Having been tied up the last couple days with a legal writing project I of course waited until the last minute to complete (well actually I had till midnight to file and finished at 7 pm, so I should get some credit), I thought I'd do some quick observations on things pertaining to politics and the law. Feel free to jump in with comments.
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| Senator Richard Lugar |
- Is everyone on Lugar's staff tone deaf when it comes to politics? Attacking Republican county chairmen, suggesting they are fools who are easily manipulated, doesn't seem to be the route to go to get party support. Lugar's political clock is running out. He'd be better off retiring with dignity rather than have to give a concession speech come election night.
- I really think Planned Parenthood made a mistake trying to get a preliminary injunction. That requires a showing of "irreparable damage," an almost impossible hurdle to clear. They probably would have been much better just shooting for the permanent injunction. Now their injunction is viewed as a loser in the public's eye when in fact that's not what a ruling against a temporary injunction means.
- It is amusing watching the Indianapolis Star, Jim Shella of WISH-TV and some of the other television stations try to spin the Rokita report on Charlie White into being another nail in the Secretary of State's political career coffin. Did they even bother to read the report, or even the summary? The Rokita report simply reviewed documents already made public and discussed how the law might be applied. The report was careful to reach no conclusions and to point out that any claim of legal violations could be refuted by evidence White might present. That didn't fit with the media agenda of crucifying White so they simply made up their own conclusions.
- Speaking of the Rokita report, did a single media outlet mention that White was cleared of any misconduct for reading the report? If they did, they downplayed it. There was nothing whatsoever confidential in the Rokita report and I would question why it was ever deemed as attorney work product when Rokita, as Secretary of State, had no power to conduct investigations into supposed election law violations.
- I've left the blogging about the Duke-IURC scandal to Advance Indiana's Gary Welsh who has followed it more closely and offers great commentary. However, one thing I read in today's Star article jumped out at me. Did I read correctly that an IURC official Michael Reed emailed a Duke official and suggest that that official talk to David Lee Hardy, then IURC Commissioner about the Edwardsport case pending before the IURC? That would be ex parte communication by the Commissioner and it is a felony. Maybe I just read it wrong.
- Dr. Eugene White has officially lost it. The Star reports that he has a plan to prohibit studentts who switch to neighboring districts or charter schools from returning to IPS after September count day. Such a policy would not even remotely be legal. Apparently Dr. White thinks he is the law in the State of Indiana.
- I read Matthew Tully's puff piece on Sen. Richard Lugar and it got me to thinking...is there anything liberal reporters and columnists love more than Republicans who turn their backs on traditional conservative values? The Star simply loves Lugar, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, and Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard. Ballard and Brainard, in particular, are two of the most fiscally liberal mayors in the State of Indiana regardless of party.
Thoughts?
