A Citizen's Guide to Indiana

The Journal & Courier found itself in the interesting position of not being able to reach a consensus on writing an editorial regarding the House Democrats refusing to be present for the House quorum call. Uncertainty seems more representative of my view than the strident, morally righteous tone adopted by the Indianapolis Star editorial board. The J&C said:

Facing a deadline for today’s editorial about the Indiana House of Representatives’ partisan meltdown Tuesday that stranded scores of bills and other business, our editorial board could agree on neither the content nor the process for writing our view, so we just bagged it. But don’t worry, we here on the Journal and Courier editorial board still believe we’re doing “the people’s business.” And don’t worry, either, about our board members; they were still paid for the efforts you see here.

The Muncie Star Press was about as indignant as the Indianapolis Star was. I just can’t get past the vague reasons for why it was o.k. for the Republicans to walk out last year and not o.k. for the Democrats to do the same thing this year. They say that “the GOP delays did not have the same huge impact on new legislation.” Previous reports have mentioned that the GOP killed about 80 bills (in a short session, it should be noted) when they pulled a similar stunt. The Democrats this year killed 130 bills. I’m just not sure why the Muncie Star Press puts such a premium on 50 extra bills.

The Muncie Star Press says:

If Bauer thinks that Indiana voters will have sympathy for House Democrats who stand for election in less than two years, he is sadly mistaken. Citizens expect lawmakers to vote up or down on important legislation, not engage in blocking tactics that serve only petty political ends.

Indeed. Just as Hoosiers punished the House Republicans for their walkout last year. Oh, wait. The Republicans were rewarded for their behavior. Let’s face it, the average Hoosier has little to no idea what’s going on in the State House in Indianapolis. To think they’re going to remember that the Democrats killed an Inspector General bill two years from now really overestimates the interest of the average citizen in state politics. And all the handwringing about “the people’s time” and “the people’s money” being wasted? Please. My guess is that the fewer laws the legislature passes, the more money we save.

The Evansville Courier Press, in a news story, makes the terrorism analogy explicit. “The day after 131 bills died because House Democrats walked out on the legislative session, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels compared their actions to terrorists and Republicans made no effort to smooth over the rift.” I also note from this article that Governor Daniels seems to be comparing House Democrats to Nazis: “”It’s harder to understand why not one House Democrat had the courage or the conscience to stay at work when (Bauer) told them to walk off the job,” Daniels said. “I guess they were just following orders.”” (Besides the Nazi allusion, I believe the statement is factually incorrect. If news reports were to be believed, the Democrats left one or two members on the floor to monitor the Republicans.) The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette also describes Governor Daniels as “using terrorist buzzwords.”

Going back to the Evansville Courier Press’s news article, I’m really amused by Representative Van Haaften’s response to Speaker Bosma’s pronouncement that “the public is not pleased.”:

Mount Vernon Democrat Trent Van Haaften said that’s not the message he’s getting from constituents back home. He said he has mostly heard from people about funding cuts to education, not the issues of the day Tuesday – voter identification and the inspector general.

“Down here in the corner of our state, we don’t have a problem with voter fraud that they allege there in Indianapolis,” he said. “That issue doesn’t resonate as much here. The inspector general bill is the same thing. We’ve got prosecutors around here that do their job.”

The Evansville Courier Press’s editorial on the subject, seems very sensible. Their take generally is that the Democrats killed the Republicans’ momentum, there is still time to resurrect some of the initiatives, Senator Garton runs a tight ship and won’t allow a lot of monkey business with amendments – particularly with Daylight Saving Time. The editorial suggests that a lot of legislators might be just as happy that DST not come up for a vote given the potential for constituent backlash. It points out that the boycott probably could have been avoided had leaders on both sides been willing to compromise. They suggest that the inspector general post doesn’t need prosecutorial powers because there is no evidence that county prosecutors are not doing their job. They suggest that opposing the voter ID bill probably doesn’t do Democrats much good because the sorts of people unwilling or unable to produce ID probably don’t vote much. So, a logrolling deal probably could have been reached where Republicans give up state inspector prosecution and Democrats allow voter ID. They note the potential for Republicans to use the walkout as an issue but then note that the Republicans did the same thing last year. And yet last year, life went on. And so it will this year.

