House Democrats on the Lam: By the Numbers
Posted by Legislative Watch in Current AffairsIt has been twenty-four days since Indiana’s House Democrats first packed their bags and headed west to Urbana, Illinois. Now in the fourth week of their self-imposed exile, we thought it was time to take a look at the past month…by the numbers.Key Dates in the Legislature
With the absence of Democrats, the General Assembly is losing valuable time to pass crucial legislative items including a balanced budget and education reforms.
| November 2, 2010 | House Democrats lose 52 seat majority and fall to 40 seat minority |
| November 16, 2010 | Members take Oath of Office to do their job |
| January 15, 2011 | Legislators got paid first half their annual salary |
| February 15, 2011 | Legislators got paid second half of their annual salary |
| February 21, 2011 | Indiana House Democrats walked off the job |
| February 22, 2011 | Indiana House Democrats began exile in Urbana, IL, hotel |
| April 29, 2011 | General Assembly scheduled to adjourn |
| June 30, 2011 | End of the fiscal year |
| July 1, 2011 | State government will shut down if Democrats don’t return to pass a budget |
Key Numbers on the Democrats
Democrats have cost Hoosier taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars during their exile while some Double-Dipping Democrats have skipped out on two taxpayer funded jobs!
| 1 | Democrat standing up to his party and not participating (Rep. Stemler) |
| 1 | Democrat caught visiting the Illinois House of Representatives (Rep. Reardon) |
| 1 | Democrat comparing exile to a game of tag (Rep. Reske) |
| 1 | Democrat who won’t share her Barbie’s (Rep. Klinker) |
| 1 | Hot Tub at the Comfort Suites Urbana (Hotel Site) |
| 2 | Democrats visiting the Lincoln Library in Springfield and misleading Hoosiers to validate their flight to Urbana (Link) |
| 7 | Editorial pages telling Democrats it’s time to come back (Indianapolis Star, NWI Times, Evansville Courier & Press, Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, South Bend Tribune, Lafayette Journal & Courier, Tribune-Star) |
| 11 | Double-Dipping Democrats with two taxpayer funded jobs (and absent from both) (Indiana Transparency Portal) |
| 23 | Days public has been cut out of House testimony |
| 24 | Days Democrats have been AWOL |
| 37 | Democrats holed up in Urbana at any given time |
| $250.00 | Daily fine imposed on AWOL Democrats beginning March 7, 2011 (Link) |
| $2,400.00 | Cost per night to house Democrats in Urbana hotel (Link) |
| $300,000+ | Total Cost of Democrats’ exile to Hoosier taxpayers so far (Link) |
Key Policy Numbers
Indiana is a leader in education funding, yet more needs to be done to improve the system.
| #1 | Indiana’s National Rank in terms of budget used for education, 50 percent (Indiana Transparency Portal) Note: While most states cut education during these tough times, Indiana has protected Hoosier students. |
| 3,500 | Hoosier families on the charter school waiting list |
| 25,000 | Hoosier students drop out of school every year |
Key Polling Numbers That Highlight Support from Hoosiers
Polling shows Hoosiers strongly support the education reforms being debated in the General Assembly.
| 58 | Percentage of Hoosiers who believe “teacher compensation should be based on students’ improvement on standardized tests” (CEEP Survey) |
| 66 | Percentage of Hoosiers who favor allowing “state education dollars to be used by parents to select the best possible educational options for their children” (American Viewpoint Survey) |
| 71 | Percentage of Hoosiers supporting paying outstanding teachers more (Bellweather Research & Consulting) |
| 75 | Percentage of Hoosiers who believe student achievement should be among the factors considered in teacher compensation (CEEP Survey) |
Other Numbers
Democrats and their union friends have gone above and beyond to manufacture stories lately.
| 1 | Fake IDOE memo e-mailed out to school officials (Link) |
| 8 | States where protesters were bused in from for Thursday’s protest (Link - IL, MO, MI, OH, KY, CA, WV, GA) |
| 8 | Percentage of workers in private sector unions in Indiana |
| 20+ | Days Indiana Democrat Party has refused to disclose who is funding their efforts to pay for the Democrats’ stay in Urbana |
| 1,000′s | Teachers being misled by union leadership on educational reform |
| 7,500+ | Teachers State Superintendent Tony Bennett has met with this school year |
| $1,000,000+ | ISTA spent in 2008 to support Indiana Democrat legislators |
| $1,000,000+ | ISTA spent in 2010 to support Indiana Democrat legislators |
| 800-382-9842 | How to contact Indiana Democrats and tell them ‘Enough is Enough!’ |
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