It's election night here....

Good for Ballard in Indy. And I may be conservative, but even I knew there was no way in hell Fletcher was getting a second term.

 

It's not spinning. My old home state, as often as not, has a real throw-the-bums-out mentality, regardless of party. The Demo control of council, and the mayor, were hurt by corruption allegations against the council president on the run-up to the election.

I know this from being a reporter in my old home state as well -- the Indiana Republican Party organization couldn't, to borrow a phrase from my father, couldn't find its own asshole with two hands and a flashlight. It has every advantage, in that more of the state's citizenry are sympathetic to its causes, but it has a tin ear for the electorate and is incredibly disorganized. It had no clue, for example, that the guy who was Senate President Pro Tem for 30 years could seriously get tossed out in the primary -- until it happened.

The guy who won Indianapolis mayor -- the party begged him NOT to run, and gave him zero financial support. The situation there was unique, in that much of the voter anger was the city never adjusted to soften the blow of state property tax reform that sent taxes up. (Crime was an issue, too.) Believe me, there are Hoosiers lying in wait to vote against Gov. Mitch Daniels next year just because he pushed Daylight Savings Time.

 

The fact that DST is such a hot issue in Indiana remains one of the great anomalies in American politics.

 

As someone who lived in the town being talked about here for 10 years before moving one town over earlier this year, I can comment on this one. The 8-year mayor's popularity had waned severely the last four years. The financial statement stuff was just the icing on the cake. Four years ago, the Republicans ran the wrong candidate against the mayor in question, so many Dems wouldn't cross party lines. This year, they ran the right person.

 

Jonesy,

For years, South Carolina outlawed free-pour drinks, and was the only state to do so. The legislature preferred the mini-bottles because they were easier to tax (they were also easier to sneak into the statehouse). The downside was two-fold:

1. If you ordered a mixed-drink like a Long Island Iced tea you'd pay out the ass because the establishment charged you for each bottle.
2. There's a whole lot more alcohol in a mini-bottle than a standard shot, meaning people were getting a whole lot drunker than what they normally would. MADD eventually picked up on this and linked it to a surge in drunk driving wrecks.

The state, a little over a year ago I believe, finally allowed bar owners to free-pour - ending the inexplicable mini-bottle reign.

The one plus-side about mini-bottles was splitting shots. You could split one of those suckers two, three even four ways with your friends.

Hope that helps a bit.