Monday, January 26, 2009

Welcome to the Ogden Truth Squad!

My name is Mary Jo, and like you, I enjoy reading and blogging about Indianapolis, Indiana, politics. (I know this because if you did not, you would not be reading this!)

Indiana is blessed with a a very active blogging community given our size and politics. Jen Wagner, Abdul Hakim Shabazz, Gary Welsh, Bil Browning, and the Blue Indiana and Hoosier Acccess crews have given Indiana more credible political blogs than many of our larger surrounding states. Even better, Indiana is very welcoming of new blogs as others (Taking Down Words, IndyUndercover) have gone away.

So, like many of you, I was excited last year when Paul Ogden gave us a new blog for our daily reads: Ogden on Politics. It had many good bits on the presidential race and state and local news nuggets with commentary from a solid conservative perspective.

But Mr. Ogden's promising blog has become something far more destructive. Mr. Ogden, while politically principled, has decided to turn his blog's purpose to attack Republicans, specifically Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard. Mr. Ogden foolishly believes that if he openly attacks the Mayor for not gorverning as Ogden ses fit, he will save Republican Chances for winning municipal races in 2011.

What is more likely to happen is that Ogden will in the process rally conservatives against Republicans. While the facts do not support Mr. Ogden's notion that there are improprieties in the Ballard administration, Mr. Ogden is dead set on reporting as if there are, believing he can save the GOP's electoral chances. What Mr. Ogden fails to realize is that if his innuendos were in fact true, Ballard would lose re-election even if he did fire the advisors Ogden maligns. But, if the innuendos are not true as is most likely the case, all Ogden will have accomplished is organizing conservatives against Republicans and in the process returning these offices to the Democrats.

Mr. Ogden consistenty notes in his blog the so-called "many Republicans" who talk to him about their supposed disgust with Mayor Ballard's governance, and their grievanvces are not based on Ballard's fiscal stewardship or on Public Safety, but on Mr. Ogden's false innuendo regarding Barnes and Thornburg. Well, I want Mr. Ogden to know there is a silent Majority of Republicans who disagree with his dragging the Mayor through the mud to prove some chidish point abour Mr. Ogden's arch-enemies Barnes and Thornburg.

That is why I am setting up the Ogden Truth Squad. The purpose of this blog will be to show the world the inaccuracies of the lies Mr. Ogden is spreading about Mayor Ballard. It will also show, using Mr. Ogden's own words, his biases which cloud his judgement.

Paul Ogden is not an unbiased watchdog for Marion County, and he needs his own watchdog. I shall be that watchdog.

3 comments:

  1. Hey Mary Jo

    Maybe you know the answers to why the mayor and city council gave a private corporation a quarter of million dollars the corporation didn't have coming to it. Was it a donation?

    Everything I've seen on Ogden's blog was backed up with facts as well as copies of documents pertaining to issues he was writing about. Will this blog also provide facts and evidence to back up the opinions coming from it or will this blog merely an opinion blog?

    Leslie Sourwine stands by the statement a skunk is a skunk regardless of the political hat it wears.

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  2. And if you read Ogdon's blog carefully you will see, in fact, he wants the mayor to succeed. He fears that the mayor is being snookered by B & T. As one of the activists who helped elect Mayor Ballard...I can tell you I share Paul's worries for our Mayor.

    As far as I can see, this blog is not constructive and is a personal attack on one of our city's government watchdogs. That's not good.

    Mary Jo...what is your last name and what is your stake in doing this?

    Why are you the only blogger who doesn't reveal your full identity?

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  3. My sources tell me that Mary Jo is a Barnes & Thornburg attorney

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