Indiana Democrats Desert Their Duty

Indiana needs jobs. We didn't get them when the Democrats had control of the Indiana House in 2008 and so voters traded them in for a Republican leadership in 2010. And with that change of leadership, Republicans have for the most part, spent the first two months of the General Session doing the hard work of creating legislation that will establish an environment in our state to keep and attract business because Republicans know that it is business not government that creates jobs and wealth, and the only way for Hoosiers to have jobs and wealth is to have a business-friendly state. And in comparison to neighboring states such as Illinois, Indiana has been just that.

According to the October 2010 issue of Forbes Magazine, Indiana is first in the Midwest and tenth in the overall nation for lowest cost locations. And because Indiana has the common sense to pay its bills and keep government expenses filed down to match its tax revenue, we are one of only nine states in the nation to hold triple-A credit ratings from all three agencies (Standard & Poor's, Fitch, and Moody's).

Practicing common sense and keeping government at bay in order to boast as such is indeed hard work (even if only common sense) because of the incredible fight that ensues by the numerous supplicants who circle our state building seeking whose tax dollars they may devour. And standing up to such brute forces takes real guts and real leadership. But it is the path to prosperity.

We see no such guts nor leadership from the those Democrat Congressmen and women who fled the state for which they claim to serve and high-tail it to that neighboring state whose government surely sympathizes with them. You know which state that is-the one that raised taxes 66% during a lame duck session. The state that is more than $9 billion in debt and carries the worst pension debt in the nation. The one where President Barak Obama was schooled in politics, right next to disgraced Governor Rod Blagojevich. While meaningful bills have waited their turn in line, been refined through the committee process, and now deserve their day on the floor, most Democrats, including our own Nancy Dembowski, have chosen to seek sanctuary in this state of Illinois.

Abandoning ship to avoid a quorum is cowardly and irresponsible. Sometimes tough decisions have to be made, even if it means saying no to the unions whose demands taxpayers no longer want nor can afford. Sometimes it means saying no to the unions who contribute considerably to campaigns. Sometimes it means being the minority and not getting your way.

The loophole shenanigan isn't a new tactic, nor is it a Democrat tactic. In fact, as Pat Bauer, the House Minority leader pointed out in a press conference, it's one Abraham Lincoln used himself, jumping out of a window to avoid a quorum while he served in the Illinois State Legislature. However, what Pat Bauer left out was the fact that doing so was not something Lincoln was proud of. In fact, his biographer William H. Herndon called it something Lincoln, "always seemed willing to forget."

It is time for Indiana's government to stop acting like the government of those debt-ridden, unsustainable states that live from hand to mouth on unrealistic promises that can't be met, and start acting like the responsible leaders we need and deserve.

Stop wasting our resources and get back to doing the business of the Indiana people.