This is totally Melyssa and does not necessarily represent or not represent the views of the other activists, who haven't even seen the theory yet. -HFFT
If Elrod would drop out, citing the truth that he cannot do campaign and do the people's important working during this session well, then that will place the conservative vote with the Libertarian who can likely out debate the other two candidates on matters of policy.
There is no way Andre Carson will be able to stand up to a debate against either Elrod or Shepard. And Shepard will likely prevail in any debate on national policy. He's very grounded in conservative Libertarian policy and is a former republican. Not only that, but he has lived and breathed national policy (particularly economics) for many years.
This is how everyone (except Carson) wins:
Indiana wins by electing the first Libertarian into Congress. Elrod would end up with amazing national political clout by making a tough decision and selfless decision of such integrity.
Elrod could go on to win the primary and possibly the general election too after he's finished working the 2007 session as a Jr. State Rep. This way, the conservatives in Indiana win and together, Republicans and Libertarians unite to make sure that a solid, well schooled fiscal policy candidate and deserving conservative wins. It's not like it is a full term anyway. It's just nine months and would make history for Indiana.
It's time Indiana understood she can LEAD reform and made bold new moves that promote great change for our country. America deserves a Libertarian in Congress. Sean has EARNED this by his service to us already!
Both Dems and Reps can live with the Libs. Right?
Republican and libertarian talk show hosts need something positive to talk about right now and it sure ain't McCain. Elrod could be on their lips by Monday morning.
Republicans should never forget how much their Libertarian friends (and Gary Welsh) helped Ballard win.
This way, both R's and L's win win...but most of all the taxpayers win.The Libertarians have demonstrated that they are Republican compatible. We even were seen at GOP headquarters making calls for Ballard! It's time the R's helped the Libs back.
Signed,
Melyssa
(sticking my neck out once more for reform)
http://www.shepard2008.com/
Thursday, February 14, 2008
How the Republicans and Libertarians can make Elrod a national name and block Carson from office.
MAYORS AND BUDGETS -- Q: Can Hammond cut its budget and save essential services?
FROM TEAM HAMMOND TAXPAYERS GROUP:
There has been a great deal of talk concerning upcoming budget shortfalls. Mayors from different cities mention that their local governments will lose millions of dollars and as a result will have to cut services.
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. has said there is no way his city can shed $21 million overnight without affecting police and fire protection.
As a homeowner in Hammond, I am deeply concerned. What will happen to the police and fire protection? Will we have enough police and firemen?
I took my car and headed to Hammond City Hall where I picked up a copy of the City Budget. The budget has eight sections and there is a bunch of numbers. So I started at the beginning. There is a Budget estimate page with fund names, such as a General Fund, Debt Service Fund, Fire Pension, Police Pension, and so on. Each of these funds included a dollar amount. The total dollar amount for the budget is $109,988,393.00 for the 2008 budget. That sure is a lot of money; I had to double check the amount so I added all those numbers. When I totaled the numbers I was shocked to find that the real amount is $110,184,213.00. I added those numbers again, and again, I arrived at $110,184,213.00.
The Budget didn’t add up.
I started to get more curious about this budget. I looked at every page and as I went through the budget, questions started to pop up. Where are the take-home cars? I know there are over 90 take-home cars, but they aren’t in the budget. What about gas for vehicles; that isn’t in the budget. The self-insurance fund is not listed in the budget. The Mayor has a photographer, and the Mayor has a television show. Where are all these items? In fact, I counted 25 City Departments and Funds that were not included in the budget. Again, the budget didn’t add up.
Now the question is, how are these departments funded, and what are the true costs?
I turned to the State Board of Accounts, and they sent me a financial report for the City of Hammond. It is called the Annual City and Town Financial Report. The report that I received is for the Fiscal Year ending December 31, 2006.
There are 13 parts to this Financial Report. I turned to Part 1-Statement of Receipts, Disbursements, Cash Balances & Investment Balances. I discovered the City of Hammond had Receipts of $195,443,208.70 for the year ending 2006.
The Budget for 2008 shows a Budget total of $109,988,393.00, but Hammond has Receipts over $195,443,208.70. This is a difference of 85 million dollars.
The Budget again didn’t add up.
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. has said there’s no way his city can shed $21 million overnight without affecting police and fire protection.
Where did the Mayor of Hammond get the money for the following items?
1) $13,000,000 for a Clubhouse for a Golf Course
2) Yes, the Mayor of the City of Hammond has a Golf Course: Lost Marsh Golf Course. The cost to operate is close to $2,000,000 per year.
