[WSBT] Local party leaders and others reacted Friday to the verdict in the forgery trial involving former longtime chair of the county and congressional district Democratic Party Butch Morgan and party member Dustin Blythe.
Accused of conspiring to forge signatures on petitions to place Democratic candidates on the state primary ballot in 2008, the two were convicted Thursday on multiple felony counts after three days of testimony.
Morgan faces up to 22 years in prison, and Blythe faces up to 75 years.
Co-defendants Pam Brunette and Bev Shelton, who pleaded guilty prior to this week, each face more than 10 years but fewer than 15 years.
A sentencing hearing for all four of the defendants has been set for 1:30 p.m. June 17.
"Certainly I respect the decision of the jury," state Sen. John Broden, D-South Bend, a South Bend attorney and chair of the county Democratic Party, said Friday. "I know they had all the information and all the facts before them, so I respect the decision they reached."
He added, "Certainly for so many reasons, I wish this entire incident had never occurred, but certainly I think it's important for the public to know the party fully cooperated with the state police investigation, and we've made significant changes in the Voter Registration Office, both from a personnel standpoint and a policy standpoint."
Brunette, who had been the Democratic board member in the office of Voter Registration under Morgan, has since been replaced by Terry Coleman. Shelton also no longer works in the office.
"Certainly I want everyone in St. Joseph County to know that anyone on the ballot in St. Joseph County to have certainty that those signatures have been reviewed very carefully," Broden said.
If the case proves anything, Broden said, it's that "whether in our own community or our own family ... we all know good people make mistakes in their lives.
"But I do believe in redemption," he said, "and I do believe that what you do throughout your life is what you'll be judged by, not one single incident."
He said he did not believe the verdict would result in any long-term damage to the party.
"This whole trial, this whole case, never, at any time, was any candidate alleged to have been involved; no officeholder was alleged to have been involved," he said. "And I think it's important to note that the St. Joseph County prosecutor who handled this was a Democrat.
"So I think those things mitigate any short-term damage to the party," he said.
The chair of the county Republican Party, meanwhile, called the trial "fair" and the verdict "just."
"We hope that this is the beginning of the end of the culture of corruption that has plagued our county for far too long," Deb Fleming said in a statement.
She added, "We ask that local Democrats continue to disavow this type of behavior and move towards professionalism. Let's get to work creating a brighter future for Saint Joseph County."
In broader terms, the case raises questions about the electoral process in Indiana, and whether it's time to drop the requirement that certain candidates carry petitions in order to get on the ballot, according to Ed Feigenbaum of INGroup, a provider of news about Indiana government and politics.
"We've seen this discussion, we've seen actual changes in many other states in recent years, particularly as petition cases get subsumed in bigger questions related to election law, including privacy issues, whether to disclose who signed petitions and stuff like that," Feigenbaum said.
At the same time, he said, "It's disappointing that anyone involved with the system would end up being charged and convicted of a crime that certainly detracts from all of their contributions over the years to the system and people's confidence in the system."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2013 00:00 ||
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The dimbocrap spokesweasel says "certainly" more often than a pakistaini gummint orificial...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/30/2013 7:54 Comments ||
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Not All Democrats* convicted of being lying cheaters.
Several House Democrats are calling on Congress to recognize that climate change is hurting women more than men, and could even drive poor women to "transactional sex" for survival. They mean prostitution.
The resolution, from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and a dozen other Democrats, says the results of climate change include drought and reduced agricultural output. It says these changes can be particularly harmful for women. Women and children hit hardest. Per usual.
"[F]ood insecure women with limited socioeconomic resources may be vulnerable to situations such as sex work, transactional sex, and early marriage that put them at risk for HIV, STIs, unplanned pregnancy, and poor reproductive health," it says. Because men are so icky and will be in paradise during those trying times.
Climate change could also add "workload and stresses" on female farmers, which the resolution says produce 60 to 80 percent of the food in developing countries. It's a wonder anyone survived before modern times. Life was just not possible.
The chances for regional conflict also increase with climate change, the resolution says, because changing weather patterns could lead to migration and refugee crises. It said these sorts of potential conflicts over land will have a disproportionate impact on "the most vulnerable populations including women." Why are women so vulnerable? I thought they were the equal of men in all situations.
More broadly, no pun intended,
the resolution says climate change will hurt "marginalized" women, such as refugees, sexual minorities, adolescent girls, and women and girls with HIV. It also cites Hurricane Katrina as evidence of how climate change can affect women, noting that the storm displaced "over 83 percent of low-income, single mothers" in the region. Why were they single mothers? Can you say welfare queen? I think you can.
In a statement to The Hill, Lee said women are critically underrepresented in the development of climate change policy. I don't know what this means.
