This gathering of mostly Evangelical, political activist firepower sent a few strong messages across the fruited plain.

First and foremost, they sent a message to Rick Perry to immediately suspend his campaign for president.  Secondarily they sent a message to their compatriots to all back Rick Santorum for president, at least in the upcoming South Carolina race.  Thirdly, they sent a message to those advancing federalism ala Ron Paul’s principled libertarianism as a cure to America’s ills.  That former message is “fahgettaboutit.”

The call to rethink the embrace of big government solutions to every social ill — a GOP political pattern that began with the Rockefeller Republicans in 1964 — has been answered.  No break is necessary is the clear answer.  Let’s party like its 2007 and get on with the bombing of all evildoers in the Middle East.

By so trumpeting their intentions these so-called social conservatives have laid a red carpet out for the likes of Gary Johnson and Donald Trump.  The GOP is breaking into two spheres, big government conservatives who put international finance first headed by Romney, and big government conservatives who put the themes of the 1990′s culture war first headed by Santorum.  Both being the party of endless war.

It would seem that the GOP elite, right and left, have no place in their platforms for the smaller government conservatism of Barry Goldwater and Ron Paul or the foreign policy of the Founders.

I predict that a third party will fight hard to fill the vacuum between America’s daffy Left and mesmerized Right.  That third party will fight for the allegiance of Ron Paul’s followers as well as the Reagan Democrats who are leaving Barry Obama in droves.  That third party will pledge to be less militaristic, to eschew the military industrial complex, to reconsider the bane of runaway corporate power (crony capitalism) and to dramatically reduce the size of the federal government and our national debt.  It is a message that many Americans want to embrace.

Patrick J. Buchanan has oft written of the left and right wing of the same bird of prey to describe the modern GOP and modernist Democrat party and their tendency, led by mammon and other bad influences, to an ever expanding federal government.  It seems that the right wing of that bird of prey has  a well defined top and a well defined bottom, leaving no room for anyone who advances the idea (rejected when the Rockefeller’s finally triumphed) that said bird of prey is the real problem.

Those supporting the “classical liberal” approach of this nation’s founders — such as defined by George Washington’s “isolationism” and warnings about government being a dangerous fire and the framers of the Bill of Rights desire to hem in the feds — those supporting such views find little to hang onto in the polished prose of Mitt Romney or the overtly religious (in a modernist fashion) riffs of Rick Santorum.

As we are wont to say over at the ArchAngel Institute, “it is the culture, Pilgrim”. But do not believe for a minute that deep-seated cultural problems can be solved via legislation emanating out of Washington D.C.  We cannot elect a president who will make us moral or come to our, as the Stones sang, emotional rescue.  Or save our souls.   But we will, if we keep the trajectory of the past dozen years (yes Obama and Bush 43, both), find our problems resolved — via a complete and total financial and institutional meltdown.   A return to the tried and true principles of the Founder’s federalism and thus a massive restructuring of the role of our federal government is the only path to avert a European style crash.  Sadly, few among the Christian Right seem to be able to see past the crisis presented by their very own professional fundraisers (who write ever more hysteric direct mail solicitations demanding immediate reaction, even if the requested reaction could never result in longterm solutions for the West) and their many, many well-heeled and highly influential friends on K Street.  (“Pleased to meet you / Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah / But what’s puzzling you / Is the nature of my game”)

I want to support my brethren in Texas, and so I will, before going to bed tonight,  pray that Mr. Santorum is visited by an epiphany every bit as clear as the one that the social conservatives handed to Rick Perry this weekend.  Heck I will double down and even ask the same for Mitt Romney.

But I doubt that my desired “Tebow miracle” is in the cards given what we have already witnessed in the first half of this political season.

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A judge has put on hold his order that Indiana Republican Secretary of State Charlie White be removed from office because he was improperly registered as a candidate.

Marion Circuit Court Judge Louis Rosenberg issued a temporary stay Friday until a Dec. 29 hearing sought by an attorney for White.

Holy cow….

