The Mourdock Riddle is Solved

Today I received the following message from Co-Director, Brad King, of the Indiana Election Division:

Thank you for your message, and the attached letter concerning the 2009 annual campaign finance report filed by Hoosiers for Richard Mourdock.

Pam [Potesta, the Democratic Co-Director] and I researched the matter you referred to, and identified a software error in the program that the Election Division uses to publish electronic filings from received from certain campaign finance committees.

Specifically, the campaign committees (including Hoosiers for Richard Mourdock) who use SalesForce (a campaign finance software program marketed by a private vendor) submit their reports to the Election Division by electronic filing. The financial information on the report's Summary Sheet sets forth the information as submitted by the committee.

However, due to what can best be described as a "translation error", the Election Division's database is not correctly publishing the information on the Summary Sheet as submitted by the SalesForce program.

This error is the responsibility of the Election Division, not that of the committee or SalesForce. Since the electronic file submitted by the committee was accurate, there was no need for an amendment to be filed by the committee.

Instead, the campaign finance staff person who identified the publication error proceeded to correct it. [Ed note - No doubt that this publication error was "identified" after someone called them after reading my blog.] We try to make certain that the information presented on the Campaign Finance website is accurate, but when errors on our part are identified, we act as promptly as possible to correct them.

We have begun a significant upgrade to the Campaign Finance website, which we plan to implement later this year, that will address this "translation error" problem, as well as making the site more user-friendly.

I apologize for this error, and for any problems you experienced from relying on the erroneous information.

Thank you again for bringing this matter to our attention.

In other words, Richard Mourdock's report was accurate, and I was right that the on-line report was inaccurate and had been changed.

The Mourdock Committee has my apology. To its credit, the Division corrected the error the next day. But sources with some other statewide candidates have said this is nothing new, which prompts me to ask, "If you knew bad intel was going out, wouldn't you double-check it as a matter of course?" Silly me expecting government information to be reliable. Come on, T-Ro (Todd Rokita)...why are you making your people wait to upgrade later in the year on something that's obviously broken now?

The Mourdock Riddle is Solved

Buyer Retires

Steve Buyer is retiring, citing his wife's "incurable autoimmune disease." Buyer curiously stated, however, that he will serve out the rest of his term. Under the saying, "When it rains....," Buyer was already facing congressional and IRS investigations for running "the little scholarship fund that could....but never did."

While I feel terrible for Buyer and cannot envision how devastated I would feel if we switched places, I cannot help but wonder how much further along medical science would be in combating autoimmune diseases had Republican leadership not done so much to stall stem cell research.

Campaign Diaries reports that Buyer was accompanied at his press conference by State Senator Brent Hershman, which served undoubtedly as an implicit endorsement by Buyer. But the intriguing idea floated is that Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman might be interested.

When the Governor selected her as his number two, she said she wouldn't run for his job. Then she changed her mind, resulting in friction and some very public gubernatorial stands on issues pushed by Todd Rokita, such as redistricting. Now Skillman finds herself in a tough fight and politically at odds with her own boss, which makes her 2012 chances pretty dim. How easy would it be for the Governor, who is now playing puppet master for every race in Indiana, to hoist his LG into that slot to clear the way for Todd Rokita?

If she wants it, Becky Skillman should pack her bags.

Buyer Retires

Rokita Is a Devious Genious

Sometimes I suffer from political tactic envy when Republicans come up with the most amazing ploys. Today, I’m talking about my Wabash classmate, Todd Rokita.

Rokita put his poli-sci chops in full motion by starting a crusade called Rethinking Redistricting, the goal of which is to take the drawing of legislative boundaries out of the hands of the evil politicians. You know, the self-interested types deviously sketching out Rorschach legislative boundaries to confuse simple-minded Hoosiers about who our state reps and senators are.

I’ve seen Rokita’s traveling presentation, and it’s ingenious. It employs “common sense” with cunning effectiveness and is chocked full of “that’s outrageous” moments. “Why would we have the North side of a street in one district and the South side in another?” Rokita asks to collective gasps of indignation. “Why would we split a city in two?” he asks, as if we are forcing it to secede from the Union instead of giving it one more state rep to advocate for it than most cities have.

