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Sunday, April 11, 2021

Horse Race: Buttigieg rises to top of Iowa poll

Thursday, November 14, 2019 11:58 AM

By BRIAN A. HOWEY

INDIANAPOLIS — South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg has joined former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders at the top of the leaderboard in the third Monmouth University Poll of the 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses. Buttigieg’s gains since the summer have been across the board, with increasing support coming from nearly every demographic group. Regardless, less than one-third of likely caucusgoers say that they are firmly set on their choice of candidate and most would not be too disappointed if they had to switch their support.

Atomic! Super majority pull back; Braun & vaccine; Elusive herd immunity; Biden targets ghost guns

By BRIAN A. HOWEY, in Indianapolis

1. Super majority pull back: Super majorities are an unnatural element to legislatures. Indiana is now in its fifth post-election cycle with super majorities in the House and Senate, and we’ve been seeing some extreme legislation, like abolishing the need for handgun permits and removing all wetlands regulations, sail through the chambers. This has thrust Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray and House Speaker Todd Huston into a crucial gatekeeper role. Bray derailed the handgun permit bill after the Indiana State Police and Fraternal Order of Police opposed the measure. “These groups have said that, due to a variety of reasons including the current state of technology and federal laws governing the use of and access to information, creation of such a database is not possible at this time,” Bray said. “Law enforcement believes being able to access this information in the middle of the night during a traffic stop is important and thus, so do I.” The Senate budget scales back the voucher expansion, and didn’t include a cigarette tax hike. The House killed a bill depriving IndyGo of funding. Associated Press: A legislative committee has overhauled a contentious proposal to require Indiana voters to submit identification numbers with mail-in ballot applications. Changes to the bill approved Thursday by the House elections committee will only require submission of a voter’s Indiana driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number with online mail ballot applications (AP). The panel deleted provisions that Republicans had pushed through the Senate making voters put such numbers on paper applications. Now we'll be watching Gov. Eric Holcomb to see if he applies the brakes to legislation that would allow local health officials to be overruled during future pandemics, including the suspension of religious gatherings during a pandemic.
HPI Analysis: Indiana's 'purple' CD: 5th CD or could new maps turn the 1st?

By BRIAN A. HOWEY

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana’s “purple” 5th CD has already made it to the crosshairs of the 2022 election cycle, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announcing it was “in play.” But there’s a huge catch: No one has any idea where the 5th CD lines will be drawn, let alone the partisan makeup of the district. And we won’t know until late this summer. That is going to carve months out of the candidate decision process and their ability to raise funds. In 2020, the DCCC made the 5th CD a priority, only to watch Democrat Christina Hale lose to Republican State Sen. Victoria Spartz 50-46%, or by 16,986 votes. Libertarian Ken Tucker drew 4% or 16,788 votes. Hale hasn’t ruled out a rematch, but told Howey Politics Indiana on Tuesday that she won’t make a decision until the new maps are drawn up and signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb. She wondered if she would be drawn out of the 5th CD and placed into the neighboring 7th CD. HPI analysis of current maps and results from the 2020 election cycle brings us to this conclusion: The 5th CD may not be the “purple” district that will command attention next year. If the maps are drawn in a politically calculated fashion, the real battleground may be freshman U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan’s 1st CD.
Horse Race: If Trump had embraced masks, he might still be president

By BRIAN A. HOWEY

INDIANAPOLIS – Donald Trump became a “political genius” when he shocked everybody (including himself) by winning the 2016 presidential election. Filmmaker Michael Moore figured it out before anyone else when he observed the Trump campaign’s wide use of baseball hats, and national political analysts who made fun of the billionaire’s campaign finance reports showing a prioritization of the MAGA caps above just about anything else. “I am an angry white guy over the age of 35. And I have just a high-school education, so I grew up with it, I lived with it, I still live with it,” Moore said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” after the 2016 election. “I looked at that and I thought, ‘Wow, there’s the bubble right there. They don’t understand.’’ Now there is growing data from the 2020 election that suggests that had President Trump embraced the simple use of face masks during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, he might still be in the White House today.
Atomic! Indy hoops curse continues; Gov's V.E.T.O.; Wesco's duplicity; McConnell's warning to corporations

