Friday, October 12, 2007

Who's Your Man, Mitch?

An interesting question was posed in the comments on Change Fort Wayne yesterday - who does Mitch Harper back in the Fort Wayne mayoral race? Apparently inquiring minds want to know:



Is Mitch willing to answer this question for us, or does the above picture already provide us with the answer?

10 comments:

Jeff Pruitt said...

I don't speak for Mitch but I'll give my two cents on that photo for those of you (that would likely be all of you) that weren't there.

The press conference was supposed to be about property taxes and considering that he's the nominee from Aboite and considers this one of his main issues I don't necessarily think it was a bad idea to be there. Furthermore, Kelty gave him a chance to speak and Mitch declined - now I'll let everyone draw their own conclusions about that.

But if we're just thinking about this politically what do you expect him to do - come out and trash Matt? While that would make for good blogging it sure as hell wouldn't be good politics...

John Good said...

I certainly wouldn't expect him to "trash" Matt, but with everyone chiming in on the issue I'm rather curious about his level of support.

Kevin Knuth said...

I am in agreement here-

FWOB has NOT written any stories about Matt Kelty's problems. Perhaps Mitch is avoiding those stories because he is afraid it will cause more problems for the Republican ticket as a whole.

Or perhaps he is indeed a Matt Kelty backer.

Jeff, I would disagree with you on this point- It is well known that most of the Republican ticket is not behind Matt Kelty

Rachel said...

John,

Thank you for posting this. I had wondered exactly the same thing. I appreciate Jeff's comments, however I am a big believer in bloggers divulging who they support. We all have biases, and bloggers are no different. Our preferences and dislikes affect our coverage of issues in ways that do not happen with the traditional media.

Mitch would serve his readers and supporters well if he would let us know where he stands on his support of either mayoral candidate.

Robert Enders said...

As a candidate, Mitch's priority should be winning his own race. When it comes to Kelty, he has 3 choices. Actively support Kelty, actively criticize Kelty, or try to avoid the subject altogether. The third choice seems like the best choice for a city council candidate.

David C Roach said...

Flip flops anybody?
waffles for everybody.
hey look! its the 3 stooges!
nyuck nyuck nyuck!
pie fight:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qwirWWnzJKM

Jeff Pruitt said...

Robert E,

I think you hit the nail on the head. It's really a lose/lose for Mitch if he talks about Kelty. If he supports him, well then he's supporting a liar and possibly a future felon, if he doesn't then he'll feel the wrath of Kelty fanatics that will call him a RINO, sell-out, etc. Of course those demanding he talk about Kelty know this and that's exactly why they're pushing for it. The best move for Mitch, politically, would be to just avoid the topic altogether. I guess I just don't follow the mentality that a candidate HAS to publicly endorse other candidates.

Rachel,
If Mitch doesn't publicly endorse either candidate then doesn't that mean, by definition, he doesn't support either candidate? Voting is a private matter and I reject the idea that candidates must give up that privacy...

Rachel said...

Jeff,

I completely respect voters' right to keep their support of candidates private. However these are not the voters who are often photographed with candidates for mayor.

Mitch's pictures beg the question about where he stands on his support of Kelty. If it's truly just a media event about property taxes, he needs to tell us. I would have a great deal of respect for Mitch if he would come out and decline to say he's not endorsing a candidate, but I don't expect that happen for a variety of reasons.

I understand that the Republican candidates for city council are walking a political tightrope with their affiliation with the Republican mayoral candidate.

John Good said...

Robert E. - City Council members are (or should be) a part of the mayor's team. I want to know which team a candidate is applying for before I cast my vote for them.

If my Democratic candidate for council was a Kelty supporter, I wouldn't hesitate to vote for his or her opponent regardless of party.

Jeff and you are likely correct that Mitch doesn't care to reveal the answer to the public. Call it political gaming or call it CYA - same result either way. He's playing it safe, and I cry foul.

John Good said...

I also noticed, after looking at this picture again, that Souder is twice the man that Kelty or Harper is. . .that was NOT meant in a complimentary way! Is this where the term "fat cat" politicians comes from?