For the first time, perhaps in history, a new president of the United States made Indiana their first official stop outside the Washington area as Barack Obama traveled to Elkhart, an area with America’s highest unemployment rate.
In the first 14 days of his presidency, Mr. Obama tried to reach out in “bipartisanship” to Congressional Republicans. They repaid his efforts with the bitter attacks and meanspiritedness national Republicans are famous for.
So President Obama came to the Hoosier Heartland ravaged by this economic maelstrom and in a jammed gymnasium at Concord High School that included Sen. Evan Bayh and Congressman Andre Carson, the president made a strong case for his economic recovery plan.
“I’m not going to tell you that this bill is perfect. But it is the right size, the right scope, and has the right priorities to create jobs that will jumpstart our economy and transform it for the twenty-first century,” Obama said.
“I also can’t tell you with 100 percent certainty that everything in this plan will work exactly as we hope,” the President continued. “But I can tell you with complete confidence that endless delay or paralysis in Washington in the face of this crisis will bring only deepening disaster.”
“Folks here in Elkhart and across America need help right now, and they can’t afford to keep on waiting for folks in Washington to get this done,” Obama declared.
Then the president did something extraordinary and unpresidential. He took questions unscreened and uncensored from ordinary Hoosiers. Part of a strategy outlined by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, “We’ll get to measure whose questions were better, the voters of Elkhart or the reporters in Washington.”
And ordinary Hoosiers asked great questions. From a critic who questioned Obama’s trustworthiness when his appointees don’t pay their taxes, to a youngster asking about improving his school, even another wondering if the president would “share a beer” with a fierce media critic.
Indy’s own Rev. Muoja Ajabu implored the president to “support the people who got you into office, not the fat cats,” encouraging him to send the stimulus help “directly into the hands of the people.”
President Obama’s Elkhart effort and his Monday night press conference were extremely effective. And isn’t it great to have an intelligent, thoughtful, caring president for a change?
Also, why didn’t Gov. Mitch Daniels join President Obama in Elkhart as Florida Governor Charlie Crist (Republican) did in Florida Tuesday?
Governor Daniels’ office said he wasn’t invited. The White House hasn’t yet responded.
What I’m Hearing in the Streets
Why is consolidating townships good, but consolidating counties is bad?
Of Indiana’s 1,008 townships, 937 have less than 20,000 population. Marion County contains six of Indiana’s ten largest townships. Those six townships have populations larger than 80 percent of Indiana’s 92 counties.
Since those pushing the Daniels/Kernan/Shepard reorganization plan refuse to explain to our African-American community why we need this, I listened to the other side last week.
On WTLC-AM1310’s “Afternoons with Amos,” three township trustees, including two of the state’s largest, Pike and Wayne, and five term Decatur Township Trustee, a Republican said no one from Daniels/Kernan/Shepard asked their views on township elimination.
Even the United Way, the expert on social service delivery in Central Indiana was never asked how a consolidated countywide emergency poor relief might work.
So, again I challenge Mayor Greg Ballard, Chamber of Commerce, Daniels/Kernan/Shepard and itinerant pundits — specifically how would you create a countywide emergency poor relief system, for an area with a population five times larger than Indiana’s largest townships? How would you deliver those services within the state-mandated 72 hours? I don’t want rhetoric, just the concrete, specific, step-by-step plan.
At “Afternoons with Amos’” fifth anniversary program at the Crispus Attucks Museum, I asked for specifics of Mayor Ballard’s countywide poor relief plan from Deputy Mayor Olgen Williams. Incredulously, Williams said Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Nick Weber was handling that assignment, though Williams was being “consulted.”
The disorganization of Mayor Ballard on poor relief consolidation is matched by another stunning governmental screw-up.
The Mayor’s bragged all over town about his balanced 2009 budget. Last week we learned that Ballard’s bragged balanced budget is a sham. The budget’s $8 million in the hole because Ballard’s controller forgot that there would be twenty-seven payroll checks for cops and firefighters in 2009; not twenty-six.
WRTV/Channel 6 first revealed the Ballard budget boo-boo and a City-County Building source confirmed it to me in writing.
How ironic that the controller’s office Mayor Ballard wants to assume unprecedented powers over with the UniGov 2.0 plan, committed accounting malpractice. With an error threatening major deficits in a city/county budget facing additional massive red ink because of rising revenue shortfalls and the projected $50 million Capital Improvement Board’s deficit.
And here’s another mess-up. January 24, a Black single mom of three, living in a nearly all-white Franklin Township neighborhood, had her house vandalized on the inside, including racial slurs and obscenities spray painted on her interior walls.
Metro Police are investigating. Channel 6 did a story January 31 and the mom appeared last Wednesday on our program. Her interview ignited indignation and anger, with many demanding why Mayor Ballard hadn’t spoken out about this dastardly crime like he spoke out against the dastardly school bus stop robberies.
Our interview with the victimized mom generated plenty of angry calls to the mayor’s office. And the mayor’s staff quickly e-mailed saying they had no clue about this potential hate crime. Worse, Public Safety Director Scott Newman’s office e-mailed saying they too had no info on this crime; eleven days after it occurred.
Metro Police didn’t alert the FBI until key community leaders called the feds after our interview with the victimized mom.
Police, the FBI and city officials are now on the same page. But it begs the question. Past administrations had systems where outrageous crimes were quickly brought to the mayor’s attention. Why is that system not in place today? Why did the 25th floor not know a heinous hate crime was possibly committed in the city?
Who’s running our city?
See ‘ya next week!
Amos Brown’s opinions are not necessarily those of the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. You can contact him at (317) 221-0915 or by e-mail at ACBROWN@AOL.COM.
