Mears Wins Prosecutor 500

Ryan Mears is the Marion County Prosecutor.

Earlier today, the man serving as Interim Prosecutor won the right to serve in that capacity through at least 2022 in a narrow vote over Timothy Moriarty, an advisor for Mayor Joe Hogsett. Politically and morally, I think Mears won this election on the first full day he was on the job as Interim Prosecutor.

The day after former Prosecutor Terry Curry announced he was exiting, Mears immediately made news by announcing that Marion County would no longer be prosecuting marijuana cases for amounts under one ounce. This made sense in a number of ways, but it also signaled that Mears didn't care about the GOP's or the FOP's reaction...that he was going to make his own call and stand on his own principles about these cases. Politically, I'm sure it caught Moriarty and probably everyone fairly flatfooted, and suddenly, he had to react to something his opponent in the race was proposing.

The last few weeks have not been, on the surface, a good show for the Marion County Democratic Party. Major names backed Moriarty. Joe Hogsett and André Carson were chief among them, and Mears had his own backers too...namely his former boss Terry Curry and Senator JD Ford.Mears had his own backers too...namely his former boss Terry Curry and Senator JD Ford. There was also this perception that the deck was being stacked in favor of one candidate. Local pundits like Abdul-Hakim Shabazz have written about it on his Indy Politics site. I've seen the sentiment, though, from grassroots Democrats, too. In the end, Mears' message carried the day.

I think the General Assembly needs to take a look at these countywide offices and perhaps make a change to allow all the voters to participate in a special election. It could be done in May or November along with regular elections to keep costs down. The only complicating factor would be that one year where there aren't elections, but that could be rectified too.

Regardless, I think Marion County got itself a good Prosecutor today. I wish him the best of luck. I also wish my friend Tim Moriarty the best. I think the day will come for him to serve our city and county in an elected capacity, too.

Post First Four Debate Thoughts...

A few thoughts after the Dems debates...

1.) If you want the candidates to hug, sing "Kumbaya", and have Marianne Williamson to bless them with crystals, I'd say you don't understand a primary. This is the battle to beat a very formidable incumbent. Say what you want about Trump, but he knows how to make people look at him and control the debate.

2.) The moderators have no responsibility to ask favorable or softball questions. They are challenging the candidates and their positions. If that means playing the opposite side to do it, they will.


3.) If you believe Joe Biden is the answer to Donald Trump, I'd love to offer you my beachhouse near Area 51 in Nevada.

4.) Howard Dean was the frontrunner now in the 2004 cycle. Hillary Clinton was the frontrunner now in the 2008 cycle. This thing is not over. No votes have been cast. We're mostly grading candidates on national polls when the early caucus in Iowa and the primaries will determine who faces the Resident.

5.) I'll be glad to reduce the number of candidates in the debates. I'm telling you...if you have a flaw in your record, it will be exploited. You'd better have an answer like Cory Booker did. We talked more about Kool-Aid than Biden's "Stop and Frisk" attack, right?

6.) The party has moved left of Obama. Even Obama realizes that.

My advice? Get yourself a message that doesn't involve Donald Trump. Ignore him unless he directly attacks and then deflect. Do not engage him directly unless you have the metaphorical shutdown line because he can wiggle out of any rhetorical wrestling hold.

Forget Impeachment Democrats

Sit down please. Let's have some real talk, fellow Democrats.

Let's chat about impeachment. I'm going to tell how this plays out if you turn down Impeachment Avenue.

The process in the House will take time. Hearings, drawing up the Articles of Impeachment, etc. I'm sure this process will take us into early 2020. Let's say the House votes along party lines and Donald Trump is impeached. He leaves office and Mike Pence takes over, right?

WRONG.

Even if Donald Trump is impeached by a wide majority in the House, the proceedings move to the Senate. There, the circus continues. After let's say a month of trial, debate, histrionics and other fun presided over by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Senate votes.

Let's say the trial compels two of 53 Republicans to join the Democrats in voting for conviction and removal from office. That's still only 49 votes. It's not even a majority. You need 67 votes, and Donald Trump could pick up Jared Kushner and smack Chief Justice Roberts in the face with him during the proceedings and still the necessary 14 Republicans won't vote him out of office.

So, you have, for the third time in history, a President of the United States who is impeached by the House and acquitted by the Senate.

But, Donald Trump is no ordinary President. He thrives on this crap. This time, there will be no apology in the Rose Garden or a promise to do better. This President will go on a "whistle stop" golfing tour holding rallies in Trump Country drawing out every supporter he can find who will be stronger than ever behind their man. 

Every day, Trump and his loyalists will tweet out "FULL EXONERATION! FULL ACQUITTAL!" in caps on Twitter. He'll blather on about how the Democrats are simply haters and harrassers. His base hardens.