PDF is here.

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The third victim is Ryann Tipton, a 2010 graduate of Northrup High School.

Ryann Tipton

Fort Wayne police were notified at 3:04 pm today  by  someone that saw a Facebook posting to do a welfare check on their friend, Bart Heller.

Bart Heller

According to this screenshot from Heller’s Facebook profile, he stated “someone call 911,” and come to 3229 Lima Road, and find three bodies, including his.

Reports on local news stations have yet to confirm Heller as one of the deceased, however Heller’s brother posted on his brother’s Facebook page confirming his brother was in fact one of the dead. That post as since been deleted.

Heller lost his St. Joe Center Road home to a foreclosure earlier this year. The Lima Road property where the shootings took place was purchased by Heller’s parents, Randall and Arbutus Heller of Coldwater, MI not long after the foreclosure. They acquired the house for “$10 and other valuable considerations” in March of this year from Steve Bolin of Fort Wayne.

One of Heller’s victims is Erin Jehl, pictured here.

Heller posed this image on Jehl’s wall back in October.

Last month, he posted this poem on Facebook, and tagged Erin and several other people to it.

Heller has two LinkedIn profiles, with one listing his employer as Strategic Solutions Group of Fort Wayne, and the other as an Independent Computer Networking Professional.

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Brown Leads, but Race Is Too Close To Call

Among 470 likely Fort Wayne Republican primary voters, Liz Brown has a 6-point lead over Paula Hughes (41% to 35%) in a poll with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.6 points, making it the narrowest of leads for Brown. Eric Doden has 15% and Fred Osheskie has 2%. Terrance Walker has less than 1%. Just over 7% were undecided (7.5%).

If the Republican primary election were held today, who would you vote for?

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A group of 9 local and regional economic development agencies got together and drafted a letter to the Legacy Fund Task Force. Each of the groups went to their boards for approval, which collectively could be well over 150 business leaders in the area. All approved the letter, each director, president or respective chair signed the document, and off it went to the mayor’s office.

The 9 groups are as follows:

Can you imagine they actually suggested that the Legacy Fund “should be committed to projects and activities which will improve the competitive position of our community.” The nerve.

To the best of my memory, this is the first time these groups have came together and agreed “in toto” to a single vision.

They also recommended the following:

We would submit that any proposed use of the Fund should be required to meet the following three key priorities:

Leverage:

Use of the funds should be leveraged with other investment. Each organization which is a party to this Memorandum would commit to use their best efforts to bring about requests for investment which are leveraged with other sources of investment;

Transformative Change:

Use of the funds should cause transformative change for our community. Transformative changes should include a commitment to funding and promoting the entrepreneurial investment that can grow over time into the region’s largest employers. We need to plant our seed corn as part of the investment strategy supporting entrepreneurial growth; and

Strategic:

Investment of funds should be strategic, factoring in the strengths, assets and economic development objectives of our community. Economic development investments in which our community has no core strength, history, expertise, or in which we do not have a demonstrated likelihood of success, should be carefully scrutinized. We should not be afraid to embrace investments which mature over time and which, in the long term, may be more meaningful.

They also had the nerve to suggest that “a substantial portion of the funds committed to Core Economic Development Investments be placed in control of a Trust Board to be created which would be charged with responsibility for overseeing economic development investments. This would permit a much more considered, strategic, long term investment of the Fund.”

The type of projects which should be considered in the short term would include support for: Entrepreneurship within the community; Retention and growth of our current business base; Workforce development initiatives; and Downtown development.

Given the overwhelming and compelling need to restart our economic engine, develop transformative change and provide strategic, coordinated, well thought out and tested measurable investments, our strong recommendation is that a substantial majority of the Legacy Fund should be committed to be used for only Core Economic Development Investments. To this end, we recommend 80% of the Fund be targeted for Core Economic Development Investments.

So what was Beth Malloy’s response? The packets that were sent to the task force members, (listed below) had the letter in them. Malloy took it out, stating, “I don’t want a bunch of old white guys controlling this process.”

