Dr. Tony Bennett, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction has the show Thursday morning from 6-9.  You can listen in here.  Of course he’ll be talking about education reform.  You can call in at 317-228-1430.  Enjoy!

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels spent some time with the news media today speaking on a number of issues; his decision to not run for the Presidency, the current crop of Presidential candidates, the recent Supreme Court ruling that there is no right to reasonably defend yourself from police if they enter your home illegally and a number of other state issues as well as his future and his recent injury.

Instead of  paraphrasing the Governor, I decided to go ahead and embed the audio here.  Each segment is between 6 – 9 minutes.

Mitch Daniels -1 (Decision Not to Run for President) – 6:38

Mitch Daniels – 2 (Arrest of FSSA employees, Indiana’s current climate ) – 7:38

Mitch Daniels – 3 (Chrysler Bailout, Abortion Law Challenge, At Peace with Decision not to run for President) – 8:44

Mitch Daniels – 4 (Future plans, future state agenda) – 5:21

The only thing better than getting more than 900 birthday wishes (Facebook, Twitter, e-mails, text messages, phones calls) is the political gossip, rumor and innuendo that comes along with it.   So without further delay, here we go…

• Governor Mitch Daniels’ mood was described to me Monday as “majorly bummed” because he is not running for President. Daniels told supporters he was not running because of family concerns. Daniels really wanted to run, but he gave his wife and daughters veto power over that decision. The Governor will chair the state Education Roundtable this morning. I expect this one to be more attended by media than any in recent memory.

• The race for the Republican Primary in the U.S. Senate is getting interesting. State Treasurer Richard Mourdock put out a news release today touting a support of the majority of the State Party committee. However, a Dick  Lugar supporter called me Monday night saying most of those members are either retiring this year or face challengers in next month’s committee elections and may not be back, so Mourdock only has a third of the support he says he has. This race gets more interesting everyday.

• Indiana’s Congressional races continue to shape up.  John McGoff plans to announce tomorrow on my morning radio program that he’s going to take on Dan Burton in the new 5th Congressional District.   McGoff has challenged Burton twice in the past.  In addition, former State Representative Luke Messer will formally announce his candidacy for the new 6th Congressional District today.  Messer also has a major fundraiser planned for Wednesday with a lot of heavy hitters.

• Speaking of races, there’s reportedly some grumbling in Marion County Democratic circles that Melina Kennedy’s attacks on Republican Greg Ballard may backfire. The discussion centers around the fact that unemployment grew 70% in Indianapolis from 2000-2005 when Kennedy worked on economic development and job creation for the Peterson administration. Kennedy has attacked Ballard on his job record, claiming the city has lost 35,000 jobs since Ballard took office.

• Also, the new talk is Marion County Democratic Chairman Ed Treacy is giving up on the Mayor’s race in Beech Grove and instead focusing his attention on Lawrence. Treacy is reportedly recruiting volunteers to help Democratic Mayoral candidate Dean Jessup defeat Republican Paul Ricketts. The irony of all that is Jessup was part of the group “Democrats for Ricketts” in 2007. He even signed a petition supporting Ricketts for Mayor.  Treacy also allegedly has promised support to Libertarian candidate Ed Coleman in his City-Council race against Jack Sandlin.

• The family of Brandon Johnson can’t seem to stay out of the news. Brandon’s older brother and cousin were shot Monday night at 21st and Post Road. I’m told the shooting was the result of gang violence. Brandon’s brother and cousin are reported to be members of the Pop It Off Boys gang. My sources all tell me the Pop It Boys have been embolden lately because some members of the community (Baptist Ministers Alliance) have been coming to Brandon and his family’s defense against the police. Rival gangs reportedly haven’t been too thrilled about that and this could escalate some serious gang warfare this summer. That won’t be good for anybody.

