I don't agree though that the governor is to blame. The Governor in Indiana is a very weak office. He has a simple majority override veto with no line item. Pretty much the legislature calls the shots in the Indiana, not the Gov.

Now, you and I can disagree, even loudly, about the priorities within that state budget. Different governors have shifted those dramatically. Frankly, it is their right: there are consequences to elections. But no governor has ever pushed or signed a deficit budget.

The closest to it was Otis Bowen. Who is revered among the light readers and those who do not value political consistency. But he passed, at the time, the largest tax increase in Indiana history to fund his programs. And started the Property Tax Replacement Fund, which is the bane of our existence since.

I doubt that Mitch's antics detailed in this Abdul post, contributed to the budget settlement. Regardless, it was sophomoric and not characteristic of many of the leadership qualities I've come to (grudgingly) admire about the governor.

He need to realize, that he is a major domo player in the budget drama. And that the drama lasts 24/7/365, not just now. He didn't properly set the stage for public/private debate, and then tried to shame the legislature into acting properly.

He deserves some credit for trying, but he gets a C-minus for execution. As much as it is a bitter pill, you've got to make the legislature think they're smart or they'll bite you in the ass. And some of those polyester kings have memories longer than the Indiana Toll Road.

My only vote goes to Ron Paul (but he doesn't represent Indiana–directly speaking).

I have to add a little suggestion to your response “Think Again,” I hope that any budget that increases (instead of decreases) the size of government fails. Governor Daniels would be best served to hold his guns and force our G.A. to pass a reasonable bill that reduces our government for he has nothing to worry about losing as he's in his final term as Governor. This will put a lot of pressure upon the politicians from both sides (both Republicans & Democrats) to get off their butts and do what's right. I believe that Governor Daniels may have some insight into the fiscal problems we face and believe me, under Obannon/Kernan, our state was deep in the red due to over-spending. Our current Mayor (Ballard) has very little concept of what being a fiscal conservative is as he's too busy grabbing his ankles to the CIB by wanting to increase our taxes. Mayor Ballard lacks any true leadership or vision for our city and I'm embarrassed that I even helped his campaign.

If our public servants would just learn a little more about basic economics and see what the US government is doing through Quantitative Easing, they would recognize that our economy is not in recovery and that government intervention is creating another bubble instead of doing what's right which is reducing the size of government by at least 50%. Sure it's shocking for people to hear at this radical decrease of government, but it's the only way we're going to survive what the US Government & Federal Reserve has caused, but…they continue to grow government by passing two bailout bills, dumping trillions into the economy, manipulating stock prices, passing a budget that will increase our debt by 4X in one year alone, cap-and-trade legislation, and universal health care. All of this will only set the stage for more chaos until the USA dissolves into a Banana Republic.

If a budget is not passed, the governor is at least one-third responsible: one-third of the blame goes to each house of the General Assembly and the governor. And you could make a solid argument that he's half responsible: one half him, one half the G.A. That's the standard by which Bosma and Bob Garton held Evan Bayh and Frank O'Bannon. Turnabout is fair play. And, to be blunt, it's good government for the governor to be heavily-involved in the solution.

And if I were a state employee, it'd be a cold day in hell before I'd leave those voice and e-mail message postings.

It is the responsibility of the governor to lead in these crises. He's the only fulltime problem-solver on deck. I had altered my opinion of the governor prior to reading this post. I'm going to charitably assume the goofball political hacks who advise him ran the show on this “Memo to Fellow Employees.”

Mitch: Stop listening to Al Hubbard, Mark Miles, Mitch Roob, David Shane and the other neocons. Pay attention to your political core, which is usually pretty sharp: the public blames the legislature and you for this mess.

For Christ's sake can't a leader step forward and bang some heads? This tit-for-tat childishness is embarrassing.

And yeah, Abdul, your Tweet is right: Fry is a loose cannon. And no, it's not funny at this late stage in the game. Espich is equally unfunny and unimpressive. He's been around since at least 1974 and he needs to take his ideas, and his Moe bowl haircut, back north. (an anyone name me ONE political leader who's good after 35 freaking years?)

A pox on all their houses.

While you wheel and deal with our monies, ensuring a future of more enslavement and decrying the other party as being unreasonable, we are starting to realize that the Libertarian Party is the only political party of reason.

Please understand, the vast majority of Americans now consider themselves to be a person without a political party. We take our time to read up on the bills (more than even yourself) and cross reference your voting records. We know where you live, go to church, shop and play. Yes, you can say we are the eyes and ears of our community filled by sharks and vipers ready to strike at the feet of us taxpayers and we are armed with a new gun which will revolutionize our ability to ensure you will never win office again.

Say hello to my gun. It's a fine piece of equipment which doesn't fire bullets like a normal gun, but rather, it records video and audio that is easily uploaded to YouTube. This technology is much more powerful than a single crazy man shooting up an office because he knows his government is a bunch of traitors and is quite easy to conceal.

We plan on using this gun for a number of years while watching you. We even plan on making snazzy campaign commercials showing the public where you lie and cheat them out of their hard earned dollars. In time, you will understand that you cannot escape the power of this weapon even as you try to intimidate us by putting your own “guns” in every public place.

Give up, you've lost the battle. Even the media has realized that they are not the only one's wielding this powerful weapon and they oftentimes feel quite consumed that a lowly blog gets more people talking points in our community than their news story which is filled with fluff. Good luck in your escapades for you're going to need it and remember, our video guns will be watching you. ;)

Sincerely,

Mr. Shoot Back (with video only)

Note: This article is written in sarcasm. The writer does not encourage or endorse any violence upon anyone-including our elected idiots.