Megyn Kelly Slams Dick and Liz Cheney on Iraq

You know it is getting bad for Dick and Liz Cheney when they run into a buzz saw on Fox News. To her credit, Fox host Megyn Kelly takes Dick Cheney to task for his disasterous management of the War in Iraq, as well as his false statements in the run up to the war. Of course, one has to ask why anyone would listen to the people that screwed up Iraq as how to fix it. Take a look at the interview for yourself:

Republicans Go Crazy: Tea Party Caucus Founder Michele Bachmann

You know it is getting bad when Republicans go on Fox News, and on Neil Cavuto's show, and even they think you are nuts. Despite frequent complaints about frivilous lawsuits, Republicans in the House say they want to file a lawsuit against President Obama, and when asked what it was about, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) could name any specifics. But, back to Bachmann, the former GOP Presidential candidate who once confused John Wayne with John Wayne Gacy. Take a look at this clip.

9th District Democratic Newsletter: Harrison County the Featured County

Democrats in Harrison County were the featured county in the 9th District Democratic newsletter for June. It also focuses on our statewide ticket this year. We have attached the newsletter for everyone to take a look at. Enjoy!

Tea Party Wins, County Workers Lose

We see that Tea Party leader and Commissioner George Etheridge followed through (you can bet this was discussed at his Tea Party meeting before the Commissioner meeting), with the backing of the two other Republican County Commissioners to cut county employees personal days from four to two. There is a His justification is the county employee pay study (which we never saw posted on the county website- nor do we get pay schedules posted on the website under the Republican Auditor and Council, nor the County Budget for that matter), which we saw a few of the pay increases in the local newspaper. Most of those increases in the study we paid over $40,000 were for more supervisory positions, and the vast majority of workers saw no raise, and many will see their pay frozen for many years (including the animal control officer, a particularly dirty job, which this study said was overpaid- yeah, right!). Many of the raises also seemed to go to political buddies as well, from the limited information provided to the public.

County employees have had these four personal days for decades. And Etheridge doesn't want to tell the public that the 18 vacation days he banters about are only available to employees with at least ten years of full time service. And the paid holidays we hear about are the same ones, by and large, that federal and state offices are closed. He should know that, given that his wife works for the post office and his family benefits from these benefits. Etheridge probably also doesn't want to share the unwarranted berating he did a few months ago to workers at the highway garage that were doing their jobs picking up salt and cinders for the roads. It is no wonder that morale among county workers it at a record low. When workers are treated like doormats (or worse), it effects performance, and we don't get the best bang for our buck.

If we need cuts to the local budget, let's start with the salaries for the Council and Commissioners. If any salaries are out of line with similar counties, it is those. Didn't the high priced study find that? Probably not, as the Council and Commissioners would not want their salaries froze or cut. While Harrison County does not put salaries on their website, several others do, and it doesn't take $40,000. A quick google search can show that Cass County, which has nearly the same population as Harrison County pays it Council members $5,327 and Commissioners $15,825. Council salaries even outpace Wayne County by nearly $2,000, which has nearly 69,000 people, compared to Harrison County's 39,000. It also is nearly 50% higher than Boone County, whose population is pushing the 60,000 person mark.

County employees better watch themselves, as well as private sector workers if the Tea Party takes over the federal labor policy- the Tea Party agenda is clear: they want all the gains to go to the super-rich, like the Koch Brothers, and other right wing billionaires, while they cut wage, benefits, and retirement for everyone else. This move is Tea Party to the core- punish regular working people. The Tea Party opposes having a minimum wage, family leave, Social Security, and other benefits, and has fought to policies for years that have sought to destroy the middle class for several years. It is clear we need a change come November from these radical, far-right policies that come from Washington, DC Tea Party/GOP headquarters right down to the local level.

