If you want to know what is wrong with Indianapolis politics, just take a look at Mayor Ballard's 2009 campaign finance report and see the reaction to it in the Indianapolis Times, a blog which pretty much provides the official position of the Marion County Democratic Party.
Ballard's report showed he raised over $831,000, almost all of which came from contractors and lawyers doing business with the City of Indianapolis or who are seeking to do business with the City.
What was the local Democratic Party's response as highlighted by the Indianapolis Times? Mayor Ballard's fundraising was "lackluster." Translation: Mayor Ballard didn't work hard enough to shake down city contractors for money.
There was absolutely no criticism of Ballard receiving thousands of dollars from companies and law firms doing business with the state. Unbelievable. Yep, both parties here play the "Pay to Play" game. If not, they have a whole lot of contractors fooled into thinking they have to make political contributions to get contracts..
When my Libertarian friends talk about people in both major parties being on the take, this is what they're talking about. My only dispute with them is how the system can be changed, working inside or outside the Republican and Democratic Parties.
On a related point, how long do we have to wait until the Indianapolis Star publishes an editorial about Mayor Ballard receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions from contractors and law firms getting no-bid contracts with the City? Once again, the Star spends all its time and resources addressing ethical issues at the State legislature, while ignoring much bigger ethical issues here at home.
6 comments:
Paul? How many times do I have to tell you that the Star is not selling journalism any longer.
They sell advertising circulars and Colts tix giveaways.
I'm on their email list. They never try to hook me into a subscription by telling me about their hard hitting news journalism. It's aways the coupons and the giveaways.
HFFT,
Hey, they had no problem doing a zillion editorials on Wishard.
There is always hope.
As a journalist myself, the Indy Star wasn't always in such a bad state. It used to run quality journalism on a regular basis. Now, it just seems to seep through on a rare occasion.
I get most of the AP News stories they re-print via links on Twitter or by looking through news sites on my blackberry. Anything worthwhile they print I'll probably read about it on the blogs I frequent.
It's truly sad to know that the blogs and non-daily media (IBJ, and every now and then, Nuvo) beat the only daily print media in town.
Raising this kind of money to land a $100,000 a year job.
The stink from both parties on campaign bankrolls just screams out for Campaign Finance Reform.
But, in another slide downhill, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of unlimited contributions by businesses today.
How do you clean up a greed-infested, influence-driven system?
The Indy Star nova'ed years ago.
In an age of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act, so George Orwell has written. Thank you, Paul (Revere).
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