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Oct. 19, 2004 It was expected to be an open-and-shut deal: the former White House Budget Director and pint- sized former Eli Lilly executive’s run for Governor of Indiana, that is. Mitch Daniels started on the campaign early, riding a decked- out recreational vehicle around the state for nearly sixteen months, dumping over $15 million into his character-enhancing ads. Democratic Governor Joe Kernan, who inherited the post when highly popular Governor Frank O’Bannon died suddenly just over a year ago, remained silent. He remained silent while Mitch Daniels canvassed the state talking about how Kernan had failed, how sixteen years of Democratic leadership in Indiana had left the state a sorry shell. Then, Joe Kernan got angry. Daniels was running double-digits ahead of Governor Kernan before Labor Day, when the former Vietnam P.O.W. and balancer of budgets began firing on all cylinders. By late August, Daniels was only six points ahead. By September, three. By October, the race was a statistical tie. Daniels supporters, in their signature green My Man Mitch shirts, wondered what was going on. By the second debate, when Governor Kernan reduced Daniels to a man who seemed to have gone twelve rounds with the great Ali, the thought running through Mitch Daniels’ head was clear: “Why do I not have this thing sewn up yet?” Mitch Daniels committed a major error in thought: assuming that Governor Kernan, since he was not elected and not well-known to the people of Indiana, would be an easy candidate to top in a nationally Republican-leaning state. Early polling only proved this to him, and Kernan’s long silence served to inflate his ego. In the last month, the tragic flaws of Mitch Daniels have been laid bare for all to see, and the judgments of the people of Indiana have been brutal. Hoosiers are not people who enjoy being played for fools, lied to, manipulated. They are a resilient bunch that doesn’t take half-truths lightly. That’s why, when it was shown that Daniels’ 2001 vote to sell Indiana-based IPALCO out of state, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs and the retirement funds of thousands of Hoosiers, people were upset. When Daniels got a golden parachute while some Hoosiers saw all of their savings fall through the floor; when Daniels said that the move would be good for the stock while dumping his own; the people got angry. That’s why, when it was revealed that Daniels worked in Washington as a lobbyist to keep prescription drug prices high, paying homage to his former employer over the welfare of the people of Indiana, people got upset. When they found out that Daniels made $27 million from that effort while Hoosiers have to cut pills in half, they got angry. Mitch Daniels was not honest with the people of Indiana, and the Democratic Party was for far too long silent about it. Now that the evidence of Daniels’ bad judgment has been laid bare before the people of Indiana, he cries foul, says negative campaigning is bad. Mr. Daniels, it is not negative campaigning if the people are simply being given the whole story. What we are witnessing now is the implosion of Mitch Daniels in Indiana. He has launched vicious character attacks on Governor Kernan, and has begun tearing down the reputations of the Indiana State Police and the teachers in this fine state. Daniels has nowhere to go. Like a cat that has been cornered, he now lashes out. The polls are still a dead heat, with 7 percent undecided. The choice now lies with Indiana voters. I trust they will make the right one: Joe Kernan and Kathy Davis. ------------ About the author: Max Burns is a 17-year-old conservative Democrat, writer, pollster, pundit and aspiring Indiana politician. He currently is an intern (unpaid) with Indiana Democratic Party and writes for The Progressive Voice). Read the fantasy-fiction novel "Alcardia". Email: DeMBurns@gmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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