I’d suggest that if you have the one or more of the emails for those listed, you send them a link to this story, so they can view the entire letter here (PDF).

When is Malloy is going to realize that “Chicago-style politics” don’t play well in Fort Wayne?

The mayor has stated before, “I invited the public to join in a conversation about the future of the Fort Wayne Community Trust and City Light Lease Settlement funds.”

Except old white guys.

TASK FORCE MEMBERS
Bender, Marty
City Council Representative

Bond, Terrell Jr.
Fort Wayne Neighborhood Medical Clinic

Callison, Jennifer
Mike Thomas Associates; F C Tucker

Cook, James
Chase Bank

Corcoran, David
Verisign

Distler, Meg
St. Joseph Community Health Foundation

Dixie, Quinton*
IPFW Philosophy Department

Dorko, Joseph
Lutheran Health Network

Fisher, Martin
Science Central

Hawks, Cathy
The Chapel

Hughes, Angela
Franklin Electric

Pape, Timothy
City Council Representative

Robinson, Wendy
FWCS Superintendent

Urbahns, John
City of Fort Wayne-Community Development Division

Vann, James*
Rea Magnet Wire Co., Inc.

White, Marshall
Unity Performing Arts Foundation

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“I was always enthusiastic about being a Boy Scout,” said Lugar. “This opportunity to serve for two years prior to retiring to South Carolina is a great opportunity for me to pay them back for what they taught me as a young man.”

Lugar wished the best of luck to Richard Mourdock who is running to replace him, stating, “Richard is a great person, a true conservative that should he win, will serve the citizen’s of Indiana well.”

Lugar spokesperson Mark Helmke said, “In the 30 years I have know Dick, I’ve never seen him so excited, and I know Dick.” Lugar plans on building his own Pine Wood Derby car to race against his grandson, who’s a Cub Scout, stating, “I’ve had one kick ass design in mind since I came in dead last 68 years ago. I’m going to show these kids what a real derby racer is.”

Richard Green “Dick” Lugar (born April 4, 1932) is the senior United States Senator from Indiana. He is a member of the Republican Party and served as the mayor of Indianapolis from 1968 to 1976 and was elected to the United States Senate in 1976 where he has been the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations from 1985 to 1987 and 2003 to 2007. Much of Lugar’s work in the Senate is toward the dismantling of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons around the world.

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“This news is sad and regrettable, but the only course of honor is for Mr. White to step down from his duties, at least during the duration of these proceedings until a verdict is reached.  It would be neither credible nor appropriate for the state’s top elections official to continue to perform his duties while contesting criminal charges, some of them under the very laws the Secretary of State implements. I have consulted with each of the other statewide elected officials and our judgment about this is unanimous.”

And this.

STATEMENT FROM CHAIRMAN ERIC HOLCOMB
ON SECRETARY OF STATE CHARLIE WHITE

INDIANAPOLIS (March 3, 2011) – Indiana Republican Party Chairman Eric Holcomb released the following statement on Secretary of State Charlie White:

“What we learned today is disappointing.  We think it’s appropriate Secretary of State Charlie White take a leave of absence from his official duties until the legal process reaches a conclusion.”

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The show will continue to focus on local, state and national politics and sports, and as usual, in a way only we can bring them to you, plus the guests you want to hear from.  Our guests, right now, for our March 5th show include former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Izod Indy Racing League drivers Graham Rahal and Alex Tagliani.  Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @GarySnyderShow and Facebook at Facebook.com/GaryLSnyder

The Gary Snyder Show on 1250 The River – Where politics and sports collide in Northeast Indiana!