3) $55,000 for the Mayor’s photographer
4) $900,000 Commission for the Mayor’s father in the Cabela’s store deal
5) $100,000 to Purdue University for an endowment for the Mayor’s father.
6) $1,500 for health care per employee per month for City Departments
7) $432,192 for Festival of the Lakes.
8) $250,000 for a legal aid clinic
9) $65,000 for campaign workers
10) $10,000,000 in raises since the 2005 budget. In fact some employees received $15,000 dollar raises for this year (Fire Chief & Police Chief).
11) The Mayor’s salary is $95,000 per year. The Governor’s salary is also $95,000.
12) There are a total of 9 Pages of Financial Assistance to Nongovernmental Entities as listed in the Annual City and Town Financial Report of 2006. Here are some items from that list.
a) $50,500 Hammond YMCA
b) $60,000 Running Rebels
c) $70,000 Parents as Teachers of Hammond
d) $350,000 St. Margaret Mercy
e) $20,000 The Laura Austin Passimore Guild
f) $40,300 Towle Community Theatre
g) $50,000 United Neighborhood Inc.
Can Hammond shed $21 million dollars from their budget and save the Police and Fire departments?
What do you think?
Editorial from Team Hammond: It's time for a Lake County Tea Party !
Below is a letter we received from Team Hammond Taxpayers' Group, sponsor of the Lake County Indiana Tea Party to be held on March 1st. If you want to join the caravan of patriots going from Indianapolis, drop us an email and we'll get you included in our party! Together, statewide, we can send a message to our politicians that we're not buying the bull that essential services will have to be cut with tax cuts. That's an out and out lie and the taxpayers know it.
--HFFT editor
"Our local elected officials must be working overtime trying to convince the citizens that property tax reform is bad for us. They would have you believe with their scare tactics that we will have no fire or police protection, and people will die! Let's put a guilt trip on the homeowners for wanting to keep their homes!
Letter from Sean Shepard to Indiana's FAIR TAX supporters
TO FAIR TAX SUPPORTERS:
For those who weren't already aware, I am the Libertarian candidate for Indiana's 7th District House of Representatives (Julia Carson's old district) in the Special Election on March 11.
I have made support for The FairTax a cornerstone of my campaign and committed that I would contact John Linder immediately to co-sign the bill if elected. I mention it briefly in one of the videos now posted at my campaign site.
On March 11th there is no "straight ticket" balloting, just three to choose from. If there was ever an opportunity for a straight-talking, independant candidate to do well, we think this is it. I would appreciate anyone and everyone getting the word out that we can send a message to Congress that people are tired of partisan shenanigans and want real "change" (since that's the buzz word of this election cycle).
I don't want to politicize our Fair Tax MeetUp group, but I did think it important and relevant, as I've always done in the past, to point out when we have candidates supporting The FairTax. I have certainly appreciated everyone's interest in HR 25 since I first got involved back in 2004 and, short of full repeal, believe HR 25 would be a vast improvement over the current system.
Unfortunately, it also means any official duties with Americans for Fair Taxation must be put on the backburner while I'm a candidate. Anyone interested in being an Assistant State Director should contact me or Ron Heilman (State Director in Ft. Wayne).
I will continue to support the MeetUp .Warm regards and good wishes to all, I have a campaign related event next Tuesday which would be our normal MeetUp night, I'm working to see how to best handle the conflict. Feel free to contact me with questions or anything you need relative to the Fair Tax.
Sean Shepard,
CandidateU.S. House of Representatives
Indiana's 7th District
News Alert: Please take quick action
Friends,
As you know, there is a special election on March 11 for Julia Carson's seat. This week the Libertarian candidate's opponents made broadcast, print, and blog news by shamefully placing their interests ahead of the peoples interests.
This is Indiana's opportunity to send a clear message to politicians across the country that the people have had it with cronyism and fundraising politics that come before the interests of the people. We can send that message by LEADING the country's reform by sending the first Libertarian ever to Congress!
Andre Carson failed to show to a neighborhood candidate forum on Tuesday that was confirmed weeks earlier. He also went ballistic with a citizen at Monday's city council meeting and required two other city councilors to calm him down.
Today's news reports that Jon Elrod was videographed signing campaign letters in the state house chamber yesterday. We've been reporting here for days that Elrod's focus seems to be not on the people's business in the statehouse, but on running his campaign and raising money.
