IS IT TRUE? October 23, 2011
IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer’s prediction that the Indiana State Democratic Party would be coming on board with the Rick Davis campaign only took about a half a day to play out as true?…that our prediction on what the subject matter (Homestead Tax Credit) of the ad campaign was going to be about was also a bull’s eye?…that the dollar amount of the effort has not yet been disclosed but that the CCO expects that in addition to campaign materials that the media buy will be in the $70,000 range?…that Mr. Davis finally seems to have found some mainstream Democrats that want to see him succeed Jonathan Weinzapfel as Mayor of Evansville?
IS IT TRUE that we also have in on very solid authority that Mayor Weinzapfel is “livid†over the decision by the Indiana Democratic Party to provide the bridge financing that the Davis campaign needs to compete during the next two weeks?…that this same quite reliable source tells us that Vanderburgh County Democratic Central Committee Chairman Mark Owen is also madder than a hornet over this “outside meddlingâ€?…that being a fly on the wall or a Mole in the woodwork of the adrenaline fueled conversations among the so called “machine†democrats of Evansville would have been a most illuminating experience?…that Mayor Weinzapfel for one set himself up for this by sending out an email blast extolling the state’s Democrats to donate generously to the coffers of Democratic Mayoral candidates all over the state?…it seems as though they did exactly that and that they are doubling down on the Davis Campaign that Team Weinzapfel has never supported but has stayed out of the public fray about?
IS IT TRUE that we seriously are confused about why lifetime political people would hesitate about expressing their preference for any candidate for any office?…that if Mayor Weinzapfel, Mark Owen, and any of the other “machine†Vanderburgh County Democrats wish to support Republican candidate for Mayor Lloyd Winnecke that they should take an honesty pill and do so enthusiastically?…that there is nothing wrong with breaking from party loyalty when one’s preference is really with the other candidate?…that at least former resident and lifetime Republican Andrew Smith had the courage to make it known that he is endorsing Rick Davis for Mayor and why?…that we all should be independents and should act that way?…that non-branded elections are the wave of the future because the red team and blue team are so polarized that nothing ever seems to get done?…that the CCO encourages any and all who have been working in the shadows to come out in the following two weeks with public statements of support for the candidates that you prefer and why?
IS IT TRUE that long time Democratic City Councilwoman Connie Robinson is one who has finally made her preference known for Mayor and that she is supporting Republican Lloyd Winnecke?…that she is not only throwing in moral support but putting up her money too?…that Councilwoman Robinson is self funding a radio spot in support of the Republican?…that this may just be an Evansville first for the 4th Ward City Council person to endorse a Republican for Mayor?…that we thank her for being open and honest and look forward to learning all about the substance behind Councilwoman Robinson’s decision?
IS IT TRUE that much of the content today came to us from Evansville City Councilman Curt John?…that we appreciate his candor and his willingness to own up to his words?
Is it true that rather than “the CCO’s prediction,” the information given out about the Indiana Democrat Party already was common knowledge among political insiders in both local parties Thursday evening and Friday morning, and all CCO did was spread the rumor?
Is it true that while CCO continues to say that Weinzapfel sowed his own oats with his email plea for donations to the IDP on behalf of statewide municipal candidates, that that old news has a deeper story behind it, a story that again political insiders in both parties have been privy to for over 2 weeks, and about which either CCO has not ben informed or will not report?
Is it true that a certain person who has donated mucho dinero to Davis has been on the phone badgering John Gregg and other state level Democrats for weeks, if not months, to come to the rescue of Davis’s faltering campaign, and to secure this person’s future position in a Davis administration?
Is it true that all this behind these behind the curtains machinations have resulted only in the production and airing of a most negative and misleading campaign ad that we veiwers of TV will have to endure ad nauseum for the next three weeks ?
With respect to the deeper story behind the email blasts we are not holding onto any deeper info. Whatever is behind it we do not know. And yes we agree that if there is more dirty laundry to be aired that it would be better if it were new dirty laundry.
The reason you are not publishing information about the deeper story behind the email blasts is because you don’t have that information due to not gathering and publishing news. Instead you are spreading rumors fed to you by people who hold grudges and have you as an outlet for their biased rumor spreading.
The reason you are not publishing information about the deeper story behind the email blasts is because you don’t have that information due to not gathering and publishing news. Instead you are spreading rumors fed to you by people who hold grudges and have you as an outlet for their biased rumor spreading.
You say that the CCO is reporting on things that have been privy to political insiders for weeks. Good for them! This publication is not just a sounding board for all of you “insiders”. Some of us read CCO because they provide a more transparent view of local politics than any other media outlet in the area. They have a record of exposing you insiders to the general public, allowing us to be more informed about what is REALLY going on in our city. Thank you CCO.
My point was that the CCO cannot claim to predict something that already has happened. Do you get it now?
