Daniels - A Master Politician

Daniels – A Master Politician

By Russ Stilwell

My observations and opinions about Mitch Daniels during his tenure as the Governor of the State of Indiana range from outrage to admiration.  As a partisan democrat who was the House Majority Leader during four of his first six years in office and as a labor-oriented public official I have observed a master politician at work, regardless of the opinion of his issues with  this writer!

One of the first chance encounters I had with Mitch Daniels was a couple days after he was sworn into office in 2005.  We had never actually met.  We had never crisscrossed the same circles and we certainly never lived in the same neighborhood.  But that morning when I was walking up the steps to the capital and the governor was a few steps behind me, I said, “Good morning Governor.”  To my shock he said, “Good morning Russ.  How’s things in Southern Indiana.”

Right then and there, I knew that Governor Mitch had done his homework and that it included infinitesimal details about his political opposition and most likely a whole lot more.  Mitch knew his opposition and his potential allies even though their paths had not crossed.  He was ready.

As a self-anointed ‘political junkie”, I appreciate good political instincts and well-run campaigns.  Daniels, when campaigning for governor in 2004 ran one of the best campaigns ever devised in the Hoosier state.  From the good “Aw shucks” southern drawl when he was in the deep south of our state to the scholarly policy initiatives he advocated across the 92 Indiana counties, Daniels took politics to a level never mastered in the state.  And he did this (and again in his 2008 reelection campaign) without smearing his opponents with slick, nasty, controversial and nasty negative campaign commercials.   Daniels took campaigning to a whole different level.

My favorite (and there were a lot of favorites) commercial was when Daniels comes on air and says, “any garden that is 16 years old needs a little weeding from time to time.”  It was the ultimate dig for taking a shot at 16 years of democrat control in the governor’s office.  And Mitch was great at this brand of messaging. 

The RV?  Who would have thought it was the engine that could.  And the overnights?  Staying with supporters and others in their homes in every nook and cranny in our diverse state gave him a perspective of what real Hoosiers were thinking.  And he put those perspectives to good use.

A couple years ago Governor Daniels was scheduled for a Chamber of Commerce breakfast address in my hometown of Boonville, a 7,000-something community with far more democrats than republicans.  We chatted a minute or two at the chow line and he asked me about my yard and if my mowing it twice a week was keeping me busy.  What?  How could he know something as arcane as that! 

Actually, he had spent the night with a long time friend of a staffer of his that he did not know (so, that’s how they do it?).  Just so happened that my neighbors were the parents of the friend and when Daniels asked if they knew Russ Stilwell, they released the mowing routine.  It’s always the little things that a politician remembers and relays later that makes a lasting impression.  And I bet Governor Mitch had done these immeasurable times as he traveled the state.

Daniels for president?  Actually, I am very pleased that he decided to not get in the race.  My reasons pure and they are politically motivated.  I like and support President Obama and his position on the ballot in 2012 would not help our Hoosier democrat candidates!

He would have been a force to be contended with at the national scene and would have provided the Republican party with a smart (actually very smart) candidate who know s the issues and understands the electorate with a uncanny ability to take complicated problems and have the electorate understand and support his position.  He did this time and again in the Hoosier state and would have assuredly done this with a myriad of far more complicated subjects at the national level.

Even though I firmly believe that Daniels is a superb politician who can outline an aggressive agenda and even get it passed I also believe the “national press corp truth squad” would get the gov in a jam from time to time.  Remember the line, “We created two jobs for every job lost.”  And how about all the little things he didn’t include when taking credit for the fiscal health of the state finances.   It don’t matter!  At the end of the day he sold his message, had substantial voter approval and moved the state in the direction he wanted.  I just happened to disagree in the direction.

Clearly, Mitch Daniels could be a bit feisty from time-to-time.  He called then House Speaker Pat Bauer a “car bomber” and chastised others with clear and direct assaults.  That’s ok, I guess.  After all politics is still a rough and tumble sport in the Hoosier state and one has to occasionally engage, lest they get run over.