New Feature on Website: Send us Your Comments; Fight the Local Media Bias

We have heard from a number of people that our local newspaper, which calls itself "The Corydon Democrat", but it little more than a Republican Tea Party rag, does not print legitimate "Live Wire" comments and comments left on their website where comments are allowed after the article. All of those rejected comments seem to have one thing in common: they are either anti-Republican or pro-Democrat. We have even heard from readers that comments they left have been heavily edited that so that they try to make Republicans look good when the intent of the comment was the opposite. Of course we have so-called reporters there that seem to be working as campaign managers for Republican candidates this year and attending Republican meetings, rather than acting as real journalists. Printing little more than GOP press releases and calling it journalism is about like trying to put lipstick on a pig, and trying to call it a supermodel. When it comes down to it, it is still a pig. And when you come down to it, the Corydon Democrat is still a Republican rag. Let's hope they start to live up to their history and become a legitimate news source, but one can wish in one hand and use the bathroom in the other, and see which one gets filled first.

Here is another way for you to fight this local media bias. At least once a month, we will print those rejected comments by the Corydon Republican on our website. We will use the same standards the "live wire" says they use. We will not print libelous comments or political endorsements. Please send us those comments at our e-mail address at harrisonindems@gmail.com and we will put them together as we get them. Also, bring any comments to any of our precinct meetings and we can transcribe them to add them to our website.

Thanks for helping us fight this local media bias.

Democratic Golf Scramble a Big Success; Pictures

Our annual Golf Scramble was a big success. We raised over $6,000 for the election. Thanks to the Women's Club for fixing the meal. Also, a big thanks to all the golfers and hole sponsors.

Thanks to Carolyn McAdams for several of the pictures.

Glenda Ritz: school voucher changes cost state $16M

According to a recent article in the Courier-Journal, school vouchers are costing the state money: $16 million dollars. This, from the GOP, that always say they want to save taxpayers money. And who was one of the biggest voucher supporters in the General Assembly? None other than Rhonda Rhoads, the retired school teacher that hates public education. Indiana has had one of the biggest voucher programs in the country, yet we rank low on most education statistics. Many other moves were made by the Republican controlled General Assembly, which Rhonda Rhoads was the chief cheerleader have been straight out of the playbook of right wing groups like the Koch Brothers and ALEC.

Let's worry more about our public schools, strengthen them, and improve them. You can ask any teacher out there in our state, and they will tell you that morale has never been lower due to this attack on public schools and their teachers. If you are interested in how you can make changes locally, vote Rhonda Rhoads out, and Heidi Sellers in as our State Representative. Heidi is a recently retired teacher that will fight for public schools and working families instead of doing the bidding of ALEC and the Koch Brothers.

Heidi Sellers Facebook Page

Heidi Sellers signs are going up!

Courier Journal: Indiana casinos lose millions to Ohio competitors; What is our future in Harrison County?

The Courier-Journal has an interesting article out about the losses Indiana casinos near Cincinnati have faced since Ohio opened up casinos in the Buckeye State. Here is the link to the article.

Here are a few important portions of the article.

Revenues at Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg plunged 36 percent — nearly $114 million — in the past 11 months. The next closest casinos to Cincinnati, the Rising Star and Belterra, took 30 and 23 percent hits to revenue, respectively.

Rising Sun Clerk-Treasurer Rae Baker Gipson said 2014's wagering tax revenues are on pace for a 38 percent decline from $3.2 million. Admission tax revenues are down 23 percent from $2.7 million.

Dillon Dorrell, a member of Ohio County's County council, estimates the county's income from gaming will drop 50 percent.

Near Lawrenceburg, local entities shared $23 million in 2012 from Hollywood. In 2013, the money shrank to $19 million. Lawrenceburg Clerk-Treasurer Jackie Stutz anticipates the revenue will shrink even more dramatically this year.

In Switzerland County, County Council President Mike Jones said he's concerned declining revenues will spur the casino to alter its deal with local governments. The Belterra, he said, is the county's largest private employer, and the money is vital to a community.

