Republican County Commissioners Cut Common Construction Wage by 40%: Act Now

Is there no doubt that the Tea Party controlled Harrison County Board of Commissioners is the worst group we have ever had in our county? There is none now. They treat county employees as bad as they can, went to inferior road repairs (which they abandoned right before the election), did not properly plow snow from county roads or mow them, and did everything they could to enact a radical agenda.

Now, they are going for the pocketbook. Wages on construction projects will be lowered 40% due to their actions. These are projects that hard working Harrison County people depend on for a good standard of living. Now they will take a 40% hit. We will now have cheap labor (which we know involves illegals in some cases) flood into the county for projects. You get what you pay for. Would you want to go into one of these finished projects? We think not.

Another thing is kind of funny that all three Commissioners have either spouses, children, or siblings on federal or county payrolls. Have they asked their wife at the Post Office to take a 40% cut? They have their stuff, but to hell with everybody else.

The next Harrison County Commissioner meeting is Monday, October 6 at 8:30 AM at the Government Center. Go there and let them know your thoughts on what they have done. Maybe suggest they all take 40% pay cuts in their County Commissioner pay.

One bad thing is that only one County Commissioner is up for reelection this year- Jim Klinstiver, who voted for this Tea Party act. Let's vote him out in November, and work on voting out the other two in 2016. All three of them are part of the party of low wages. Remember in November!

We have attached a press release from the Indiana Construction Information Network.

Heidi Sellers Endorsed by Indiana Teachers

Indiana Teachers have spoken. They back pro-public education candidate Heidi Sellers over far right Rhonda Rhoads, whose agenda has been very anti-public education, and very anti-teacher.

Heidi's Endorsement Letter

CNBC: Indiana 7th Worst in Quality of Life Index in America

According the CNBC, not exactly what you would call a liberal bastion, the State of Indiana continues to fall behind in the quality of life index. We aren't exactly moving in the right direction either. Indiana dropped five spots from last year. Ranking 7th worst in the quality of life index is not something to be proud of. Nor is having seen teacher salaries declining more than all but one state in the country, when adjusted for inflation.

Things are not going so great in this state, when it comes to education, poverty, and quality of life. Given how Mike Claytor has shown that the state is cooking the books to make cooking the books to make the budget situation look better, so it is difficult to believe much that comes out of Indianapolis. Rhonda Rhoads and her partisan, far-right Tea Party agenda, which has targeted working families and our public schools have failed. It is time for her to go into early retirement. It is time for someone in Indianapolis that will work for regular people and our school. We need Heidi Sellers as our next State Representative.

Heidi, Heidi, Heidi, Oh! Rhonda Rhoads has got to go!

Happy Birthday to James Goldman

We wanted to wish a very Happy Birthday to three time former Commissioner James Goldman, who proudly served our county for 12 years before losing due to a third party Democratic candidate in the race. We think James did a great job as Commissioner and worked to improve our roads, not destroy them. He worked in a bi-partisan manner, rather than the current Tea Party nut Etheridge in office now.

We miss James as Commissioner. It would be a welcome breathe of fresh air if he could return as Commissioner come 2016.

Happy Birthday James Goldman!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Update on What to Expect on our Website

We wanted to update you on some things to stayed tuned for on our website as we approach the November election. As our great Democratic President Harry S Truman once said, " I don’t give them Hell, I just tell the truth about them and they think it’s Hell."

It is very evident that while our local newspaper uses the word "Democrat" in their name, that this newspaper might as well be called "The Corydon Republican" or "The Harrison County Tea Party Weekly News". It would appear that it is about as "fair and balanced" as Fox News. While we can only speculate as to why the newspaper has turned into a Republican-Tea Party rag, Democrats in Harrison County have to use other means to get our message out. Reporters at this newspaper show their true colors by promoting and liking a large number of local Republican candidates on facebook, and even more through biased articles. We do not see Republican officials challenged on obvious inaccuracies. In fact, the opposite seems to be true- anything Republican officials say is printed as fact, and Democrats are largely ignored. Despite frequent comments on the Harrison County Council, one would not even know that Councilmen Richard Gerdon and Gordon Pendleton even exist. We have even seen things that look like little more than GOP press releases published as serious news articles in this paper. At least one or two of  their reporters seem to have very cozy relationships with Republican elected officials to the point you wonder whether they are helping to run their re-election campaigns and refuse to print anything that might reflect negatively on them. Needless to say, take the "news" you read there with a healthy dose of salt.

As a way we can fight back and get our message out, we will be rolling out several respected people in the community that will be writing articles on our website to help set the record straight. We will also be reviewing public statements by Republican officials and check them with reality. Needless to say, we have a number of articles to share with the people of Harrison County to give them a "fair and balanced" look at the issues and candidates.

Stay tuned....

Courier-Journal Article on District 3 Commissioner Race

Democrats Terry L. Miller and Roger S. Wooten, Sr. competing for the Democratic nomination for County Commissioner in District 3. All voters in Harrison County will vote on this race, tough candidates must reside in District 3, which consists of Boone, Heth, Posey, Taylor, and Washington Townships in the southern part of Harrison County. The winner will take on the winner of the Republican primary, between incumbent Jim Klinstiver and Tea Party aligned challenger Mark Stewart. The Harrison County Democratic Party does not endorse in primary contests, and will strongly back the winner of this primary. Here is a link to an article about the race in the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Courier-Journal Article on Commissioner Race

County Commissioner, District 3 Profiles

Two Democrats are seeking our party's nomination for County Commissioner in District 3. The Corydon Republican printed answers to their candidate questionnaire this week. The Republicans have a primary as well. The Democratic candidates are former Commissioner Terry L. Miller and businessman Roger S. Wooten, Sr. The Harrison County Democratic Party does not endorse candidates in primary contests.

District 3 consists of Boone, Heth, Posey, Taylor, and Washington Townships in the southern part of Harrison County. However, voters throughout the county can vote in the race. Candidates are required to live the district to be eligible to run for the office. 

County Commissioner District 3 Profiles