Speaker Pat Bauer Hinders Progress In Indiana
Speaker Pat Bauer is at it again! Amid calls for the creation of a redistricting commission to take a bipartisan look at legislative election districts, Speaker Bauer has, once again, blocked progress in Indiana by bringing his heavy hand down on the idea. Fair distribution and design of legislative districts in Indiana might actually reflect the will of the people in regards to apportionment. Instead, Speaker Bauer is fighting to maintain his stranglehold on his arbitrary and capricious legislative districts that keep him firmly ensconced in the Speaker’s chair and firmly on the jugular vein of any attempts at governmental progress in Indiana.
Why would Speaker Bauer act in a manner that flies in the face of the voters of Indiana? Politics as usual from the Speaker and his allies who keep him in power is the answer. In the 2008 election, even as Indiana voted a plurality for Barack Obama, the Democrat candidates for legislative seats received no such vote of support. Approximately 56% of the total legislative vote went for Republican legislative candidates and yet Speaker Bauer retained his death grip on power by the elaborately gerrymandered legislative districts which were drawn after the last census. Thus, Speaker Bauer controls 52% of the legislative vote with the support of only 46% of the population.
The intent of a legislative district commission would be to render order from chaos and establish reasonable geographic and representative districts throughout the state. The creation of such a commission would deal a death knell to the Speaker’s abusive power stakes and return legislative power to the taxpayers of Indiana, its rightful place of rest.
This latest attempt at stifling legislative reforms and governmental progress is just an unfortunate continuance of a sad string of legislative antics on the part of Speaker Bauer. Remember, this is the same Speaker Bauer who fought with all of his might to block the lease of the Indiana Toll Road. Voters would do well to remember all of the Speaker’s dire predictions regarding the toll road lease. None of his predictions have come true and Indiana has benefitted mightily from the $3.6 billion proceeds that have enabled Indiana to establish an enviable financial record when compared to other states swimming in a sea of red ink.
Unbridled, Speaker Bauer would spend more of your money. Speaker Bauer would tax more of your income. Speaker Bauer would create piles of debt that would return Indiana to the brink of bankruptcy where it was just five short years ago. In short, Speaker Bauer is a legislative impediment that the people of Indiana, most assuredly the taxpayers of Indiana, simply cannot afford.
How can voters guarantee that Pat Bauer will not continue his manipulative and coercive ways after the 2010 legislative session? The heart of this elected beast rests with five or six key legislative elections that will occur in 2010. The Speaker is elected by the majority party in the House of Representatives. Today, the majority is held by the Democrats with a 52-48 majority. Only by electing Democrats can Pat Bauer retain his power. Locally, the man responsible for the blockage of progress in Indiana is Representative Ron Herrell. His re-election makes Pat Bauer possible. Defeat Ron Herrell in House District 30 and Pat Bauer’s hold on power is tenuous at best.
In the coming months I will highlight how Ron Herrell has facilitated the blocking of meaningful legislation in the Indiana House with his lock-step support of Pat Bauer. We will explore exactly what it means when our representative is in the pocket of the Speaker and the vast lobbying interests with their copious amount of influential cash. For the sake of Indiana’s future, this is just one horse race that Ron Herrell can’t be allowed to win again.
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