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette is a bit more balanced in its assessment than were other anti-boycott editorials, but it ultimately concludes that the Democrats were wrong to boycott the final two days of session. They use the specious rhetoric about legislators being paid but not working. Do you think the outrage would subside if the legislators agreed to waive their pay for those two days? Of course not. But, they point out that the Democrats could have handled things better. No doubt. The Journal Gazette is spot-on with this analysis though:

Republicans are not entirely without blame. They pulled their own walkout in the waning days of last year’s legislative session, when they were in the minority, over the Democrats’ refusal to vote on a gay marriage amendment. As a result, a number of bills failed to come to a vote.

Republicans tried in vain Tuesday to argue the issues are different, that Republicans wanted to be heard in 2004 and want Democrats to speak in 2005. But the two walkouts were motivated by the same overarching political imbalance: Each party didn’t get its way.

Nor has Daniels helped with his vitriolic condemnation that Democrats “car-bombed” Indiana’s drive for progress. Suggesting the walkout is equivalent to the Iraq insurgency was over the top.

The Indy Star editorial board has worked itself into a frenzy over the Democratic walkout in an editorial entitled AWOL Democrats obstruct state’s progress. The editorial begins with:

If they have any sense of shame left, all 48 House Democrats should stand on the Statehouse steps this morning and apologize to the 6 million Hoosiers they embarrassed and abandoned Tuesday night.

Well, no. Assuming all districts are roughly equal, then 48% of 6 million is 2,880,000 Hoosiers. And I would submit that the Democrats were doing what they could to represent those 2.9 million Hoosiers the only way they could if their concerns were not being addressed by the representatives of the other 3.1 million Hoosiers. Like I said in an earlier entry, it might be that Bauer is burning bridges unnecessarily and if he’s creating more problems than he’s solving for the 2.9 million Hoosiers represented by Democrats, then he needs to be tossed in favor of a more effective leader. At best, the Democrats should be urged to apologize to the portions of their 2.9 million constituents who feel that Indiana suffers from a lack of legislation.

Then the Indy Star calls Governor Daniels “car-bombing” metaphor justified. Given that U.S. citizens can be declared an enemy combatant by a Washington bureaucrat and thrown in a military brig without access to the courts in the name of the “War on Terror” – tagging anyone with a terrorist label, metaphorical or otherwise, should be done judiciously. The circumstances before us do not qualify.

Finally, the Indy Star grasps at straws to distinguish the Republican walkout last year from the Democratic walkout this year. You see, the Republican hissy-fit over gay marriages was justified because “Republicans wanted the legislative process to unfold as intended — with lawmakers casting a public vote on the issues of the day.” According to this logic, the Democrats would be justified walking out any time a committee chair didn’t give their bill a hearing. Ridiculous. That’s just not the way the legislative process works and the Indianapolis Star should know better. For better or for worse, and I contend it’s for better, the legislative process makes it far easier to kill legislation than to enact it. The legislative process is about compromise and negotiation. For whatever reason, it didn’t happen here. If it turns out that the Republicans were bending over backward to meet Democrats in the middle (or at least 48% of the way) and the Democrats refused to deal, then I’d agree that Bauer needs to be thrown under the metaphorical bus.

Otherwise, the Star is not serving its readers very well by working itself into high dudgeon over the Democrats using one of the few tools in their toolbox.

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.

The Indiana Law Blog

The Indiana Law Blog isn’t much given to editorial comment, so a segment from a recent entry on bills dying in the House because of the Democratic boycott gave me a good chuckle.

Another quote from the story got my attention:

The bill seemed doomed for now. But the state Senate could change their deadline to accept the bills, some leaders said.

Sure. And hell could freeze ove

Obviously the Indiana Law Blog has a deep understanding of how the Senate generally, and Senator Garton in particular, does business. It involves a strong committment to the Senate Rules, and an orderly process takes priority over any particular legislation.

Further, the Indiana General Assembly has two houses. Passing a bill in
one house only begins the process of lawmaking, it does not mean our
elected representatives may pack up their bags and go home. The other
house gets a chance to review the bill, reject it, or adopt it, with or
without revisions. Then, if there are differences, the two houses may
work them out, or not.

Kevin Corcoran and Michele McNeil have an article entitled Dems boycott all day, dooming 132 bills.

What I find amusing is the posturing by these people. The Democrats say they had to stay in caucus to “study the legislation.” Right. As if they didn’t know what legislation was coming or the deadline just sort of crept up on them. The Republicans complain about the Democrats grinding the process to a halt and how it’s tough to represent your constituents if you’re not on the floor. They appear to have forgotten their antics from last year when they walked out because of the imminent danger to the institution of marriage. (As if it’s such a fragile thing that it needs the Indiana General Assembly’s assistance). Mitch Daniels talks like a vaguely threatening father figure, warning about how his patience is wearing thin. With all due respect, Governor, you’re from a different branch of government. Your job is to execute the laws the legislature hands you.