Past guests include:

• Sean Adams, host of “The Adams Theory” on The Horn 104.9 ESPN
• George Allen, former Governor and US Senator from Virginia; author of “What Washington Can learn from Sports”
• Dick Armey, former Republican majority Leader in the US House of Representatives
• Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-6, MN)
• Jim Banks, Republican candidate for Indiana State Senate, District 17
• Bruce Boudreau, head Coach, Washington Capitals
• Johnny Bowers, Hall of Fame goalie for the Toronto Maple Leafs
• Mark Boyle, radio voice of the Indiana Pacers
• Mike Brey, Notre Dame Fighting Irish Basketball Coach
• Congressman Dan Burton
• Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, Anchor of Power Lunch on CNBC
• Mike Carmin, Purdue beat writer for the Journal Courier
• Zev Chafets, author of Rush Limbaugh: An Army of One
• Senator Dan Coats
• Justin Cohn, Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette sportswriter
• Jackie Gingrich Cushman, author and nationally syndicated columnist
• Governor Mitch Daniels, Indiana Governor
• Wendy Davis, Allen County Judge
• Susan Degnan, Miami Hurricane beat writer for the Miami Herald
• James Delingpole, Author of 365 Ways to Drive Liberals Crazy
• Andy Downs, Director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics
• Erick Erickson, editor of Redstate.com and CNN Political Analyst
• Alex Flanagan, Notre Dame/NBC/ NFL Network Sideline Reporter
• Mike Farell, star of MASH and Providence
• Jonah Goldberg, Editor-in-Chief of National Review Online, Author and syndicated columnist
• Terry Jeffrey, Editor-in-chief of CNSnews.com and New York Times best selling author
• Mitch Harper, Ft. Wayne City Councilman and editor of FortWayneObserved.com
• Lou Holtz, Former Head Football Coach of Notre Dame
• Danny Hope, Head Football Coach of the Purdue Boilermakers
• John Hostettler, former 6-term Congressman
• Jeff Johnson, Vice President, Ft. Wayne Mad Ants
• John Kasich, former Ohio Congressman, Republican candidate for Governor in Ohio and author of “Every other Monday”
• Niki Kelly, Indianapolis correspondent for The Journal Gazette
• Tony Krausz, Notre Dame beat writer for The Journal Gazette
• Ben Lanka, writer for The Journal Gazette
• Dan Leonard, Indiana State Representative, District 50
• Duane Lewis, Central Hockey League Commissioner
• David Limbaugh, brother of Rush and New York Times best selling author
• Stephanie Lochbihler, stand-up comic
• Dr. Connie Mariano, author of “The White House Doctor:  My Patients Were Doctors – A Memoir
• Kevin Patrick, President of the Huntington County Schools
• Congressman Ron Paul (former Republican Presidential candidate)
• Congressman Mike Pence
• Abby Phillip, White House report for the Politico
• Ty Platt, Huntington University head Basketball Coach
• Graham Rahal, Izod Indy Racing League driver for Chip Ganassi Racing
• Michael Reagan, son of President Ronald Reagan, author and talk show host
• Karl Rove, former Presidential Advisor
• Donald Rumsfeld, former U.S. Secretary of Defense
• Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock, Ft. Wayne Komets forward
• Larry Schweikart, New York Times best selling author of “7 Events that Made America America”
• Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman, Indiana Lt. Governor
• Jill Stanek. Pro-Life author and public speaker
• Ben Smith, Journal Gazette sportswriter
• Sylvia Smith, Washington Bureau Chief from the Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette
• Marlin Stutzman, Indiana State Senator and Republican candidate for Indiana’s 3rd CD
• Matt Ward, Ft. Wayne Komets rookie
• Bob Wieneke, Notre Dame football beat writer for the South Bend Tribune
• Kevin Wilson, Indiana University Head Football Coach
• Dave Zirin, host of “The Edge of Sports” on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio
• Greg Zoeller, Indiana Attorney General

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• Phil Giaquinta – 260-385-6412
• David Niezgodski - 574-532-6691

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Idiana House
District State Representative’s Name (Residence)
36. Terri J. Austin (Anderson) (765) 606-8941

District Address
1030 West Riverview Drive
Anderson, IN 46011
Phone: 765-649-2911
25. Jeb Bardon (Indianapolis) District Address
3302 West 16th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46254
Phone: 317-924-9025
95. John Bartlett (Indianapolis)