Another thing Rokita and Governor Daniels talk about is the lack of competition in legislative districts. Here’s the Guv’s quote: “Hoosiers deserve districts that make common sense and keep communities together, not lines drawn by political party computers to protect incumbents and limit competition.”

Now, as populist as this rhetoric is, we know aspiring politicos have to be at peace with their own party leadership, at least to some degree, so ask yourself this question: “How does a guy running for Governor as a Republican in 2012 avoid getting frickasseed by every R at the statehouse over this proposal? At first, Rokita did got the verbal beatdown by Senator David Long and House Minority Leader Briam Bosma. But then it stopped.

I think I know why. Rokita told them what he knew.

Follow this closely, devoted readers.

Professors Jowei Chen and Jonathan Rodden have compelling research showing that, because Democrats tend to live in urban areas, if you take “politics” out of map drawing and require compact, contiguous districts, Republicans gain electoral advantage, even without any intentional gerrymandering by Republicans.

Have you ever heard of anything as clever? How can even a wide-eyed optimist avoid morphing to a haggard cynic when the single greatest political advantage the GOP can ever have comes from saying, "Let's not make redistricting political!" The good government types and editorial boards are now shills for the Republican Party, and they don't even know it!

"But wait, Chris," you say. "Governor Daniels and Rokita talk about competitive districts and how many incumbents run unopposed."

Indeed, but among the priority hierarchy, notice that competition is the last thing mentioned. Did the Star (or anybody else) think to ask Rokita this question: "If you knew splitting a particular city would make a strong Republican-leaning district competitive, would you do it under your plan?" You already know their answer.

Initially, I was going to prove this alleged desire for competition is a sham by analyzing the maps Rokita paid to draw up. Then I learned something interesting. They aren't actual maps; they are concept maps.

I don't care what you call them, though. I challenge Rokita to produce the precincts in his map for me to analyze whether Rokita's own map increases the number of competitive districts. If he can't or won't do this, he shouldn't talk about competition because that's not his goal. Victory is.

(Sorry, Teddy, but if we were sitting around with beers in hand with no mics, cameras, or blog thoughts, you know you'd chuckle about how politically devious this is. And brilliant).

LATER THIS WEEK...the Republican Gambits for Leasing Toll Roads, Parking Meter Collection, and Property Tax Reform!!!

Rokita Is a Devious Genious

Amish-stad! Durham Swindles Old-School (Literally) Investors?

The Indianapolis Star speculates that a new group of Fair investors from Ohio who sued Tim Durham are Amish.

According to the Star, the Amish faith discourages resolving disputes through court proceedings, so an Amish collective may have formed a limited liability company solely to sue Durham, who now has famed defense attorney, Jim Voyles, on the payroll.

It's premature to say Durham and Fair targeted the Amish, but if you were going to run a scam on somebody, could you script a better victim class than people who: (a) don't sue; and (b) don't have internet access track the multitude of stories putting you around astronomically "lucky" stock successes, the lawsuits filed against you, and your connection with some companies with SEC entanglements?

If Durham did, indeed, swindle Amish folk, he should be forced to churn apple butter until the sales proceeds can pay off every cent.

Also, if this turns out to be true, it will be ironic that Secretary of State Todd Rokita was right about faith-based affinity fraud. He just got the wrong faith, and he failed to mention that the "preying" was being done by one of the Indiana GOP's biggest donors.

Amish-stad! Durham Swindles Old-School (Literally) Investors?

Rokita Contracts = Rokita Donors?

This is a cross-post from A Loyal Opposition, which is run by my keen-minded colleague, Spencer Valentine. If you haven't added it to the "must read" list, you should. http://www.aloyalopposition.in/.

