Brian Howey: Could there actually be a 'President Buttigieg'?

Friday, December 28, 2018 10:57 AM

By BRIAN A. HOWEY

INDIANAPOLIS – President Pete. I mean, President Peter Buttigieg. That’s a pipe dream, right? The gay mayor of South Bend who announced he wouldn’t seek a third term earlier this month and who will likely make a Democratic White House bid doesn’t have a chance. Right? Remember all those columns I wrote in 2015 and 2016 that ended with the phrase, “Anything can happen. Anything?” Well, 2020 could be a year that takes that new axiom and cubes it in historic fashion.

We’ve never had a mayor make the straight jump to the White House, or even the national ticket. Mayors John Lindsey and Sam Yorty couldn’t make it happen. Presidents Calvin Coolidge, Grover Cleveland and Andrew Johnson were mayors in the earlier parts of their political careers, but got to the White House from higher stations.

Buttigieg announced Monday he won’t seek a third term. There’s not a realistic path in Indiana for him. He’s not interested in Congress, and with Gov. Eric Holcomb’s current popularity and the Indiana Democratic Party’s shattered foundation, a 2020 challenge there doesn’t appear to be in the cards. Instead, the mayor is using a failed run for Democratic National Committee chair to become one of up to three dozen Democrats seeking to challenge President Trump (or, perhaps, “President Pence”). Buttigieg said Tuesday, “For most of the decade now, I have given everything that I can to helping this city get to a new future. And I love this job. And I’m mindful that it may well be the best job that I will ever have. But it’s also not the kind of job you do forever.”

Buttigieg has been doing the things a potential POTUS hopeful does. He’s given speeches in Iowa and other early primary states. His addresses channel President Kennedy’s “pass the torch” oratory, saying about the March for Our Lives last winter, “Go ahead, dismiss this generation. I dare you. But I do think that people are looking for something new. They’re looking for something fresh and different. And I think that, as a party, we can’t just — first of all, we can’t only trot out people who go to work in Washington every day, as representatives of the party.”

Does Buttigieg have a ghost of a chance? Did Jimmy Carter in 1974? Bill Clinton in 1990? Barack Obama in 2006? Or Donald Trump in 2014? The big difference was they were governors and senators (and a billionaire). This, however, is an era of broken molds.

Mark Schoeff Jr.: Roberts' influence could eclipse Pence in 2019

By MARK SCHOEFF JR.

WASHINGTON – Vice President Mike Pence is the Hoosier with the highest profile in Washington, but in 2019, the most influential person from Indiana likely will be Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. Just before Thanksgiving, Roberts had an enough-is-enough moment when it came to President Donald Trump’s repeated bashing of federal judges who hand down decisions that contradict his policies. “We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges,” Roberts said in a Nov. 21 statement. “What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them.” Trump wielded the cudgel against the federal bench again late Wednesday night, as the White House released a statement criticizing a judge who struck down a Trump administration asylum rule. Roberts is the steward of an institution that is still willing and able to provide a check and balance to Trump. The Republican-led Congress didn’t offer any resistance during the first half of Trump’s term until late this year, when the Senate rebuked him by passing a resolution implicating Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

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Jack Colwell: It's not a certainty Trump will lose in 2020

By JACK COLWELL

SOUTH BEND – Democrats should nominate an avocado for president, if it offered the best chance to defeat President Trump. Campaign slogan: “Make America Guac Again.” Thus writes New York Times columnist Frank Bruni. A facetious suggestion, of course. Where would one find a viable avocado meeting the constitutional requirement that a president be at least 35 years old? The point Bruni is stressing is that it’s not a certainty that Trump will be defeated if he seeks reelection in 2020. So, Democrats better seek a nominee with the best chance to win, not necessarily the one with the best presidential qualifications on paper or longest admirable service to party and nation. He praised Joe Biden highly informed, affable, real and superbly qualified. And, urged Biden not to run. Because … well, how did Hillary Clinton’s “impeccable credentials” work out last time? Other political analysts also theorize that Democrats could lose again to Trump if they nominate someone beloved by sections of their party but with a lot of baggage accumulated over many years and lacking broad appeal beyond the Democratic East Coast and West Coast. They cite dangers in nominating someone like Biden, 76; Bernie Sanders, 77; or Elizabeth Warren, 69.

