SATURDAY SENATE VOTE ON HEALTH REFORMS: The Senate version of sweeping health legislation would cover five million fewer people than a companion bill passed by the House, but it would cost less, in part because Senate Democratic leaders felt they had to win support from fiscally conservative members of their [...]
By BRIAN A. HOWEY
NASHVILLE, Ind. - Basketball season is upon us and hope abounds. Purdue is ranked No. 7 in the nation. Butler’s Bulldogs are 10th. Things are looking up for the Hoosiers in Bloomington. The Final Four returns to Indianapolis next March. And the Peru Tigers are returning to [...]
By BRIAN A. HOWEY
ELKHART - I watched Sarah on Oprah the other day. Just before 1,100 turned out to see her Thursday in Fort Wayne and 1,200 in Noblesville where she greeted adoring Hoosiers as “hard core patriots.”
The ex-governor of Alaska didn’t come off as bad as I thought she [...]
By BRIAN A. HOWEY
CARMEL - Gov. Mitch Daniels speech to Indiana Republicans Monday night has reignited speculation that he has his eyes on the White House, something the governor has consistently denied.
Friends of the governor have told HPI that while 2012 is still off the drawing board, they wouldn’t rule [...]
By BRIAN A. HOWEY
INDIANAPOLIS - Listening to legislative leaders, Indiana Chamber and Fiscal Policy Institute prognosticators earlier this week, you’d think Hurricane Mitch was careening across the state’s bureaucracies, funds and the legislative chambers.
Hurricane Mitch was the 1998 category 5 storm that formed in the Caribbean Sea, dumped historic amounts [...]
By BRIAN A. HOWEY
INDIANAPOLIS - Battle lines on controversial issues are mostly predictable at the Statehouse. But with seismic education reforms poised for hearing during the 2010 Indiana General Assembly, Senate Minority Leader Vi Simpson issued a cautionary warning that the game is changing.
Simpson told the Indiana Chamber’s Legislative Preview [...]
By BRIAN A. HOWEY
INDIANAPOLIS - If there’s a set of legislation that will get marquee billing next January through March, it’s House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer’s ethics package. It will likely get political billing as well when State Rep. Mike Murphy joined as co-author.
And that will [...]
By MORTON J. MARCUS
INDIANAPOLIS - Herbert Hubert is an attorney with Hem, Haw, Hack and Hew. We met at the local Hot Java. He wanted to solicit my participation in a variety of causes with a common theme.
“We know your reputation,” Mr. Hubert said. “That’s why we think you could [...]
Mary Matalin, CNN: Though there is much, much more in Palin’s book that fleshes out her inner core, her grounding in faith and family, as well as her policy achievements and forward-thinking philosophical framework of common sense conservatism, so far the coverage of it has constrained [...]
BAYH WILL VOTE TO ALLOW SENATE HEALTH DEBATE: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled his $848 billion health reform bill Wednesday to broad support from fellow Democrats - and the move quickly turned up the pressure on the last few wavering moderates to support the plan, which includes a sizable [...]
By DAVE KITCHELL
LOGANSPORT - It came as no surprise when Jon Schwantes said on Indiana Week in Review earlier this month that a controversy will continue to follow Rep. Steve Buyer for a while.
In fact, it followed him right into the next week when CBS News pursued the story with [...]
LONG, BAUER CALL FOR QUICK ACTION: Lawmakers are getting to work sooner rather than later, as House and Senate leaders announced Tuesday the chambers will conduct hearings in December on key issues such as property tax caps and unemployment insurance tax increases (Kelly, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette).
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TUG-OF-WAR OVER CAPS BEGINS: Republican legislative leaders and Gov. Mitch Daniels will push for a November 2010 referendum on the property tax caps. The Democrats were either evasive or downright hostile to the notion (Howey, Howey Politics Indiana). Senate Minority Leader Vi Simpson told an Indiana [...]
Republican legislative leaders and Gov. Mitch Daniels will push for the property tax caps. The Democrats were either evasive or downright hostile to the notion (Brian A. Howey, Howey Politics Indiana). Senate Minority Leader Vi Simpson told an Indiana Chamber of Commerce legislative preview conference, “If [...]
By JACK COLWELL
SOUTH BEND - Joe Kernan will fly into Hanoi in February.
Hasn’t Joe flown into Hanoi before? “I have,” the former governor says. “I flew into the neighborhood.” Actually, Kernan floated by parachute, unconscious, into a city south of Hanoi after his Navy reconnaissance plane [...]
NEW HPI WEBSITE COMING TUESDAY: Howey Politics Indiana will be converting to a new website late today. This means that for the Tuesday HPI Daily Wire, you will be prompted for your user name - which in most cases will be your e-mail address. You will be sent a new [...]
