Ed Coleman Running Hard

I am pleased with the effort Ed Coleman is making in his bid to be re-elected to the City-County Council in Indianapolis as a Libertarian. He can't count on a majority of voters to keep him in office as a matter of blindly casting for the 'R' or 'D'. People have to know who he is and very consciously vote for him.

With this in mind, Ed and volunteers have been canvassing door-to-door in his Perry Township district, making his case. This is very satisfying to me. It's incredibly hard to reach voters any other way. Very small numbers turn out to political events. Advertise on TV or radio and the vast majority of the viewers or listeners are bound to be outside the district.

And, while Ed was bolstered with solid finances ($50,000) from the LNC- the Libertarian National Committee- he can't just saturate the airwaves with his ads, hoping that his district's voters happen to catch the programs. So, he's doing targeted ads on cable tv, on the system that airs in his district. Here is the full-length (2-minute) version, below. An edited version is airing in Perry Township.



Ed Coleman was originally elected as a Republican, as an at-large candidate in 2007. At the risk of bruising his ego, in my opinion, Ed was elected on the strength of having that 'R' after his name on the ballot. He certainly didn't go door-to-door over the whole of Marion County, nor spend $1 million on TV ads. At-large is a bellweather kind of election item. Going door-to-door is proven effective for Libertarian candidates. Phil Miller was elected to the Greenfield City Council in 1999 going door-to-door, and he hopes to be elected mayor there this year doing the same work.

So, Ed doing the work on multiple fronts, door-to-door and sharp media, gives him the best possible chance to win. I know from having been a candidate twice that you can always look back and see places where you might have been able to do more, or do better, in the effort to win people over and gain votes. With what I have seen, I don't think Ed will have any 'wouda coulda shoulda' about his effort. He's doing the right things.

Update: Maybe someone on the campaign team read the post, but I got an email within a couple hours of posting with details on team door-to-door for Coleman for this weekend.

Meeting Saturday, October 15 at 9:30am at Heine's World Famous Roast Beef, 7040 S Madison Ave, Indianapolis. More details and sign-up at an Indy Libertarian meetup page.

Ed Coleman's Big Weekend

Ed Coleman is an Indianapolis City-County Councilman. He won election four years ago as a Republican running at-large, but before long, he grew very disenchanted with the Republican Party and the dictatorial leadership on the Council that wanted him to vote contrary to his principles and conscience, and toe the line. So, he defected to the Libertarian Party.

Ed is now running for re-election, as a Libertarian candidate, but this time running only for his district. The difference is gigantic, as an at-large candidate has to appeal to the entire city's voters, while a district candidate can focus attention within the boundaries.

This weekend, the Libertarian National Committee (LNC) made a significant contribution to Ed's campaign: $50,000. From the Libertarian Party of Indiana:

The Libertarian National Committee has voted to make a significant contribution to Re-election of Indianapolis City-County Councilor Ed Coleman. The LNC will contribute $50,000 to the highest ranking Libertarian official in the United States seeking to stay on the Council. Coleman was elected in 2007 to office as a Republican to an At-Large seat on the council, and switched after his punishment by the party for standing on libertarian principles.

“This is not just a game-changer for my race, but also for the entire Libertarian Party,” said Councilor Ed Coleman. “We hope this serves as a signal to all elected Republicans and Democrats that standing on principle doesn’t mean campaigning alone. The party of principle will work to help elect and re-elect Libertarians to make true change in the political arena. I would like to thank the LNC for recognizing this opportunity, and stepping up to keep the libertarian message moving forward.”

Coleman will use the additional funds to increase the footprint of his campaign. This is the most money that the national party has donated to a single candidate for their race.

“I am thrilled to see the LNC donate to the re-election of Ed,” said Sam Goldstein, Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Indiana. “I truly believe that this will become a watershed moment for the Libertarian Party in Indianapolis, Indiana, and on the national stage. Our party has made a statement that we are fully committed to electing and re-electing Libertarians to partisan office.”

This is a watershed moment of the second kind for me. The first goes back a few years to Andy Horning's run for US House in Indiana's 7th District, as a Republican.

Horning had been the face of the LPIN for many years, having run for Indy Mayor, Governor, and the same House seat as a Libertarian candidate before deciding that he'd had enough single digit returns, and he'd throw in with the GOP. His defection was a tough blow to take at the time. I thought the LP was in real trouble. If he won his race, the signal would be sent to any small-l libertarian: Run as a Republican. It's the way to win. I like Andy, and would have been thrilled it he had won, so I can't say 'Fortunately, he lost'. What I can say is, fortunately the GOP bungled that. They promised him support and didn't give it. They didn't give him money, didn't give him staffing, didn't work behind the scenes for him. Nothing. So that's what every small-l libertarian in Indiana learned. DON'T DRINK THE REPUBLICAN KOOL-AID!