I’m not really sure why the Republicans let themselves get stuck this way. Maybe there are constraints of which I am unaware, but they should have gotten more legislation out of the way earlier in the process.

The Indy Star Editorial page comes out swinging against the legislature’s weak ethics rules. What set them off was Michele McNeil’s article in their paper disclosing all too comfy arrangements between Senator Drozda, Representative Frizzell, and Centaur Inc. (a gambling outfit.) (My two cents worth here). I really like their lead:

If the average Hoosier taxpayer were dropped off at work every morning by a limousine owned by his company’s competitor, and was handed a satchel by the chauffeur, his boss might ask him to search his soul as to whether this might influence his performance. Right. More likely he’d be looking for a new job. And if he wanted a code of ethics that allowed him to do business as usual, he might apply at the Indiana General Assembly.

The Associated press is reporting that Indiana Democrats are running out the clock because of bills they believe are Republican power grabs. Apparently high on the list was a bill (or an amendment — the AP was pretty vague) that would create a board that oversaw funding for the Colts stadium and allowed Gov. Daniels to appoint members on that board. The clock keeps ticking, appropriately, for DST which hasn’t come to a vote yet. (As long as we’re playing with time, maybe the Dems could offer a version that unexpectedly advances the clock enough to cause the bill deadline to kill any remaining bills, such as DST, they find offensive.)

Update: Michele McNeil has an article on the subject that I think is much better than the Associated Press article. She explains that 2/3 of the Representatives must be present in the House for a quorum to conduct business, and that’s how the Democrats are able to bring the House to a halt. The article also explains, “Monday, they stalled for nearly seven hours because of a crush of last-minute amendments, one of which would steer control of a Colts stadium project toward the governor.”

According to the article’s sidebar, on the line today are several bills of note:

HB 1034 – Daylight Saving Time;

HB 1002 – Inspector General;

HB 1777 – Judicial pay raise;

HB 1174 – Jury duty;

HB 1223 – Regulation of substances used to make meth;

HB 1518 – Phone company regulation; and

HB 1145 – Teen clubs.

I’m sure many of these are fine bills, but my general philosophy is that the government that governs least, governs best. So, any time government finds itself gridlocked, I’m generally happy about it. That limits the amount of damage the legislature can do while in session. Gridlock is good!

(Also, the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has an article too. I find it amusing to hear Bosma complaining about the Democrats “not doing their job” and Bauer complaining about Republican legislative maneuvers. Both guys were doing pretty much the same thing as their counterparts when the shoe was on the other foot. Remember how Republicans left because the institution of marriage was supposedly in mortal peril without a Constitutional Amendment?)

Mary Beth Schneider, for the Indianapolis Star, has an article entitledBill to appoint county judges dies. In it, she reports that Rep. Murphy is dropping HB 1703 which would allow the governor to appoint Marion County judges. Apparently Rep. Murphy is doing this as a logrolling deal where he tries to get Democratic Representatives from Marion County on board with HB 1034 which would impose Eastern Daylight Time on the entire state (except for the northwest and southwest corners). With some Republicans voting against the measure, the DST bill doesn’t have enough votes unless the bill can get some Democratic support.

Michele McNeil, for the Indianapolis Star, has an article entitled Lobbying draws scrutiny in which she reports on potential conflicts arising out of Centaur Inc.’s financial contributions for the benefit of Sen. Drozda and Rep. Frizzell. Centaur Inc. is a gaming firm that owns part of the Hoosier Park horse track in Anderson. Frizzell heads a charity that was founded with a $160,000 donation from Centaur. Frizzell’s salary for his charity work last year was $68,000. Drozda’s marketing firm “D.C. Consulting” was hired in January by Centaur’s Colorado subsidiary to promote its interests. Drozda was hired by Centaur during a golf outing. This wouldn’t have been much of a concern had Drozda been hired before became a Senator. But, it was only after he came into the legislature that Centaur showed an interest.

This paragraph in the article interested me:

Both lawmakers say they oppose expanding gambling, at least beyond existing horse tracks and riverboats, and said their relationship with Centaur is not influencing their vote on the controversial issue.

Please note that preventing additional competition helps Centaur, Inc. by maintaining the value of the Hoosier Park horse track.