Fort Wayne is full of attack dogs, but they’re not limited to pit bulls. On the democratic side of the party we have a roaming pack of attack dogs and the alpha dog is Kevin Knuth.
Issues versus garbage.
The Democrats know they can’t run with Matt on issues, so they have resorted to destroying his reputation. Here’s a few of the recent headlines on Darth Knuth’s blog.
- Popp gives Kelty another $30,000
- Kelty’s attorneys admit he lied
- Kelty in default on loans
- Kelty campaign staff shake-up!
That’s four of the last five posts, and none of them deal with the issues. Knuth’s blog is for the most part devoid of where Henry stands on anything. Instead, it’s his pulpit to attempt to destroy the reputation of Matt Kelty. In essence, the chairman of the Allen County Democrats is a proxy for a negative campaign by Tom Henry.
From the Average White Guy blog.
- Prosecutor reacts to motion to dismiss
- Kelty still hasn’t heard the AFA ad?
- Can you say, “Liquid hot magma?â€
Listening to the Matt Kelty radio ads reminded me of Dr. Evil from Austin Powers.
- How many letters can one person write?
- Kelty – I was charged with crimes I didn’t commit
From Jeff Pruitt’s blog:
- Political Notebook Covers Kelty’s Missing Campaign Finance Form
- Councilman Crawford Publicly Denounces AFA
- News Sentinel Covers Kelty’s Missing Campaign Finance Report
- Letter to the Election Board Regarding Kelty Supplemental Filing
- American Family Association Has History of Dishonest Statements
You can see the pattern. No issues, just attacks. Henry does not need to go negative, the king’s minions are doing a swell job doing it for him.
From some of the anonymous comments at Average White Guy.
I think his whole platform is based on magic perhaps – well that and forcing immigrants to become Catholic.
Is it just me or does Kelty seem like a character created for Saturday Night Live?
Some people are just ignorant I suppose. Most all Spanish/Mexican immigrants are Catholic. Saturday Night Live? Are we dealing with a bunch of high school sophomores on the lefty blogs? It would appear so.
My point is simple. The lefty’s for Henry blogs are not attacking the issues. They’re on a negative campaign attack led by none other than Kevin Knuth in an attempt to destroy Matt’s reputation.
Matt won hands-down in the debate last night. Surprisingly a few of the comments from the left admit just that. Matt was clear and concise on the issues, and Henry was muddled and often times seem confused.
A couple of additional debate observations.
Smoking ban
Question: If elected, how would you approach the smoking ordinance?
Kelty stated he was in favor of a change to amend the smoking ban to allow 21 and older establishments.
If you listen to the lefty’s talk about Harrison Square, they have a desire to be like downtown Indianapolis which is one reason they believe that Harrison Square is a must have. If that’s the case, why not have a smoking ban like Indianapolis?
Indianapolis Smoking Ban:
Bars, bowling alleys and taverns will be exempt from this ban, if they meet these criteria: They must hold an alcohol retailer permit, allow no customer under the age of 18 at any time, employ nobody under the age of 18, not be physically located within a business otherwise required to be smoke-free, not be a restaurant that primarily sells foods and have sent notice to the Department of Health of their intent to be a smoking establishment. Also exempt would be retail tobacco stores and not-for-profit private clubs as defined by state law.
Henry: “I know first hand some of the trials and tribulations of the business owner that has been affected by this ordinance.. In January when I take office and a new city council takes office and this law will have been in effect approximately 6 months. Most communities that have enacted this legislation say it takes about 6 months for it to really take hold. You’ll see businesses come back, and so on. If in fact that’s true that’s wonderful.”
True? It’s not true Tom. Just how is a bar that’s been put out of business come back? They’ve sold all of their furnishings and fixtures, including their liquor license. They’re gone, for good.
“If not, and our new city council desires to make an amendment, what I have told them is that if they bring to me a piece of legislation that is substantiated by facts and figures showing distress by those affected businesses then I certainly have a professional courtesy to our legislative body to take a look at the legislation and decide at that time whether or not it’s worth signing or we don’t.”
That’s a great non-answer Tom. The facts and figures have already been substantiated; close to 20 establishments have already gone out of business. Don’t you think you owe it to all of the displaced employees of the businesses Fort Wayne City Council has ran out of business? Maybe you can get their employees the first grab at the new Fort Wayne subsidized jobs at the McDonalds going in southeast?
Annexation
Question: During your administration do you anticipate further increasing the city’s boundaries with new annexation?
Henry: “Right now…. I do not have any plans to annex additionally”
Kelty: “I have to say, while [spending] 20 years on city council, my opponent voted for annexation 23 out of 26 times and the three times he didn’t vote he wasn’t there to vote”
Have fun! – Dan
P.S. Hi Benji 
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Good reporting !