Well, here in our area, one only has to take a quick walk in the parking garage at the Horseshoe to see one of the threats to Harrison County's gaming revenue- most of the cars are from Kentucky. Leaders in Kentucky have pushed to legalize at least some forms of casino gaming for years, and one has to expect that we will see a casino in Jefferson County some time in our near future. Does anyone realistically think those Kentucky cars will cross the bridge when they can stay closer to home to gamble? The Cincinnati example tells us the answer is clearly no. One can logically guess is that politicians in Indianapolis, who are seeing state revenue fall, will also look to make it up somewhere, and that answer is to hit local revenues. This was tried by Republican politicians in Indianapolis before. They nearly cut local gaming revenue by more than 80% in 2005, and Republican committee leaders in the State Senate pushed smaller cuts in 2013. Thankfully, we had Sen. Richard Young fighting those efforts on our behalf.

County leaders like Terry Miller knew that this revenue could easily be cut by state leaders and had the foresight to lead to set up a community fund with the Community Foundation to plan for the future. It was to be used for major, special, one-time projects now, and for making up revenue losses in the future. That is how it was used until 2011, when Gary Davis and Phil Smith decided they knew better. They decided to use it to plug holes in the county budget on a yearly basis. This subsidy has increased substantially every year under their leadership. The sad thing is that the Community Fund, which is invested and well-managed, has earned nearly 10%, while gaming revenue, which sits in the bank and earns only a tiny amount of interest is not used. Not exactly the most logical use of money, no? We need new leadership on the County Council like Kyle Nix, Donnie Hussung, and Danny Stults, who will join with Gordon Pendelton and Richard Gerdon for prudent, sound fiscal management, not "my way or the highway" and "if its not my idea, it's a bad idea" leadership we have seen over the past three years.

Storm clouds ahead for Harrison County's riverboat money?

Rachael Armstrong: No More Election Year Stunts

From Rachael Armstrong:

Prosecutor wins. People lose. Imagine what it is like for a single mother who relies on a child support check to pay the bills-every day counts; for that dealer who sold drugs to someone’s child-every day counts; for that user who victimizes someone one last time-every day counts. …Some people like the sensationalism of criminal “round-ups” while public officials take center stage on television, but for others…every day counts. For those people it’s hard to understand why our officials let these things continue on for months sometimes so that they can be in the spotlight. The latest news: “Operation ‘DAD’ underway to round up delinquent parents” in Harrison County. These 55 parents rounded-up did not accumulate approximately $1 million in back child support in three or even four months. To those officials, the people have a question: who do you represent - yourself or us? #Nomore #electionyearploys

I am running to represent the people of Harrison County to make this a better place - not to see myself on the front page of the Democrat.

1,000,000/55=approx. $18k) These 55 delinquent parents were on average each approximately $18k behind in child support. Our elected officials have been in office for almost 4 years. Where have they been? Where were they when these kids needed backpacks and lunch money? Where were they when the electricity was about to be shut-off?

These are important questions. Why were all these delinquent parents allowed to get so far behind? Why were charges not filed years ago? Why do kids have to wait to see justice for a publicity stunt? Has the Prosecutor's Child Support Division been doing anything? Does this Prosecutor's Child Support Staff deserve the extra pay and bonuses they have been getting over the past three years? It is clear that the Prosecutor has not been doing his job for three and a half years and is trying to deflect a failed record with publicity stunts. We need a Prosecutor who is more concerned about doing their job rather than someone who spends their day trying to figure out how to get himself on television or in the newspaper. We need a work horse as Prosecutor, not a show horse. 

Shameless Self-Promoter: Remind you of anyone?