By BRIAN A. HOWEY, in Indianapolis

1. Lucas Oil Stadium undefeated curse continues: The Lucas Oil Stadium's curse on the undefeated continues here in the Center of the Basketball Universe. Coach Scott Drew's Baylor defeated unbeaten Gonzaga 86-70 Monday night to grab its first NCAA men's title and it kept intact Indiana University's 45-year claim on being the last undefeated champion. In 1991, UNLV came to the Indianapolis Final Four (then played in the RCA Dome) and lost for the first time. In 2012 it was the NFL's New England Patriots that were denied a perfect season at the hands of QB Eli Manning and the New York Giants at LOS. And in 2015, undefeated Kentucky was upset by Wisconsin in the NCAA semi-finals. AP: Gonzaga is now the third team to suffer its only loss in the title game and the first since Larry Bird’s Indiana State team in 1979. The other was Ohio State in 1961; Bob Knight played on that team long before coaching the Hoosiers to their crowning achievement 15 years later.
HPI Analysis: How a '100%' Hoosier Republican helped LBJ sign civil rights, voting acts

By BRIAN A. HOWEY

INDIANAPOLIS – Late last October during a pandemic, I joined a diverse group of about 5,000 north Indianapolis voters at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church on a Saturday morning. It took five and a half hours for us to vote. While there was some grumbling, the prevailing sentiment was how the powers that be need to make it easier to vote. In this lull between election cycles, the Republican and Democrat battlefront now lies with the divisive issues of immigration and voting rights. National Republicans effectively became the “Party of Trump” in 2020. The GOP didn’t pass a party platform before watching President Trump become the first since Herbert Hoover to preside over the loss of both chambers of Congress and the White House within a single term. The Trump presidential era has been characterized as xenophobic in its use of racial “dog whistles” as the former president concentrated on adding white, male voters instead of expanding its reach to minorities, as advocated by then RNC Chairman Reince Priebus’s 2013 “autopsy” report of the 2012 election. It recommended the GOP reach out to a diverse electorate, something the 2020 Trump campaign was able to do, picking up a modest uptick Latino male support in anti-Castro South Florida and in Texas, though that demographic is hardly a monolithic entity.
Atomic! Statehouse showdown Monday; Cig tax hike on ropes; Vouchers into budget; Dillinger-Holley reunion Saturday

By BRIAN A. HOWEY, in Indianapolis

1. Statehouse showdown Monday: Monday will be showdown day at the Indiana Statehouse. That's when the Republican super majorities in the House and Senate are set to pass legislation that would allow the Legislative Council to call a special session during public emergencies like we've experienced for the past year during this pandemic. Gov. Eric Holcomb was asked what he would do if such an enrolled act would reached his desk. “I cannot skirt my duty and do something that I believe is unconstitutional,” Holcomb said at his weekly pandemic press conference Wednesday. “So yes, I can answer your question with four letters and it’s V-E-T-O.” Former Indiana Supreme Court Justice Frank Sullivan Jr. told the Senate Rules Committee under the control of Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray last month that SB 407 would violate the Indiana Supreme Court’s long-standing precedent that it is unconstitutional for one branch of government to subject another branch to its “coercive influence.” Sullivan added, “If the governor’s power to handle emergencies needs to be reduced, do it in a way that the Constitution permits. You have plenty of options in that regard. And if you decide that the Legislature does need power that the Constitution does not now give it, the right way to do that is by a constitutional amendment, not an unconstitutional bill.” Sen. Bray: “The legislature should have a larger role in this process and so, I think that’s very important. Our caucus thinks so and I think most Hoosiers feel the same.” House Speaker Todd Huston: “I want to be clear – we have a great working relationship, the administration and the two bodies. Again, it’s just a disagreement. We’ll let the courts decide and we’ll have an answer moving forward.”
HPI Analysis: Banks advocates transformed GOP should seek working class voter

By BRIAN A. HOWEY

INDIANAPOLIS – Following the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection, a number of big corporations announced they would no longer be giving campaign contributions to the 140 House Members who refused to accept the Electoral College results. In a memo to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, House Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks appears to say, “Bring it on.” Banks is advocating an embrace of former president Donald Trump, saying his Jan. 6 “gift didn’t come with a receipt.” He believes that the Republican Party “embrace our new coalition” as the party of the working class. “In the last five years, the GOP has undergone a coalitional transformation and is now the party of the working class,” Banks tweeted Wednesday. “We should embrace that. Not fight it.”
Gov. Holcomb promises a V.E.T.O.