Meanwhile, the Democrats still can't pick a strategy or a candidate. I fear that my party will continue to fumble, stumble, and tumble and rather than come up with a message and an inspiring candidate that can defeat Donald Trump, they'll have their shoestrings tied together and be given a metaphorical wedgie by a man who knows how to do it.

You don't play this game with the master showman. Donald Trump knows how to play something for a spectacle. An impeachment aquittal will give him everything he needs.

And you know who knows all this? The vote counter herself, Nancy Pelosi. You can say what you want about Speaker Pelosi, but the minute she decides to proceed with impeachment is the moment that she knows there are 67 votes in the Senate. Until then, it ain't happenin'. Follow Speaker Pelosi's lead. She knows what she's doing.

The best course of action is to move on. That's right. I said it, Democrats. Move on. 

Donald Trump absolutely deserves to be impeached, but it's not politically possible because the Senate is broken. Our only recourse is to redouble efforts and make sure that we nominate the right Democrat for President.

So, what about the Rule of Law? Well, that's difficult. Trump's a problem for sure, but I swear this is not how he's going to be ousted from office. It's only going to be repudiation at the ballot box that he's out of office, in my opinion anyway. The way to end the Trump Administration is to beat him. There will be time to hold him accountable, but that's when he is out of office in January 2021. I think there's a road map in the Mueller Report for that.

When it comes to President Trump, forget impeachment and focus on November 3, 2020...or, if you like spectacles with no possibility of anything coming out in your favor...by all means, impeach away.

Open Letter to Joe Biden: You're Blowing This But You Can Fix It

Hey, Vice President Biden,
So, you had a bad debate right? You've had a bad couple of weeks, right?

You're still in the lead, so there's time for a time out to learn from your mistakes.

First of all, it's not 1973 or 1985 or whenever anymore. Get out of the mindset. It's 2019, and it's time to wake up. No more "Sleepin' Joe" because Donald Trump is ready to nail you on it. Don't hook your wagon to the past. Acknowledge it, but move on.

You've been out of the game long enough to tell people you've evolved in a major way on many issues. You can also find another way to tout your accomplishments other than saying you worked with segregationists to illustrate that you can work with those you have disagreements.

The biggest thing that you need to focus on is not the past. As the still frontrunner, you need to focus on Donald Trump.

Be disciplined. You're fightin' Joe from Scranton, but resist that urge to be defensive Joe. They're coming after you, but you've been in tougher fights. Remind them that you're Joe Biden in a different way. What's past is past should be your mantra. It's what you're going to do in 2021 when you head into that Oval Office that will win votes.

I know there's an empathetic fighter in there, Joe. I've seen it. Remind people that you have ridden that train home for years. You have the potential to charm, and I'd love to see you show some humility rather than defensiveness and bitterness. It doesn't mean you're weak. On the contrary, with all you've been through, you're stronger than most. Get that swagger back, Mr. Vice President.

Your New Motto:
"Listen, what's done is done. I've been in public life for many years, and I no longer hold many of the views I did when I was younger. What's important now is the future of this nation. I've learned from my past that we can make mistakes and still build for a brighter tomorrow. I was honored when Barack Obama chose me to help him make history. Let's continue to say 'Yes We Can'. Focus our sights on a new tomorrow with our eyes open.

I still want to believe in you, but I can't right now. Win me over. If you win the nomination, you'll have my vote. Make me proud to cast it for you.

Good Luck,
Jon

Caveat Emptor: Merritt Wants You To Buy His (VERY VERY RECENT) Evolution on LGBTQ+ Issues

Jim Merritt

After days of controversy over his potential attendance, Jim Merritt announced he will not attend Saturday’s Indy Pride Parade.

Republicans march in the Indy Pride Parade all the time, but Merritt’s problem, according to many LGBTQ+ community members (myself included) was his voting record in the Indiana Senate. Merritt's answer to that...say he's evolved.

Merritt voted for the marriage amendment to the Indiana Constitution and also was a backer of the divisive RFRA legislation. Merritt also actively campaigned against the Indiana Youth Group license plate. IYG serves young LGBTQ+ people. (Full disclosure, I am a donor to this organization.)

Merritt, who earlier in the campaign reportedly said he stood behind every vote he’s cast in the Senate, disavowed his RFRA vote in a news conference telling assembled reporters that he apparently misunderstood the consequences of the legislation. Gotcha Jim. I guess you likely didn’t pay any attention to any of the news coverage around the legislation at the time.

At his presser, Merritt announced that if he’s elected Mayor that he will work with the General Assembly on a tougher hate crimes law and actively seek out LGBTQ+ individuals for city posts. He also said he’d create a “Diversity Department” in the city as well as be an advocate for LGBTQ+ protections in employment, public accommodations, and housing.

Great Jim.

Taking him at face value on his evolution which...cough cough...I find awfully sudden...where have you been for 29 years on these issues? Maybe when you’re back being a Senator in the General Assembly session next year you can deliver on these protections and a tougher hate crimes law. You certainly haven’t done squat in nearly three decades!

Jimmy come lately.