Retail Politics

The Brad Klopfenstein campaign has hit the neighborhoods the last two days on the near East side of Indianapolis, as Brad has knocked on about 100 doors each night, talking to the voters of District 15, and handing out literature.

He reports two things: 1) Have voter registration forms on hand, especially in recently revitalized neighborhoods, and, 2) Really interested voters will ask for specifics on his positions. Of course, he's glad to give details.

Anyone wishing to join the Klopfenstein for Council team can email me at: mikekole@msn.com

An issue fell into our lap, thanks to an article in today's Indy Star. It seems that Indy and some suburban communities have been exploring the possibility of light rail.

Normally, the purely libertarian approach would be to point out that no private operator would touch passenger rail because it would lose money and serve the few at the expense of the many. In Brad's inner city district, we'll point out the same thing- serving the few at the expense of the many- but demonstrating that in this case, the money would benefit suburbanites at the expense of all, including inner city residents. We will also point out that the money blown on the study could have better been spent in protecting inner city residents, improving inner city infrastructure, etc.

Let's Set Theory Aside For a Moment

I love to argue passionately against socialized health care, but the fact is, I do so from theory. I don't really know what socialized medicine looks like. Then again, neither do I know what wholly free-market medicine looks like. Our mixed economy makes empirical evidence hard to gather in favor of my preferred way.

Ah, Canada. Whenever an example of a better health care system is sought, Canada is so frequently the answer. After all, Americans are now increasingly buying their prescription drugs from Canada, so they must be doing something right.

You can gather empirical evidence on Canada's socialist system. How about a Canadian perspective, then?

Putting the Fun in Fundraising

For Brad's campaign, we both agreed that we would avoid boring events and plain ol' stump speeches as fundraising material. So far, so good. We have had two events- a trip to a minor league baseball game and an evening at a nightclub with a swingin' rockabilly band, King Creole.

Next up is a poker party at my place, this Friday night. We'll ask for a $50 donation, and donors will play poker at 9:00pm with chips for fun and door prizes. I'll also serve dinner at 8:00pm along with snacks, sodas, and beer. Those wishing to attend need to RSVP ASAP by email at mikekole@msn.com.

We'll probably have one more poker night, and I'll probably also host a TV party featuring Ayn Rand-related videos. I had the crazy idea that we should have a Gong Show party, but that would be way too much work to put together at this point. That would be a riot! Maybe I'll save that idea for a Marion County fundraiser down the road.