Shortly after the 2010 elections when the Republicans had overwhelmed the Democrats, not only in Indiana but throughout the nation, I received a call from a key staff person in the Daniel’s administration.  Now what in the hell were they calling for?  After all, I had just been defeated in my marginal democrat district (after 14 years) by a most worthy opponent who was the beneficiary of lots of campaign bucks from the governor’s Aiming Higher PAC. 

Governor Daniels was scheduled to be the speaker for an announcement of a major coal gasification plant breakthrough that would bring a $2.5 Billion dollar investment to our state and create thousands of jobs for several years building the facility.  Clearly, one of the few issues that me and the Daniel’s administration agreed on and worked on in a collaborative manner was this issue.  I authored three bills in three successive legislative sessions to make this plant an option.  Governor Daniels used the power of his office and political capital to make the gasification plant a reality.

So why did his office call?  The senior staff person said that Governor Daniels wanted to personally invite me to the announcement and that I was the only person that the governor had so instructed to be invited.  And true to form, I was the only elected (make that former elected official) official that Daniels singled out for making this plant a realty.  Later his staff told me that he knew how much work I put into this controversial plant and wanted to let everyone know.  Sure not the Mitch I never knew in our legislative battles.  But, I’m sure it’s the Mitch that most Hoosiers came to appreciate.

We will never know if one day Mitch Daniels would have been a statistical footnote of a wannabe Republican presidential contender, a Republican nominee or even president.  We will never know if an honest and frank discussion about our nation debt and entitlement programs between two intellectually superior candidates would have made a difference and changed direction of our nation.

But what we do know and what I believe is that President Obama should breathe a sigh of relief that Mitch Daniels doesn’t have him in his political sights!  Even a partisan democrat can appreciate good politics (now, I didn’t say policy) and Mitch Daniel’s application of politics is as good as it gets.

 

Winners & Losers

The Times, They Are A-Changin’

By Russ Stilwell

A lot has happened since the opening gavel of the 2011 IN General Assembly session.  As Dylan sang decades ago, “The times, they are A-Changing”

There were winners and losers, as well as a myriad of time bombs for campaigns to come and political junkies to ponder.  From the beginning, this session was going to be about change and how that change was defined. 

The Hoosier political landscape has changed.  New legislative maps entrench the Republicans for years to come.  Congressional maps had winners and losers and a host of new candidates are off to the races even though announcements are in the distant future.

Congressman Joe Donnelly gets screwed in the congressional maps and is positioned to be a formable U.S. Senate nominee.  Senator Lugar is challenged by the tea baggers and the half-cocked State Treasurer. And former Speaker John Gregg is on the democrat circuit. Sure looks like 2012 is going to be a fun year.

Governor Daniels will be making a decision in the next few weeks about his presidential ambitions.  Will he or won’t he?  You would have to be living under a rock if it did not look like a Daniels presidential run is imminent.

When House Dem Leader B. Patrick Bauer told me back in 2008 that Daniels was running for governor, I thought he was nuts.  As I have often said, never underestimate Pat Bauer.  The former Speaker got it right . . . and long before anyone even thought about a Daniel’s presidential run. Anyone that is, except maybe Daniels.

My guess is that the average Hoosier did not pay a lot of attention who they were voting for in 2010 and what the consequences might be.  My crystal ball also informs me that most aren’t fully informed about the massive change conducted in Indianapolis over the past few months.

But just wait.  I am certain that they will be fully informed of the mischief, the walkout and the attacks on public education, labor, Planned Parenthood and more.  Every conceivable political angle from every potential advantage point will be handfed to every constituency group for political advantage by the D’s and R’s.  After all, the election is only 18 months away. 

As with any session, there are winners and losers.  Here’s my list.

The Winners:

1.      Governor Daniels.  He laid out an aggressive agenda and he prevailed.  And now he is poised to make his run for the White House. 

