Indianapolis Sues Carmel Over 96th Street Roundabouts

The Indianapolis Star reports:

Indianapolis has filed a lawsuit to prevent Carmel from building several roundabouts  along 96th on the cities' shared border.  

The argument started when Indianapolis City-County Councilwoman Christine Scales refused to sign an agreement to allow Carmel to build roundabouts at the intersections with Hazel Dell Parkway, Gray Road, Delegates Row and Randall Drive. As the district

representative, Indianapolis followed her lead.  

After he couldn't get Scales to change her mind, Mayor Jim Brainard in March told IndyStar he would build the roundabouts regardless of whether Indianapolis agreed to the plans. 

Indianapolis filed the lawsuit this month, arguing Carmel has no authority to buy right of way or do roadwork in Indianapolis city limits without permission. Boone County Judge Matthew Kincaid will hear the case to avoid a conflict of interest with Marion or Hamilton county judges. 

The article goes on to quote Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard that under state law Carmel has the authority to maintain roads on its southern border.  It is not clear that provision though would include construction of a completely new intersection which involves crossing over into another city to do so.

The article also quotes Councilor Scales who notes the opposition of business owners to the project.

I've long said that the construction of roundabouts is the best thing Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard has done in office.  I used to work in Carmel pre-roundabouts and traffic congestion was horrible.  Not so any more.  But drive in Carmel today and it appears that a few well-placed roundabouts has given way to an obsession.   You can hardly drive in Carmel today without encountering scores of roundabouts, many of which are on lightly traveled roads where a stop sign might be more appropriate.  On the other end, there are extremely busy intersections in which a stoplight would be better.   Indianapolis should have the right to say "no" to the Carmel's obsession with roundabouts.

Georgia Special Election Portends What the "Trump Effect" Will Be on GOP-Leaning Congressional Districts in 2018

Today voters in the northern Atlanta suburbs go to the polls to vote in a special election, the most expensive congressional race in history.  Democrat Jon Ossoff faces Republican Karen Handel in the battle to replace former congressman and current Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price in Georgia House District #6.  Both parties, but especially Democrats, have poured money into the competition for a district that Price won by 23% in 2016, but President Trump only carried by 1%. The national media is focusing on the race as a referendum on Trump.  Republicans have won previous GOP-leaning special districts this year, but in every instance the Republican share of the vote has been substantially down over previous years.

The Real Clear Politics average of polls show Handel with a .2% lead.  Obviously a dead heat.



Karen Handel

Is too much made of this special election as a referendum on President Trump?  Certainly too much is based on who wins or loses.  If Handel, for example, wins by a handful of votes instead of losing by a handful of votes, there shouldn't be too much read into the result. However, the GOP is having to defend this heavily Republican seat is a significant development, apart from the actual result that rolls in tonight.  It should be noted that Georgia HD #6 has a highly education population.  Indeed it is in the top 10 in that measure.  The other nine congressional districts with the most educated populations are represented by Democrats.  There was a time when the more education one had, the more likely a person would be a Republican.  That appears to be changing.

While far from an inspiring candidate, Handel's moderately conservative views better fit the district than the bland Ossoff.  Politically, Ossoff, who is only 30 years old, is a traditional liberal who would be much better suited for a Democratic-leaning congressional district in Massachusetts or California, rather than a Republican-leaning district in Georgia.  Even more importantly than his age and liberal views being a handicap in the district, the biggest negative for Ossoff is that he doesn't actually in House District #6. While not a legal requirement, that issue has proven to be a deal-breaker for challengers who have attempted to convince voters they can properly represent a district in which they don't live. 

What I find most remarkable is that the Democrats, despite recruiting an extremely poor candidate for the district, have a real chance of winning tonight. That speaks volumes about the drag that President Trump will be on the Republicans going into the 2018 congressional elections.  Call it the "Trump Effect."

Cabinet Meeting an Embarrassing Spectacle, Puts President Trump's Deep Personal Insecurities on Full Display

From Day 1 of his candidacy, I, and many others, have argued that Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit for the Office of the Presidency.  It seems like very day since then , Donald Trump, now President Trump, finds new ways to prove that assertion correct.  Yesterday was no exception.

On Monday, President Trump held his first cabinet meeting.  He began with a completely false personal assessment of the first nearly five months of his Presidency, which included this whopper of a lie:

"Never has there been a president....with few exceptions...who's passed more legislation, who's done more things than I have."

I can only assume that President Trump doesn't know what the term "legislation" actually means. He apparently thinks it includes the numerous executive orders he's issued, most of which are nothing more than press releases.



But then the cabinet meeting got even more bizarre.   After the President's opening, he prompted each cabinet member to give obviously prepared speeches on how great President Trump is and how fortunate they are to work for such a great man.  The New York Times reports on the spectacle:

“The greatest privilege of my life is to serve as vice president to the president who’s keeping his word to the American people,” Mike Pence said, starting things off.

“I am privileged to be here — deeply honored — and I want to thank you for your commitment to the American workers,” said Alexander Acosta, the secretary of labor.

Sonny Perdue, the agriculture secretary, had just returned from Mississippi and had a message to deliver. “They love you there,” he offered, grinning across the antique table at Mr. Trump.

Reince Priebus, the chief of staff whose job insecurity has been the subject of endless speculation, outdid them all, telling the president — and the assembled news cameras — “We thank you for the opportunity and the blessing to serve your agenda.”

So it went on Monday in the Cabinet Room of the White House, as Mr. Trump transformed a routine meeting of senior members of his government into a mood-boosting, ego-stroking display of support for himself and his agenda. While the president never explicitly asked to be praised, Mr. Pence set the worshipful tone, and Mr. Trump made it clear he liked what he heard.

It is disconcerting that President Trump feels such personal insecurity that he needs to have his ego publicly stroked, especially by members of the cabinet who supposed to be giving him honest advice, not simply being "yes" men and women.

The cabinet is made up of many successful generals, business men and women and government officials.  It is appalling that almost all of them were willing to set aside their pride and integrity, to grovel at the feet of President Trump, kissing his ring.

There were a few exceptions, the most notable being General Jim Mattis, Secretary of Defense, who deviated from the scripted praise of Trump to say it is an "honor to represent the men and women of the Department of Defense, and we are grateful for the sacrifices our people are making in order to strengthen our military so our diplomats always negotiate from a position of strength."   
Trump, who sat next to Mattis, was clearly not pleased.

Polls Show Georgia CD #6 Special Election a Toss-Up

In what is considered the best barometer of politics post-Trump presidency,  the candidates in the special election run-off or Georgia's 6th Congressional District appear to be in a statistical dead heat. The latest poll conducted by WSB-TV/Landmark at the end of June shows Democrat Jon Ossoff leading Republican Karen Handel 49-48, well within the 4.4 margin of error. All other polls reported by Real Clear Politics, except one, show the margin as 2 points are less.  The outlier, a poll conducted by WXIA-TV/Survey USA, in mid-May, showed Ossoff leading by 7 points.

The district was formerly represented by Tom Price who was appointed Secretary of Health and
Human Services by President Donald Trump.  In the 2016 election, Price received 61.6% of the vote. While the Atlanta suburban district is normally reliably Republican, Trump performed poorly in the district barely edging out Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Despite the Republican-leaning nature of the district, Democrats have outspent Republicans in an effort to boost Ossoff.    Ossoff has been called an uninspiring candidate who has been criticized for residing outside the 6th district (Residency in a particular congressional district is not required to be a candidate for that district.)  Ossoff's strategy appears to make the special election, to be held on June 20th, a referendum on Trump who he has tied closely to Handel.