By BRIAN A. HOWEY

INDIANAPOLIS – Gov. Eric Holcomb answered the most pertinent question at the Statehouse this week: What would he do with engrossed legislation that would curb his powers and allow the General Assembly to call itself into special session. “I cannot skirt my duty and do something that I believe is unconstitutional,” Holcomb said at his weekly pandemic press conference Wednesday. “So yes, I can answer your question with four letters and it’s V-E-T-O.” The Indiana Senate voted Monday giving the General Assembly the authority to convene an “emergency session” in an amended HB1123. Indiana’s Constitution specifically states only the governor is authorized to call the Legislature back to the Statehouse after lawmakers have adjourned for the year.
Atomic! Walensky's 'impending doom'; Beshear to lobby Holcomb on masks; R.I.P. Hans

By BRIAN A. HOWEY, in Indianapolis

1. Morning in America delayed: This was supposed to be the 21st Century version of morning in America, where we could see the light at the end of the tunnel as more than a million Hoosiers received the COVID-19 miracle vaccine. A CDC study found the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine 90% effective in a study of 4,000 health care workers. But on Monday, we watched a "scared" new CDC Director Rochelle Walensky conveying a feeling of "impending doom" over a materializing fourth pandemic wave. “We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope," an emotional Walensky said. "But right now, I’m scared. I’m going to lose the script, and I’m going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom,” she said. Cases of the virus are up about 10% over the past week from the previous week, to about 60,000 cases per day, with both hospitalizations and deaths ticking up as well. Michigan led the nation in new cases with a 57% increase while hospitalizations were up by 47%. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear expressed hope that Gov. Eric Holcomb would reevaluate his decision to change Indiana's mask mandate for an advisory on April 6, calling him "A reasonable person." Beshear added, "We have had good conversations. This is one I hope he reconsiders. If I have the opportunity, I’ll certainly ask him personally to reconsider.”
Atomic! Another Trump lie; Dominion sues Fox; IN jobless rate 4%; Mask 'advisory'; Sec. Pete testifies before Congress

By BRIAN A. HOWEY, in Indianapolis

1. Another Trump lie: This is why Donald Trump is probably done as a credible national figure: On Fox News' Laura Ingraham Show Wednesday, he said of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol siege: "It was zero threat, right from the start, it was zero threat. Look, they went in. They shouldn't have done it. Some of them went in and they're hugging and kissing the police and the guards. You know, they had great relationships. A lot of the people were waved in, and then they walked in and they walked out. They're persecuting a lot of those people. And some of them should be — some things should happen to them." Of course, most Americans have seen the videos that revealed the true story: That Trump's supporters assaulted Capitol police, killing Officer Brian Sicknick with bear spray and injuring some 130 others with concussions, burns and fractures. Two other officers committed suicide afterwards. You can view this American carnage here. Trump has a history of lying about things that video disproves. He lies about things he doesn't need to lie about. He lied about the COVID-19 threat that has killed more than 12,500 Hoosiers and 540,000 Americans. This whopper was laid upon the foundation of "the Big Lie," that he actually won an election that data shows he lost by more than 7 million votes. The Capitol insurrection took play because he sought Vice President Mike Pence and Republicans in Congress to "overturn" (as he put it) the will of the people.
HPI Analysis: Holcomb steers through virus gauntlet as we approach end game

By BRIAN A. HOWEY

INDIANAPOLIS – Last October, Gov. Eric Holcomb and Indiana Republican Chairman Kyle Hupfer pulled into a parking lot in Shelburn, Ind., where the governor did a media avail with the local press. The power pair then disappeared momentarily into the governor’s black Toyota before emerging adorned in Hawaiian shirts. It was meant to be a bow to the fashionable Sullivan County Republican Chairman Bill Springer before they addressed his Lincoln Day luncheon. But Springer turned the tables on them out of apparent respect, wearing a three-piece black suit. The conservative, Trump-loving Sullivan County Republicans were partially masked for the meal, and during about a roughly 20-minute Q&A that Holcomb and Hupfer conducted, nary a complaint was heard on how the governor was handling the pandemic. The pundit class isn’t needed to validate Holcomb’s job performance during the unprecedented pandemic of 2020-21. A more thorough measure came on Nov. 3 when 1.7 million Hoosiers, or 56.5% of voters, decided to send him back for a second term in a race waged against a former state health commissioner.
HPI Interview: INDem Chairman Schmuhl on reviving party

