Rep. Vern Tincher, who is electorally challenged in off-year elections, announced this morning that he will not seek reelection.  This is big news for House Republicans, who have a well known candidate in Bob Heaton.  House District 46 is the number one target for Republicans.

Tincher was first elected in 1982 and served until 1994, when he lost.  He was reelected in 1996, and lost in 2002, before he was reelected in 2004.  Basically, he was put back in office by transient ISU students who come out and vote Democratic in presidential election years.  A candidacy this year would have been an exercise in history repeating itself.

If there’s one thing that can bring us out of the Super Bowl loss funk, it’s more idiocy in Lake County.

Hammond Mayor Tom “Harry” McDermott and Lake County Sheriff Roy “Lloyd” Dominguez were at it again. Remember: both of these guys want to run for governor in 2012.

First, Dominguez costs Lake County $100,000 for firing political opponents back in 2005.

CROWN POINT | The recent settlement of a political firing lawsuit against Lake County Sheriff Rogelio “Roy” Dominguez likely will cost taxpayers about $100,000.

County Attorney John Dull said the County Council will appropriate that amount to resolve claims made by three former sheriff’s civilian employees who took the sheriff to trial last month after they were fired from the sheriff’s work-release center because of a security breach there.

The breach in question began with a dispute about 6 a.m. Aug. 16, 2005, on the second floor of the work-release center, a minimum-security detention facility housing minor criminals, court documents state. One of the center’s custody officers, who wasn’t a party in the suit, accidentally left open a security door that would have given inmates access outdoors to nearby Crown Point and Merrillville residential areas.

The sheriff terminated not only the custody officer who left the door open, but also Robert Deliget, James Fulk and Robert Klus, fellow custody officers who also were on duty in the center at the time and unaware of the open door…Deliget, Fulk and Klus sued the sheriff in 2007, alleging the sheriff was retaliating against them because they were supporters of former Sheriff John Buncich. Dominguez and Buncich were political enemies at the time but have since reconciled.

Now, the two come together for a reprise of their public weed spat several months ago.

HAMMOND | Monday’s dismissal of marijuana charges against Hammond political insider David Woerpel and two family members may stoke political fires smoldering since the family was arrested in September.

All charges were dropped Friday against Woerpel, his wife, Tina, and their son Derrick as part of a plea agreement entered into last week by the couple’s son, James, who received 18 months probation….

With an eye toward potential civil litigation, John Cantrell, an attorney for the Woerpels, said Monday his clients will investigate who was behind the charges and why. Cantrell indicated a focus will be who or what prompted a helicopter flyover by state police that led to the criminal charges.

“Lawyers are looking at this case and salivating,” said Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., a Woerpel ally.

“It could be problematic for the sheriff,” he said, contending Lake County Sheriff Rogelio “Roy” Dominguez authorized the flyover.

“This was politics from Day One,” McDermott said.

Dominguez dismissed McDermott’s remarks Monday.

“I don’t think his comments merit a response from me inasmuch as his conduct is unprofessional, and his statements are without any factual basis,” Dominguez said. “I think, unfortunately for the Woerpel family, that they have Mayor McDermott to thank for all this unnecessary notoriety.”

Samsonite! I was way off!

We canceled school for this?  Here it is, your FH Morning Briefing for Monday, February 8, 2010.

– President Barack Obama has scheduled another photo op at the White House with Republicans to talk about health care.  If he’s really interested in compromise, it might be time to stop worrying about how it plays on TV and start digging into the policy details that separate the two parties.  (Politico)

– About 70% of the bills filed this session have died already.  Still, there are a number of issues awaiting action in the second half of the legislative session, which begins today.  The Courier Journal offers a recap.  (Courier Journal)

– Congressman Baron Hill has filed to run for reelection so he can grace us with his presence, and liberal voting record, for the next two years.  (Indianapolis Star)

– The Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in Illinois dropped out of the race yesterday after allegations that he abused his girl friend several years ago.  Scott Cohen was not the establishment choice and surprised Illinois Democrats when he won last week’s primary.  Once this issue surfaced, Sen. Dick Durbin, Gov. Pat Quinn, and other political giants in the state pounced on him.  (Breitbart)

– Sarah Palin spoke at the National Tea Party Convention over the weekend.  The former Alaska Governor attacked President Obama as a “charismatic guy with a tele-prompter”.  Hey, the pretty woman with note cards is right, he is an empty suit! (Financial Times)

We try to keep the content of this blog as germane as possible to politics, so why should our Super Bowl Sunday post be any different?  If you measure the Saints and Colts by political donations alone, the Saints win in a landslide.

New Orleans players and front office personnel contributed nearly $250,000 to Republicans, compared to the Colts paltry $64,500.  The good news?  Peyton is a solid Republican, contributing only to Republicans like George W. Bush, Fred Thompson, and Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker.  Jim Irsay led the Colts organization, contributing $73,600.  Most of that money went to Republicans, with some going to Indianapolis-based Democrats and a pittance to Barack Obama.

Read more, courtesy of the Center for Responsive Politics.