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Morton Marcus: Unvarnished economic information revealed

By MORTON J. MARCUS

INDIANAPOLIS – Last week we promised the data to back up the disquieting claim that “Indiana is not, and has not been, outperforming the nation in job or wage growth.” According to the Census of Employment and Wages, Indiana added 323,000 private sector jobs between 2010 and 2017, years of recovery from the Great Recession and a 14.0% increase compared to a 15.2% growth nationally. “That’s nothing,” you might say. “Only about 28,000 jobs spread over 92 counties and seven years.” True, but consider this: The seven states with 40% of the jobs in 2010 enjoyed 52% of the job growth. California alone increased its job count by 2.5 million, more than the entire number of Hoosier jobs in 2010 (2.3 million). Within Indiana, 78 counties gained employment, led by Marion County with an increase of 50,400, ranking first in numeric growth, but only 36th in percent increase. Vigo County had the distinction of losing the most jobs (829) while Martin County lost 15.1% of its jobs.

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Lee Hamilton: What's surprised me most about politics

By LEE HAMILTON

BLOOMINGTON – The other day, a friend asked what surprised me most about politics. This may seem strange, but I’d never really thought about the question. My response was off the cuff but heartfelt. The biggest surprise is also among my biggest disappointments with American political life, the ongoing effort by politicians to suppress votes. Yes, it’s gone on for years. And in some respects, limiting the vote has been a feature of American politics since the beginning, when only white men with property could cast ballots. But when I began in politics, I assumed those days were past us, and everyone was on board with the idea that the more people who vote, the better. Boy, was I naïve. The truth is, people work hard to prevent other people from voting.

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Chris Sautter: Why the blue wave evaded Indiana Democrats

By CHRIS SAUTTER

WASHINGTON – Nationally, Democrats flipped 40 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, the largest for the party since the 1974 post-Watergate election. The total margin, nearly 9 million votes, was the largest ever in terms of raw votes. Democrats even prevailed in several historically red congressional districts, such as in Oklahoma and Orange County, California, where they hadn’t won in decades. Democrats also gained seven governor seats, including in Michigan and Wisconsin, Midwestern states Trump carried two years ago. And, they held their losses in the U.S. Senate to just two seats (one seat if you count the Alabama seat Democrats won in a special election a year ago) with a map so horrible some were predicting at the start of the cycle that Republicans could wind up with the 60 seats needed to overcome a filibuster. Yet in Indiana, where Democrats picked up five House seats in the 1974 Watergate election, they whiffed. Incumbent Sen. Joe Donnelly lost decisively to Mike Braun, a novice candidate who was forced to spend much of the campaign defending his anti-worker business practices. And, Democrats were easily dispatched in the three U.S. House districts that they had won in 2006, the last time there was a blue wave. While Indiana has historically been a Republican state, Hoosier Democrats are usually able to compete at least during “Democratic years.” So, why did the “blue wave” pass over Indiana?

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Atomic! Trump troops; Vigo bellwether; Holcomb fav at 65%

By BRIAN A. HOWEY, in Nashville, Ind.

1. Just when it couldn't get any worse ...: Here are your Day 3 of the 12 Days of Christmas power fruit cake talking points. Government shutdown is at five days, nine hours. President Trump had an awful pre-Christmas week before lamenting on Christmas Eve that he was home alone ("poor me," except he wasn't; he was with Melania). The Dow was in free-fall, the government is closed as he pines for his border wall that the Republican Congress repeatedly took a pass on, the president told a 7-year-old girl that belief in Santa Claus at her age is "marginal," Treasury Sec. Steve Mnuchin rattled the markets, and a second Guatemalan child refugee died in U.S. custody. Then on Christmas Eve, the Trumps (and Vice President and Mrs. Pence) showed up at the National Cathedral where they heard the Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde contextualize a refugee controversy: “You only have to read the first sentence of the story to know that there are deep social implications to it, should we place ourselves in this story." But wait! On Christmas Day 2, the First Couple showed up in Iraq, his first trip as president to a conflict zone. And the Dow surged a record 1,000 points, putting the Bears at bay for a few days after the worst December since 1931.

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HPI Interview: Gov. Holcomb talks issues as his power expands

By BRIAN A. HOWEY

INDIANAPOLIS – Gov. Eric Holcomb loves his job, even a day after a school shooting in Richmond left a student dead, even after a year of watching his state grapple with the opioid crisis. He calls being governor “the most fulfilling job I have ever had” and used Taylor University’s “Silent Night” basketball game earlier this month as a case in point. “You don’t have to wait until March to experience basketball madness,” Holcomb began. “When you go 10 points in silence in a basketball game, it’s completely silent, 1,800 people, standing room only, silent until the tenth point is scored, and then the fans erupt, storm the court ... they’re all dressed up in costumes. It is crazy. And then at the end of the game, they all sing every verse of ‘Silent Night.’ It is goosebumps crazy.” A governor needs a night like that when the day job can mean consoling and encouraging a middle-aged female heroin addict, or praising a school teacher for disrupting a school shooter, or consoling the mother of a student who committed suicide after tipping off the school.