Rokita Pay-to-Play Scam Even Bigger and More Wasteful Than

Back in October A Loyal Opposition posted a Fort Wayne Journal Gazette report on Secretary of State Todd Rokita’s use of public funds and contracts to bolster the donations to his campaign, presumably for Governor in 2012.

Now, ALO has found some even larger donations from contributors who hold even larger contracts.

It seems that Rokita has exponentially expanded the statewide voter file project into a nearly $26 million project to two firms Quest Information Systems who handled campaign finance and voter registration data for years for the state and added an oversight firm called Baker Tilly (formerly Virchow Krause) to this ever growing contract.

Baker Tilly is especially interesting here as they seem to be the Dick Cheney of the cabal. Originally, they were brought on to the contract in 2003 just to help review the request for proposals. In Cheneyesque style, they wrote themselves in to a permanent role as a partner with Quest in the project.

Thusly, Baker Tilly ballooned their one year/$900,000 contract to eight years and more than $8 million.

Quest Information Systems has grown their part of the project from $9.7 million to $17 million 5 years and 26 amendments later.

It is questionable enough when this project, like Governor Daniels FSSA privatization efforts, just seems to keep getting more expensive with no end in sight. But the fund-raising trail is the really bothersome part.

Between the two vendors the rascally Mr. Rokita has bettered his campaign committee by more than $23,000. Quest Information Systems, has contributed nearly $17,000 to Rokita’s election committee, with another $500 donated by Quest founder, President and CEO Steve McNear who has lots of other state contracts and has contributed more than $10,000 to Governor Daniels.

Mr. John Runte, listed as a Partner and Principal on Baker Tilly’s website has generously rewarded Rokita the Rapscallion’s bloating of their contract with $6,000 in campaign contributions.

The “no-bid” nature of this Baker Tilly contract is also to be questioned. The original contract was to review the RFP. But they were added to the project without becoming a separate bidder and have had this contract renewed 17 times without the state taking it out for further competitive bidding.

The original contract awarded to both firms in 2004 was for a total of $9.7 million. Some 43 amendments later, it totals $26 million dollars.
Rokita continues to use this “Pay-to-Play” scheme to his advantage. But one must ask why he wouldn’t. It has certainly proven itself advantageous to Governor Daniels. He’s just following in those footsteps.

Whatever you think of the campaign loot, one must wonder about Secretary’s fiscal management skills when this project just continues to cost more and add amendments.

Rokita Contracts = Rokita Donors?

Secretary of State Rokita Channels Reverend Lovejoy

This is the second in a three-part analysis of the recent activities of Republican Secretary of State and gubernatorial hopeful, Todd Rokita.

After landing a solid redistricting jab, Rokita came over the top this week with a clever, new public service announcement warning people of the dangers of "faith-based affinity fraud."

My issue is not with necessity for this ad, as I recall a case in Sullivan County of an ex-pastor operating a faith-based ponzi scheme. There are numerous, tragic examples across the country of people who take advantage of the trust built up through shared faith.

What struck me was when Rokita says it’s hard to detect fraud “especially when it's done in the name of the Lord.” Notice how Rokita doesn’t say “in the name of religion” or “in the name of faith” or “even in the name of God." He specifically refers to “the Lord,” an undeniable, not-so-subliminal statement of his Christian faith.

Lest some contend "Lord" is probably intended to refer generically to God, recall that the "Our Father" is also called "The Lord's prayer" because it was conveyed to the apostles by Jesus. In addition, a common refrain at most Christian churches, including mine, is "our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ." Non-practitioners and practitioners alike may refer to the Deity as "God," but in my lifetime, I'm never heard any non-Christian (be (s)he Jew, Muslim, Hindu, pagan, agnostic, or atheist) refer to God as "the Lord," except ironically.

If you're a guy who wants to create a psychic connection with Republican values voters without using campaign funds, this is a great way to do it. Will Rokita be the GOP nominee? Can he prevail over Becky Skillman? Who knows. But nobody can say he isn't getting the most out of the hand he's been dealt.

Secretary of State Rokita Channels Reverend Lovejoy

Rokita Part I: "Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me a Map!"