Even if you don't live in the 7th district please consider the following request from the only candidate endorsed by HOOSIERS FOR FAIR TAXATION to represent the 7th district in Congress, one of our key activists, Sean Shepard.
Sean Shepard was also one of our state's Fair Tax directors and will co-sign the Fair Tax HR25 immediately upon taking office. He is for small government, fiscal accountability, transparency in government, and keeping the government out of our personal lives and that includes marriage!
FROM SEAN:
"If anyone can take a few moments to post suggestions in the Talkback section that it is time for a Libertarian in Congress and for Indianapolis to take a nationwide leadership position in this area ... or whatever hopefully pro-Shepard in 2008 message you can feel good about posting that'd be awesome..."
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080214/LOCAL1904/302140004
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Another qualified roofing contractor squeezed from government bids
Once again, our friend at Welcome to My Tea Party, reports on another roofing contractor who is complaining about the monopoly Tremco Roofing has on our tax dollars.
He is a Ft. Wayne contractor and past president of the Indiana Roofing Contractors Association and here is his letter.
Tremco's parent company is public. Wonder if their stockholders know about Tremco's tactics.
Are you a Libertarian? If you are, you should start voting like one!
You just might be a Libertarian and not even know it. If you are curious, you can visit the Advocates For Self-Government and take a 30-second political quiz to find out.
News Videos: Sean Shepard & Jon Elrod
For those that missed last night's news and candidate forum, here's the video coverage:
COMPLETE AUDIO COVERAGE - HoosierAccess.com
WISH TV - Channel 8
WRTV - Channel 6
This is the year for change in America. Indiana has an opportunity to LEAD the country in the great change that is happening by electing the first Libertarian to Congress.
By our collective vote, we can elect a qualified person to serve the people in Congress and keep a much appreciated pro-repeal legislator, Jon Elrod, in the state house where he is most useful to serve the taxpayers at home in the position for which he was elected.
TAXAHOLICS GET THE DTs - THE FIX IS IN! (get the politicians out of politics -- return to a citizen legislature)
Read this and consider exactly why we need Sean Shepard in Congress. He's not a politician.
U.S. State Credit Outlook Turns Negative on Slumping Economy, Moody's Says
U.S. states' credit ratings may be lowered this year as slumping housing and the weakened economy constrain tax revenue, Moody's Investors Service said.
The rating company changed its credit outlook on states to negative from stable as sales, corporate and income taxes fall below forecasts. States will likely borrow more to fund programs, Moody's said. A downgrade can boost taxpayer borrowing costs as investors demand a higher return for increased risk.
Half of U.S. states, including New York, New Jersey and California, are projecting budget deficits next fiscal year amid the worst housing slump in 16 years. States that had robust residential real estate markets, such as Florida, Arizona and Nevada, have been particularly hard hit, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington-based research group, said in a Jan. 28 study.
Pressures to spend in such areas as education, transportation and health care have not gone away, and, with this an election year, some budget decisions will be especially difficult,'' Moody's Public Finance Team Managing Director Robert Kurtter said in a report released late yesterday.
A slowing economy curbs tax collections, forcing local governments to spend savings, cut funding for programs and borrow or raise taxes.
Several recent indicators have shown economic sluggishness. Gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter, down from 4.9 percent in the prior three months, the Commerce Department reported Jan. 30. The pace of growth was half that forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Payrolls in January fell for the first time in more than four years, the Labor Department reported Feb. 1.
Across the Board
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's administration has cut its tax-revenue forecast by $384 million for the coming fiscal year. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine said he may call for spending cuts in his proposed budget for the year beginning July 1 in anticipation of declining revenue.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in January proposed across-the-board cuts of at least 10 percent to all spending to fill a $14 billion budget gap. Fitch Ratings last month said it may lower its rating on California's $49 billion of debt because of the deficit.
Moody's said that while states will encounter difficulties this year, the situation won't merit the number of downgrades that occurred during the 2002 economic slowdown because states are better positioned to deal with a budget squeeze.
`Advance Warning'
States have had more advance warning of this downturn, as well as larger reserves,'' Moody's analyst Nicole Johnson said in the report. ``Many states are taking proactive measures and cutting spending before revenues are depleted to the point of drawing down on reserves, while others will draw down from the large cushion of reserves they built up in the last few heady years of the housing boom.''
The decline in tax revenue has led some officials to seek ways to raise money. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick in January proposed selling casino licenses to help close a $1.3 billion budget shortfall.
Some states such as Texas and Alaska, which generate revenue from natural resources such as oil, aren't feeling the same pressure. Alaska, which earns more than 80 percent of its budget from oil taxes and royalties, is expected to have a $4.9 billion surplus by the end of 2009.