• If Franklin Township School officials thought they had problems before, they haven’t seen anything yet. A number of parents are not happy with proposed District plans to close either Wannamaker or Acton schools. I’m told if the District does close the schools a number of parents will create a charter school out of one of them. Take their children out of Franklin schools and put them in the charter school. State law makes it easier for charters to acquire property from traditional schools. In addition, the schools are close to the interstate so it could draw students from Franklin, Center and Warren Townships, as well as Shelby and Hancock counties.

That’s all for now.

Today is your favorite political pundit’s birthday.  So I’m going to spend the day doing what I love to do, talking (we’ll be discussing Mitch Daniels’ decision not to run for President; easiest three hours of radio in the Universe), smoke a good cigar, have a few good cocktails, play a few video games, and of course enjoy the company of the Lovely Mrs. Shabazz.  In other words, it will be just like every other day. Why should you limit enjoying life to one day a year?  Back tomorrow.

Photo Credit: Seger Photography

We all know Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is taking a pass on the Presidency.  And as I had speculated earlier, he wanted to do it and only family concerns would keep him out of it.  I know the cynics in the crowd have a hard time believing the Governor, but I take him at his word.

Prior to September 5, 2009,  I would have probably been in that club myself, however one year, 8 months and 17 days later I fully understand where the Governor is coming from.

When you run for President, you just don’t run, your entire family does.  Whether it’s secret service protection, the national media rummaging through your trash, or the general hassle that comes with running, the one thing you can guarantee is that your life will never be the same.  And if your family isn’t on board, forget it.

It’s one thing to do something your wife and kids aren’t crazy about, like telling them you’re taking them to the beach, when in fact you take them to Beech Grove.  It’s another thing to turn their lives totally upside down and inside out.   To spare your family that type of grief and hassle is something that you have to admire in an elected official, especially when they mean it.

It’s one thing to run around preaching family values.  It’s another thing to put it into practice and actually value your family but putting them first.  It would be nice if more elected offiicials spent time practicing family values instead of hitting everyone else over the head with them.

Mitch Daniels is not running for President. I said the only thing that would stop a Daniels Presidential run would be family concerns.   Looks like I was right. Here’s the latest from Reuters news agency.

(Reuters) – Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels said on Sunday in an email to supporters he had decided not to seek the Republican presidential nomination because of family considerations.

“The counsel and encouragement I received from important citizens like you caused me to think very deeply about becoming a national candidate,” Daniels said in the email sent by Eric Holcomb, chairman of the Indiana Republican Party and a close adviser to the governor.

“In the end, I was able to resolve every competing consideration but one, but that, the interests and wishes of my family, is the most important consideration of all,” he said.

“If I have disappointed you, I will always be sorry.”

Daniels, a budget director in the administration of Republican President George W. Bush, had built a reputation as dedicated to reducing U.S. debt and deficits, calling them the “red menace” that threatens to engulf the country.

His decision not to run removes a Republican heavyweight from a field that many political analysts view as weak.

His decision not to run well may enhance Mitt Romney’s chances of becoming the Republican front-runner. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, has been leading some early polls.

(Writing by Eric Walsh)

I suspect that when Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels was first approached about running for President he probably looked at the people suggesting the idea like they were nuts.  But the more he thought about it and the more he explored the idea, it didn’t seem so crazy after all.   And after looking at events these past few weeks, I am now convinced that the Governor of Indiana wants to run for the Presidency of the United States.  I have read so may tea leaves I feel like the owner of the East India Company.   There are a number of things that have led me to this conclusion.  Here are a few of them…

1. A recent meeting with Ed Gillespie, the former chair of the Republican National Committee and who ran George W. Bush’s campaign.
2. The implosion of the current field of Republican candidates.
3. Cheri Daniels speech at the Indiana Republican State Dinner and the “Run Mitch Run” signs that were up all over the place as he spoke. (That would not have happened without the Governor’s implied approval).
4. Daniels’ upcoming trip to Washington and unpublished meeting with the Congressional delegation.
5. 9% unemployment,  $3.90 a gallon gas, $14 trillion in debt.
6. His accomplishments this past legislative session.
7. His closet friends and confidants are encouraging him to run.
8. He hasn’t said “no”.