2.      Senate & House Republicans.  They passed a budget, enacted the Daniel’s agenda and drew legislative maps that protect them for years and elections to come.

3.      Hoosier Business & Corporate Interests.  They got what they wanted in UI reform, got an early Christmas present in the form of a 25% tax cut and every conceivable gift the Republican majority could get wrapped.

4.      Private & Charter Schools.  They received an unprecedented expansion of Charter Schools and Vouchers from taxpayers. 

5.      Twenty newly elected House Republicans.  They stood up and were counted rather than standing down and heeding advice from wiser and more veteran lawmakers.  They were on a mission to move the state to the right or far-right and got the job done.

6.      NRA and Gun Lobby.  Every conceivable gun law that could be imagined was passed.  We may even change the name of a few of our smaller communities to Dodge City. 

7.      Right to Life.  They passed the most stringent bill on reproductive rights for women in the nation.  Did I say court challenge?  Hoosier women now can know for certain that breast cancer and abortion have a direct cause/effect, even though not one reputable health care expert believes this to be true

8.      Associated Building Contractors.    This non union segment of the Indiana construction industry stuck it to the union construction industry.  Now they can underbid, pay Hoosier hard hats less money and keep the difference for increased profit.  Nice work.

9.      Folks who Hate Unions.  This group, whoever they are, were the really big winners as the legislature took a meat cleaver (a non-union cleaver for sure) to unions without mercy.  Statutory elimination of state collective bargaining; restraints on local bargaining; a complete gutting (again by a non-union cleaver wielding meat cutter) of teacher collective bargain; and an all-out assault on Hoosier construction workers.

10.  Folks who Hate Public Education.  They got what they wanted.  The most expansive taxpayer funded voucher system in the nation.  Money will flow like a gushing fire hydrant from our public schools to private school.   

Now for the Losers.

1.      Governor Daniels.  He now has to put up with a national media cadre that will examine every aspect of his personal life, his political life and policies.  Bet his political temperament improves when the press questions his policies from a national pulpit.

2.      House Democrats.  They walked out in protest of a massive anti-worker agenda for a record five weeks.  And when they returned, the R’s continued their assault without a cease fire.  They did take Right to Work off the table and modify some of the more radical anti-school and labor initiatives. But the House D’s did make sure that it’s OK to stand up for things you believe in.  They get an A+ for this.

3.      Hoosier Workers & Unions.  They not only took in on the chin but took a hot poker in the eye for good measure.  It was an unprecedented massacre.  Cutting UI benefits for Hoosier Workers by 25% while cutting corporate taxes by the same amount.  Eliminating unions at the state level and curtailing them at the local level.  Outlawing project labor agreements w/o referendums.  This list is just too long to list. 

4.      Local Government, Local Control and Local Ordinances.  Just like Brian Howey reported a couple weeks ago, the legislature has anointed itself the City and County Council for the state.  Whether it’s the elected school board, the city or county council or the myriad of other local bodies, the legislature has decided that “Father Knows Best” when the legislature is in session.  Now we can have guns in the city council, our libraries and court house.  Everywhere but the premises where the law was conceived – the statehouse.

5.      Twenty New House Republicans.  What?  How can they be in both the winners and losers?  Simple.  They were elected by an unprecedented political tsunami and didn’t know it.  Now they have a voting record that the House D’s will blister them with.  Wanna bet that voters in many of these districts just might not like taxpayer funded vouchers for private schools?  Wanna bet that labor and teachers will be motivated with political steroids in 2012? 

6.      Planned Parenthood.  Again, Hoosiers women have been denied reproductive services by a majority of middle aged white men in suits.  And I’m not talking about abortion.  Women will no longer have the resources of Planned Parenthood.   Thanks like breast cancer screenings and birth control. 

7.      Public School Teachers and Public Education.  There was an all out assault on our public teachers with the elimination of collective bargaining, merit pay and a freight train of tax dollars delivered to private and charter schools.  If any group got a hot poker stuck in their eye it was our public educators.