By BRIAN A. HOWEY

INDIANAPOLIS – When Mike Schmuhl took the helm of the beleaguered and increasingly irrelevant Indiana Democratic Party on Saturday, the clock was ticking … about 21 months before the 2022 mid-term election. But in roughly the same time period between January 2019 and March 2020, the 38-year-old South Bend venture capitalist had taken an obscure Mayor Pete Buttigieg from a “why is he running for president” to managing a $100 million campaign that won the tormented Iowa caucuses. Indiana Democrats have had attorneys, former congressional and gubernatorial operatives installed as chairs, but none like Schmuhl’s unique pedigree. In an HPI Interview mid-day Tuesday, Schmuhl appeared undaunted at the towering task at hand and the narrow time frame.
Horse Race: Hupfer elected to second term

Howey Politics Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Republican State Central Committee unanimously reelected Kyle Hupfer to a second four-year term as state party chairman. Indiana Secretary of State Holli Sullivan was elected vice chairwoman with Chuck Williams and Mary Martin being elected treasurer and secretary, respectively. Sullivan and Williams were reelected to their positions while Martin is new to the leadership team. “I’m excited to begin a second term as party chairman and honored to have the trust of Gov. Holcomb and the Republican State Committee to continue serving in this role,” Hupfer said. “The mission in 2022 of protecting our supermajorities in the state legislature, reelecting Sen. Todd Young and our U.S. House delegation, and electing our Republican slate of statewide candidates begins now. I’m excited to work with Holli, Chuck, Mary and the rest of the Republican team to keep our winning streak going.”
Atomic! Center of the Basketball Universe; IU coach search; Holcomb to address state Tuesday

By BRIAN A. HOWEY, in Indianapolis

1. Eggs in the Center of the Basketball Universe: While the State of Indiana basks in its current status as the Center of the Basketball Universe, it comes with a split screen. While upsets marked the first two rounds making for intense interest, Purdue was the only native team to make the Big Dance, but quickly exited on Friday night with a loss to tough North Texas State, continuing its historical futility in the NCAA tournament. Going in, the Big Ten was the power conference with nine teams making the field. As of this morning, only Michigan, Iowa and Maryland remain. For Hoosier partisans, the most interesting development on Saturday was retired Purdue Coach Gene Keady pulling up to Coach Bobby Knight’s Bloomington home for a visit. Undefeated Gonzaga appears poised to become the first team since the 1976 IU Hoosiers to win a championship unblemished. But as I noted last week, Tom Brady (New England Patriots in 2008) and John Calipari (Kentucky in 2017) can attest to the notion of going for that undefeated season at Lucas Oil Stadium is a difficult endeavor. All of this is occurring in the midst of a pandemic. Saturday brought Marion County health officials out to tame big, maskless crowds at the Bottleworks District. But otherwise, Indy is aglow in, perhaps, the most fascinating tournament in recent memory.
HPI Analysis: Chairman Shine on Indiana political party evolution

By BRIAN A. HOWEY

FORT WAYNE – Since 1961, Allen County Republicans have been led by just two chairmen, Orvas Beers and Steve Shine, who was reelected on March 6. When Beers took the GOP mantle, the United States was less than a decade into a new technology – television. When Shine took over the party in 1993, conservative talk radio was coming in bloom and the new forum of the day, the World Wide Web, was just a few years away from wide use. “The job was changing when I took it in 1993,” Shine, the dean of Indiana GOP county chairs, told Howey Politics Indiana on Tuesday. “What has happened is it’s no longer picking favorites. It’s no longer telling people they have permission to run or they can’t run. It’s no longer telling a candidate how to run their campaign, unless it is out of bounds.” During the past 60 years, Indiana’s political parties have realigned in profound ways. After a license branch scandal in South Bend that involved the purchase of a race horse, Gov. Robert Orr moved to decouple the Bureau of Motor Vehicles from political parties.
Horse Race: Sullivan tabbed for SoS; Conrad ponders challenge

By BRIAN A. HOWEY

INDIANAPOLIS – Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Tuesday that State Rep. Holli Sullivan has been selected to be the new secretary of state replacing Connie Lawson. “Not only Sec. Sullivan has worked with Connie Lawson, (they’ve) worked on mutual interests,” said Holcomb, who predicted a “seamless transition.” The Evansville Republican, who has no experience conducting an election, could face a Republican Convention challenge from Newton County Commissioner Kyle D. Conrad. “With the appointment of an inexperienced Secretary of State now in charge of our elections, I feel it’s time I offer up my 30 years of election administration experience to the people of Indiana, which was overlooked in the recent appointment process,” Conrad told HPI on Wednesday.
Atomic! INDems, GOP reorganize CDs; Vaccine & Republicans; Purdue makes Big Dance; Brees retires