This is the first of a three-part analysis on Republican Secretary of State and gubernatorial hopeful Todd Rokita's recent activities.

Say you’re a term-limited Hoosier Republican, you’re seeking higher office, and you’re worried about the presumptive front-runner for the office you seek getting a jump on you. Put another way, say you’re Todd Rokita. What do you do?

How about making self-interested politicians your whipping boy and connecting with the faithful via a subconscious shout out to the Supreme Being?

A few weeks ago, Rokita launched Rethinking Redistricting and embarked on a statewide tour to convince Hoosiers that it’s bad public policy to let legislators create their own district boundaries.

In the abstract, nobody would have ever counseled Rokita to dive into the alligator den by alienating lawmakers, particularly fellow Republicans, House Minority Leader Brian Bosma and Senate President Pro Temp David Long. After all, if the Republicans take back the House of Representatives, Bo-Lo will be wielding the big cutlery on the atlas.

And, sure enough, both men pounced on Rokita for being a nosenheimer. In a saucy putdown, Long stated, "I don't think it's (Rokita's) business." Ooooo, snap, girlfriend!

Given his options for elevating the profile of his largely ministerial office, though, Rokita's play is not as politically ill-advised as one might think. If Rokita wasn't likely to earn the support of Bosma or Long for Governor (he wasn't), he loses nothing. But he has garnered massive free media, he's becoming the darling of every civic-minded editorial board and Common Cause chapter in the state, and he has a ready-made Speakers' Bureau-style roadshow that will help him connect with voters on an issue on which nobody except politicians can disagree, and not even all of them will.

Governor Daniels supports Rokita's effort (probably to the consternation of Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman). It was as if the Governor said, "Hey there, Hoosiers, Todd and I are too clean to stay in the political muck with these legislators. Yo, Todd, we're Audi 5000."

I understand why the Guv jumped on board after observing Rokita's presentation recently at the Muslim Alliance of Indiana (MAI)'s annual conference. It piqued my interest, and it was potently populist. It started with a quirky video of average Hoosiers trying to identify what is depicted in outlines of the sprawling, contorted legislative districts we currently use.

Rokita then beat the bejesus out of "them," the ominous and elusive phrase politicians use to conjure up images of overweight, bald, cigar-smoking other politicians carting around briefcases full of lobbyist cash. Sure, there were interesting policy arguments about how constituent confusion would lessen if we had more districts mimicking county and/or township boundaries and how neighborhoods right now are split down the middle of the street. But the soundbite is what caught my attention: "We should pick our representatives; they shouldn't pick us." Nice.

According to Rokita, political considerations, such as review of the addresses of sitting legislators or the voting history of geographic areas to determine whether to include them in a district would be forbidden.

Unfortunately, the cynic in me won't release the notion that Rokita and Daniels know a random draw in a state with a larger baseline Republican vote is going to favor Republicans at least six times out of ten. In other words, the Rokita concept might throw these Republican leaders out, but it's less likely to throw out Republican leadership.

This is, of course, beautiful for Rokita because the best thing that could happen to Rethinking Redistricting is the media beating Democrat House Speaker Pat Bauer about his opposition because it knows he can't say D's are more likely to lose the House in a straight up fight.

My only concern about this project has been the laughable defense of the cost. Rokita's chief of staff pointed out that Rokita didn't use "new money," by which he meant to say that the SoS did not spend all of his allocation from the General Assembly, but instead of sending it all back to the state, took out a $110,000 chunk for this project.

The key with this "new money" accounting concept then is to ensure your office gets a sizeable over-appropriation annually. This way whatever you spend in excess of what you expected to not spend doesn't count. Got it?

Of course, while that price tag seems steep for some maps, a website, some brochures, and a video, the cost is probably equal to the paperclip budget for the BMV, and it will be worth every dime to see the masses get riled up about something they won't be able to change while legislators sweat over how to not support it while looking like they are.

Stay tuned for Rokita, Part II: "So sayeth the Loe-ord!"

Rokita Part I: "Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me a Map!"