District Address
5341 Cheviot Place
Indianapolis, IN 46229
Phone: 317-545-1341
64. Kreg Battles (Vincennes)

District Address
2712 Peachtree Terrace
Vincennes, IN 47591
Phone: 812-882-1522
6. Pat Bauer (South Bend)

District Address
1307 Sunnymede
South Bend, IN 46615
Phone: 317-232-9628
3. Charlie Brown (Gary)

District Address
9439 Lake Shore Drive
Gary, IN 46403
Phone: 219-938-0988
12. Mara Candelaria Reardon (Munster)

District Address
1336 Fran-Lin Parkway
Munster, IN 46321
Phone: 800-382-9842
69. Dave Cheatham (North Vernon)

District Address
1210 West County Route 60 South
North Vernon, IN 47265
Phone: 812-232-7809
Phone: 812-346-6697
98. Bill Crawford (Indianapolis)

District Address
Post Office Box 18446 (working on a physical address)
Indianapolis, IN 46218
Phone: 317-926-5117
Phone: 317-507-4142
100. John Day (Indianapolis)

District Address
937 East Drive Woodruff Place
Indianapolis, IN 46201
Phone: 317-636-6601
86. Ed DeLaney (Indianapolis)

No # listed. Chicken!
17. Nancy Dembowski (Knox)

District Address
902 South Pearl Street
Knox, IN 46534
Phone: 574-772-3876
13. Chet Dobis (Merrillville)

District Address
6565 Marshall Court
Merrillville, IN 46410
Phone: 219-980-9046
8. Ryan Dvorak (South Bend)

District Address
215 West North Shore Drive
South Bend, IN 46617
Phone: 574-271-8006
5. Craig R. Fry (Mishawaka)

No # listed. Chicken!
80. Phil GiaQuinta (Fort Wayne)

District Address
4416 Arlington Avenue
Fort Wayne, IN 46807
Phone: 260-456-6412
66. Terry Goodin (Austin)

District Address
6382 North Bogardus Road
Austin, IN 47102
Phone: 812-794-8532
42. F. Dale Grubb (Covington)

District Address
Post Office Box 9 (working on a physical address)
515 8th Street
Covington, IN 47932
Phone: 317-232-9986
Phone: 765-793-3648
2. Earl Harris (East Chicago)

District Address
4114 Butternut Street
East Chicago, IN 46312
Phone: 219-398-4058
43. Clyde Kersey (Terre Haute)

District Address
1643 Bay Breeze Court
Terre Haute, IN 47803
Phone: 812-877-2211
27. Sheila Klinker (Lafayette)

District Address
633 Kossuth Street
Lafayette, IN 47905
Phone: 765-494-2341
Phone: 765-742-1692
Fax: 765-477-0108
1. Linda Lawson (Hammond)

District Address
29 Detroit Street
Hammond, IN 46320
Phone: 219-937-0820
10. Chuck Moseley (Portage)

District Address
6448 Central Avenue
Portage, IN 46368
Phone: 317-232-9771
81. Win Moses (Fort Wayne)

District Address
1203 Three Rivers North
Fort Wayne, IN 46802
Phone: 260-486-9402
Phone: 260-420-8710
7. David L. Niezgodski (South Bend)

District Address
4942 Scenic Drive
South Bend, IN 46619
Phone: 574-233-8186
9. Scott Pelath (Michigan City)

District Address
1824 Manhattan Street
Michigan City, IN 46360
Phone: 219-861-7999
Phone: 219-878-9174
56. Phil Pflum (Milton)

District Address
5757 Sarver Road
Milton, IN 47331
Phone: 765-478-3817
Fax: 969-478-3811
61. Matt Pierce (Bloomington)

District Address
4321 Wembley Court
Bloomington, IN 47408
Phone: 317-232-9600
Phone: 812-339-2980
96. Gregory W. Porter (Indianapolis)

District Address
3614 North Pennsylvania Street
Indianapolis, IN 46205
Phone: 317-926-1179
94. Cherrish Pryor (Indianapolis)

District Address
4667 Falcon Run Way
Indianapolis, IN 46254
Phone: 317-216-0967
37. Scott Reske (Pendleton)

District Address
910 South Broadway Street
Pendleton, IN 46064-9570
Phone: 765-778-2019
77. Gail Riecken (Evansville)

No # listed. Chicken!