By BRIAN A. HOWEY, in Indianapolis

1. Indiana political parties reorganize: Indiana's two major political parties reorganized on Saturday. Gary Mayor Jerome Prince will take the helm of the 1st CD Democrats, with State Sen. Karen Tallian as vice chair. Linda Lawson, the former state legislator and 2020 lieutenant governor nominee, was elected 9th CD vice chair. On March 20, Democrats will choose a new state chair between Mike Schmuhl, Trish Whitcomb and Tom Wallace. Republican Chairman Kyle Hufer will get a second term at the helm of the GOP. Former state senator Randy Head was elected to chair the 4th CD Republicans and State Rep. Sharon Negele will serve as vice chair. Republican Congressional District Chairs: CD1: Chair Michael Simpson (Porter County); Vice Chair Rachelle Baker (Lake); CD2: Chair Zachery Potts (St. Joseph), Vice Chair Courtney Papa (Elkhart); CD3: Chair Patricia Brown, (LaGrange), Vice Chair Richard Ring (DeKalb); CD4: Chair Randall Head (Cass), Vice Chair Sharon Negele (Fountain); CD5: Chair Judy Buck (Howard), Vice Chair Kyle Walker (Marion); CD6: Chair Misty Hollis (Wayne), Vice Chair DeWayne Hines (Bartholomew); CD7: Chair Lesa Dietrick (Marion), Vice Chair Jefferson Shreve (Marion); CD8: Chair Don Hayes (DuBois), Vice Chair Brenda Goff (Posey); and CD9: Chair Jamey Noel (Clark), Vice Chair Beth Boyce (Johnson). Democrat Congressional District Chairs: CD1: Chair Jerome Prince, Vice Chair Karen Tallian; CD2: Chair Michelle Livinghouse, Vice Chair Chad Harris; CD3: Chair Christine Bohm, Vice Chair Xeryus Johnson; CD4: Chair Kathy Altman, Vice Chair Brendan Betz; CD5: Chair Cynthia Johnson, Vice Chair Peter Hanscom; CD6: Chair Annette Craycraft, Vice Chair Mike Jones; CD7: Chair Andrea Scott, Vice Chair Scott Carr; CD8: Chair Thomasina Marsili, Vice Chair Ed Adams; and CD9: Chair Adam Dickey, Vice Chair Linda Lawson.
Atomic! Fight over Gov's power; Biden's empathy & truth; $7B in relief for Hoosiers; IN 40th in life expectancy

By BRIAN A. HOWEY, in Indianapolis

1. The fight over gubernatorial power: Heavy hitters of the Holcomb administration - Health Commissioner Kristina Box, National Guard Adjutant General Dale Lyles, Homeland Security Director Steve Cox, FSSA Commissioner Jennifer Sullivan, Local Government Finance Director Wes Bennett, and Public Access Counselor Luke Britt appeared before the Senate Rules Committee Thursday to push back on General Assembly efforts to pare back gubernatorial power during emergencies. Box defended Gov. Eric Holcomb's emergency orders which allowed her department to “quickly and directly” work with hospitals as the pandemic began unfolding a year ago. “Our ability to respond efficiently and effectively to this once-in-a-lifetime emergency has been tied to the governor’s executive orders,” Box said. “This was especially crucial in those first several months when we had to deal with issues as they arose and address them immediately.” State Sen. Sue Glick: “I find it interesting that so many members of the administration find it threatening that legislators want a seat at the table. We are part of the Constitution, we are a branch of this government. For a year now, we’ve been very patient. But we’ve been simply ignored on many occasions. We have attempted to deal with the governor’s office ... and state government, and we have repeatedly, like our constituents, been stymied.” House Majority Leader Matt Lehman (the House bill author) on Holcomb's constitutional concerns: "The constitution will take care of itself." Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray: “There’s a difference of opinion on that constitutionality, frankly, and that may not be something that is able to be resolved. But we’re going to try and do something and obviously if we do, we are going to vet it and make sure that it feels constitutional to us.” Lehman's point is interesting, in that a number of laws have passed into law, only to be found unconstitutional via the courts. Also worth noting: During the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19, Gov. James P. Goodrich was hardly involved at all. Masking and public meeting mandates were made by local health officials. The emergency laws Gov. Holcomb used were initially forged following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks and updated in 2010.
Atomic! Biden blitz begins; Young will counter; Gov's 'Moment'; Another Rokita side gig; MC mayor under fire