8.      Hoosier Middle Class workers and Public Servants.  Indianapolis took a full frontal assault on those who teach our kids, build our highways and pick up our garbage.  Seems our public servants were the scapegoats.  Indiana is better than this, or at least it should be.  Reward the corporate community and tell the unemployed to do more with less.

9.      Right to Work Advocates.  Just when they thought they were on the verge of victory the House Democrats sent them a crushing message.  Enough is enough.  RTW was taken off the table almost as quickly as it was served.

10.  Middle Class Hoosiers.  House Democrat Leader B. Patrick Bauer said that voters will fill in “the real scorecard” within the next year as education reforms begin taking effect and priorities in the new state budget become apparent.  “This session proved the difference between the two parties,” Bauer said.  “We stood for the working people, the teachers, students, the elderly and disabled, and they didn’t.”  Time will tell.

Maybe it really is a little early to list the winners and losers.  But as Bob Dylan sang almost 50 years ago, The Times, They are A-Changin; the loser now will be later to win. 

Only time and Hoosier voters will reveal the outcome.  But for now, the Hoosier times are “A-Changin”.

 Come writeres and critics.who prophesize with your pen, and keep your eyes wide, the chance won’t come again.  Don’t speak too soon, for the wheel’s still in spin, and there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’, for the loser now will be later to win, fo

Like a Box of Chocolates.

Like a Box of Chocolates

By:  Russ Stilwell

Tom Hank’s character, Forrest Gump, in the blockbuster movie of 1994 had one of the most famous lines from a movie of all time.  “My momma always said, ‘Life was like a box of chocolates.  You never know what you’re gonna get.”

 I would think that the 2011 Indiana General Assembly could be categorized much the same way.  You never know what you’re gonna get.

Who would have thought so much would have occurred in only one session of the legislature.  I guess elections do have consequences.  I would like to create a top ten, but the list just goes on and on and on and on.

In a session where the Republicans outnumbered democrats 60-40 in the House and quorum-proof in the Senate you would have expected the number one issue would be the budget, school reform, union bashing  or some other Governor Mitch initiative.

Nope, the #1 story for 2011 will be about the historic walkout by Pat Bauer and the House Democrats over the overreaching antics of the new-found House majority.

As the years go by, all the ramblings of political pundits on the myriad of issues and bills that took place in 2011 will pale in comparison to the defiant action of the House Democrats.  If you think things are bad now, just imagine what would have happened if the dems had stayed glued to their seats. 

The 2011 session will go down in history as one of the most sweeping, reform minded (both good and bad) legislative sessions in decades.  And it’s not even over yet!  Here’s some of my favorite “How do I explain this back home” initiatives. 

Voucher –School Reform #1:  Did I mention that we are going to have your state tax dollars going to private & religious schools?  Some even have the audacity to have us believe that this will not take monies from our public schools with this largest voucher proposal in the nation.

Merit Pay Reform #2:  Elimination of collective bargaining for all school employees and Merit Pay based on student performance.  Bet our school employees and teachers will pay close attention to election 2012!

Forced Consolidation Reform #3:  Let’s make sure that our small schools (less than 500 students) get $100 less per pupil funding than everyone else. Or you could just say we gave $100 more to everyone but them.  Bet this creative thinking works just fine for all those small schools in competitive House districts.  I’m looking forward to this explanation!  Surely this isn’t forced consolidation.

$150M more or $450M Less Reform #4:  Actually, this reform has two explanations.  You be the judge.  We increased K-12 funding by $150 million in the budget.  Or, you the budget are $450 million less than budgeted in 2009 for K-12.  Wanna bet that the R’s and D’s have completely different takes on this one?

UI Reform #5:  We finally corrected the UI fund and made it solvent.  Employers paid more and unemployed workers shared in the pain.  I would bet that the D’s will say that the R’s cut UI benefits 25% and for good measure gave a corporate tax cut of 25%.