14. Vernon G. Smith (Gary)

District Address
Post Office Box 64622 (working on a physical address)
Gary, IN 46401
Phone: 219-887-2046
71. Steven R. Stemler (Jeffersonville)

District Address
1001 Penn Street
Jeffersonville, IN 47130
Phone: 812-283-3106
11. Dan Stevenson (Highland)

District Address
3117 Martha Street
Highland, IN 46322
Phone: 800-382-9842
97. Mary Ann Sullivan (Indianapolis)

No # listed. Chicken!
99. Vanessa Summers (Indianapolis)

District Address
1140 Brook Lane
Indianapolis, IN 46202
Phone: 317-977-2375
Phone: 317-972-0972
34. Dennis Tyler (Muncie)

District Address
4300 North Manchester
Muncie, IN 47304
Phone: 765-286-6958
Phone: 765-748-3353
19. Shelli VanDenburgh (Crown Point)

District Address
6415 West 109th Avenue
Crown Point, IN 46307
Phone: 219-689-2264
60. Peggy Welch (Bloomington)

District Address
2802 Saint Remy Circle
Bloomington, IN 47401
Phone: 812-323-7978
Phone: 812-336-0860

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Headlining is Rev. John J. Raphael, SSJ, a man of renown from down Louisiana way. This great priest (pictured below) does not hold his punches, instead landing them, blow after blow, directly on the culture of death. Want to see for yourself? Then consider this excerpt from one of his speeches:

Currently in Congress every member of the Congressional Black Caucus identifies him or herself as pro-choice. Because of the peculiar mix of race and politics in America in general, and especially in Washington, DC, on the political level Respect for Life concerns and legislation have by and large been cast as a one party issue. The result is that today there are no African American voices raised in defense of the unborn in our nation’s federal legislative branch.

The same folks who profess to fight for the interests of African Americans in health care, educational and employment opportunities, voter representation, affirmative action and all those other areas of civic life for which early civil rights pioneers fought so hard, have abandoned the cause of justice in reference to respect for the lives of innocent and defenseless pre-born African-Americans. They have sided with those who use the Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade to deny a whole class of persons the right to exist.

The irony here is especially tragic since the Constitution of the United States sanctioned slavery and the “3/5ths clause” which relegated Africans in America to the status of chattel slavery. It was the Supreme Court that continued to support this same Constitutional “de-personalization” and the consequent second class status of people of African descent through two infamous decisions, namely Dred Scott, which upheld the fugitive slave law, and Plessy vs. Ferguson, which affirmed the Jim Crow system of segregation in the south.

Here is the balance of his presentation at the impressive website of the The National Black Catholic Congress: Silent No More: A Major Crisis in the African-American Community
Highly-sourced rumors within the inner circle of Allen County Right to Life also have the following set to speak on Saturday’s rally:

Mike Pence, Marlin Stutzman and Greg Zoeller.

The latter would be the only real surprise, given that this top Indiana lawman recently filed a brief opposing Indiana Right to Life’s petition for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court on the question of questioning judges about their views during judicial election campaigns. Here is more detail on the Attorney General’s briefing opposing transparency in judicial governance: http://www.theindianalawyer.com/state-urges-scotus-to-deny-judicial-canons-case/PARAMS/article/25560 That case is Torrey Bauer, David Certo, and Indiana Right to Life v. Randall T. Shepard, et al., No. 09-2963. It was lost before the Honorable Judge Theresa Springmann then lost on appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. In AG Zoelner’s defense the SCOTUS ordered him to file the brief opposing Indiana Right to Life’s petition, which is a sign that the Highest Court just might enroll the appeal on its docket.

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