 

What to Expect from the Rachael Armstrong Campaign

From Rachael Armstrong for Prosecutor's Facebook Page:

It's rare that I post this kind of personal "stuff" on this page, but I saw another post that got me thinking. ...When I grew up we lived in a nice neighborhood. Great school system-one of the best in the area. We were just a few houses down from the country club. (My parents could not afford to go there as I was growing up, and had no desire to keep up with the Jones, honestly; but the point is, it was a nice neighborhood.) Crime, nevertheless, sometimes happens in good neighborhoods and to good people, too. ...Across the street lived 2 sex offenders (brothers), who I knew only by sight. Back in those days, there were no registries, no signs, no sheriff notices, etc. When I was little, my mom explained the rules: "If you ever see ----, you come in the house immediately." So we (my brothers and I) would play and play, until the rare occasion when we would see one brother or the other (most times doing benign things like walking out to their car) and go running inside. ...Some times you might ask yourself what toll does that stuff really takes on the community? I wasn't a victim. I didn't even know any of their victims. Nevertheless, those sex offenders were in my dreams-my nightmares, actually. I used to wake up thankful that if someone, eg. those guys, broke in, they would have to go past my parents room first to get to me. (When you are young, parents are good for that kind of mental protection, I guess...lol.) For whatever reason, those nightmares lasted into my early adulthood. ...When I tuck my kids in at night, I remember my dreams and fears, and I hope that things are better for them. In fact, I am sure we all have that same hope. 

Before this election rolls around, I challenge you to ask yourselves: Am I better off? Are my kids better off? Are our neighborhoods safer? As the campaign continues on, I'll share with you the facts about our community and the cases that brought us to where we are. For some of you who only know what is printed in the paper or blitzed on TV, it may shock you. It's going to shock you. For others, you already know. Follow me on Facebook. Share with your friends. In a few months we will begin to explore these important issues.

We will also be focusing on these facts as well. Republicans running this year have failed records that the voters need to learn about. The facts are stubborn things and they will not work to the GOP's advantage in Harrison County in 2014. A person can try to get himself on television as much as he wants, or come out with cheap gimmicks in an election year, but that won't obscure a failed record.

A Political Sign We Could Use in Harrison County

This was so good it was hard not to share. A friend in Minnesota sent this in. It is not the same candidate as here, but the message fits Harrison County very well. Rachael Armstrong will help us do it in November and run a professional Prosecutor's Office, which would be a welcome change.

Some straight talk from Donnie Hussung

From Donnie Hussung's facebook page. If you live in Franklin and Jackson Townships, he is by far the best candidate in the race.

when I announced my "run" for Council, several comments were made regarding what my "politics" were. First and foremost I am a citizen of Harrison County that wants the best for this community . I want to work for and represent all the people. I am registered as a Democrat and have been since my senior year in High School. For 23 yrs I have served in a non partisan position as a member of the Lanesville Community School Board. I don't like the way petty politics is ruining this Country. I want to serve in a government of, by and for the people no matter your party politics. Harrison County is a great place to live, work and play but it will take us all to keep it that way and make it better, no one person or group has all the answers or is smarter than the "whole" of us, we all have to work together to make this place as good as it can be. 

I'm proud to say I'm a Christian, I am pro life and I own a gun and cherish the rights afforded to me and every citizen by the "Real" Constitution. 

Thanks for listening and I hope for your support.

Donnie Hussung Fundraiser and Meet and Greet a Big Success

From Donnie Hussung's facebook page:

Nice event last night. I want to thank everyone who came out and visited. I especially want to thank the group of supporters "you know who you are" that planned, shopped for, and prepared food for the event and all who have helped with contributions in any way. Looking forward to having a BIG group of helpers, family and friends to promote the campaign in upcoming events... Thanks to all and I hope to have and do appreciate your continued support.... on to November...

Don't forget to visit Donnie's facebook page and like and share it with your friends. This race is really important. Donnie's opponent is a fierce Tea Party partisan that has led the County Council in fiscal mismanagement that has required larger and larger bailouts every year, and has not properly represented District 2. Donnie will look at each issue with fresh eyes and make decisions that will benefit the residents of Franklin and Jackson Townships, and not spend his time on the council pushing a partisan, out of touch agenda.

Here are a couple of pictures from Donnie greeting people.