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Atomic! DC amateur hour; Mnuchin startles; shutdown 2D, 11H

By BRIAN A. HOWEY, in Indianapolis

1. The nation that doesn't work: Merry Christmas Eve. Here's a special communication for my old friend, who I will refer to here as Amber Wave of Grain (AWG). This comes from Indiana, the State that Works, a phrase you might be familiar with. We're a state that balances budgets, passes a constitutional amendment to make sure we always do, orchestrates fully-funded road strategies, a state that filled the Union ranks in the Civil War with tall patriotic boys, and proved to be the major thrust of FDR's "Arsenal of Democracy." Hoosiers were instrumental in the rise of Lincoln, and played front line roles in the Reagan Revolution. We can spot a fraud, detect bovine scatology, and are wise enough to know that box turtles don't end up on fence posts by sheer will. My message, AWG, on this Christmas Eve is that Washington is the antithesis of Indiana. It is amateur hour in the nation's capitol.

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Atomic! Trump madness; Kurds betrayed; Mayor Pete in Iowa

By BRIAN A. HOWEY, in Indianapolis

1. The careening, reckless Trump presidency: Here's a rare Saturday Atomic! as you head out for your "Panic Saturday" shopping spree. There is panic in Washington and Western capitals at the Winter Solstice with a Full Cold Moon. A good portion of the federal government is shuttered as a true "Madness of King George" scenario emerges. President Trump is demanding funding for a border wall Republicans in Congress have passed on for two years. When Trump met with Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer earlier this month, he said, "I am proud to shut down the government for border security, Chuck, I will take the mantle. I will be the one to shut it down. I’m not going to blame you for it." But Friday the flip-flopping Tweeter-in-Chief said, "The Democrats now own the shutdown!" Wall Street Journal: "Frustrated by President Trump’s vacillations during the week, lawmakers reached a procedural agreement Friday that they wouldn’t take another vote until a deal had been struck between the White House, GOP and Democratic congressional leaders."

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HPI Interview: Braun prepares to dress up Washington

By BRIAN A. HOWEY

INDIANAPOLIS – Senate rules require a coat and tie on the floor, so that’s one change facing Sen.-elect Mike Braun when he arrives at the Capitol in January.
His campaign trail trademark was a blue shirt. He used it to contrast himself with tie-bound U.S. Reps. Luke Messer and Todd Rokita in their first debate last winter. How many blue shirts did Braun end up with in his victorious races against the congressmen and then Sen. Joe Donnelly? “Several now,” Braun said as we talked in a backroom at Shapiro’s Deli on Tuesday. He was there to greet supporters, surrounded by his emerging staff that includes campaign manager Joshua Kelley, who will be his chief of staff; Jasper Mayor Terry Seitz, who comes in as outreach director; Jason Johnson as state director; Katie Bailey as legislative director; and Jahan Wilcox at communications.

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Congress adjourns as shutdown extends into 2nd week

“We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall & also change the ridiculous immigration laws that our Country is saddled with.” - President Trump said in a Friday morning tweet as the federal government shutdown enters its second week. Rep. Mark Meadows, a close ally of Trump, told CNN's Dana Bash that negotiations "have not progressed" over the past 24 to 48 hours. "At this point, it looks like we could be in for a very long-term shutdown," the North Carolina Republican said on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper." Congress is not expected to be back in session until Dec. 31. Democrats regain control of the House on Jan. 3. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “We will vote swiftly to reopen government and show that Democrats will govern responsibly in stark contrast to this chaotic White House.

Genesis and the 'Earth Rise' 50 years ago with Apollo 8

It was Dec. 24, 1968 and our family had gathered in front of the TV. Apollo 8 had disappeared behind the dark side of the moon and radio contact had been lost. It had been a chaotic year, with the Tet Offensive jarring Americans about the prospects of the Vietnam War, President Johnson stunned the nation by announcing on March 31 he wouldn't seek reelection, and then came the assassinations of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in April and June, the Chicago police riots at the Democratic National Convention, the Soviet invasion of Prague, and then Richard Nixon's tiny victory over Vice President Humphrey and Gov. George Wallace in November.

Americans needed some good news, so we waited for astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders to regain voice contact with Mission Control in Houston. When they did, the family erupted in cheers. And then came one of the most poignant moments in history. Borman, a native of Gary, Ind., began reading from the Book of Genesis: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”

Borman said 40 years later, "We were told that on Christmas Eve we would have the largest audience that had ever listened to a human voice and the only instructions that we got from NASA was to do something appropriate." The scripture was accompanied by the "Earth Rise" photo that Anders took, the first time humans had seen their planet from this far out in space. - Brian A. Howey, publisher