This explains why the lefty’s and the Henry folks went so crazy when news of the AFA radio ad reached them. Their reaction to that issue ad is now even more absurd, which was, “negative campaigning” “they’re running negative ads”.
The radio ad addresses specific votes Henry has cast or legislation he authored, and that’s supposedly negative !! Of course, calling Kelty a liar is not. Its just politics. Good greif . . . There goes that double standard in the media toward conservatives and Republicans.
Thank god for this blog shining the truth on this strange election.
I looked into Kevin Knuth’s blog. Nothing but a bunch of non-news. His idea of big controversy is a change in positions within the kelty campaign. Big deal. His idea of big news is how much money John Popp gives to the campaign. Big deal. His idea of big important news is how he interprets the writing in the transcript on the petition to dismiss the charges against Kelty. Again… woop-dee-doo. Oh… and I love the part in his blog where he talks about the “republicans for Henry”. I saw the photos of that initial press-thing downtown with the Hawks’ family and few others standing there with Henry. The key word is “a FEW”. They’re trying so hard to make it seem like there is a huge exodus in republican voters toward Henry. Oh… I’ve no doubt our scum-bag leadership is struggling like hell with Matt’s amazing survival~
The democrats know that their candidate is weak and ineffective in energizing people to vote for him. So Kevin Knuth and others like him are drumming up every little tidbit of news about Kelty and trying to make it negative. They know that the conservative base is being energized and they will not believe that those who are hesitant or undecided are moving right of center.
Surprise of the day in mind.
Kevin Knuth states on his website that “The Democrats are confident that Henry delivered his message well and came out on top- the Kelty supporters think Kelty clearly won.”
He is of course trying imply that there was no clear winner whomever you support is who you will see as winning.
Ironically, Sam Talarico is the first to responde to Kevin’s thread stating that while he supports Tom for mayor, Matt won the debate. That can’t be good news for the Henry camp when the “defacto” face of the Republicans for Henry camp comes out and says their guy lost.
Kevin is right about one thing in his blog…Round Two is next Tuesday…and again the Democrats have missed opportunity after opportunity to “put the women and children to bed”. Matt’s resourcefulness and message are being heard and this election will be decided on the issues. Even WPTA’s post debate coverage summed this election up succinctly…those who want change will support Kelty, those who want to stay the course will support Henry (not word for word, but close enough).
Dan,
- Popp gives Kelty another $30,000
- Kelty’s attorneys admit he lied
- Kelty in default on loans
- Kelty campaign staff shake-up!
Yep, these are issues. They show Kelty has a lot of problems and questions he needs to answer-
Oh, and YOU saying we are negative is like the pot calling the kettle…
I’m a so-called “lefty”, but I have to admit that Kelty mopped the floor with Henry at the debate last night… Henry did seem a bit lost and comfused. Kind of reminded me of Kerry vs. Bush debates a few years back. (Bush confused and Kerry dominating the debates)
I see online poll results at the journalgazette.net but how do I participate in the poll? Any clues?
Dan,
Kelty’s honesty and integrity have become the #1 issue of this campaign. The Kelty campaign may not like that but it’s true. And I hardly think a few lowly bloggers have THAT kind of influence…
No, they do not have that type of influence.. thanks god for that
I did not realize I was the “defacto” face. However, what I said was “setting aside substance, Kelty won the debate” He is an outstanding public speaker no doubt about it.
Henry will win the race hands down, and who won or lost the debate will likely be a trivia question years from now. In my mind, Kelty winning the debate, is like Notre Dame getting cheered last week when they finally got a first down against USC. They still lost 38-0.
Don’t cut yourselves so short… I think you bloggers have a very strong hold on Mark Souder.
Sam T.
I wonder if you also thought that Nelson Peters would win the primary?
As a registered Democrat, my first presidential vote was for John Kennedy , but in the years since then, the party has been taken over by liberal groups, not to my liking. It is not th;e same party.
As a former Democrat, I am voting for Kelty.( I have been told that Steve Shine likewise is a former Democrat now supporting the Republican slate.) It’s not only some Republicans who can switch, there are a lot of Independents and Democrats who do not like the way the party has evolved and are going to vote for Matt Kelty.
Sam Talarico I think you should tell us whether you have some doubts about Henry being up to the job.
In the ideal world I do not think for a minute that you believe Henry is as good as Helmke or Richard.
Paul Reszel- IF that is your real name- Voter registration reports are show a Paul Reszel voting Republican in 1996, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007.
Unless there is an other Paul Reszel in Fort Wayne I am not really sure you can call yourself a “registered Democrat”…..and there is only ONE registered to vote according to voter registration records.
To all the Folks voting for a new Mayor:
Our out of town house guests, watched and listened to this debate…may I say they were shocked at the incredible questions that have yet been resolved locally. The water treatment center, rivers, roads, security, and Schools should be what local government should focus on.