New Feature on our Website

We have added another feature to our website to make it easier to find information on specific people or topics. If you look to the left, there is now a new list under "Labels". Whenever we add a new entry, we will "tag" each post with any names, issues, etc, so that you can easily click, for example "County Council" and pull up any posts regarding the County Council. We hope this will make your experience on our website easier to navigate. Thanks to everyone for your support for this project and helping us to get our message out to the people of Harrison County.

Thanks,
Jim Kincaid
Harrison County Democratic Chairman

Rhoads Rhoads gets a raise every year. Why is she blocking one for Hoosiers?

According to the Indiana Transparency Database, Rep. Rhonda Rhoads made $58,471.66 last year from her part time position in the Indiana House of Representatives. Her salary is tied to judicial pay, so she has gotten a raise every year since she entered the General Assembly. Plus, she is drawing a pension check from being a retired teacher, despite her frequent votes against public education and teachers.

However, she refused to co-sponsor HB 1151, by Rep. John Bartlett, which would have taken the modest step of raising the Indiana minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $8.25 per hour this year. This would have given a minimum wage worker a more than $2,000 a year raise. Her party refused to even give this a hearing, and spent much of their time this session on things that don't create jobs or raise wages. More than 70% of Americans want a minimum wage increase, and even Republicans in the Michigan Legislature recently passed an increase.

The questions we have for Rep. Rhonda Rhoads are simple.

• Do you support raising the minimum wage in Indiana at all?
• Would you support HB 1151 to raise the minimum wage by $1.00 per hour?
• Do you support the idea of having a minimum wage at all?
• If given the chance, would you abolish the minimum wage?
• Do you think it is right that you get a raise every year while minimum wage workers in Indiana are stuck at $7.25 per hour while you get salary and pension increase paid by taxpayers?

Answer us Rhonda. You have no problem giving your opinion on Duck Dynasty, so answer the questions.

New Challenges

Last week, we challenged our Democrats to push Heidi Sellers' facebook page over 300 like, and she is now at 329 likes. We also saw our own relatively young facebook page cross the 100 like mark earlier this week.

Our new challenges this week for facebook likes:

Harrison County Democratic Party up to 150 likes

Rachael Armstrong for Prosecutor to 200 likes

Donnie Hussung for County Council to 300 likes

Heidi Sellers for State Representative  to 350 likes

Helping grown these pages is really easy. We have provided the links above to get to the pages. If you haven't "liked" those pages yet, simply like the "like" button on facebook. If you already have liked them, go to the page and you will see a list of your friends that already like that page. Right below, you will see a feature where you can invite your friends to like that page. Simply invite as many of your own friends, and we will be able to spread the word even further. We will also have several of our other candidates that will be rolling out their own facebook pages in the next few weeks, so stay tuned for that.

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.

The late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York gave us one of the greatest quotes, "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." Several of the Republican candidates and officials need to learn this, and they will- our candidates and parties will hold them accountable for lies and misstatements on their part as we go towards November. 

Tea Party Republican Richard Mourdock: Go Away and Quit Embarrassing our State

When will Tea Party Republican State Treasurer Richard Mourdock finally go away and quit embarrassing the State of Indiana?

• First, he tried to bankrupt Chrysler, which would have cost tens of the thousands of Hoosiers there jobs. 
• Then, he defeats Sen. Richard Lugar, one the most respected members in the history of the U.S. Senate, in the Republican primary, with the Tea Party Republicans in Harrison County leading the way.
• Next, he said  that pregnancies resulting from rape are "something that God intended to happen," despite the "horrible situation" from which they derived.
• Now, Mourdock, who did serve in the military, despite turning 18 in 1969, during the height of the Vietnam draft, is now saying the U.S. is going the way of Nazi Germany. Really? One day after honoring our troops who landed at Normandy 70 years ago? 

