Daniels throws tantrum, uses terrorist language

In an article entitled, Daniels says Democrats ‘car-bombed’ reforms, the Indianapolis Star describes the tantrum Daniels threw over the Democratic walk out. In an effort to use anti-terrorism imagery against the loyal opposition, Governor Daniels suggested that by not showing up for quorum calls on the last two days, the Democrats had “car-bombed” his reforms. I think the Democrats could probably do better than Representative Bauer as a leader, and I think they probably burned bridges they did not have to, but Governor Daniels use of the term “car-bombed” is irresponsible. (I say the Democrats burned bridges they didn’t have to because I didn’t think there was a lot of particularly onerus legislation still pending. I also tend to believe that, though he is a Republican, Senator Garton would not let legislation pass that diminishes the power of the legislative branch in relation to the executive branch.)

I guess it’s understandable that Governor Daniels, being from the autocratic world of the corporation where he usually had something close to supreme power would be frustrated with the democratic process where one has to deal with equals and the checks and balances built into the system.

I see a couple of paragraphs in that article that bolsters my earlier assertion that Senator Garton tended to be more committed to the rules of the Senate and an orderly process than to any particular legislation:

Senate President Pro Tempore Robert D. Garton, R-Columbus, said he was not sure how much of the House legislation could be revived.

The Senate will continue to strictly enforce its rules against amending unrelated topics into bills, he said. This could make it tough to find a new home for measures such as legislation that would require all of Indiana to observe daylight-saving time. That bill, House Bill 1034, was among the ones that died Tuesday.

Quotes from the article suggesting the Democrats wanted a say in the process and that the Republicans were unwilling to engage in the standard legislative wheeling and dealing:

Rep. Robert Kuzman, D-Crown Point, said he and his party colleagues did not want to be obstructionists, but the GOP had to take them seriously.

“I think that’s been our message from the beginning, that we’re not just going to fold over and let things roll through this House,” he said. “We want our input, we want our message out, we want our stuff to be listened to and considered.”

. . .

Neither Democrats nor Republicans would go into much detail about what concessions, if any, had been offered — or demanded — in an attempt to head off Tuesday’s boycott.

Bosma said Democrats had approached his caucus about killing the inspector general bill, watering down legislation requiring voters to present a photo ID at polling places and preserving money both political parties get from personal license plate sales.

“I told them no back-room deals,” Bosma said. “The Democrats will vote on these issues — one way or another.”

So, it appears that Representative Bosma was unwilling to give the Democrats any incentive to assist him in passing his bills. I, for one, can’t seem to work up any grief over the prospect of fewer laws on the books.