Shocking Upsets!

(Crystal Lake, IL)- I decided to check in to see whether or not the voters of Central Indiana would match act with anit-incumbent rhetoric. It looks like they did just that!

Most notably and surprisingly, Indy voters appear to have shown mayor Bart Peterson the door. I am postitively astonished. Greg Ballard received almost no financial or party support and won anyway.

It really restores my faith. Don't get me wrong- I would have been much happier had Libertarian Fred Peterson won. My faith is restored because I came away from my own electoral contest last year convinced that money is the single-most important thing by a longshot. This election disproves my findings. The electorate can be infuriated into ballot box action. Quoth Ballard, from the Indy Star article:

"This is the ultimate example of grass-root politics. The Beatles used to sing, 'money can't buy you love.' But it can't buy you elections, either," he said.

It can also buy you harm. I have little doubt that the outgoing Mayor's negative ads hurt him badly. Bart Peterson seemed aloof, indifferent, and arrogant at various times after raising income taxes in the face of the property tax mess.

Really, it restores my faith that the Democrats lost their majority on the City-County Council in the wake of their tax hikes. From the Star's early report

Before today, Democrats held a 15-14 majority on the council. But Republicans won at least 16 seats today, early returns showed.

That support could be a critical boost for Ballard as he vows to move Indianapolis in a new direction.

Another 10 seats appear solidly Democratic, with three still up for grabs.

I hope the grassroots tax opponents get some credit for all of these upsets. Hoosiers For Fair Taxation comes to mind as being among the top of the list of the praise worthy. Their Tea Party events, their dogged attendance at public meetings, and overall energy was most admirable, and I think, effective. Sweet vindication for them after enduring sneers from Democratic operatives and even the Mayor's office. Ex-Mayor, that is.

I'll enjoy elections more when Libertarians are elected, so I can be certain that the jobof dismantling these greedy governments is taken to the necessary extent. For now, it's pretty darned satisfying watching this batch of taxers turned out of office.

(I won't put 'futility' into my blog tags this time!)