"My resolution will affirm the commitment to include and empower women in economic development planning and international climate change policies and practices," she said. "This will help communities adapt to climate impacts, and embark on a path towards clean and sustainable development." That last statement means absolutely nothing.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/30/2013 00:00 ||
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Several House Democrats are calling on Congress to recognize that climate change is hurting women more than men,
Not that the same Donks refused to acknowledge that the Second Great Depression hurt men more than women or that you gave a damn about it. These fragmentists didn't get a glimpse of the future in the Italian cruise ship disaster where you degenerate a society to the point that it becomes every man, women and child for themselves.
[POSTANDCOURIER] If the bosses within the Machinists union and the NLRB had gotten their way, those 2,000 new jobs wouldn't be on their way to Charleston -- and the 6,000 workers who have jobs there today would be without work as well.
That wouldn't have been an unintended side effect of the NLRB's action; instead, it was the direct intention of the board to keep these jobs out of Charleston. As they say in the software business, it was a feature, not a bug.
It's worth noting that labor heads with the Machinists are back in town trying to organize workers at the North Charleston plant. And the union is back in the news as strong financial supporters through its PAC of Democratic Congressional candidate Elizabeth Colbert Busch.
Boeing workers, and all of us in the Charleston community, should be asking the union, and Busch, some direct questions. Do union bosses still wish that the Charleston plant had never opened? Why do union bosses believe that hiring workers in our community somehow hurts workers in Washington State? Can workers really trust a union that wished they never had their jobs?
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2013 00:00 ||
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Panicked empty suite handlers to hollywood stage hands....Thaique Squank4053
Well he now has Benghazi survivors, SOF experts, and Victoria Toensing and her husband on his trail. Justifiable panic I'd say :-)
The CIA has its motto inscribed in stone just inside the front door [atop the wall of heroes]: And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.
#10
The White House Correspondents Dinner jocular hero, and only a few short hours later, a whimpering, apologetic shi*bird. I have a sense he knows he's on the ropes.
#14
I have a hunch, just a hunch mind you, that the spoor of Boston and Benghazi will lead back to the front entrance of the CIA and their legions of Islamic apologists. I suspect the Champ will soon invoke ye ole "National Security Requirements caveat" and the deadly cone of silence will be brought down on all of this deceit and treachery.
[KTVU] Two senior partners at a Las Vegas law firm made $150,000 in contributions to a political action committee associated with Sen. Harry Reid ... the charismatic senator-for-life from Nevada, currently majority leader ... last year as he considered a member of the law firm for a federal judgeship, according to a published report.
As Reid vetted attorney Jennifer Dorsey in May 2012, the two partners at her firm, Kemp, Jones & Coulthard, made contributions to Senate Majority PAC, a super PAC created by former Reid strategists to elect Democrats to the U.S. Senate, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported (http://bit.ly/14YEocA ).
Will Kemp made a $100,000 contribution while J. Randall Jones made a $50,000 contribution, campaign reports show.
Last June, Reid recommended Dorsey to replace retiring U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks. She was nominated by President Barack Obama They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them... last September. Her nomination is still pending.
Dorsey also made a personal contribution of $2,250 to Reid's campaign committee in March 2012 shortly after they first spoke about her interest in becoming a federal judge, according to records.
Reid, D-Nev., returned that contribution a month later as he proceeded to check out her credentials and experience.
Reid declined to comment on the law firm's contributions to the PAC. Reid spokeswoman Kristen Orthman stressed that Dorsey's contribution was returned as the senator weighed her possible nomination and sought to avoid an appearance of a conflict.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2013 00:00 ||
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[CBSNEWS] As the United States works to confirm an intelligence assessment indicating the use of chemical weapons in Syria - and as U.S. policymakers consider how to respond if that assessment proves true - a key member of President Obama's national security team called for prudence and patience on Monday. "Yasss. It's a red line, but we don't want to do anything."
"You mean 'do anything hasty?'"
"No. We're not going to do anything. We said we were, but now we're not. We're more concerned with maintaining American prestige in the world."
"We are continuing to assess what happened, when, where...working with our allies and our own intelligence agencies," said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel during a press conference with Japanese Foreign Minister Itsunori Onodera. "I think we should wait to get the facts before we make any judgments on what action, if any should be taken, and what kind of action.
In recent days, members of Congress have used the report of chemical weapons use to press the administration to take a more active role in the Syrian civil war by instituting a no-fly zone or supplying the Syrian rebels with arms. The United States has already provided non-lethal assistance to elements within Syria working to unseat President Bashar Assad.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Wait as long as you want, Hagel. Do nothing and the world will be a somewhat better place. Doing nothing is what the O administration does best.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/30/2013 1:07 Comments ||
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Recent BBC piece. Don't miss the small video which speaks to survivors and contaminated medical personal recovering following administration of Atropine.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[WSBT] Local party leaders and others reacted Friday to the verdict in the forgery trial involving former longtime chair of the county and congressional district Democratic Party Butch Morgan and party member Dustin Blythe.
Harry Reid
