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

Plowman Pulling a Durham?

On January 14, 2010, Lincoln Plowman put his Craftsman tool bench up for sale on Craig's List for $1,500. On January 15, 2010, he listed an extensive comic book collection for $1,000.

Why would a guy sell a work bench? After all, he's a guy. And why sell a comic collection that you've obviously taken quite a while to compile? I get Durham's sell-off. He knew he was in trouble. So can we conclude Plowman knew he'd need money shortly, given he started selling stuff two weeks before he handed over his badge? After all, Jim Voyles' brilliance doesn't come cheaply.

Here's something else that's intriguing, if maybe just to me. What's with Plowman saying he's a "private investigator" when he applied for four scanner frequency licenses? Why would a guy need that stuff if he works for IMPD? If it's because he's doing side jobs, what jobs? When does a city-county councilor and major with IMPD have time to do side jobs? Makes you wonder who might be having equipment they shouldn't have.

The onion is unraveling around the GOP, and each layer seems to smell worse.

UPDATE: The FCC license request is from 2004. But what's interesting is that under "contact information," Plowman lists Skylines Unlimited out of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Huh?

Plowman Pulling a Durham?

Sorry, T.J., But How's That Crow Taste?

When Democratic city-county councillor Doris Minton-McNeil was arrested for battery (she was ultimately found not guilty), Marion County GOP Chair Tom John issued the following statement calling for her resignation:

"We are deeply saddened that once again a Democrat member of the City-County Council has shown such public contempt for law enforcement and disregard for the laws of our great city and the State of Indiana. The citizens of Indianapolis demand leaders who are servants of the law, not people who think they are above it."

I'm sorry, but how can you not read this statement and laugh? Durham? Brizzi? Plowman?

I don't mind saying that I've had some extremely harsh words for Democrats (including Minton-McNeil) who embarrass the party with their imbecilic conduct. But in my mind, there's a far difference between somebody who has too much to drink and acts foolish and somebody who auctions off his office to the highest bidder.

When Tom John publicly calls for Plowman's resignation, as requested by Democratic Party Chair Ed Treacy, that's when you'll know he's serious about getting rid of people "who think they are above" the law.

Sorry, T.J., But How's That Crow Taste?