The  most important one is number 8.  If the Governor wasn’t going to do this, he would have said “no” by now.  And for everyday he doesn’t say “no” I argue the odds increase he’s going to say “yes”.  There are a lot of rumblings that something could happen next week.  I’m not so sure about that now following his recent accident at the gym, but something is coming.

And I don’t think the Governor is being coy or playing political games, per se, when he says a final decision hasn’t been made yet.   He’s stated in the past that a run for the White House has to be a family decision.    So I would not be surprised if he’s sat down individually with each member of his immediate family and spoke to them to get their thoughts and they’re planning to regroup (if they haven’t already) and take a final family vote.  I would also speculate the Governor has told them the decision has to be unanimous or it’s game over.   Running for the White House will totally change the lives of those closest to him and if they’re not on board, forget about it.

Now granted, I could be completely off base on this one.  But this is what the tea leaves are telling me.  Daniels wants to run.  Daniels is planning to run.   Daniels is getting all the final items in place and dotting the “i’s” and crossing the “t’s”.    If he doesn’t run after all this, it will be because of something pretty big.  Either way, after all this I’m giving up tea for a while and going back to coffee.

Stay tuned.

I’m getting a lot of rumblings this morning that Mitch Daniels will announce next week that he is running for President. I’ll be spending all weekend doing the follow up and getting confirmation. Stay tuned!

I’ve decided to do some follow up to Indianapolis Public School Superintendent Eugene White’s statements about banning charter school students from returning to the district if they leave.  I sent the district the following open records request asking it to spell out the policy/legal authority for Dr. White’s decision.  I also asked them for a breakdown of students who left the district for charter schools and later came back to IPS.  I also asked for a copy of  Dr. White’s contract.  I’ve linked a copy of the request below.  Once I get all the information, I’ll be more than happy to share it with you.

The American Civil Liberties Union has just become everybody’s new best friend. A recent ruling by the Indiana Supreme Court held that there was no right to reasonably resist police if they enter your home illegally.  The ruling stems from the case of Barnes v. State of Indiana.

The case stemmed from an incident in November 2007, where police responded to a domestic violence call. The defendant, Richard Barnes, was involved with a dispute with his wife.  He was leaving his apartment when police arrived in the parking lot.  They questioned him and Barnes became agitated and started yelling.  Police told him if he did not calm down, he would be arrested for disorderly conduct.  Barnes went back into his home, police followed.  He tried to shut the door and stop them from coming in.  A scuffle ensued and Barnes was tazed and later arrested.

At trial Barnes’ attorney tried to get a jury instruction which said he had a common law right to resist an illegal entry into his home by police.  The trial court denied that instruction.   The case made it to the Indiana Supreme Court which ruled there is no right to reasonably resist police when they come into your home, even if the entry is illegal.  The Court held the safety of the police trumps the individual’s right to privacy.  The Court also said that individuals who are wronged by police have a number of remedies at their disposal, i.e. the exclusionary rule and civil lawsuits.

This is one of those cases where I can see both sides of the argument, however, I think a more narrow holding would have been in order.  For one thing, in some cases we don’t know whether  the entrance will illegal until after the fact (i.e. defective warrant or a mistake by officers) so I have no desire for a layman to make that call, that’s what courts are for.   I also don’t want unscrupulous individuals using their law enforcement position to enter a home and harass someone because they have an axe to grind.  Or worse, the bad guys posing as law enforcement.

I think the Court as a whole overreached and could have adopted the position of Justice Dickson in saying while there is a right to reasonably resist (which does not mean batter an officer) Barnes’ case doesn’t get out of the gate because police are responding to a domestic violence call and because of the very nature of domestic violence cases, police had every right to enter into the home.

That would have been a much better holding which would have preserved the integrity of the case, while at the same time not treading on the 4th Amendment.

You can read the case of Barnes v. State of Indiana here.