By BRIAN A. HOWEY
INDIANAPOLIS - I’ve been writing about politics and public policy since 1985 and the current health care reform sequence is the most complicated issue of my career. So what I’m attempting to do with this column is to work through the many elements that have brought us [...]
NEW HPI WEBSITE COMING TUESDAY: Howey Politics Indiana will be converting to a new website late Monday at www.howeypolitics.com. This means that for the Tuesday HPI Daily Wire, you will be prompted for your user name - which in most cases will be your e-mail address. [...]
This is the printable version of the Nov. 12, 2009 edition of Howey Politics Indiana. To print, click on the PDF icon below, bring to your desktop, then print as you normally would.
©2009, Howey Politics Indiana. All rights reserved. Photocopying, Internet forwarding, faxing or reproducing in any form, in whole [...]
By BRIAN A. HOWEY
INDIANAPOLIS - When the “aye” lights lit up next to the names of Baron Hill, Brad Ellsworth and Joe Donnelly in the U.S. House late Saturday night, the die was cast for what will likely be the critical issue of the 2010 election cycle: health care.
The Republican [...]
By DAVID M. McINTOSH
WASHINGTON - Last week was a watershed moment for the Obama administration and Congress – Republicans won the off-year elections, unemployment topped 10 percent and despite the tea parties, the House narrowly passed the President’s health care bill.
Historically off-year elections serve as a [...]
By BRIAN A. HOWEY
INDIANAPOLIS - I’ve been writing about politics and public policy since 1985 and the current health care reform sequence is the most complicated issue of my career. So what I’m attempting to do with this column is to work through the many elements [...]
By BRIAN A. HOWEY
INDIANAPOLIS - The Evan Bayh political organization is tops among Democrats. He controls the Indiana Democratic Party with trusted chairman Dan Parker minding the shop there. So on the day the first Democratic primary candidate- Bloomington restaurateur Tamyra d’Ippolito - announced a challenge, Parker released a poll.
By MORTON J. MARCUS
INDIANAPOLIS - Not every county in Indiana is like every other county. This is important to understand (particularly if you are a state legislator) because we cannot assume one remedy is appropriate for all ills statewide. Likewise, your county is not unique, probably [...]
Stephanie Salter, Terre Haute Tribune-Star: Think anti-abortion rights politics is simple? Take a look at the week Rep. Brad Ellsworth had. Staunchly anti-abortion, Ellsworth is a longtime poster boy for “pro-life” Democrats. He has been given a “zero percent rating” from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. 
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AMBASSADOR SIGNALS CONCERN FOR AFGHAN RAMP UP: The United States ambassador to Afghanistan, who once served as the top American military commander there, has expressed in writing his reservations about deploying additional troops to the country, three senior American officials said Wednesday (New York Times). The [...]
By JACK COLWELL
SOUTH BEND - Political columnists and commentators, as well as candidates and campaign strategists, seek now to evaluate what the election results mean for prospects of the party of “no” in 2010 races for control of Congress.
Their forecasting is as risky as efforts of [...]
Indiana Democratic Chairman Dan Parker released Hamilton Campaign polling data “from battleground legislative districts in Indiana” with Democrats rating U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh 80 percent favorably and 15 percent unfavorably. The poll comes as Bloomington restaurant owner Tamyra D’Ippolito announced she would challenge Bayh in the [...]
BAYH DRAWS PRIMARY OPPONENT: Bloomington restaurant owner Tamyra D’Ippolito says she was hoping someone with political experience would challenge Bayh in the primary. When no one jumped in, she did (WIBC). Bayh has yet to commit to supporting a health care reform bill. Two weeks ago, [...]
Gov. Mitch Daniels called for tax breaks to solve the health care dilemma facing American families during a Sunday appearance on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal and predicted that unless the Senate steps in, the reforms could be “ruinously expensive” (Howey Politics Indiana). Asked for his solution, Daniels [...]
DANIELS HOPES SENATE MODERATES HEALTH REFORMS: Gov. Mitch Daniels called for tax breaks to solve the health care dilemma facing American families during a Sunday appearance on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal and predicted that unless the Senate steps in, the reforms could be “ruinously expensive” (Howey Politics Indiana). [...]
HOUSE HEALTH REFORM BILL DOA IN SENATE? The glow from a health care triumph faded quickly for President Barack Obama on Sunday as Democrats realized the bill they fought so hard to pass in the House has nowhere to go in the Senate (Associated Press). Speaking [...]
By BRIAN A. HOWEY
INDIANAPOLIS - Casting the toughest votes of their Congressional careers, U.S. Reps. Joe Donnelly and Brad Ellsworth voted to join 217 Democrats and one Republican in passing historic health reforms on Saturday.
Hoosier Republicans like U.S. Rep. Mark Souder denounced the bill as a “federal takeover” of health [...]