Stick it to em Reform#6:  The R’s would have you believe our Hoosier state was finally brought into the 21st Century with logical and well thought out labor proposals that will grow our economy and create jobs.  Actually, I would think even the most ardent supporter of these draconian labor bills would say it was a “stick in the eye” of labor unions and working folks.  Or maybe just politics 101 political payback.

Union Busting Reform #7:  This list is actually too long to publish.  Eliminate Project Labor Agreements.  Make sure that our state employees never again belong to a union and ban collective bargaining for all state employees.  Ever wonder why they wanted a union?  Did I say fairness in the workplace and being treated as partners in our society? 

Right to Work Reform #8:  The Perfect Fix:  Once we do everything possible to offend anyone even remotely favorable of working folks and labor unions, let’s complete our agenda and pass Right-to-Work.  Sure, we won’t get any democrat votes but we can once and for all cripple those unions and their union bosses.  And in the process we can end the primary support for the Democrats.  Now, that didn’t work out too well, did it?  How many days did the dems stay out?  Did I say an energized democrat base in 2012?

Clean Up Reform #9:  A call to arms for our progressive Hoosier State.  Let’s make sure we change our constitution so we don’t have gay marriage even though we have a law already on the books and there has never been a gay marriage or the threat of a gay marriage in our state’s history.  While we’re at it, maybe the party of less government can make sure that local decision making is transferred to the state (guns, schools, taxes, labor, PLA’s, collective bargaining & bunches more). 

Say it ain’t so Charlie White Reform #10:  This is my favorite.  Let’s nominate an ineligible candidate for Sec State and see him win a landslide in our Republican state.  And once he’s indicted for felony election registration fraud . . .  and the Indiana Recount Commission rejects his removal . . . and a state court remands this back to the Recount Commission for another look . . . just change the law!  I’m sure the Senate party line vote had nothing to do with a GOP power grab to undo the tidy little mess they find themselves in.  Sure is hard to explain this one with a straight face.

And I didn’t even mention redistricting and a strong statewide ticket for dems in 2012.  Maybe we can save these for another day.  Our legislative initiatives really are like a box of chocolates.

Gettin' Together?

Getting’ Together?

By Russ Stilwell

A couple weeks ago, I talked about being “politically boxed in a corner.”  We discussed how to get out, what the price might be and are you willing to pay the price. 

Isn't it funny what 10 days can do to ease the complexity for an exit strategy, particularly if you had not wanted one for the past month?  In case you’re been living under a rock, “The House Democrats are Back.”

Prediction:  In less than a week, the House R’s will wish the Dems had stayed in Urbana.  They will face a worn-out, issue-driven wide-awake caucus bent on making sure that the issues they hold dear have a voice. 

And there will be no shortage of democrat debate, or amendments for that matter.    

For the first time in a long time, I suspect that many of the House Dems have read and reread each of the House R’s controversial bills – and there are plenty of them.  And they have prepared and reviewed amendments. 

Add all this together and throw it in the political blender with a Type-A legislator who hasn’t had a chance to debate for weeks and you’re got late night sessions, pent up passion and Hoosier politics at its best.

The House D’s have been considering how they might return to the capitol ever since they left.  Much has happened.  What started as a walk-out on Right to Work (and other issues, for sure) ended up being the longest legislative caucus walkout in modern day history – in any state.

There are still a myriad of still lingering issues that the House has on its calendar that will make this session interesting.  Did I mention project labor agreements, school vouchers, collective bargaining and the budget? 

Political pundits, including this one, have been ranting for a month or more about the democrat walk-out, the longest walkout in U.S. modern-day era by a state legislative caucus.  It never came close to receiving the Wisconsin national media frenzy.  But it did strengthen the will of a whole lot of Hoosiers on the receiving end of the over-reaching republican butcher knife. 

Sometimes the House Democrats just can’t help themselves.  And sometimes the House Republicans, despite a sizable majority, do the unthinkable and make self-inflicted wounds on their political armor.

