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January 06, 2003
Local jackasses think themselves heap powerful
Sending this one out with much love to Uncle Helmuth, who has gone to that great county commissioners meeting in the sky.
We have a little item of local Franklin county Indiana politics to offer up for ridicule. From editor John Estridge writing in the Brookville American on January 1, 2003 about complaints before the Franklin County Election Board at their December 17, 2002 meeting:
The second matter before the board concerned a paid advertisement in the Brookville Democrat and Brookville American.
It stated "You can steal our signs but you can't change our minds, Democrats for Branstetter." Where the election ads are supposed to say who paid for it, the newspaper put Democrats for Branstetter.
There was no such committee registered with Clerk's office.
Hubert Branstetter, the Republican candidate for prosecutor, told [outgoing Republican County Clerk Rebecca] Oglesby he did not authorize the group to use his name in the ad.
Franklin County Democrat Chair Jim Sauerland filed the complaint against the newspaper because the word Democrat was used.
"That implies the Democrats were not for our own candidate," Sauerland said.
According to Oglesby, the violation could be considered a class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in prison. It is not clear who at the newspaper would be charged with the offense.
Brookville Democrat/American editor John Estridge explained the process used when receiving ads. The newspaper had the name of the individual putting the ad in the paper, but did not want to divulge it due to paper policy, concerning privacy and First Amendment free speech issues. The newspaper incorrectly assumed that the individual represented a legitimate political action committee.
Estridge said in his 10-plus years with the newspaper this has never happened before and no one at the newspaper can remember it ever happening in the paper's history.
The individual who placed the advertisement could be fined $50 per day up to $1,000, Oglesby said.
Bonnie Back, the Democratic vice chair, said the newspaper empoyees should know the election laws.
According to Oglesby, she has already instructed the newspaper to ask for a form called a CFA-1 stamped by the clerk's office before taking in other political advertisements.
Sauerland said he did not want to cause undue hardships on the individual or the newspaper.
According to Estridge, the newspaper would run a retraction. It will run in the January 8 edition.
MY RESPONSE TO THE EDITOR:
"Are your papers in order, sir?" Hearing these words in a movie tells you that you're seeing something set in a police state- or that you are dealing with the jackboots of the Democrat party minions of Franklin County, Indiana.
During the fall 2002 campaign, a couple of citizens of Franklin County took out a small ad in the local paper stating "You can steal our signs but you can't change our minds. Democrats for Branstetter."
Now Democrat county chair Jim Sauerland has filed a formal complaint with the county Election Board about this, and supposed Republican former county clerk Rebecca Oglesby has threatened people at the newspaper with a year in jail for printing the ad. They're not even claiming that signs weren't stolen. They're just going to conjure up some faux-legal arguments to squash anyone involved in pointing it out.
Lurking behind them is prosecutor Melvin Wilhelm, who was running against Mr. Branstetter. As prosecutor, he would be the likely person to be pushing any charges against the paper. He's the same candidate who called the newspaper editor to his office over the summer waving a handful of clips that he claimed were biased against him, demanding that they straighten up and cover his campaign the way Melvin wants to be covered.
This blatant intimidation of the press goes right along with Oglesby's behavior, as she has "already instructed the newspaper to ask for a form called a CFA-1 stamped by the clerk's office before taking in other political advertisements." This according to Brookville Democrat/American editor John Estridge. Oglesby opines that not having gotten such a paper before printing the previous ad could already constitute a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison.
Apparently she thinks that the newspaper must get clearance from her before accepting political ads. She needs, however, to get well and thoroughly bent. The whole purpose of the First Amendment to the constitution is to guarantee the right to criticize the government, especially candidates and campaigns for public office. Speaking on behalf of myself and the Franklin County Libertarian Party, we don't need her permission nor that of Jim Sauerland to criticize any candidate or campaign.
Sauerland's complaint against the newspaper and the individuals who took the ad stems from their use of the word "democrat." He says "That implies the Democrats were not for our own candidate." Mr. Sauerland, you do not own the word "democrat." By the dictionary definition, it describes all people who believe in open debate and free elections. This clearly does not describe you or your minions, however, given this attempt at suppressing dissent. It is YOU who shouldn't be using the word "democrat."
If someone had taken out an ad claiming to represent the Democrat party, that would be different. It would be fraud, claiming to represent this organized group when they do not. Calling themselves "Democrats for Branstetter" however clearly amounts to declaring themselves to be a dissident group.
The bottom line of all this sound and fury is that your local officials are threatening people at the newspaper with jail because some local citizens spent maybe $20 out of their own pockets to take out an ad critical of a Democrat's campaign without filling out paperwork to register the name with the county.
Looking at the bigger picture, this little local incident is instructive about the true meaning and purpose of campaign finance laws, including especially the recent McCain-Feingold law: incumbents already holding the reigns of power want them to use as a club to suppress criticism. Democrat or Republican, the urge to wield power and stifle dissent explains the real motivation involved in putting through these laws to take away other people's freedom.
The complaints are flying in the wrong direction. The harassment of the press and citizens by Jim Sauerland, et al is a hundred times worse offense against our democratic institutions than any minor failure to fill out paperwork. There obviously exists no issue of corporate influence peddling or corruption among the Democrats for Branstetter. Clearly this is nothing more than a blatant attempt at punishing anyone who would dare oppose them.
There does exist, however, a fairly serious issue about attempting to use government power to suppress dissent. Somebody ought to be making investigations and charges against Sauerland and Oglesby for their threats and intimidation against the press. If anybody needs to go to jail, it would be them.
Jesus said that he would be there wherever two or three are gathered together in his name. The apostles gathered together on the day of the Pentacost, however, would not constitute a legitimate church, as they had not filled out a CFA-1 form with the clerk's office. They'd best not bring their act to Franklin county, or they'll have to answer to the likes of Oglesby, Sauerland, and the dreaded Melvin Wilhelm.
Albert Barger
Chairman
Franklin County Libertarian Party
www.morethings.com/log
morethings@morethings.com
posted by Al at 1/06/2003 11:36:00 PM
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