Daniels jokes ruffle feathers

I just came across
this story from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette from last Sunday’s paper. Apparently Gov. Daniels cracked some jokes about some recently passed legislation that ruffled up some of the legislators. The comments:

“This will shock you,” Daniels starts out. “But not every item the
General Assembly grapples with rises to quite the level of the Civil
Rights Act of ’65 or the original Reagan tax cuts.”

Daniels goes on to talk about three Senate bills – all written by his Republican colleagues – which he describes in this way:

Senate Bill 569 – “which requires the state to distribute information telling adults to tell kids to stop playing ball during thunderstorms.”

Senate Bill 382 – “which will send every bartender in the state for classes on I’m not sure what. How to spot a drunk, or that the legal drinking age is still 21. Or something.”

Senate Bill 140 – “which clarifies the rules around charity duck (rubber, not feathered) racing. Don’t ask.”

He notes that none of these bills was part of his agenda but not so offensive that he felt compelled to veto them. He clearly was, however, compelled to make fun of them.

“If you’re prone to overindulge and get tipsy at duck races held outdoors during lightning storms, one of these landmark bills may work to your advantage,” Daniels quips in his note, which is e-mailed to thousands of Hoosiers and placed on his campaign Web site.

The gratuitous references to Reagan’s tax cuts and his apparent confusion about the Civil Rights Act of ’64 or Voting Rights Act of ’65 aside, I find his comments mildly amusing. And, he’s right. The legislature often considers, and sometimes passes, pretty trivial legislation. (The worst one I was involved in was hair braider licensure which fortunately never saw the light of day.)

Senators Miller, Wyss, and Paul found the comments a bit disrespectful and inappropriate, and pointed out the more serious side to those particular bills.