How quickly states react to negative conditions, and what measures they take, will likely be a large factor in rating movements in the coming year,'' Moody's Johnson said.
RELATED:
Bernanke May Have to Lower Rate Again as Lenders Stymie Fed's January CutsRetail Sales in U.S. Probably Fell for Second Month as Home Prices DroppedBuffett Plan Saves Muni Market, Dooms Ambac, MBIAJapan's Wholesale Inflation Accelerates to 3%, Fastest Since 1981, on OilU.S. Tax Policy Should Adhere to the Three F's
The fix is in. Last week the U.S. Congress passed a $168 billion fiscal stimulus bill, including tax rebates for households and tax breaks for business. President George W. Bush plans to sign it today. The Internal Revenue Service should start issuing tax rebates to 130 million Americans in May, according to the Treasury.
Members of both parties seemed pleased with themselves and their bipartisan effort. That in itself should tell you the package is pretty benign: It won't help, or hurt, very much. If nothing else, the initiative is certain to help the incumbent re-election effort.
This got me thinking about the misuse, and often abuse, of tax policy. There is no agreement on what tax cuts should do (provide relief to cash-strapped consumers? stimulate business investment and job creation?), not to mention the effectiveness of temporary cuts.
The late economist Milton Friedman won a Nobel Prize for his theory that consumers make decisions about their spending patterns based on long-term income expectations, not current income. More recently, research by Nicholas Epley, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, found that the designation of money given to consumers -- a ``rebate'' versus a ``bonus'' -- determines whether they save or spend it, respectively.
Even decades after the fact, with data in hand, economists can't agree on the effect of a particular tax cut. (It's virtually impossible in a diverse, $14 trillion economy to conduct a control experiment, holding everything else constant except tax rates.)
First Principles
It makes you wonder why the nation's tax policy is always up for grabs. Tax policy is too important to be left to the politicians, who use it for their own purposes, shamelessly defying the principles on which they ran for office.
Isn't it about time we stopped tweaking tax rates to get a little more spending here, a bit more investing there and a lot of votes on Election Day? Here's my motto for the tax system: flatten it, fix it (set it in stone) and forget it.
Income tax rates should be designed to meet the needs of the government (the Founders clearly had a different vision of the legitimate role of the federal government than today's leaders) and nothing else. They should promote economic growth, not punish success. They should be low enough to act as a disincentive for non-economic activity, such as shifting or sheltering income, avoiding or alleviating tax liability.
Simple, Stable
The tax code should be simple enough to put tax preparation firms out of business. (Most of us would be happy to subsidize the education and retraining of accountants in exchange for a postcard-sized return.) Tax simplification requires elimination of deductions and loopholes.
Tax rates should be constant, not subject to ever-changing political cycles. That goes for individuals as well as corporations, whose actual tax rate is 35 percent but effectively is about 22 percent -- and less than that for bigger companies with better tax lawyers.
At some point, the entire corporate tax structure should be thrown out, along with all the murky K-Street tax-earmark loopholes that litter the IRS code,'' writes Larry Kudlow, host of CNBC's ``Kudlow & Co.'' in a column on Realclearmarkets.com.
One option, which I advocated in a column two years ago, is getting the politicians out of politics -- returning to a citizen legislature -- since efforts to get the money and influence-buying out of politics have come to naught. Our elected representatives go to Washington ostensibly to do the people's business but end up feathering their own nests instead.
Life Without 1040
That isn't going to happen. There's a better chance, albeit somewhere between slim and negligible, of getting a similar result by fixing the tax code. (Yes, lobbyists would still line up at the spending trough, but you have to start somewhere.)
By fix, I mean toss it out and start from scratch. Trust me: No one will miss it. Instructions for filing Form 1040, the federal tax form, number 143 pages, according to the National Taxpayer's Union, a non-partisan group advocating lower taxes. That's three times the number in 1985, the year before taxes were ``simplified.''
If the basic form isn't adequate, the IRS has 195 different tax forms with more than 1,000 pages of related publications and instructions.
No wonder Americans are expected to shell out $325 billion this year in federal tax compliance costs, according to the Tax Foundation, a non-partisan tax research group in Washington.
The IRS estimates that households and businesses spent a combined 6.6 billion hours last year filling out tax forms.