I understand the point you are trying to make. But the point I’m trying to make is that to those of us that don’t have access to the daily rumors of the political realm, this was a “prediction”. It was information that had not been made public through any normal channels. They “predicted” based on what they, and apparently everyone else in both parties, had heard. They never claimed it to be absolutely, undeniably true. They never claimed to know something that others didn’t know. They simply relayed “insider” information to their readers without naming any sources. I personally feel that any rumors spread from this site are done so by the posters, not the editor. It’s amazing to me the responses given to CCO articles. I am not saying that the editor does not occasionally show preference to one candidate over the other but I’ve also seen them hold BOTH parties accountable on multiple occasions. It is obvious to us “outsiders” that those who are consistently trying to discredit the CCO are “insiders” with their own agenda. Maybe the people posting on here know more than me about the mechanics of local politics but the CCO is the closest thing the general public has to a true Evansville watchdog. The Courier is obviously biased and local tv stations report more about Owensboro than they do about Evansville.
You really must have a thick head. Let me try one last time.
The article above starts out by saying “is it true that the City County Observer’s prediction that the Indiana Democrat Party would be coming on board with the Rick Davis campaign only took about a half a day to play out as true?”
The truth is that the IDP already had come on board over a day before the City County Observer “predicted” it, and the person or persons who informed the CCO about the event certainly were among a host of people who already knew it happened.
The point is you cannot claim to predict something that already has occured. What would you say if the City County Observer predicted an earthquake that happened two days ago and thought they could claim psychic powers only because you didn’t feel the quake?
You seem to be impressed that the CCO “relayed insider information without naming any sources.” I just call that rumor mongering, not predicting.
Our source stated that this infusion of cash “might” happen on Monday. We went with the prediction that it would on Saturday without seeing any firm commitment. We do this often when tips make sense and are well placed. We have a good track record. We would not have made this prediction even a week ago although the rumors were already flying. When the cash difference in the campaign coffers was released on Friday this all of a sudden made lots of sense.
Editor, then your source wasn’t a good one because I heard Friday at noon from a Democrat friend who heard it Friday at breakfast that the money and the ad video already was in the Davis campaign’s hands. Then after lunch Friday a Republican friend told me the Davis campaign already had made a $10,000 media purchase for the ad’s first four day run, and that the ad would begin running over the weekend, which it did.
You’re free to continue spinning it any way you wish, but saying you predicted an event after it already happened is laughable at best.
Connie Robinson is just trying to keep her city awarded contract safe. Nothing moral about that. Davis has called he contract to provide supplies to the city and the schools a conflict of interest. Her financing of radio spots is nothing more than an investment in her own future.
Robinson somehow figured out how to get one of her cronies hired into the DMD working for Tom Barnett and drawing a paycheck from the taxpayers with no qualifications at all. Someone needs to look into how Connie’s little follower spends her days on the taxpayers dime.
I’d like to hear about the deal Connie has with Aztar.
Minority Business / Women’s Business
(12) “MBE/WBE subcontractor plan” or “plan” means the document supplied by prime contractors to the state (usually required at the time of most bid submittals), which indicates the means whereby the minority or women’s business participation will be attained.
(13) “Minority business enterprise” or “MBE” means an individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, or joint venture of any kind that is owned and controlled by one (1) or more persons who are:
(A) United States citizens; and
(B) members of a minority group.
(14) “Minority group” means the following:
(A) Blacks.
(B) American Indians.
(C) Hispanics.
(D) Asian Americans.
(E) Other similar minority groups as defined by 13 CFR 124.103.
Its the same type of legislation that Jesse Jackson uses to shake down corporations.
Approach the corporation and tell them that they may have a problem, but you and your company (Rainbow) can make it go away for a fee.
That is how Jesse got an Anheuser-Busch Distributorship carved out of the Chicago area for his son, when there were no distributorships available at the time.
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Thanks, Connie!
Is it true that in her efforts to keep her precious contracts, Connie actually did TEAM DAVIS a favor, by sending the independent voters our way? I believe she did!
If you listen carefully, you can almost hear the cracking of the machine’s parts, as they come unhinged. Finally.
Rick Davis has earned even MORE respect from the people of Evansville, because they recognize that he and his team are taking that machine apart! SCORE!
Be aware that in “taking the machine apart,” Davis has attacked many fellow Democrats over the past four years like ward leaders and precinct committeemen who he ran his own candidates against in 2010 and intimidated during the 2011 primary, office holders who for the past four years he ran his hand picked minions against. Add to that the many Democrat activists who Davis made promises to but broke those promises, or incumbents who Davis pretended to support and then actively worked against them behind a smoke screen.
Then when he divided his own party to the point that his campaign for mayor was in the dumps financially, and all he could do was go hard core negative with his endless homestead harangue, he went to the state party in Indianapolis to bail him out.