Now this weekend stands in contrast. Ed Coleman wasn't promised a thing by the LNC. He wasn't promised anything by the LPIN or by then-County Chair Tim Maguire. If anything, Libertarian leadership warned Ed prior to jumping ship that life would be getting harder for him. But, when the moment of truth arrived, the LNC recognized the political landscape for what it is. Ed Coleman is the highest ranking elected Libertarian in the USA. So, the LNC put big money in his accounts.

Win or lose, the LNC sent a very different signal to small-l libertarians. Run as a Republican, you get the Andy Horning (or Ron Paul, Gary Johnson, etc) treatment. Run as a Libertarian, and you'll get serious backing.

This is a big deal for me. For years and years, I have been a part of an intra-party struggle to push the LNC towards being a serious, election-focused party. Since its inception, there had been elements with this attitude, but larger elements more interested in the endless fine point arguments that aren't ever going to get anyone elected.

Now it's up to Ed Coleman to do something with that money. In addition to the $50,000 from the LNC, he apparently earned another $15,000. While $65k is nothing for a national or statewide race, for City-County Council, it makes Ed one of the best-heeled candidates from any party. So, he has options before him: TV ads? Radio? Social networking? A little of everything?

Best wishes to Ed and his campaign team! What they do next could lead to something historic, both short term and long!

Super Graft

The Indianapolis Colts made two Super Bowl tickets available at face value to each of the members of the City-County Council. To get the measure of the graft that represents, consider how difficult it is to get that ticket at any price.

I just checked Stub Hub, a ticket re-seller, where I bought NY Rangers tickets two weeks ago at 60% face value. The cheapest nosebleed seat is currently posted at $1,418. The good seats in Section 114 go for as much as $9,131. Each. Hell, they're $3,000+ in the end zones! Stub Hub Super Bowl ticket link.

I don't care that the tickets were offered at face value. The City-County Council votes on Capital Improvement Board issues, which can (and has) put money directly into the pockets of Colts ownership. It's graft. There's no other way to describe it.

I am very proud of Libertarian Councilor Ed Coleman, who was apparently just one of three Councilors to refuse the offer. Why elect Libertarians? They can't be bought like Republicans and Democrats can. 26 of their Councilors accepted the graft, according to the Indy Star:

Ward said the Colts received requests from 32 legislators and four members of Congress. Each was able to purchase two tickets.

Twenty-six of the 29 City-County Council members had purchased two tickets at the $800 face value.

"It's a show of appreciation for their public service," Ward said. "It's very typical among professional sports teams to make this offering."

I'd like to know who did take the tickets. Their names should be MUD.

Excellent Convention

I spent Saturday in Clarksville, Indiana (north of the Ohio River of Louisville) for the joint conventions of the Libertarian Party of Indiana, and of Kentucky. I was rather impressed.

Right off the top, I liked the cost savings made available by working jointly. Rather than having two sets of expenses, one set allowed for more money to be allocated for speakers, and I have no doubt that the quality of them had a great deal to do with the record attendance for an off-year, where not a single candidate for office was nominated. I also enjoyed the opportunity to discuss regional differences with our neighbors to the south.

I suspect the attendance growth also can be explained by the sense I get of growing dissatisfaction with the two older parties. There were many new faces among the Indiana delegates.

But due to my 2006 campaign for Secretary of State, it was terrific to be with so many of the people who worked alongside me, and in support of me. I only wish I could have stayed an extra day.

On to business, the convention was a gold mine of interview subjects for the podcast. In no particular order, I interviewed:

Al Cox, Brown County
Ed Coleman, Indianapolis
Ryan Liedtke, St Joseph County
Doug Horner, Fort Wayne
Rebecca Sink-Burris, Bloomington
Sam Goldstein, Chair, Libertarian Party of Indiana
Ken Moellman, Chair, Libertarian Party of Kentucky
Luke McKellar, Ohio Central Committe Chair
Wayne Allyn Root, candidate for President 2012

I also recorded the speeches of:

Daniel Williams, on drug policy
Goldstein, acceptance speech
Radley Balko, Senior Editor, Reason Magazine
Root, on the media and his campaign

Look for much to come from the convention on the podcast in the next several weeks!

New Podcasts Posted

Go to the LPIN podcast archive to check out the following:

3/9: Two-term Hagerstown Judge Susan Bell discusses her election and re-election, and her acceptance as a Libertarian office holder.

3/6: Tim Maguire talks about the political fallout related to Ed Coleman's party switch. He discusses the rules that address the inclusion, or exclusion, of third party council members. It is clear that most government bodies lack rules that fully address the integration of third party members.