Wouldn't life be better without the rigmarole surrounding April 15? Mine would. For that reason, I pledge that if real tax reform ever comes to pass in my lifetime, I will ``donate'' my tax-preparation fee (pay Uncle Sam more than I owe) to the Treasury for the purpose of deficit reduction.
Sean Shepard & Jon Elrod spoke last night -- Andre Carson a no show at candidate forum, refuses to speak on air
As we reported at 3:15 pm yesterday afternoon, Carson's people called to say Andre would not participate in the congressional candidate forum held last night without him at the Arlington Heights Baptist church.
We were told that Andre's staff confirmed his attendance more than two weeks ago, yet he cancelled on the same day due to what he said was a scheduling conflict.
We also noticed that the national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was on our blog quite a bit yesterday specifically to read about Andre's abuse of a citizen who asked him a question during Monday's city council meeting. As well, more than one campaign consulting company was on our blog yesterday. We hope they are taking Andre's behavior seriously, for he is certainly not acting like a top notch public servant.
Chris Spangle attended last night's forum and said the candidates will be available on podcast. During this morning's radio program, Abdul received an off air phone call from Andre Carson explaining that he had a "scheduling conflict" last night. Abdul asked him to go on the air to speak to listeners, but Carson refused in spite of the fact that Abdul's wants to hear Carson speak UNSCRIPTED.
Until recently, Sean Shepard's name was not well known as a 7th district candidate. Even still Sean Shepard is polling near 15% which is tremendous for a relatively unknown Libertarian candidate right out of the gate. We are confident that Sean's polling date will soar higher as people hear Sean's passion as he expresses pragmatic solutions for America's greatest challenges.
Indiana has an opportunity to LEAD the rest of the nation in America's great reform. This could be the year we have an African American president and the first Libertarian in Congress.
Libertarians know the solutions and have the grassroots network to get things done, as you saw last summer. Imagine what can be done when we put a well-informed, personable, and outspoken Libertarian in Congress. We owe it to America to push for change, because what we are doing is clearly not working.
The next candidate forum is sponsored by Indiana Equality and will be hosted by Jesus Metropolitan Community Church on February 20th. Click here for details.
Property taxes contrary to constitutions
by Andrew Horning
I'm proud to have had something to do with the July 4 "property-tax protest" on the lawn of the Indiana Governor's Mansion.
The real issue is much more basic, critical, unequivocal and urgent - our government is ungoverned, and we are fools to tolerate it.
Contrary to popular opinion, nothing is more civilized than a free market, where all transactions are voluntary. Any taxation, on the other hand, is the confiscation of money by force.
Politicians claim that taxation is the price of civilization. But taxes are no ticket to civility; they are the wage of politicians. And politicians are known for everything but civilized behavior.
So we should approach any discussion of tax policy with profound circumspection and a healthy fear of political power, corruption, violence and failure; because these are, after all, what human history is all about.
In the 216 years since the Bill of Rights was ratified, we have allowed our politicians to sneak away from a hard-won rule of law and back to humanity's brutish, chaotic, authoritarian default state.
So while there is much to say regarding the relative merits of one tax versus another, it's high time we refer back to the constitutions of Indiana and the United States, documents that all Indiana officials have sworn to uphold and defend.
Article 1, Section 21, of the Indiana Constitution, for example, forbids commandeering citizens' services or property "without just compensation." And Article 1, Section 22, forbids the theft of citizens' "necessary comforts of life" for payment of any debt to the state.
Read these for yourself and ask your representatives if a home is among the "necessary comforts of life" and what could possibly be "just compensation" for taking it away?
Then consider why politicians take your money and property.
Article 10, Section 6 says, ". . . nor shall any county loan its credit to any incorporated company, nor borrow money for the purpose of taking stock in any such company; nor shall the General Assembly ever, on behalf of the State, assume the debts of any county, city, town, or township; nor of any corporation whatever."
Article 11, Section 12 says, "The State shall not be a stockholder in any bank; nor shall the credit of the State ever be given, or loaned, in aid of any person, association or corporation; nor shall the State become a stockholder in any corporation or association."
So while such spending was never authorized in any U.S. constitution, Indiana's constitution specifically prohibits political subsidies to the likes of the Colts, Pacers, mall builders, foreign auto companies or any other campaign contributors. In other words, much of what government now spends our money on is illegal spending, not just immoral spending.
So between Article 8, the aforementioned and other written prohibitions on government spending, most of your tax bills, property or otherwise, shouldn't be there.
Surprised? Angry?
Well, there's a solution for that. First, we should ask our politicians to obey written laws - as written. But second, we really must change the way we've been voting.