Indiana Democratic Chairman John Zody called Mourdock's comments "ugly." "I have an important lesson for Richard Mourdock. Your exit as a publicly-elected officeholder in Indiana couldn't come any sooner," Zody said. "Not only has your Party endorsed your candidacy in the past, your ugly words don't belong anywhere in the Hoosier political dialogue and should be derided by Gov. Pence and our state's leadership immediately."(Link to Indystar article)

We agree with Chairman Zody. Go away Richard Mourdock. Quit embarrassing our state. But don't count on him going away. His deputy, Kelly Mitchell, won the Republican nomination for State Treasurer. Add to that, the Tea Party holds a firm grip on the GOP.

Democrats at the Elizabeth Memorial Day Parade

Here are a few pictures of the Harrison County Democratic Party and our candidates at the Elizabeth Memorial Day Parade. And again, thank you to our veterans for all they do and have done.

Happy 68th Anniversary to Pete and Joan Schickel

Happy 68th Anniversary to Pete and Joan Schickel, two of our best Democrats in Harrison County. They have been active in their community their whole lives. Pete served on the Harrison County Council for 30 years and Joan served on the Lanesville School Board. We all know Pete for his longtime hosting duties for the Harrison County Farm Bureau at their "Meet the Candidates" and "Legislative Update". And no one can forget Pete standing on his head whenever Lanesville won win a game. Many more anniversaries to them!

Pete and Joan also endowed a scholarship in their names in 2005 with the Harrison County Community Foundation to provide scholarships for graduating Lanesville High School students. Check out the link below for more about that program and more about these two great individuals.

Peter J. and Joan T. Schickel Scholarship Fund

70th Anniversary of D-Day: Thank you to our World War II Veterans

Today marks the 70th Anniversary of the landing of Allied forces on the beaches of Normandy in northern France to begin the liberation of Europe from the Nazis. Thank you to our World War II veterans, from those that gave their lives overseas, have passed on since then, and those still with us. We never forget the sacrifices for our nation's freedom. 

Here is a brief description of the day from the U.S. Army:

On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline, to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which, “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end, the Allies gained a foot-hold in Continental Europe. The cost in lives on D-Day was high. More than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded, but their sacrifice allowed more than 100,000 Soldiers to begin the slow, hard slog across Europe, to defeat Adolph Hitler’s crack troops.

 Source: http://www.army.mil/d-day/
This link is also a good resource for the history of the Normandy landings, including General Eisenhower's address, videos, images, maps, and other important resources.

American Cemetery in Normandy

Donnie Hussung Fundraiser and Meet and Greet- Tuesday at 6:00 P.M.

From Donnie Hussung, Candidate for County Council, District 2 (Franklin and Jackson Townships):

Inviting everyone to the "fundraiser", "meet and greet" event for my campaign on Tuesday June 10 Lanesville Heritage Building 6 pm to whenever. While this is billed as a "fund" raiser we are also looking for friends willing to volunteer their time and talents for the "cause". we will be taking names for people willing to walk in parades, do door to door canvassing, sign locations and just plain helping out. I know several people offered help in May but being unopposed in the primary, now is the time... Hope to see you there.......

Come out and join and help out Donnie. He is a common sense individual who will be a great asset to Harrison County on the Council!

Randi Weingarten: The Luxe Life of the School-Privatization Business

Take the time to check out this article by Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers. She points out the realities of the school privatization movement- bad outcomes for students and big profits for politically connected CEOs of these schools. Any who are some of the people behind this? ALEC, the Koch Brothers and the DeVos family, among others.

The Luxe Life of the School-Privatization Business

Dem Golf Scrable Friday- Help us with more teams and sponsors!

Mark your calenders for the Annual Democratic Golf Scramble at the New Salisbury Golf Course. It will be held on Friday, June 6. We will begin serving food and drinks at 11:00 A.M. and there will be a shotgun start at noon. This is a great opportunity to support the Harrison County Democratic Party in our fight to take back Harrison County this year.

The cost is $75 per player or $300 per team. This also includes food, drinks, and a gift players finish. Mulligans will also be for sale. There is also a prize for best putt, closest to the pin, and best team score.

