter ID was an important part of the Republican legislative agenda in 2006, so it came as no surprise that current Secretary of State Todd Rokita, a Republican, made a big production out of promoting the Voter ID, spending $1.2 million on TV, radio, and print ads in all 92 counties1.

But, was the advertising the best use of taxpayer dollars, especially given the light turnout at the recent primary elections? Shouldn’t Rokita have spent that money and energy encouraging all Hoosiers to vote? Libertarian candidate Mike Kole thinks so.

“As the state’s top elections official, encouraging voter turnout should be the Secretary of State’s top priority,” said Kole.


It can’t be said that Rokita made no effort to encourage turnout. It’s just that it wasn’t directed at Hoosiers.

“I was floored when I saw Rokita’s press release encouraging Katrina evacuees to vote in Louisiana2,” said Kole, adding, “I didn’t realize voters from Louisiana were the Indiana Secretary of State’s responsibility.”

But there wasn’t even as much as a press release urging Hoosiers to vote, let alone an ad campaign.

Kole asks, “Why did a handful of people from Louisiana merit more attention than a few million Hoosiers? Why was Voter ID education more important than actually getting Hoosiers to the polls so they could show their Ids? These are big mistakes. The people of Indiana deserve better,” said Kole.


Hoosier voters are the priority. Let’s get Hoosiers to the polls first.

Having an ID isn’t that tricky a concept, and didn’t merit $1.2 million in taxpayer dollars spent.

Mike Kole will have his priorities in order as Secretary of State.


1 http://www.in.gov/sos/press/2006/03152006.html
2 http://www.in.gov/sos/press/2006/03222006.html