It's time to govern our government. The way to do that is show our politicians that we won't tolerate their lawlessness any more.
Andrew Horning was the Republican candidate for the 7th District congressional seat in 2004, losing to the incumbent, the late Julia Carson. Last summer, Horning helped organize the first tax protest at the governor's residence.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Another reason taxpayers need to fire Representative Bill Crawford in November
Abu Henderson, a democratic precinct committeeman,will run against state rep. Bill Crawford in November.
He is pictured here at the "Breakfast at Bart's" protest held last summer
The township trustees being protected are often folks like Representative Crawford's good friend and crony, Carl Drummond.
Klopfenstein and Maguire Named to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Board of Zoning Appeals
Two proposals were passed Monday night in the Indianapolis City-County Council, naming two “well-known” Libertarians to the Metropolitan Board of Zoning Appeals.
Proposal 19 appoints Brad Klopfenstein to the Metropolitan Board of Zoning Appeals, Division II. Brad is the former Executive Director of the Libertarian Party of Indiana. It passed 25-4. The dissenting councilors, all Democrats, were Joanne Sanders, Monroe Gray, Paul Bateman and Angela Mansfield.
Proposal 20 appoints Timothy Maguire to the Metropolitan Board of Zoning Appeals, Division I. Tim was a Libertarian candidate for Indianapolis City-County Council At-large in 2007. The proposal passed 24-5. The dissenting councilors, all Democrats, were Joanne Sanders, Monroe Gray, Paul Bateman, Angela Mansfield and William Oliver.
“Both Brad and Tim should be congratulated for obviously having a good reputation and respect in the community,” said Mark Rutherford, former State Chair of the Libertarian Party of Indiana. “It says a lot about all of the Republicans and most of the Democrats on the City-County Council that they set partisanship aside to put talented Libertarians on these two important boards.”
The Metropolitan Boards of Zoning Appeals serve a population of over 800,000 people.
Klopfenstein and Maguire ran active campaigns for City-County Council in 2003 and 2007 respectively, and both were endorsed by the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police. Brad now works for the Indiana License Beverage Association, while Timothy Maguire works in the financial services industry. Both are great champions of liberty and the rule of law.
The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in the United States, and is the only non-major party with ballot access in the state of Indiana. Libertarians believe in being SERVED by a small non-intrusive government that is financially responsible, administratively competent and socially tolerant.
Coffee, chocolates, and really good economic policy
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – The local blog Hoosier Access interviewed Sean Shepard over the weekend at the Southbend Chocolate Factory, as part of their monthly podcast. Shepard, one of the 7th District Congressional candidates for the special election (March 11) railed against out of control Federal spending that is now being financed by government borrowing from foreign nations like China.
Acknowledging massive overseas spending, relative to Al Qaeda’s goal of destroying our economy, “Our enemies don’t have to destroy us militarily. They don’t have to blow us up. They can defeat us economically.” Shepard suggested that we need a smarter, more humble approach to our foreign policy.
He called for a near-term removal of our forces from Iraq, more economical free-market health care solutions, making health care 100% tax free under the current system, overhaul of the tax code and an immediate securing of our borders.
Shepard then went on to question why Republicans still run on a platform of fiscal conservatism since they haven’t lived up to the hype and suggested that he represented true "change".
Sean Shepard is a life long resident of Indianapolis and local businessman. He is married with two children who attend private Christian school. Mr. Shepard has been active in local politics for several years, has worked with Americans for Fair Taxation and helped organize and coordinate several of the local property tax protests in 2007. Mr. Shepard's policy approaches support affordable healthcare, lower taxes, protection of civil liberties, border security, school choice and a strong national defense.
The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in the United States, and is the only non-major party with ballot access in the state of Indiana. Libertarians believe in being SERVED by a small non-intrusive government that is financially responsible, administratively competent and socially tolerant.
###
Sean Shepard for Congress: http://shepard2008.com - (317) 513-2406
For more information on Shepard’s campaign, or to arrange an interview, please contact Timothy Maguire at (317)372-6436 or by email at Maguire_tj@hotmail.com.
BALLARD AMBUSHED BY STATEHOUSE ARROGANCE
Some Democrats can’t seem to get over it. Whether it’s mayoral envy or a stinging rebuke from Marion county residents toward the democratically controlled previous administration, some Democrat’s panties are still in a wad, evidenced by yesterday’s arrogance from Democrat Win Moses (Ft.Wayne rep.) who verbally assaulted Indianapolis Mayor Ballard. Along with other statewide officials, the new mayor was asked about the impact of caps on property tax and where to make up the shortfall. Ballard stood in defense of Marion County residents by saying he would not agree to an increase in local income taxes. There were some questions that the Mayor honestly stated he did not have a ready answer which produced an egotistical jab from Moses “I’m asking questions you must know”.
