Now that another General Assembly is mercifully behind us, itâ??s a good time to raise a festering question about the lopsided
nature of ideas bantered about the Statehouse in recent years.
Gov. Mitch Daniels has driven a wide-ranging agenda characterized by a market-oriented approach to government. Performance pay for state employees, privatizing the Indiana Toll Road and so on. From the time of his first campaign in 2004, the Republican told Hoosiers what he believed and where he wanted to take the state.
Some of those ideas arenâ??t getting much traction. Streamlined local government is one.
Yet the debate has been one-sided because there is no other side, no other agenda to speak of. Can you think of one significant, innovative idea offered up by Indiana Democrats?
Like prior sessions when Daniels and Democratic House Speak Pat Bauer butted heads, most of the friction revolved around Danielsâ?? wanting to do something and Bauer digging in his heels.
But where are Bauerâ??s ideas? How would Democrats lead a state thatâ??s still struggling to maintain its place in an increasingly global economy?
No level of government operates well without competing ideas. Hoosiers hammered by shrinking paychecks and layoffs sense the stateâ??s back is to the wall, and want answers that work. They want ideas that will help them prosper.
So far, Daniels and his team are offering direction. Democrats are stuck in a caretaking rut.
What are your thoughts? Is anyone interested in doing Democratsâ?? thinking for them and tossing some good ideas on the table?
Gov. Mitch Daniels has driven a wide-ranging agenda characterized by a market-oriented approach to government. Performance pay for state employees, privatizing the Indiana Toll Road and so on. From the time of his first campaign in 2004, the Republican told Hoosiers what he believed and where he wanted to take the state.
Some of those ideas arenâ??t getting much traction. Streamlined local government is one.
Yet the debate has been one-sided because there is no other side, no other agenda to speak of. Can you think of one significant, innovative idea offered up by Indiana Democrats?
Like prior sessions when Daniels and Democratic House Speak Pat Bauer butted heads, most of the friction revolved around Danielsâ?? wanting to do something and Bauer digging in his heels.
But where are Bauerâ??s ideas? How would Democrats lead a state thatâ??s still struggling to maintain its place in an increasingly global economy?
No level of government operates well without competing ideas. Hoosiers hammered by shrinking paychecks and layoffs sense the stateâ??s back is to the wall, and want answers that work. They want ideas that will help them prosper.
So far, Daniels and his team are offering direction. Democrats are stuck in a caretaking rut.
What are your thoughts? Is anyone interested in doing Democratsâ?? thinking for them and tossing some good ideas on the table?
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But seriously folks, Pat may be a nice guy and apparently has the respect of enough people to have maintained this position he holds in the legislature for years, but where is the evidence of effective leadership? He seems to be a good compliment to Nancy Pelosi. Is anyone proud to say as an American they think she (or Hoosiers regarding Pat) is doing a good job?
As voters, we should have the opportunity to, once a year, vote up or down (yes or no), do we want to retain the Speaker of the House, Majority Leader of the Senate in both State and Congressional bodies? Perhaps that would halt the cronyism and the power these people abuse, especially in Washington.
I marginally follow politics, and rarely keep track of who is D or who is R. I just judge things by the idea. As a casual observer, it sure seems to me that it's the Governor coming up with ideas and the Democrats fighting every one. Maybe not all the ideas are stellar, but they are ideas.
Idea #2: Change the archaic rules of the legislature that allow speakers and chairs too much power in whether a bill is brought to a vote or not
Idea #3: Ask voters to take more time to know who their state legislator is and what s/he stands for (I am guilty of not doing this in the past, but no more)
Those three ideas are a good start
And hey, Brian the Brain, the Toll Road wasn't sold, it was leased.
I am sure obama with the help of his lobbyist friends and bankers will fix everything...you can keep the change.
It is time for SouthBend to find someone who can come up with ideas for the greater good of Indiana and vote out a shouting party line embarrassment.
It's a pretty shameful and shameless body, the House is led by two of the biggest blowhards. I call them frick n' frack, B&B, Bosma and Bauer. They both cater to the red meat boobs in both parties. Neither are big idea guys. One just likes to say no, the other postures about prayer. What have we learned about politicians who play the holier than thou card?
Daniels, politics aside, is a mover, a shaker and an idea guy. I think he's most likely a little butthead in person, but he knows his stuff, and has a mind that supercedes (usually) prurient and political interests. Thank Gawd he won last year. Can you imagine, Lt. Governor Oxley? He and Mark Sanford would have made a great team, despite their political differences.
I agree that Mitch is a better leader and has more vision. But go to Washington County or Franklin County or Benton County and start talking to local republican leaders about Mitch's vision. Trust me, they don't share his ideas on concentrating local government, selling off state assets or prepare Indiana for a 21st century economy.
There are many elected leaders that lack ideas and vision to move to the state forward. They are in both parties. To suggest that the Republicans get it and the Democrats is inaccurate.
Given the position of the 3 counties you identified I would guess we should all thank the GOV for his vision as opposed to subscribing to the whims of counties who rank in the lower 1/3 of the state for population and the lower 1/4 of the state for formal education. While I feel strongly we all should have a voice in governement it would be disasterous to follow the direction of these counties. Given the economics of the state and our children's future hopefully these three counties will begin to look at doing things another way to join progess and grow their employment and tax bases.