From the archive page, you can subscribe and have new podcasts automatically downloaded to your iTunes. Pretty snappy.

Yet Another New Podcast Posted

Beyond the petty retribution Ed Coleman received, another thing revealed was that the City-County Council may have rules that address the political parties and where they fit into the structure of power, those rules are vague at best, and at worst do little more than protect the two parties currently holding power.

As the Ds and Rs consistently fail to deliver, I can foresee a greater number of third party victories at all levels of government, not just for Libertarians, but for Greens and perhaps a new party or two. The voters aren't going to be happy to learn, when the day comes, that the people they elect are essentially without a voice- and that it's all perfectly within the rules.

I spoke with Tim Maguire about the rules. Maguire is the Chair of the Marion County Libertarians.

Link to the podcast archive.

More Podcasting on Ed Coleman

When then-Republican City-County Councilor Ed Coleman left for the Libertarian Party, I felt 100% certain that there would be a political price for him to pay. Talking with party insiders, the general consensus was that he would probably be removed from one or more of the committees on which he served.

In fact, he was removed from all of them on Monday. Again- no real surprise. Politics is a bare-knuckled game, and retaliation, no matter how silly or childish it may seem, is a way of political life just as much as favors and back scratching is on the flip side.

I got a better sense of why Ed left yesterday, when I interviewed him again for the Libertarian party of Indiana's Weekly Podcast. This wasn't the first retaliation against Ed by the Republicans, nor the first time he was stripped of a committee appointment. Because Ed was speaking out on issues against the grain of his former party's leadership, he was stripped of committee appointments, and then assigned to different committees. To summarize Ed, he was advised that being reassigned was a warning, and that he should shut up and toe the line.

Here's the link to the podcast archive. Check out Podcast #011, released March 5. It is incredibly revealing in details about how local government works. Or doesn't.

I asked Ed if the members of the City-County Council read the ordinances they vote on. Interesting answer, to say the least.

Ed Coleman Press Conference Audio

It is available now, in an unedited form, on the latest podcast.

Ed Coleman is now recognized as the highest-ranking elected Libertarian in the USA.

Here is the statement of welcome, from Libertarian National Committee Chair William Redpath:

"I commend Ed Coleman on his courage and his recognition that the Libertarian Party is the only political party in Indiana and the United States that truly stands for limited, fiscally responsible government and real respect for civil liberties. I gratefully welcome him, as I hope to do with other elected officials who are tired of the now clearly unaffordable politics as usual, and who yearn to join 'The Party of Principle.'"

Podcast With Ed Coleman

I was able to sit down with Ed Coleman this afternoon, to discuss his defection from the Republicans to the Libertarians. Coleman is a sitting Indianapolis City-County Councilor, who was elected 'at-large' in 2007.

Link to Podcast archive.

Welcome Home, Ed!

In about an hour, sitting Indianapolis City-County Council member Ed Coleman will take the podium at a press conference, announcing his switch from the Republican Party, to the Libertarian Party. From Coleman's press release statement:

This is not a decision I take lightly, nor did I come to it without deep reflection. I have found that the direction of the Republican Party has changed, and it is not the same party I joined many years ago. Nor do I believe its current leaders truly represent the ideals that the party markets and advertises to voters.

Both of the old two parties have forgotten their ties to the common man, and instead focus on power and control as elitists. I am a common man, I campaigned for the common people, and I still represent the common people; the voters and taxpayers.
I have come to find that my politics are actually more aligned with the Libertarian Party than any other; a party that still allows free thought, a party where dissent is not necessarily a dirty word.

Both of the old parties endeavor to silence dissent. During the Council’s previous period of Democrat control, the majority’s powers were used to silence Republicans. Now, under Republican control, the Council majority abuses their power to weaken Democrat influence. Over the past year I have been criticized for votes I made in response to the concerns I heard from my constituents. As a leader I have spoken out again the secretive and expensive affairs of the Capital Improvement Board; but the two old parties want obedient followers, not leaders.

Indy Star article. I can understand those kinds of thoughts. The Republican Party has changed its' direction more than any other party over the years. The Democrats have been steady on the march to socialism. The Libertarians have been steady on the march to liberty. The Republicans? They go from Nixon's Keynesism to Reagan's quasi-Goldwaterism, and back to George W. Bush's Keynesism. Locally, they seem even more rudderless. You could take a certain 'my way or the highway' if there was some consistent direction you could get behind, but there isn't. The one area where Republicans show some consistency, the Republican Liberty Caucus, is treated like the the red-headed stepchild. There is clearly no room for libertarian thought in the GOP, so why stay there?

I will be most interested to sit down with Ed to get the full story for the podcast!