At the risk over defending a new Mayor, remember the following:
His first day was no easy transition. The Peterson people during the last week, the Star reported, had the shredder going full time for a waiting trash truck. Mayor Ballard had to reconstruct whatever government structure existed, the people and functions they performed, and their communication levels.
His new team was and still is being assembled for important functions, appointing hundreds of people for jobs, including streamlining an antiquated system to create efficiency, save Hoosiers tax money, and call people into accountability with how they allocate those dollars.
The Mayor, with the help of the City County Counsel vote last night, will take over as chain of command head to increase efficiency and communication. Based on a 911 scenario, it is important for various first responders to develop emergency communication with an engaged Mayor.
It is ridiculous to think that with his job of Indianapolis CEO, he should be privy to all the impact of recent the Governor’s tax panel outline for the entire State or even Marion County, when it is obvious the legislators are the ones who have presided over a failed system and are in a daily position to correct it. That is their job, and they should have asked a complacent Bart Peterson during the last eight years about the impact of reform, instead of perpetrating a debacle upon Indiana. For the last several months, various plans have been offered to lawmakers; not to the Mayor. To castigate the Mayor for his honest answer that he just didn’t know the answers to all their questions is honesty at its finest from the Mayor, and arrogance from our employees, the legislators.
Saddled by the ineptitude of a previous administration that destroyed information, this mayor of the people has done a remarkable job in only 5 weeks. If Democrats such as Win Moses have nothing better to do than throw stones at a local Mayor, he might well start with his own Mayor in Ft.Wayne, which should keep him occupied for weeks until we remedy his term of office.
If there is an additional insight into that hearing, it is the fact that arrogance abounds within the statehouse where posturing and throwing darts at your opponent is the norm, leaving no wonder they have been party to a system of throwing our neighbors into the street for failure to pay into an unfair and broken system our lawmakers manufactured with complicent lobbyists.
We should thank our Mayor for standing up to indicate he will not agree to an increase in local taxes for Marion County residents and for the progress he has made in only 5 weeks.
Patriot Paul
7th district candidate forum -- Activists needed to attend
Community Heights Neighborhood Association
presents 7th District Candidate Forum
Arlington Heights Baptist Church
5630 East 16th Street
February 12th 2008 @ 7:30 pm.
Sean Shepard, Andre Carson, and Jon Elrod will attend.
We encourage government accountability activists to attend to ask the tough questions of the candidates.
UPDATE 3:15 pm
We just received word that Andre Carson will not attend this forum. When will the people get to speak directly to Andre Carson and ask questions? Does anyone know?
Andre Carson goes ballistic at last night's CCC meeting?
We found this comment by Ernie Shearer left on the Advance Indiana blog today. If Andre Carson cannot manage to respectfully address a member of the public about law enforcement, while in a public meeting and in his role as city councilor, how on earth can we expect him to respectfully represent us in Congress?
What is even more troubling is that Andre Carson seems to be in cohoots with Monroe Gray and a threat was uttered to Ernie's pal GaryJ. This is the behavior of thugs, not political representatives. If anyone reading this blog knows Senator Bayh, please send him this account of what happened last night. I think the last thing Senator Bayh would want is to endorse a public servant who behaves like a common thug.
Here is Ernie's account of what happened. Andre Carson is welcome to reply with no worry of censor from us.
"I think Andre Carson threatened me tonight. I asked him a question about his
vote in the transfer of IMPD back to the Mayor. I asked why his votes were along
party line and not based on what was best for the public safety of Indy. Andre
got bent out of shape and told me that I wasn't going to question him at every
CC meeting. I wasn’t being aggressive or disrespectful and I didn’t raise my
voice. I simply asked him why he voted along party lines and he took exception.
Andre stated that I was grandstanding and was only craving attention. I tried to
explain that I’ve only spoke out about public safety issues but he wouldn’t hear
any of it. Andre told me to get out of the CCB. I asked what authority he had to
expel me and he went ballistic. Gray and Bateman had to get him to calm down.
