FCDP Announces Important Dates

Baron Hill "Anti-Fat Cat" Rally for Hoosier Hills Food Bank

Baron Hill will be holding a rally at the Monroe County Courthouse in Bloomington on Friday, March 24 at NOON.

George Bush will be in Indianapolis on March 24 at a fundraising event for current Republican 9th District Congressman Mike Sodrel, so the Bring Back Baron Committee is calling this an "anti-fat cat" rally/ food drive for Hoosier Hills Food Bank!

The event starts promptly at 12pm at the Monroe County Courthouse Rotunda.

FIRST 50 PEOPLE RECEIVE A FREE BRING BACK BARON T-SHIRT!

Also, bring a non-perishable food item to get your picture taken with Congressman Hill!

For additional information please contact:

Megan Trusnik
Committee to Bring Back Baron
Cell: 317.414.8481
www.bringbackbaron.com

Voter registration deadline for Primary Election is April 3.

Are you registered to vote? Do you have a proper photo ID?

The voter registration deadline for the May 2 Primary is Monday, April 3. Registration will open up again for the General Election after the Primary, but make sure you're registered NOW!

Be prepared! You can register to vote at your county clerk's office or BMV, or link to the Sec. of State's website and print the form there: www.in.gov/sos.

Also, don't forget you will need a state or federally-issued photo ID to vote at the polls now in Indiana! This means a drivers license, passport or anything issued by the state or federal government. Student IDs from public universities will work IF they have an expiration date. Private college IDs (ex. Depauw, Hanover, Wabash) will NOT work.

More on this later ...but BE PREPARED!

Party mourns the loss of Coroner Becky Davis - Balmer

The Floyd County Democratic Party has been saddened to learn of the passing of Floyd County Coroner Becky Davis - Balmer. Balmer died on Saturday, March 18th, and was 53.

Dedicated to her family and community, Davis - Balmer was noted for her professionalism and participated in a number of criminal investigations. A strong Democrat, she won her last election as Coroner in 2002 and was in the middle of her third term. She was first elected 18 years ago and served the maximum two consecutive terms.

Her funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at Kraft Service Home on 708 E. Spring St. Visitation is 4-8 p.m. Tuesday also at Kraft Funeral Service on 708 E. Spring St.

Her family will remain in our prayers.

A full story on her death is available through the Courier-Journal.

Voters could punish Republicans in fall

By Lesley Stedman Weidenbener
lstedman@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

INDIANAPOLIS — Even before the General Assembly adjourned its 2006 session last week, House Speaker Brian Bosma said he was looking ahead to the set of issues he and his Republican colleagues will pursue next year.

But the question on everyone's lips at the Statehouse is not about what Republicans will put on their to-do list for 2007 — it's about whether they'll be doing it as the majority or minority party.

In the past two years — at GOP Gov. Mitch Daniels' urging — Republicans who control the House and Senate have taken bold but controversial steps in Indiana policy. Those include legislation to require daylight-saving time and to lease the Indiana Toll Road to a foreign firm.

Those decisions jeopardize the GOP's tenuous 52-48 seat hold on the Indiana House, political observers said last week, and give Democrats plenty of ammunition to use in this fall's legislative elections.

"Someone will ultimately pay a political price," said Robert Schmuhl, professor of American studies at the University of Notre Dame.

Read more at the Courier - Journal.com.

Daniels' approval rating drops

By The Associated Pressand The Indianapolis Star

INDIANAPOLIS — Gov. Mitch Daniels' approval rating has dropped to 37 percent as many Indiana residents object to the pace of change in state government during his first 14 months in office, according to an Indianapolis Star poll.

The newspaper surveyed 501 Indiana residents statewide last week. The results, published yesterday, found overwhelming disapproval of one of the biggest changes Daniels has pursued: the $3.85 billion lease of the Indiana Toll Road to an Australian-Spanish consortium to raise money for highway projects. Only 30 percent of those polled said they thought the lease was a good idea; 60 percent called it a bad idea.

The governor's approval rating has eroded by about a third from the 55 percent approval he had in March 2005, two months after taking office.

Read more on the Governor's poll numbers, his failed leadership, and his misplaced agenda for Indiana at the Courier - Journal.com

South Dakota law bans nearly all abortions

PIERRE, South Dakota (AP) -- Gov. Mike Rounds signed legislation Monday banning nearly all abortions in South Dakota, setting up a court fight aimed at challenging the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

The bill would make it a crime for doctors to perform an abortion unless the procedure was necessary to save the woman's life. It would make no exception for cases of rape or incest.

Planned Parenthood, which operates the state's only abortion clinic, in Sioux Falls, has pledged to challenge the measure in court. (Read the text of the law)

CNN Offers the full story online - Click here for the latest!

Powerful GOP chairman announces retirement

BAKERSFIELD, California (AP) -- Republican Rep. Bill Thomas, the powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, announced Monday he will retire from Congress after serving for more than a quarter century.

Thomas, 64, made the announcement in his hometown of Bakersfield, CA.

Catch the full story at CNN.com

Democrats Look for Historic Shift in Governors' Races

By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 26, 2006; A06

Republicans face a potential upheaval in the states this November, with Democrats positioned to capture a majority of the governorships for the first time since 1990 and seize an early advantage in the 2008 presidential contest.

While the battle for control of Congress has drawn more attention, the states may be the most competitive arenas in this midterm election year. Historically, shifts in power in the 50 capitals have held long-term implications for both parties, and control of statehouses can give parties tangible organizational advantages during presidential elections.