History will record two classic wounds:  1995 and 2011.  For one, the history is already etched in the books and for the other (2011), history is being recorded.  The House R’s had it all in 1995 with a 56-44 majority that resulted from the republican wave in the 1994 elections. 

And then they did the unthinkable.  They made sure the democrat base was energized!

They took on our public school teachers and the ISTA.  They conducted a full scale attack on labor and the building trades (remember the rallies?).  And for good measure they smacked around the trial lawyers and attempted mid-census redistricting that caused a 10-day democrat walkout.  The result?  They rallied the democrat base and lost their majority the very next election.

2011?  Time will tell but history has a strong habit of repeating itself.  The R’s took on every anti-labor issue imaginable.  They shredded the ISTA into pieces.  They made our public school teachers the scapegoat for all of our education woes.  And for good measure they took their agenda to a whole new level of rallying the democrat base! 

Stay tuned for 2012.  It should be interesting fodder.  The democrat base is energized!

What about the return of the Democrats?  Will they be subdued into submission?  Don’t think so!

My best guess is the five-week 15-round bout the House D’s sprung on the House R’s was the opening of a multi-bout fight.  The issues are still there.  The D’s are still simmering over the overreaching and the House R’s feel it’s their time. 

Not really a good recipe to sing, “Getting’ Together”, from the old Tommy James and the Shondales song from the 60’s.  Those lyrics won’t make it past the first week of long night sessions.

Gettin' together is better than ever
Gettin' together never felt like this before
Gettin' together is better than ever
Gettin' together

But the issues are so very real . . . and so very partisan . . . and so very polarized.  Getting’ Together just may not be better than ever!  Getting’ together might be lining up for the feature fight in another 15-round fight.

Time to Get Out of the Box!

By Russ Stilwell  

Time to Get Out of the Box!

Last weekend I decided to take a trip to Urbana, IL and see first-hand what all the fuss was about in this college dominated community just a few miles from our Hoosier border.   As I pulled into the parking lot of the Comfort Inn I knew right away that House Dem’s weren’t holed up in a four-star hotel.

And no, there wasn’t a hot tub, as Mitch likes to suggest from time-to-time.  What I did see was a group of special Hoosiers defying all odds to insure that their beloved state continues to value fairness in the workplace and classroom! 

As I visited with these former colleagues of mine, I realized that they’re not in Urbana to score political points.  And they’re not in the Land of Lincoln for the purpose of offending the new Republican majority.

They know they are the last assemblage left in our Hoosier State that can prevent the wholesale destruction of the assault on the middle class and the union members who sustain that middle class.

They sent strong signals to the other side that they are prepared to come back, debate the issues and finish their collective work if one particularly offensive bill would be rescinded   Seems like a simple solution to such a complex stalemate.  But politics and type A personalities never make for simple solutions. 

I have known House Democrat Leader Pat Bauer for a long time.  And I’ll readily admit that he can be difficult to deal with from time-to-time.  But I also know a lot about this man that many folks don’t.  And after spending several hours with him this past weekend, I renewed my belief no one … and I mean no one . . . should ever relish rolling in the muddy ring of politics with Pat Bauer.

Unlike most politicians, Pat Bauer is an excellent listener!  He takes ridicule and Bauer-bashing with a grain of salt, although sometimes I do think it bothers him more than he shows.  But he is one thing above all else – one tough down-in-the-your-face leader. 

And contrary to his critics, he doesn’t always pick the fights.  Most just come his way and unlike many of his contemporaries, Pat Bauer never walks away from a fight!  And if that fight is for the things he champions most, there is not a fiercer combatant than the feisty out-spoken Irishman from South Bend, Indiana!

And Pat Bauer champions the fight for the little people (and no, not because he is short) and those that need a voice.  He champions the fight of the middle class, public schools and the rights of Hoosiers to have a union and earn a decent wage.  Sometimes, I think that is his calling.

If you ever find yourself engaged in a political fight with Pat Bauer, you had better come well prepared and ready to go the full 15 rounds!

