Dear Friends: I have been involved in a political campaign this season. What a trip this is! A friend of mine whom I met in Journalism class got fed up with his Representative to the Indiana General Assembly and put himself on the usually half-empty ballot to oppose him. Talk about living large. Im so very proud of and moved by my otherwise frequently rather ordinary friend. Im writing you artists, family, friends in transformation, friends in communion, and work partners – not because you are necessarily in the district in question, because many of you are not – but because you still believe in a government that is not a business opportunity. Im also writing to share what other friends of mine created, just for the amazement of seeing their having pulled the attached out of their brains from very brief source video. Im continually amazed at what we do when we come together. Please watch the attached video (youtu.be/HrjfVOTDJPM) and then talk about the race, make sure to vote in your own district, and share the video with, oh, at least five (5) of your friends. We do not know whom we know that either lives in HD 32 or will be in conversation with someone who does between now and the election next Tuesday. Heres what youll want to know about the race: My friend is Bob Ashley, running on the Democratic ticket; Bob is not a politician but, rather, has been a political reporter at the Statehouse for more than 15 years, including some several years as the Bureau Chief for his paper; the district is House District 32 (comprised of all of Tipton County, northern Hamilton County, southeastern Howard County, southern Grant County, northern Madison County, and northwestern Delaware County – stats.indiana.edu/maptools/maps/boundary/legislative/2011/house.pdf); the opponent has been their Representative for 24 years and unopposed since 2004 (kind of an easy gig for him); that Republican opponent is the former Speaker Pro Tempore P. Eric Turner and a member of the Ways & Means committee which finances bills (that is, if a bill requires funding, it passes through Ways & Means or it doesnt pass); at the same time that Turner was getting more and more into his mega church, feeling all Christian, he also got so inured to his power that he ultimately extorted the squelching of a bill (S.B. 173) that would have limited the expansion of his family business, which just made the Turners 2.something billion dollars in a sale; Turners the one that keeps authoring the so-called marriage amendment to amend our State Constitution to prevent gay marriage. In other words, you care that this guy not return to the IGA (IN Gen. Ass.). I care that Bob is stepping up (because hes my friend). We all care because this is a case of putting ones ordinary, flawed self on the line in the real world to restore integrity where its out and to fulfill our self-expressions, and thats the sort of thing that unites you and me, that is going to happen more and more, and that we want to support wherever we find it. Thanks in advance for your sharing and support, Christy Stossmeister, Campaign Coordinator, Ashley2014 Indiana sourcing Leaders leading in Restoring Integrity
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 12:52:02 +0000