By BRIAN A. HOWEY, in Indianapolis

1. Biden blitz begins tonight: President Biden delivers his first primetime address at 8 p.m. (ET) tonight, coming on the first anniversary when COVID began shutting down American society. NBC’s White House team reports that Biden will discuss the sacrifices made by the American people, the more than 530,000 lives lost, and the current vaccination effort. It is the opening of the "Biden Blitz" with the president, First Lady, and VP Kamala Harris hitting to road to tout $1,400 checks that will begin arriving this month, along with $28.6 billion for restaurants (20% of Hoosier eateries have closed and 12% are on the brink) and other aspects of the $1.9 trillion relief package that passed Congress on Wednesday and will be signed by the president on Friday. The IBJ reports that Indiana will receive $3 billion, Indianapolis $424 million, Muncie $31 million, Anderson $23 million, Carmel $21 million, Fishers $20 million and Noblesville $13.5 million, according to estimates from U.S. Rep. Andre Carson. The money allocated for other counties in central Indiana: Boone $13.16 million;Hamilton $65.56 million; Hancock $15.16 million; Hendricks $33.03 million; Johnson $30.68 million; Madison $25.13 million; Morgan $13.67 million; and Shelby $8.67 million. The relief package has wide support: Morning Consult Polling reveals 75% total support, including 90% of Democrats, 70% of independents and 59% of Republicans.
HPI Analysis: Indiana grapples with pandemic year; economy weathered storm, but many challenges remain

By BRIAN A. HOWEY

COLUMBUS, Ind. – It was a tad more than a year ago that Indiana reported its first COVID-10 case on March 6, 2020. In the March 12 edition of Howey Politics Indiana, Gov. Eric Holcomb said, “We’re remarkably prepared and you’re seeing that play out right now in our coordination.” Purdue President Mitch Daniels told HPI, “I think there’s a good chance this will prove manageable, that it won’t be a cataclysmic global event. We can’t be sure of that yet. It may not quite be of the Y2K variety, but it may not be 1918, either.”On March 16, 2020, came news of the first known Hoosier to die. And three days later in the March 19 edition, HPI’s lead paragraph: “Hoosiers are facing their greatest physical and economic threat since the Great Depression and on the most crucial aspect of this crisis – the availability of coronavirus testing that would allow health and policy executives to learn of the extent of the spread and contact trace those in a cluster – we are flying blind.”

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Holcomb vetoes emergency powers bill

“I firmly believe a central part of this bill is unconstitutional. The legislation impermissibly attempts to give the General Assembly the ability to call itself into a special session, thereby usurping a power given exclusively to the governor. Avoidable legal challenges during a state of emergency will only serve to be disruptive to our state.” - Gov. Eric Holcomb, vetoing a bill that would have allowed the Indiana General Assembly to call itself into special session during a public emergency. The bill had passed by wide margins in the Republica super majority-controlled House and Senate earlier this week. Legislators are expected to override Holcomb's veto with simple majorities in the House and Senate, before Indiana courts rule on the constitutionality of the bill.

HPI Power 50: Crisis shapes 2021 list

By BRIAN A. HOWEY
and MARK SCHOEFF JR.

INDIANAPOLIS – After two decades of publishing Power 50 lists in the first week of January, this one comes in a true crisis atmosphere. As we watched in horror the U.S. Capitol being overrun by supporters of President Trump on Wednesday, the COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 8,000 Hoosiers and 350,000 Americans, shutting down our state and nation for nearly two months last spring. While vaccines are coming, there will be a distinct BC (Before COVID) and AC delineations as this epic story comes to a close. It gripped like a vise key figures, from Gov. Eric Holcomb to Vice President Pence. It delayed an election, closed schools and restaurants, reordered the way we do business and buy things, and will set in motion ramifications that we can’t truly understand (like the virus itself) at this point in time. There’s another crisis at hand. It’s our society’s civics deficit, fueled by apathy that transcends our schools and societal engagement, and allowed to fester by a news media in atrophy. That three members of the Indiana congressional delegation – U.S. Sen. Mike Braun and Reps. Jim Banks and Jackie Walorski – signed on to a protest this week, induced by losing President Donald Trump to “investigate” widespread vote fraud that doesn’t exist, is another indicator of the risks a polarized and undisciplined political spectrum brings to the fragile American democratic experience.

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