Former congressman Mike Sodrel will be addressing a crowd of Republicans on Saturday prior to a Corydon tea party and at least one HPI source says it is a precursor to a fifth campaign against U.S. Rep. Baron Hill. Currently Paoli attorney Todd Young has had [...]
DANIELS HINTS AT ‘BAD NEWS’; LAYOFFS: Gov. Mitch Daniels hinted Thursday at more bad economic news for the state during a visit to West Lafayette. Speaking at a luncheon sponsored by Greater Lafayette Commerce, Daniels said state revenue figures from October were lower than expected (Lafayette Journal & Courier).
Barack Obama and Evan Bayh at Purdue University in July 2008 during the campaign. (HPI Photo by Ryan Nees)
By BRIAN A. HOWEY
INDIANAPOLIS - When I tried to contact [...]
By BRIAN A. HOWEY
INDIANAPOLIS - A neuro nurse. A medical supply store owner. A former sheriff. Three former Daniels administration cabinet members. A small town clerk-treasurer. A pipe fitter. A Lugar Series graduate. Two educators. Two city councilmen.
These are the emerging new faces of the Indiana Republican Party in the [...]
By CHRIS SAUTTER
WASHINGTON - Bob Dylan famously sang that you don’t need a weather man to know which way the wind blows. The wind from the November 2009 off off-year elections - like the 2008 presidential election - is blowing unmistakably toward change.
In 2008, Democrats owned [...]
“You’ve got to stand for something; Or you’re gonna fall for anything.”
- John Mellencamp
By BRIAN A. HOWEY
When I tried to contact Evan Bayh’s Senate office last week for some information and perhaps a brief interview, I knew something was up. It was late morning and the switchboard was [...]
By JACK COLWELL
SOUTH BEND - Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett is sowing confusion. What he sows is not what he hopes to reap.
Bennett, a Republican, praises the education policies of President Obama and hails Obama’s secretary of education, Arne Duncan, as “the right guy [...]
By MORTON J. MARCUS
INDIANAPOLIS - The damage done by the recession is still with us, even if the recession itself has ended. There will still be added layoffs as some workers are called back. More foreclosures will be reported because of troubles in the past two [...]
Maureen Dowd, New York Times: Michelle had gone up to New York to watch the World Series opener with Jill Biden and Yogi Berra. The president had dinner at the White House with Sasha and Malia. Then, shortly before midnight, he donned a dark overcoat, boarded Marine One and flew [...]
HOUSE TO VOTE ON HEALTH REFORMS SATURDAY: The House is steaming toward a historic vote on President Barack Obama’s remake of the U.S. health care system, with Democratic leaders increasingly confident and the powerful seniors’ lobby AARP about to get on board (Associated Press). A debate [...]
By BRIAN A. HOWEY
INDIANAPOLIS - Gov. Daniels is sounding the alarms over the health reforms once again.
On Wednesday, his office released a “Dear Pete” letter to U.S. Rep. Visclosky and the rest of the Indiana congressional delegation, calling the House bill unveiled by Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week “the worst [...]
By BRIAN A. HOWEY
INDIANAPOLIS - From an Indiana perspective, Tuesday’s off-year elections were a mixed bag. The passage of an Ohio referendum (by 53 percent) paving the way for casinos in Cincinnati and Toledo could complicate the state’s budget already under severe duress due to the [...]
OHIO PASSES CASINO MEASURE: Battered by a grim economy, job-hungry Ohioans approved casinos for Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo and Cleveland yesterday (Columbus Dispatch). Voters broke a streak of four failed gambling measures in Ohio by approving Issue 3 with about 53 percent voting yes. The measure benefited [...]
At least one of Indiana’s Congressional Democrats is signalling he will vote for the health reforms. U.S. Rep. Baron Hill (center) told Jefferson County Democrats, “There’s some angst out there, no doubt about it, There will be a lot more angst if we don’t (pass) health [...]
OBAMA APPROVAL MIRRORS 2008 FINAL TALLY: One year after he won a historical presidential election, a slight majority of Americans approve of the job Barack Obama’s doing in the White House. Fifty-four percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Tuesday approve of [...]
In lieu of the previously scheduled press availability, Ann DeLaney, wife of State Rep. Ed DeLaney, issued this statement late Monday morning: “We want to thank everyone for their huge outpouring of support for Ed, including Sen. Bayh, Congressman Carson, Speaker Bauer, Sen. Simpson, Mayor Ballard, [...]
OLD DISPUTE MAY HAVE SPURRED DELANEY ASSAULT: A 26-year-old legal dispute over an adult bookstore on the Northwestside may have been the trigger for an attack that put a member of the Indiana House of Representatives in the hospital (O’Neal, Indianapolis Star). The dispute involved the [...]