When I told him I would do as I pleased and reminded him that I was at a public
assembly in a public building asking questions of a city councilman he said he
would take measures to see that I wouldn't do it again.Gray overheard all of
this and told GaryJ on the way out that one day I would ask the wrong question
and someone would take care of me. I think that was a threat too. Carson can’t
take a little heat at a city council meeting without losing his composure and
making threats. Why should we believe that he is mentally able to handle
congress? Carson isn't the only councilman that I question. If I disagree I make
it a habit to question anyone I don't agree with. I'm not going away and I won‘t
stop asking questions. "
Advance Indiana's editor Gary Welsh shows prejudice against Libertarians
It's no secret that activists associated with HOOSIERS FOR FAIR TAXATION have a lot of respect for Gary Welsh who writes Advance Indiana. He's likely the best conservative blogger in the state. Because of Gary's reporting, we often know the next direction to take as activists. In other words, we rely a lot on Gary being here.
It's no secret that Gary supports Jon Elrod for Congress. He is even hosting a fundraiser for Elrod. It's also no secret that many of the activists with HOOSIERS FOR FAIR TAXATION support Sean Shepard for Congress. Afterall, Sean helped start the property activist movement in Indianapolis back in July 2007. Sean, as a state Fair Tax director, was there before any of us were. In fact, the first property tax protests were organized in effort to bring more awareness of the Fair Tax.
Indiana is no longer a two-party sytem. We are a three-party system. Like it or not, there are many Libertarians who are as good for our state as the best of the Republicans, and some better for Indiana than the Republicans.
Lately we've seen our state senators get behind and endorse two very inexperienced candidates for Congress. Exactly what experience do these candidates bring to the people to cause us to have faith in them? Exactly WHY are they being endorsed. No one has sufficiently answered this question.
Gary's reasoning behind not supporting Sean Shepard for Congress has nothing to do with Sean's experience or qualifications for Congress and has everything to do with the fact that Sean is a threat to Elrod because Sean, even without senatorial endorsement, will earn a lot of conservative votes . Gary didn't mind one bit when the Libertarians opened their arms to republican Greg Ballard and supported him with our time and money and helped him win the biggest political upset in the country.
We do wish Gary would open his forum and interview both candidates. You would think since Elrod is pro property tax repeal, that he would want to interview with the very people who started the tax protests. We asked and Elrod refused.
Gary, we challenge you to host a Q & A with the candidates on your blog. Shouldn't we be more concerned with finding the person who is best to represent the 7th district than partisan politics? That's what we get from Wilson Allen and Jenn Wagner, not you!
Here's what Gary had to say today on his blog about Sean's candidacy:
I don't know what Klopfenstein is doing in the special election race, but
I've seen e-mails Maguire has been sending around promoting Sean Shepard's
candidacy. Clearly, those efforts will only hurt Jon Elrod. If you look at the
profile of the people who vote Libertarian, they are people who would have
otherwise voted Republican. The only thing a vote for a Libertarian can
accomplish in any Marion County election is to sabotage a Republican candidate's
chance of winning. A Libertarian will never win an election in this county-at
least nowhere in the foreseeable future. The Republican precinct
committeepersons should be slamming every member of the GOP council right now
for giving these two Libertarians these key appointments. It is an insult and a
slap in the face of the people who worked to elect these GOP councilors to put
people dedicated to defeating Republicans on city boards and commissions. It's
also probably why the GOP's re-emergence will be short-lived in city government
at the pace they're going.
INDIANA TEA PARTY finalized for LAKE COUNTY INDIANA
click image to enlargeMonday, February 11, 2008
Senator Bayh endorses candidate for Congress with no experience
Thanks to the Howey Political Report for this breaking news. While Sen. Bayh backs Carson for Congress, ordinary citizens left behind without a voice by the political status quo are backing Libertarian Sean Shepard.
It makes sense to give Sean Shepard a try for just 9 months in Congress to see what a Libertarian can do for us. Sean will get plenty of media time to convey better ideas for government because he'll be the first Libertarian in Congress.
And it is not like there won't be another election in November in the unlikely case you will decide Sean is not working hard for you. But in the meantime, what do you have to lose by breaking free of the box lies fed to you for decades by the republican and democrat parties and the cronyism that goes with them?
It is our position that Andre Carson and Jon Elrod have a moral responsibility to complete the elected positions they hold now in the city council and Indiana house and not abandon the constituents who help elect them for a shiner, better paying job. Since they already hold elected office, shouldn't Carson and Elrod prove to us they are effective?
In many people's opinion, neither the republican or democrat running for Congress have done squat for us.
In fact, I challenge any of their supporters to list five things that either Carson or Elrod has done that directly benefits the hoosiers in their districts.