Republicans hold a 28 to 22 advantage among the governors, but they begin the campaign year on the defensive. Thirty-six states will elect governors in November, and the GOP must protect 22 of them to the Democrats' 14. Of the nine states where the incumbent governor is either term-limited or retiring, eight are held by Republicans.

Read more at the washingtonpost.com

Senate passes property tax relief

By Lesley Stedman Weidenbener
lstedman@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Senate passed a bill yesterday to encourage local governments to move away from dependence on property taxes.

House Bill 1001, approved 37-12, also would increase the homestead deduction — reducing tax bills for owner-occupied houses — to ease the impact of an assessment system scheduled to take effect next year.

Senate Tax Committee Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, said the bill would provide "permanent and lasting" relief for Hoosiers, who spend more of their income on property taxes than residents of most other states.

"We must act now," he said.

The House-approved bill was different, so the measure will go to a conference committee where members will seek a compromise.

Click here to read more from the C-J.

Daniels' road plan faces bumpy ride

By Lesley Stedman Weidenbener
lstedman@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

INDIANAPOLIS — Senate Republicans rejected several Democratic amendments to the governor's Major Moves transportation plan yesterday.

But the most significant debate on the plan may take place in the next two weeks among Republicans in the Senate and House as they try to reach a compromise on competing versions of the bill before adjourning on March 14.

Senate Tax Committee Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, said the differences among Republicans are so great that they will struggle to find a compromise.

He predicted that might force a special session.

The C-J provides more on this story.

High court wades into Texas political shootout

From Bill Mears
CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared reluctant to throw out the Texas congressional map that resulted in a Republican majority in the state's congressional delegation.

But concerns were expressed by the justices over several districts that Democrats say disenfranchised Hispanic voters.

The justices spent a rare two-hour afternoon session trying to sort out the controversy over the Texas voter redistricting plan promoted by Republicans, including former majority leader Rep. Tom DeLay. The measure led to the 2004 ouster of five Democratic incumbents from Congress, and sparked a bitter partisan battle.

"The Republicans said, 'We think we can get a better deal,' " said Justice David Souter, asking whether that was a legitimate exercise of political power. (Watch the court step into a Texas feud -- 2:08)

Read more from CNN.

Transcript shows governments underestimated Katrina

Thursday, March 2, 2006; Posted: 7:01 a.m. EST (12:01 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Six months after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, a newly released video transcript from the day the hurricane struck seems to reinforce stinging criticism that governments at all levels were ill-prepared for the storm that flooded most of the city and killed more than 1,300 people.

Michael Brown, then-director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which held the briefing that was videotaped at noon on August 29, was confident the emergency response was well in hand.

He praised Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and others for "doing a good job" and assured officials that President Bush, who was vacationing at his Crawford, Texas, ranch, was in close touch.

Bush has been accused of showing poor leadership in the disaster, and for indicating, along with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, that no one could have anticipated the immense destruction or that the levees surrounding New Orleans would be breached.

Read more on this developing story at CNN.

Funeral protest bill passes

The Indiana House this morning passed a bill that would make disorderly conduct within 500 feet of a funeral a felony.

Senate Bill 5, which the House passed 92-0, is aimed to prevent ongoing protests by a Kansas-based church at the funerals of Indiana soldiers. The Westboro Baptist Church has protested at military funerals across the country, saying soldiers are dying because the U.S. supports gays.

Gov. Mitch Daniels is expected to sign the bill into law and it would become effective immediately. The Kentucky legislature has also passed similar legislation.

As seen by the unanimous House vote, Democrats support this bill as a way to stop disrespectful and insensitive displays at an emotional time of grief and loss. In our view, no matter what the political breakdown on an issue may be, those that have served and died for our country deserve better and no citizen or their family should be subjected to such a callus display of opportunism for the benefit of one group or issue.

There is a proper time and place for a person to show their discontent with the direction of the nation or their personal feelings about an issue. Funerals are not one of those opportunities.

Senate rejects eminent-domain proposals

By Lesley Stedman Weidenbener
lstedman@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Senate yesterday rejected two efforts to limit the ways that small sewer companies created by private developers can use eminent domain to acquire easements on neighboring land.

The Senate voted largely along party lines -- with Democrats supporting the measures and majority Republicans generally opposing them -- on two amendments proposed by Sen. Connie Sipes, D-New Albany, who is frustrated by the actions of developers in Floyd County.

"I'm asking you to take a stand on protecting people's property," Sipes told her colleagues yesterday. "It is sacred to them."

Read more about this issue in the Courier-Journal.

New Concerns on Port Deal Are Raised in Congress

By CARL HULSE
New York Times

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 — Lawmakers raised new objections on Tuesday to the proposed takeover of some terminal operations at six United States ports by a Dubai company, demonstrating that the administration-backed plan still faced significant obstacles despite an agreement for a more extensive review of any security risks posed by the change in control.

Senate Democrats seized on a report that the parent company of state-owned Dubai Ports World honors an Arab boycott of Israel, saying the United States should not be rewarding companies tied to discrimination against a major ally.

"This boycott not only violates at least the spirit of U.S. law," said Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, "it is inconsistent with everything we believe in as Americans."

A company official appearing at a Senate hearing acknowledged the boycott but said the firm worked with all customers at its facilities around the world.

Read more from this article at the New York Times.