Well, o.k., the Indy Star doesn’t mention Masson’s Blog specifically (or even obliquely), but surely this influential page played its part. O.k. enough with the delusions of grandeur. In any case, the Star has an editorial entitled Sorry, Speaker, but branches must close. The paper sides with the Governor and BMV commissioner Silverman and against Speaker Bosma in the BMV branch closing issue, reasoning that weighing the political fallout is not a rational way to determine which BMV branches should close and which should remain open.
In the political argument between Indiana’s Republican governor and the Republican speaker of the House, it’s the state’s chief executive who wins based on logic, consistency and the desire to promote better government efficiency over partisan concerns.
Speaker Brian Bosma recently jotted a note to Gov. Mitch Daniels asking for a delay in closing BMV license branches because “we are running into a political buzz saw, the consequences of which are difficult to predict.”
The governor rightly said no.
Though, I have to say, I take a bit of issue with the Star editorial board’s characterization of citizen complaints over closing of their BMV branches as “chirping.” That’s far too dismissive of their concerns for my tastes. I think disgruntled citizens have legitimate grievances. But, at the end of the day, you can’t make everyone happy and rational considerations over the amount of business handled by a given branch and the proximity to other branches will outweigh the desire of particular Hoosiers to keep their branches open. By way of disclosure, I am unaware of any branches in either my residential or my work community being slated for closure. So, perhaps it’s easy for me to take the “rational” view since it’s not my ox being gored.
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