All the other stuff…is nanny goverment. Let Free enterprise develop
maintain and make money with private funds.
Do we in Fort Wayne need big goverment
institutional ideas, and an increase in tax to make this city of Fort Wayne become one govermental enterprise? Do we need more legisilature, taxes, and a reason not to answer to the people living in Northeast Indiana?
Ask yourself
Dr. Reszel,
actually, 2 weeks out from the primary, I was quite certain that Matt would win the primary. He did win and he won it by pretty much the same margin that all of the polls were showing at that time. anybody that knows anything about campaigns, could feel Matt take control of that race last april. Based on the polls taken at that time, Matt won by margins consistent with all of the polls I had seen.
one month out from the primary, I thought Nelson would win in a very very close race.
Tom Henry has a big lead right now, no doubt in my mind, but who cares, all that matters is election day.
Princess,
1. I have no doubts about Tom Henry being up for the job
2. How he compares to Paul Helmke or Graham Richard is not relevant. Only relevant comparison is how he compares with Matt Kelty.
Henry is not running against Helmke or Richard, he’s running against Kelty. I think Sam has already made it clear he believes Henry will be a better mayor than Kelty.
Regarding the whole Henry campaign “attack dogs” thing….we can’t OUTLAW them (as a “breed”), but according to Belinda Lewis, we do the ability to NEUTER them now…LOL!
That MIGHT help.
B.G.
Sam?!? What polls are you referring to that makes you so convinced that Tom Henry will win by a huge lead? Every straw poll I’ve seen at the papers shows Kelty winning by a huge margin. Did you see the JournalGazette’s online poll? Over 1300 people participated and kelty: 60% with Henry 39%. Now… I thought the JG was a liberal paper. If people are so fired up to vote Henry, why aren’t they fired up to respond to polling? Now, I know the straw polls are unscientific, but honestly you need to give some data to back up your opinion. Otherwise, I’d have to think you’ve been smoking something.
No… better yet… you just keep believe and touting that Henry will win. Let’s just keep the democrats and defectors comfortable in their convictions.
Anon at 8:52am
What are YOU talking about? An online poll where people can vote as often as they want is a very poor data source on which to base your thought. No question the Kelty supporters are out there, but I wouldn’t get too excited about an internet poll.
Anon 8:52. I have to assume you are joking. But just in case you are not…. to say that online unscientific polls are meaningless is really not fair to the word meaningless.
The same poll that you are citing has Joe Smith and Robert Enders BOTH beating Glynn Hines in the 6th district. Do you know how absurd this is? Glynn Hines will get atleast 70% of the vote in the 6th just like every democrat that has run in the 6th for the last 36 years. The same poll has Tom Essex at 23% and John Shoaff at 5% in the at-large race.
There have been multiple polls conducted in the last few weeks by multiple parties. I have not seen the results of any, although I have heard bits and pieces of them and the story always seems to be similar. I also am making the assumption that Kelty has done some polling and if it was close he would probably be releasing the results like he did in the primary. Just a hunch.
The News Sentinel is publishing a poll on Monday night, and maybe you are right. Maybe its a deadheat or maybe Kelty is up like you say he is.
At the end of the day, only one poll matters and that is November 6th.
I don’t think you have any basis for your belief that Henry will win. I just think it’s what you want to believe. Well, good luck.
I have 4 different emails and tried to submit my vote 4 times. It doesn’t work. It will only recognize ONE vote per computer. I hardly think Kelty supporters are racing from computer to computer to try to skew the poll. Nice try Jeff.
Anon….you need to clear your cookies and browser etc…. then you can revote…
Oops…
Never mind…really it’s a scientific poll.
AAaaaargh!
Ok, I see that now. Well, I’ll be very interested to see what comes out on Monday’s news report.
Anon – So you are a Kelty supporter that tried to submit your vote 4 times. (And could have if you’d cleared your cookies)
That proves my point, the poll is not valid.
Have a nice day and vote on the 6th.
Isaid I was a former Democrat who switched.
Paul,
WOW…..okay, then I am a former Republican who is voting for Henry.
I wonder who FORMER Democrat Steve Shine will vote for? There are no Kelty signs in front of his office LIKE THERE ARE EVERY OTHER YEAR.
No, I didn’t try to submit my vote with my different emails. When you said that you can vote over and over again, I went and tried and it wouldn’t let me… that’s when I came back and said, “na-uh”. Then Olinger told me about deleting the cookies, so I did that and tried again, and voila, it let me cast another vote.
So now I know that one person can keep voting over and over and over again. So… I would have to agree with you. We will know on November 6th. That is the most accurate poll.
Thanks Olinger. I never knew that about “clearing your cookies”.