Ellspermann's Swing and a Miss on Mid-States Corridor

Now let’s talk about this article by Sue Ellspermann in the Indy Star about the Mid-states Corridor. Why are they doing this? Why are they sending her out to write about it now? By the way, Sue Ellspermann is involved in the effort trying to create the Mid-states Corridor. She’s one of the appointed people. I believe it’s on one of the boards connected to the Regional Development Authority. I think that’s the board she’s on. So they sent her out to write this op-ed in the Indy Star because of my column in the Indy Star and because of the damage we’ve done over the past three and a half months. That’s why this is happening. They’re sending the stooges out. And when I say we, I’m talking about all of us. All of you. The influence you’ve had has stopped that project for now. Again, I know 99% of you know this, but for those who don’t, because we have new people coming in all the time, the Mid-states Corridor is the plan in southwest Indiana to connect 64 to 69. It’s a multi-billion-dollar project that the people down there hate. Other than a select group of business owners, including the governor of our state who is in the transportation and distribution industry, most people don’t see a value. Sue Ellspermann wrote a column in the Indy Star today defending the Mid-states Corridor. What I find fascinating is that Braun will not comment on the Mid-states Corridor. Have you seen him in any publication publicly talking at length about it? Has anyone? Why not? He’s the governor of the state. It’s a four-billion-dollar project. He has supported this project legislatively going all the way back to his time in the General Assembly starting in 2017. That’s when he teamed up with now-Congressman Messmer, who was Senator Messmer at the time, and put together the legislation that essentially allowed the Regional Development Authority to form and operate in ways that would allow this Mid-states Corridor project to begin moving forward. So why isn’t Braun writing the op-ed? Why isn’t Braun doing the press conferences? Mike Braun, the same governor who proposed $6.5 billion in tax increases to fund I-70, somehow has $4 billion lying around to fund a stretch of road. The road everybody uses and wants—I-70, vital to transportation and movement in our state—has no money to help you without $6.5 billion in tax increases. But this little stretch of road in southwest Indiana that everyone hates, that got him a 62% disapproval rating in one poll in his home county, where 81% of the people are against it, somehow he’s got $4 billion lying around for that. Why isn’t Braun out talking about it? I’ll tell you why. Because he has no answer other than it benefits him and that’s why he wants it. His family is quoted in the document—I talked about it in the Indy Star article—saying this road will benefit his family business. It’s in black and white. He can’t erase it as much as he wants to. So they can’t send Braun out to talk about it. There’s no real benefit to the road other than to people like Braun. There’s no logical reason you would raise taxes by $6.5 billion for a road everybody needs and then come up with $4 billion for a road few people want. They can’t send Braun out because it’s indefensible. He has no answer. And Braun is awful in front of the media. Braun is awful in interviews, and Braun says stupid stuff every time he opens his mouth. So what are they doing? They’re sending out the stooges. They’re sending out the lackeys. They’re sending out people like failed former lieutenant governor Sue Ellspermann to try to make you think something else is going on. What’s going on is we’re having an impact. What’s going on is we are making a difference. What’s going on is we are winning. Lawmakers have caught wind of this thanks to us. They’re aware of it now thanks to us. They’ll never give us any credit for it, but we don’t need credit. We just want bad policies stopped. Now Braun has a big problem. This thing was just chugging along—chugga chugga chugga choo choo—and then suddenly the roadblock got put up. Now any project above $250 million has to go to the State Budget Committee. This one will. That means more public scrutiny, more debate, more conversation. Every time the spotlight hits this project, Braun looks bad. Braun looks like he’s wasting billions of your money that could be used somewhere else just to help himself and his family business. So they send Ellspermann out. I want to read you some lines from her Indy Star op-ed, because it’s fascinating. It almost gets framed like a Scooby-Doo episode. At the end of every Scooby-Doo episode they pull the mask back and reveal who the ghost actually was, and the line is always something like: “I would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for you meddling kids and your awful dog.” That’s what this comes off like. We are the meddling kids and the awful dog. Here’s one line: “Few in central Indiana would have found this project newsworthy if the opposition, primarily those whose property will be impacted, hadn’t amplified their concerns far and wide." Translation: the Property Rights Alliance in southwest Indiana teamed up with Rob Kendall. When she talks about “far and wide,” that’s us. I don’t expect her to give us credit or say my name, but that’s