The Joy of Faux Outrage
One of my favorite films is Casablanca. And while you would think my favorite character would be Humphrey Bogart’s Rick Blaine (totally understandable), it is actually Claude Raine’s character Capt. Louis Renault, particularly the scene above when he tells Rick he is closing down the Club because he is “shocked to find that there is gambling taking place there”. I have that same reaction when I look at the reaction my Democratic friends are having regarding SB 621 which would reform Marion County government.
You would swear listening to their moaning and gnashing of teeth that this was truly the end of the world and a clear sign of universal Armageddon. However, my informal poll of regular people who have to work for a living tells me otherwise.
This past Saturday I guest hosted “Unity in the Community” on AM 1310, with Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard. The Mayor and I talked about SB 621 which would give his office more budget authority, control of his appointments and it would also eliminate the at-larges. Democrats have said this the biggest land grab since World War II Europe, however the Mayor said he would be perfectly comfortable with a Democratic Mayor having the same authority.
What was actually even more telling was when we took the phone calls. Not one person called about SB 621. There were calls about streets and sidewalks. Some people wanted to know about certain city services, but not one person called in to say, please Mr. Mayor, stop your blatant power grab! You should not have the authority to choose your own Department heads without having to run back to the City-County Council every year to get them re-appointed. No one called in to say “Greg Ballard, you are an evil man for wanting to get Sheriff john Layton’s spending under control because we the taxpayers have an extra $20 million just laying around for his amusement and entertainment!” And not one person came out of the woodwork to say “save our at-larges”. Even in my bi-weekly column in the Indianapolis Star the only person who complained was a Democratic elected official.
What’s more interesting has been the Democrats’ promise to withhold their support of mass transit if the GOP moves forward with SB 621. I think it is fair to say that they would rather keep four of their friends in their part-time jobs rather than make sure thousands of their constituents have the means to get to work and become economically empowered and self-sufficient. They must not realize that Greg Ballard is their best and only chance to get mass transit if they get a Democratic Mayor in 2015 Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles will see mass transit in this town before they do.
And the icing on the cake still remains that for all the crying about representation and diluting voter rights, I did not hear a peep out of my Democratic friends when the Council reduced Republican representation on Council Committees to ensure they had a super-majority in most cases.
Ah, the joy of outrage. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go collect my winnings.