 I really don’t know what round this legislative stalemate is in, but I know that Pat Bauer has a lot of rounds left him!  He won’t bite off your ear to end the fight, but when the bout is over, you might wish he had. 
That brings me to the point of this article.  Are Pat Bauer and the House Democrats in a box?

 Some might suggest that these temporary residents of the Land of Lincoln are in a box.  Others might suggest that Speaker Bosma and his band of 60 are in a box.

One should not be surprised that both caucuses are in a box.  On any given day these Type A personalities are boiling, enraged, fighting mad, livid, singing songs in caucus or just resigned to another day useless day of waiting. 

Like most Hoosiers, I would like for this stalemate to end.  So I thought I would do what any enterprising Hoosier would do.   Find out how to get out of a box!

Peanuts and the Coconut!

 In Africa and parts of India the natives use a unique technique to catch monkeys.
They hollow out one end of a coconut and tie a long line to it. Then they put peanuts inside the coconut and hide it in the bush.  When a monkey discovers the coconut is filled with nuts, he works his hand through the small hole in one end of coconut to grab a fist full of nuts, but finds when he makes a fist to grab the peanuts he is unable to pull his hand out through the hole.

Once the monkey has his hand inside the coconut, the natives slowly pull in the line attached to the coconut. No matter how loud the monkey squeals, he remains trapped as long as his fist is clenched.
The monkey could easily escape if he he’d just let go.  The monkey would never be caught if he would only let go of the peanuts.  The monkey was in a box.  He could have his freedom if only he let go of the peanuts.  And the only way he could have the peanuts was to give up his freedom.

It looks to me that Speaker Bosma and the House Republicans are just like the proverbial monkey.  They won’t let go of their over-reaching fist-clenching agenda on common construction.  And every day Leader Bauer and his band of 39 pull that string every closer to the brink of legislative destruction. 

What is a Box?

A box (just like the coconut) is just metaphor for a situation that restricts your freedom. House D’s stuck in Urbana and House R’s stuck on a half-empty legislative chamber.

There is always a way out of every box.  One only needs to be willing to pay the price.

Know that you pay a price to remain in the box

Anytime you remain in a box you pay a price. The House D’s are getting the wrath of Hoosiers for not doing the job they were elected to do. 

House R’s are on the receiving end of a barrage of outrage from many of the voters who just may have put them in office.  I just can’t believe either side is enjoying their position. 

Recognize there is a way out of the box

To get out, you will have to pay a price. You can always get out of the box.  You just have to be willing to pay the price. 

The House D’s have served notice that their price is one lonely legislative arrow in the overloaded Republican quiver of arrows. 

The House R’s?  Seems their price was $250 daily fines, a poorly sung melody in their caucus that pissed off the D’s and a Freshmen Republican letter serving notice that their agenda was nothing short of the Second Crusade!. 

Pay the price and get out of the box?

House D’s were probing for a rallying cause, and the House R’s sent them a Right to Work curve ball that was deflected out of the park all the way to Urbana!  It’s time for Speaker Bosma to unclench his fist full of labor-troubling peanuts and this “session of all sessions” can begin anew. 

If you are trapped in a box one should remember that the “Art of War” claims that there is nothing more dangerous than a foe that has no way out but to fight.  And if the fight goes another round, my money is on the tough-nosed guy in the corner protecting the little guy on the street!  My money’s on Pat Bauer and the House Democrats!

Empty the Water

Empty the Water!

By Russ Stilwell

Where oh where shall I begin?  There’s just not enough time or space for this week’s column. Let me begin with a coal mine story. 

Years ago, when I began working in the coal mines of SW Indiana, most underground miners carried a round lunch bucket to work that included a separate compartment that held water.  Every once in a while a miner would take the cap off that water container, hold it upside down and empty out the water.  He would holler “home.” 

This signaled that it was time to dump your water, pick up your tools and head for the house.  Or, in the case of the Indiana House Democrats, Urbana, IL.  There were injustices to be heard!