What will happen now if he wins the race is that he will be beholden to the state Democrat party and their liberal and labor activists to repay the debt in 2012 state and national elections. But the state Democrat party will have to come down here again with outside help to fill in the gaps left by ward leaders, committeemen, office holders, and other long time Democrat contributors and activists who have had it with Davis and will sit out the 2012 elections. Will the state party have the manpower and money to do that?
Add to those disgruntled Democrats who Davis openly attacked all the people Davis has made promises to during this election and who he will not be able or willing to follow up with if he happens to get elected. You got a really big group of Democrats split off from their party and not likely to be working with Davis if he ends up being mayor. Good luck Rick Davis. Good luck IDP. Good luck John Gregg. And good luck to all you Rick Davis followers.
Clovis, your “really big group of Democrats split off from their party” accurately describe the disloyal local Democratic splinter groups and Central Committee. The State Democratic party just trumped the local powers to try to help a fellow Democratic office holder the local powers wouldn’t.
Thank you, Curt John. As the song goes, ” . . . let the sunshine in ! “
davis just became owned by the state party machine. Either way, he still is owned. What promises did he make to get the money.
He is no more owned by the State Democratic party than Winnecke is owned by the republican party. Both received money from the state level.
Now the bankers, Vectren, big businesses in Indy- Winnecke owes them big time. Nice try though.
If you read the finance reports you will see that Vectren donated to both Winnecke and Davis. Neither candidate has a superior position in that respect. And Vectren executives donated to both candidates.
Has anyone dug through the reports that knows the Vectren execs names? Maybe one of these guys got lots more than the other. Then again maybe not. Vectren has a monopoly and enough money to buy both of these guys without missing a dime.
Whoh pal, I’ve read the local Democratic Central Committee, Democrat Chairman Owen, Team Weinzapfel and new PAC Mainstream Democrats all oppose their own Primary winning candidate for Mayor. Several other local “Machine” Democrats like Connie Robinson and even a Westside Mosby openly support his Republican opponent. My guess, all of these disloyal Democrats couldn’t stop the Democratic State Party from deciding this was a local power play by the old regime and their loyalists that would rather defet their own current office holder to cement they power they “deserve”. The Sate Democrat party are the grown ups telling the old regime that shunning their own candidate is childish at best. Remember the same Democratic machine that opposes Mr. Davis, sued to put Linda Durham in office. Never has there been a crazier City election with some “Democrats” working to defeat their own candidate because their bosses in the old machine told them to do so because they must be scared to death of what Mr. Davis may find if he wins and will not cover up. IMHO.
The support for Winnecke from the Dems will be as fleeting as his time in office. They have already selected their candidate to run against him in four years, if he wins. Tornatta’s “job” as mayor was to keep the seat warm for the next “chosen one”. Since the Voters did not seem interested in the machine candidate, 18% point loss, Owens and his cronies have been forced to use plan B.
The party officials in Indy have finally realized what has been going on here and are here to support the candidate that he voters put on the November ticket. We pick our candidates. Not Mark, Justin (Alex), Connie, or anybody else.
Thank you Connie for coming out for Winnecke. This should put Davis over the top in the 4th Ward and of course her opinion means so much to everyone all over the city ha! ha!. My only question is since she is now a Repubican and the Democrats helped her get that fat contract to sell to the city and to the casinos does that make the contract null and void? Also will she run as a Democrat or Republian in the next election if she hasn’t moved into her new house on Audubon. Wait is that in the 4th Ward?
Since Louise Williams works for the DMD, a job she is in no way qualified for is she getting 2 checks? 1 from the Winnecke campaign since she is registering voters and picking up absentee applications during working hours and 1 from the DMD? Possibly she has taken a leave of absence as Winnecke has. I for one will be glad when Winnecke gets back to work after his defeat for Mayor the bank’s commercials are not nearly as interesting without him there directing them.
Seems like Connie Robinson has played the loyalty of the 4th ward Voters for all it’s worth. Just a sad sad excuse of a representative revealed as self serving,– and NOTHING more.
Does anyone know where we can see this new Davis ad? It isn’t on his website yet.
I saw it on Fox 3 last night right after the Cardinal’s win.
What did you think of it, in terms of effectiveness? I know you’re for Winnecke, so I’m sure the content did not sit well with you, but did you think it was an effective political ad?
If we agree to be honest with each other, I will answer that question. But I’m not getting pushed into a trap by you, buddy. I had that experience a few years back face to face.
I thought we had already agreed to that, veracity.
Yes it was a well done product. It had close head shots in profile that did made Winnecke look hard and unattractive.
The script was the same tired old stuff about the homestead credit meeting, the council salary raises, etc. Nothing new and very negative.
My take is that people who do not know the truth about the homestead credit meeting and who do not know how the county council budget process really goes will be influenced by the ad and by the way Davis has abbreviated the content of the memo he uses to validate the ad and misrepresent the facts regarding Winnecke’s intent regarding the homestead credit meeting.
But that life in big city politics. Time will tell exactly what effect this ad has.
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