TUESDAYS “READERS FORUM”

1. “BIDDING WAR FOR DELEGATES” — Washington Post: Republican Party rules for courting delegates aren’t clear: Delegates cannot take money from corporations, labor unions, federal contractors or foreign nationals. But an individual donor is permitted to give a delegate unlimited sums … including money to defray the costs of travel and lodging.
   “A candidate’s campaign committee can also pay for delegate expenses. Some legal experts believe a campaign could even cover an all-expenses-paid weekend prior to the convention to meet with senior staff at, say, a Trump-owned luxury golf resort in Florida. …”

2. So……we should go with Ted Cruz for the GOP Nomination!
   Oh…wait a minute:
   Primary results in general-election swing states:
   State of Arizona: Lyin’ Ted Cruz lost by 22 points to Trump
   State of Florida: Lyin’ Ted Cruz scorched by 29 points by Trump
   State of New Hampshire: Lyin’ Ted Cruz thumped by 23 points by Trump
   State of Ohio: Lyin’ Ted Cruz bucked by 34 points by Kasich
   State of Virginia: Lyin’ Ted Cruz trounced by 18 points by Trump

   • He’s up by 12 in Toronto….

3. Oligarchs arresting peaceful protesters in Washington today. The illusion of freedom.

   • Nice try Bob. Democracy Spring is a Soros sponsored radical socialist group. They are soul mates with Bernie and the Community Organizer-in-Chief.

     http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2016/04/11/indiana-delegates-say-theyre-getting-hate-mail-trump-supporters/82911068/

     http://www.independentsentinel.com/soros-launches-his-dc-revolution-to-incrementally-overthrow-our-government/

     • Your second source – Hahahshshshhhahahah!

       • Bob, I’m surprised you aren’t in DC with your fellow socialists, anarchists and other oddball Obama sympathizers. I’ll spring for a one-way Greyhound ticket if you promise to go on this excellent adventure:

         http://www.codepink.org/join_our_democracy_spring_actions

         http://townhall.com/tipsheet/leighwolf/2016/04/11/on-the-ground-coverage-occupy-wall-street-rebrands-as-democracy-spring-for-capital-hill-sitins-n2146633

         http://occupywallst.org/

4. I’m reposting this from yesterday because I think “@loose ends” was spot-on. Both local parties deserve scrutiny on attitudes about race and votes:

   After a look at the Courier this morning, I have to wonder if the local Democrats don’t have their own brand of Jim Crow paternalism going on. It’s common knowledge that the Dems count on the majority minority part of the 4th ward to deliver votes for them. In return, there is one African American on City Council and one on County Council. In both cases, the Dems have a race-gender political two-fer as both office holders are women. We have seen competent and popular African American board appointees removed from their positions recently, which can’t set well with inner-city voters.

   The real surprise to me is that the highly competent young black female attorney, Lori Sherman, running to replace Gail Riecken as Representative in House District 77, appears to have been overlooked by the party. The two young white men running for that same seat are sucking all of the oxygen out of the contest. Brandon Lee Ferguson is getting a great deal of support from unions. That makes sense as he is a union member. Perhaps the “unkindest cut of all” was delivered by Gail Riecken herself when she endorsed Ryan Hatfield to replace her. Hatfield is child of privilege, a second-generation attorney who lives in the affluent part of the 4th ward. He has connected himself to the Mosby-Weaver “party animal coalition” and curried the retiring incumbent’s favor.

   Miss Sherman lives in the “real 4th ward” in a house she has rehabbed on her own. She is from a family of nine siblings in a troubled family. She was emancipated at 16, but managed to earn several offers of academic scholarships upon high school graduation. She then chose to return to Indiana to attend law school at IU on a scholarship. After graduating with honors, she opted to return to Evansville and serve as an attorney and child advocate for CPS. It’s ironic that the person who had to earn everything she ever got is so willing to “give back” to this community. I was amazed and flabbergasted that Gail overlooked the candidate that shows the most concern for speaking the voiceless in the community, a thing that Mrs. Riecken did so effectively. Could it be that she, and the Democratic leadership feels that the minority community has it’s “fair share” of offices, and takes the “black vote” for granted?

   • LKB….It should be reposted. Excellent, sincere testimonial (even if you don’t agree with every word of it).

   • I don’t recall seeing the Democratic Leadership endorsing anyone, do you?

     I think the idea that she SHOULD be endorsed because of her race is just as silly as the idea that she SHOULD NOT be endorsed because of her race.

     • +1

       • What?
         Not because she’s African American. But because she is representative of her constituency, especially a clearly under-represented constituency in City government.
         Give me a break. Qualifications galore, and 100% authenticity, for God’s sake.

     • I don’t see anything that implies she should be endorsed because of her race. The way I read it, I think the writer simply believes Gail should not have endorsed Hatfield.

       • Accusing the Democratic leadership of feeling that the minority community has it’s “fair share” of offices, and takes the “black vote” for granted is a little more than just saying they think Gail shouldn’t have endorsed Hatfield.

     • Mayor Winnecke should endorse Ms. Sherman in the Democratic primary. He is, after all, the current boss of what’s left of the local Democratic party after their disastrous back-stabbing of Rick Davis.

5. I will repost too about the demographics of the Democratic party. If it isn’t included here it is a Republican demographic.

   Here is a link to an article on that subject.

   https://www.debt.org/faqs/americans-in-debt/economic-demographics-democrats/

   Here are some excerpts:

   “An individual’s likelihood of being a Democrat decreases with every additional dollar he or she earns. Democrats have a huge advantage (63 percent) with voters earning less than $15,000 per year.”

   “There are two distinct levels of education among Democrats: those without a high school diploma and those with post-graduate degrees.”

   ” Republicans gain a majority of support from high school graduates, individuals with some college experience, and college graduates.”

   “The most loyal bloc of Democratic supporters are African-Americans, with women supporting Democrats a staggering 90 percent of the time and men slightly less.”

   “There is a 35-point difference between Democrats and Republicans, with Democrats far more likely to support government assistance programs.”

   “Republicans tend to give more to charity, while Democrats support publicly funded assistance programs. ”

   “While Democrats lose support as income increases, there seems to be a tipping point where the ultra-wealthy begin leaning Democratic. The most famous example would be the entertainment industry, where star-studded events have become a significant part of Democratic culture.”

   So, I think that particular article seems to have dispelled your claim that the “poorly educated” vote republican and hopefully shined some light on the differences in the parties followers.

   The real intelligent people who think for themselves avoid party loyalty like a cat avoids a baptism.

   • Pretty sketchy source, Joe. Also you’re not being a very good fox news parrot. You’ve deviated from the “all college kids are brainwashed libs” company line.

   • It took me 2 seconds to find reputable sources disputing that. You’re not looking too good with this argument. The higher the education level the more likely a person is to be liberal. This is no state secret. Also, don’t give me that crap about donating more to charity. I’ve heard that lie so many times I’m sick of it. Tithing doesn’t count.

   • I’m not going to get in this argument Joe because I believe it depends on what State you glean your stats from.

     But here’s one example;

     https://youtu.be/E48QqcTOXeY

   • Spot on article Joe.

6. LKB, you are an excellent writer, local government historian and political observer. Doesn’t Mr. Hatfield live in an historic mansion on the riverfront in the midst of all the Winnie Friends? Isn’t that in the Fourth Ward?

   • Thanks, but I didn’t write this. Yes, young Mr. Hatfield’s “starter home” could fairly be described as an historic mansion in Friends-of-Winnecke-land.

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