Sometimes the mine walkouts were brief.  Most were for a just cause and some over nonsense.  With working conditions hundreds of feet into the bowels of the earth, it didn’t take much to set off the miners.   Years ago, the Lansford Valley Gazette explained it well; “A coal mine is six dimensional; Dusty, deep, dark, damp, dirty and dangerous.  Any one of those dimensions could aggravate a miner on any given day.”  They stood tall for their health, their safety and their family.

Fast forward to 2011.  Now, I’m not suggesting that the House Democrats resemble these miners of decades ago.  But they do have a lot in common.  They too emptied their water and went home.  They called it a day.  Or maybe a week or two. 

And just like those miners, they stood tall!  Their courage and conviction is just as profound as those miners of years ago.  Standing up for the working class!

For weeks, House democrats listened, complained, offered amendments and more as their Republican counterparts unleashed a barrage of initiatives aimed directly at labor and the hard-working middle class Hoosiers. 

These good intention R’s sought to abolish collective bargaining, union construction and for good measure they took on public education with their tax vouchers for private schools. 

Oh, and they made sure there was parity. They awarded unemployed Hoosiers with a 25% cut in weekly unemployment benefits while rewarding Hoosier corporations with a 25% corporate tax break (SB 589). 

But it just wasn’t enough.  On the final day to announce a committee hearing, the House R’s announced a hearing for that fateful Right to Work bill.  The bill was heard in a cramped basement meeting room without input from scores of folks who signed up to oppose the bill.  The fight was on.

Then just as quickly, they passed the bill in a party-line vote and sent it to the House floor for adoption.  What did they expect?    What were they thinking?  The kindling was hot, RTW was the legislative spark and House D’s proclaimed “enough is enough.”

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the opening day of the legislative session where Democrat Leader Pat Bauer sent that “not so subtle smoke signal to Speaker Bosma” when RTW was assigned.   Too bad the Speaker didn’t heed the signal.  The stage was set.  It’s no wonder the House D’s emptied their water!

It was simple on opening day and it’s simple today in Urbana, IL. House D’s sent   the same parting shot, “we matter, we count and be careful with your agenda or you just might not have one.” 

House D’s, and for that matter our public servants and union activists know that we have tough budgets.  They know that difficult choices have to be made.  And they know that they will be expected to play a part in those choices. 

But they do not believe that punitive mean-spirited efforts to dismantle collective bargaining are part of the solution or part of the choices.

Indiana cannot balance the budget, protect the middle class and call our Hoosier state a great place to do business when they place the blame for our economic peril on our public servants who teach our kids, pick up our trash, build our infrastructure and protect our communities! 

When they seek to eliminate unions and collective bargaining, they are seeking to undermine the middle class as we know it!

If they succeed, then all Hoosiers will suffer.  And not just for a year or two, but for generations!

Maybe, just maybe, this could have all been avoided.  When you are in the minority, you expect to lose your legislative battles.  You expect to experience unpleasant policies and law.

But sometimes you do have to stand up and be counted.  And yes, sometimes you have to stand down and “empty your water” just like those miners a long time ago!

Standing up (or standing down) for your core beliefs is a long-held American tradition.  It takes courage, commitment and a core belief to empty your water and head for the house. 

It is far easier to say, “I did my best and voted against it, but the bill/s passed anyway”.  It takes special leaders to say enough is enough and follow their hearts, their convictions and their principles.  We need more of these special leaders.

Where will it all end?  We must have compromise and discussion that allows all of the voices in our society to be heard. 

There have been thousands of voices heard in our capitol the past several days.  And I would expect that intensity to grow in the coming weeks.  It isn’t about the budget and tax cuts for corporations.  It’s about middle class Hoosiers believing that are getting a fair shake from their government. 

Maybe it’s time these working class Hoosiers think about draining their water buckets as well.  My best guess is that the water will be gushing by the end of next week as Hoosiers by the tens of thousands visit their capitol!