who she’s talking about. Listen to the disdain. Few in central Indiana would have found this project newsworthy if the opposition, primarily those whose property will be impacted, hadn’t amplified their concerns far and wide." Oh, screw those people for speaking out because their family farm of 175 years was about to get gutted. That’s what she’s saying. If those meddling kids with the Property Rights Alliance hadn’t talked to Rob Kendall and gotten it broadcast across the state, they might have gotten away with it. But people in central Indiana have a vested interest in the result of this project because they’re paying for it. The arrogance is incredible. She’s basically saying the only reason you know or care about this is because it got publicized. But people have a right to know. It also tells you how the state operates. They thrive on suppressing information. If it doesn’t reach the right media in central Indiana—the media willing to take it on, willing to risk things for their audience—then it would have gone forward. That’s how the system works. She goes on to say: “The most difficult reality of the Mid-states Corridor is the loss of homes, property, and farmland along the route. Unfortunately, that is the case with all new infrastructure.” Hold on. That’s not the same thing. If you’re talking about a vital piece of infrastructure that benefits everyone and there’s a clear societal benefit, that’s one thing. When you’re talking about eminent domain and seizing property, that’s already a hard conversation. But this project isn’t that. This project benefits a select group of people at the expense of everyone else. I’m proud of the fact that when I served as an elected official, I never had to use eminent domain. There was one project involving expanding a road because of traffic flow. We ultimately worked out a deal with the property owner. It’s a terrible thing to go through because people have rights to their property. If you’re ever going to use eminent domain, there has to be a clear, tangible, irrefutable benefit to society. Not a project where 81% of the people in the area oppose it. She also writes that owners will receive “market rate compensation.” Let’s talk about that. The state brings in a couple of appraisers. They determine what the property is worth, and I believe the average becomes the number. Market rate, according to them, is whatever the appraisers say. But the real market rate is what the owner says it’s worth. It’s their land. They bought it. They own it. The government doesn’t. Money will not replace their loss. Of course not. Some of these families have 175 years of history on that land. We interviewed one woman whose family farm—175 years of history—is going to be cut through by this road. She writes: “We will owe them a debt of gratitude for their sacrifice and should do all we can to minimize the impact on property.” That line is unbelievable. Like they’re soldiers who died in battle. This state has a long track record of bullying, intimidating, and strong-arming landowners to get its way. Just look at the LEAP district. Maybe we should bring some of those farmers back on and ask how they’ve been treated. This state government has no respect for property rights. It’s all about how many things they can build and how many shiny projects they can announce. She also writes: “Thus, Gov. Mike Braun joins a long line of leaders who have recognized that transportation infrastructure is essential for building and sustaining economic stability. It supports business growth, strengthens supply chains and expands access to talent.” Part of what she’s trying to do is lay out the history of the Mid-states Corridor and make it sound like Braun’s role was minimal. Like it existed before him. Like he just happened to be around while it developed. That’s not true. He authored legislation tied to it. He advocated for it. And that legislation benefits him and his family business. What she’s really saying is this: your land can kiss their backside if they want to build a road. Government is supposed to serve the people. Not businesses. Not supply chains. Not access to talent. When they say “access to talent,” that usually means importing foreign workers. That’s exactly what the state has done. If all of these projects are so great—if we keep spending billions on roads and incentives to attract companies—why do our taxes keep going up? If income taxes were gone and property taxes were half what they were five years ago, at least you could say people were getting something for their money. But that’s not happening. We have record taxation. Meanwhile the winners are the companies getting the subsidies, the foreign firms, and the workers brought in through those deals. That’s the system now. Take money from the poor and the middle class, invest it in projects that benefit big business, and sometimes give it away to big business outright. If you stand in the way, you get treated like the meddling Scooby-Doo characters who ruined the plan. It’s gross. But in a way, articles like Ellspermann’s are helpful. They reveal what these people actually think. They reveal how they view you, your land, and your property. They believe they’re entitled to all of it if they come up with an idea. And they think you’re the problem if you stand in their way.