George Will, the ultimate American for Mitch, has a column coming on Sunday that begins like this:

In 2013, when President Mitch Daniels, former Indiana governor, is counting his blessings, at the top of his list will be the name of his vice president: Paul Ryan. The former congressman from Wisconsin will have come to office with ideas for steering the federal government to solvency.

Not that Daniels has ever been bereft of ideas. Under him, Indiana property taxes have been cut 30 percent and for the first time, Standard & Poor’s has raised the state’scredit rating to AAA. But in January 2010, Ryan released an updated version of his “Roadmap for America’s Future,” a cure for the most completely predictable major problem that has ever afflicted America. — Click here for more from George Will

We’re not sure that Mitch Daniels would count being president among potential blessings, but you get the idea.  Have a good weekend.

The announcement this week that Dan Coats may run for the Senate put the race against Evan Bayh on the radar in Indiana and around the country.  While the current candidates are disgruntled over the late push for a big name, the attention attracted by the announcement means more money and a earned media dedicated to the cause.  Here’s a clip from a Wall Street Journal article that adds up the seats in play to get the GOP back in power in the Senate.

To capture a Senate majority, Republicans would also have to win Democratic seats in another three states. “Where do the other three seats come from?” asks Mr. Sabato.

That question underlies the GOP’s frenzied candidate recruitment as filing deadlines approach in various states. This week, GOP talent spotters won a big one when they convinced former Indiana Senator Dan Coats to run for his old seat against Democrat Evan Bayh. — Wall Street Journal

Last month, Sen Richard Lugar asked Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller to review Democrat’s health care reform proposal and assess its impact on Indiana.  The result was, how you say, not good.

If the Senate health care bill before Congress became law, Indiana would bear substantial costs. The bill would add roughly half a million more Hoosiers to the Medicaid rolls and create unintended consequences for patients, taxpayers and Indiana’s medical-device industry, according to the Indiana Attorney General’s report on the proposal. — Office of the Attorney General

If you voted for this mess, like Sen. Evan Bayh and every single Democrat Congressmen, keep reading.  It gets worse.  Much worse.

Constitutionality at issue. Several provisions of the Senate bill raise serious constitutional issues and might be struck down in a court challenge:

– The bill’s “individual mandate” requiring everyone to buy health insurance or face a penalty would be unprecedented; never before has the federal government required Americans to purchase any good or service, nor has it regulated inactivity.

– The bill’s “Nebraska Compromise” amendment would expand the number of Medicaid participants in all states but fully fund the expansion for Nebraska only, while the other 49 states (including Indiana) would have to absorb additional costs.

Well, that wasn’t so bad.  Oh… there’s more.

Indiana Medicaid costs. For Indiana, the bill would expand the Medicaid program by approximately 500,000 recipients, increasing Indiana’s Medicaid costs by $2.4 billion over 10 years, according to the actuary for the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA). Moreover, the bill would divert pharmaceutical rebate savings from the states to the federal government, potentially resulting in a loss to Indiana of $750 million by 2019. FSSA estimated it ultimately would cost Indiana $60 million to $80 million to implement the insurance exchange to accommodate program growth. The influx of new patients at reduced reimbursement rates could drive medical providers out of the Medicaid system. Indiana’s health insurance plans for state government employees would have to be reconfigured, the report says.

Yikes.  That’s not good.  Well, at least that’s the end of it.  What’s that?  More still?

The Senate bill likely would spell the end of the popular Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) where low-income Hoosiers now are able to purchase state-run health coverage — funded partially through cigarette tax – that emphasizes preventive care. The report predicts HIP would have to be shut down as its participants were shifted to the federal plan. Some state insurance regulations and licensing requirements also would be preempted by the federal legislation.

At least there’s no adverse impact on the medical device industry.  Ah, right.

With new excise taxes imposed on pharmaceutical manufacturers and medical device manufacturers, the Senate bill would have a substantial negative impact on two Indiana industries that employed a combined 35,500 Hoosiers in 2007.

You can read Attorney General Zoeller’s report by clicking here.

Sorry we’re late, we were busy digging our hybrid out of the three one-hundredths of an inch of snow we got over night.  Thank goodness they canceled school.  Here it is, your FH Morning Briefing for Friday, February 5, 2010.

– It’s Evan Bayh’s turn in the editorial board hot seat this morning.   The Evansville Courier and Press takes him on for voting (again) to raise the debt limit.  (Courier & Press)

– Dan Coats doesn’t have an easy ride in the 87 days between now and the primary, which assumes he’ll get the 4,500 signatures he needs to get on the ballot to begin with.  (Indianapolis Star)

– Gov. Mitch Daniels defends Rep. Chet Dobis’ decision to defy Speaker Bauer and vote in favor of new jobs, a move that resulted in his removal from House Democratic leadership.  (Post-Tribune)

– State tax revenue is down… again… this time $75 million in January.  We wonder if Speaker Bauer still thinks the problem is that the state isn’t spending enough.  (WIBC)

– Gov. Daniels’ chief legal advisor is considering a run for prosecutor and has the support of My Man Mitch.  (Indianapolis Star)