Another great way to show support for the Harrison County Democratic Party is hole sponsorships. There are four levels of support:
Bronze $100 (one sign)
Silver- $200 (two signs)
Gold- $500 (three signs)
Super Sponsor- $1,000 (four signs)

For more information, to register a team, or to sponsor a hole, please call Chairman Jim Kincaid at (812) 736-2460. 

The Tea Party Republicans of Harrison County

While you may have seen headlines in the news in the past few weeks that say that the establishment Republicans have defeated the Tea Party Republicans, don't think that applies to Harrison County.

The Tea Party is part of some of the most regressive, backward, anti-worker ideas we have seen in the United States in many years. With large amounts of funding from the billionaire Koch Brothers, here are some the ideas the Tea Party has brought us:

• Abolishing the federal minimum wage
• Privatizing public schools
• Cutting money to public schools 
• Denying basic science
• Opposing renewable energy
• Shutting down the government
• Defaulting on out national debt
• No pay equity for women in the workplace
• Opposing the Violence Against Women Act
• Opposing the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts
• Allowing insurance companies to deny coverage for preexisting conditions
• Allow insurance companies to charge women more for insurance
• Repeal provisions of law to allow children to stay on parent's insurance until age 26
• Turn student loans to big banks so they can charge higher interest rates
• Cut Pell Grants for poor and middle class students wanting a college education
• Turn Social Security over to the stock market
• Turn Medicare into a voucher system
• Raise retirement age for Social Security to 70 for those as young as age 59
• Raise retirement age for Medicare to 70 for those as young as age 59

Republicans in Harrison County seem to make their home in the spiritual headquarters of the local Tea Party, Golf Shores, owned and operated by Tea Party Extremist and County Commissioner George Etheridge. It is funny that throughout the 2012 campaign for County Commissioner that Etheridge successfully tried to hide the fact that he was the de facto head of the local Tea Party by hosting all their events since the inception of the Harrison County Tea Party. It seems he was only elected due to a 3rd party Democratic candidate jumping into the race to split the vote.

While previous leadership of the Democratic Party was willing to let certain Republicans get away without having to own their ties to the Tea Party extremists, we will not in 2014. We know that certain Republicans have been part of the radical Tea Party agenda from the start, others feel the need to coddle these extreme views to this date. The Harrison County Democratic Party calls on Republican candidates on the ballot to either denounce these far right positions, or run on them. Our local newspapers and media outlets should put candidates on the spot for these positions. We saw in the recent Republican race for Commissioner, District 3, that they failed to do so. A Republican Commissioner was challenged from the Tea Party and far right for working with Democrats. While he narrowly won reelection, local newspapers did not point out his opponent's Tea Party ties. All citizens and candidates are free to support the Tea Party and its ideals to their heart's content, but if they do, voters deserve to know that they do.

We already know that certain Republican local candidates are joined at the hip with the Tea Party by appearing and being featured speakers at Tea Party hosted events. Surely they know what policies they are backing by making themselves part of the Tea Party.


Here are the local candidates are are clearly tied to or members of the Tea Party:

• Gary Davis, County Councilman, who thanked the Tea Party for helping him to win in 2010 in a paid advertisement in the Corydon Democrat, and has attended Tea Party Meetings and supported their agenda
  
• Phil Smith, County Councilman, who has a far right agenda on the County Council, and who has supported their agenda
• Otto Schalk, Prosecutor, who attends and has spoken to many Tea Party meetings, and who made statements at those meetings that are beyond the ethical rules to which a Prosecutor should speak. Tea Party Leader George Etheridge even thanked him for speaking at one of their meetings (though he probably did not speak on birth certificate issues).
  
• Joe Claypool, candidate for Judge, who made one of his first formal meetings as a candidate (and as someone whose residency, and length of residency- is in question, as to where he really lives) at a Tea Party meeting
• Rhonda Rhoads, State Representative, who has voted for anti-worker and anti-public education bills in the Indiana General Assembly