Indiana’s outgoing Governor is Eric Holcomb. Holcomb has always seemed like a nice guy, and has mostly governed like a throwback to the time when Republicans were a political party and not a MAGA cult. (Mostly, but not always–when our demented, ideologically extreme legislature sent him the ban on abortion, for example, he caved and signed it. On the other hand, he did reject a piece of mean-spirited anti-trans legislation that our Christian Nationalist General Assembly then passed over his veto.)
The Indianapolis Star recently did a typical “retrospective” with the Governor as he leaves office. it was the usual sort of puff piece, and it began with a quote from Holcomb:
When I took office as governor in January 2017, I was determined to pick up where my predecessors had left off and make our state an even better place to live, work, play, and stay. I said we’d take Indiana to the world and the world to Indiana, and over the past eight years we’ve done just that.
How? With civility and a common sense approach, along with the collective efforts of Hoosiers from all walks of life. We’ve turned the Crossroads of America into the No. 1 state for infrastructure, with projects like double tracking the South Shore Line and completing Interstate 69 from Evansville to Indianapolis, and I’m grateful to INDOT and a labor force of thousands who built them.
Holcomb is either willfully blind or delusional.
Indiana routinely ranks at the bottom when states are rated on quality of life. Physical infrastructure is certainly important–although I might point out that our state roads are hardly models of competent maintenance–but when it comes to the governmental responsibilities that matter most to citizens, state government continues to fail. Miserably.
Quality of life indicators typically focus on education, the economy, the environment, social and health conditions,
public safety, culture and recreation, and civic participation.
Our radical legislature has waged a persistent and successful war on public education–a war that continues to see college graduates leave the state. Economists tell us that war has hampered economic development, since businesses looking to locate new enterprises typically seek out places with highly educated workforces.
Thanks to our lawmakers’ numerous misplaced priorities, the Hoosier economy is–at best–mediocre, and it’s not improving.
When it comes to health, Indiana’s abortion ban is currently driving ob/gyn doctors out of the state, exacerbating longstanding health delivery problems that include closings of rural hospitals and underfunding of Medicaid budgets and mental health programs.
Indiana state government is actually an impediment to environmental protection–lawmakers oppose even eminently reasonable environmental measures. (Indiana legislators recently tried to ban early coal-fired plant retirements that had been proposed by the utilities.)
When it comes to civic participation, Indiana is pathetic. We rank at the very bottom for voter turnout in general elections, and according to last year’s Civic Health Index, Indiana has consistently placed in the bottom 10 of all states on midterm voter turnout since 2010.
Thanks to extreme gerrymandering, the legislature disproportionately represents rural Hoosiers, and for years has pursued a vendetta against the state’s urban centers. Research has repeatedly confirmed that Indianapolis and its suburbs are the economic drivers of the state, but that hasn’t seemed to penetrate the resentment that has motivated members of the General Assembly to hobble the city. The General Assembly overrules local lawmakers on matters large and small, and tightly limits the decisions urban folks are entitled to make for ourselves. (It took three sessions before Indianapolis got our overlords’ permission to tax ourselves to expand mass transit.)
The legislature’s single-minded focus on low taxes–especially for the business interests that exert a major influence on our representatives–is largely responsible for Indiana’s low quality of life. Rather than focusing on improving–or even maintaining– the state’s physical and/or social infrastructure, our lawmakers shamelessly pander to big business and to the state’s culture warriors.
Most of the problems of Indiana’s governance can be traced to extreme gerrymandering. Among the many deleterious effects of partisan redistricting is the fact that the “real” election takes place in the primary, when only the most ideological members of either party vote. Republicans protect their Right flank, Democrats their Left. In Red Indiana, the result is the election of more and more extreme Right-wingers and–if survey research is to be believed–a thoroughly unrepresentative legislature.
It’s nice that we have a new Interstate and new tracks for the South Shore. Those accomplishments hardly compensate for the multiple deficits of a state that is competing to be the new Mississippi, but they will smooth the departure of the Hoosiers who are fleeing.
While the extension of I-69 south of Indianapolis may have started more than a decade ago, I believe funding for needed bridge repairs and other needed road work was provided by programs from President Biden and the democrats. That braun and banks voted against.
And what are our incoming state leaders dragging in with them from the MAGA epidemic of ending civil and human rights and lowering our income levels with their price-gouging donor payoffs.
“Former” Republicans never seem to be able to totally turn loose of that hold the GOP has on them, as if it is genetic at its base. Our standard of living in local suburbs are lowering as we are surrounded with declining infrastructure and losing businesses which are sources of basic needs. The decline is escalating as real estate prices soar in middle-income areas at the same rate food prices are soaring in the few remaining supermarkets.
We many soon find ourselves regretting the loss of “A Delusional Nice Guy” and wish we had him back in office.
Indiana is now the Mississippi of the Midwest.
Nicely said, Sheila. It’s hard not to be consumed by anger and disappointment/shame when considering how pathetically badly our gerrymandered state government is leading the state down a crumbling path to poverty, ignorance and illness.
I think Sheila meant to say that Indiana Republicans protect their left flank just like Democrats do. The new governor chose a reasonable candidate for Lt Gov, but the party thrust Micah upon him. I still cannot forget how Joe Donnelly voted against lower drug prices, a gift to Eli Lilly.
The only people who needed the I-69 extension were the people who made a killing selling their land to the state. The highway literally goes nowhere, and as Sheila pointed out, our state’s ability to maintain roads and bridges is abysmal, mainly due to years of underfunding. They raised taxes to help them, but we have overtaxed them by $2-3 billion. Why does any governmental entity need a surplus?
Indiana Republicans run the state like a business and have since I can remember. I enjoyed my time in metropolitan Orlando, and nothing changed when I returned to my hometown in ECI. The infrastructure still sucks, and the only time it gets upgraded is due to federal programs, which our reps vote against, as pointed out by Kkenna. The same reps who vote against it are the first ones with a shovel in their hands for a Chamber photo op.
Also, as JoAnn points out, we now feel the pain of the free market and price gouging. The utilities in this state got approval to increase rates in 2025 because everybody is complaining about significant jumps in electric, cable, sanitary, etc. Our sanitary board announced they will increase rates by 17% and 14% over the next two years. Um, how many wage earners received double-digit increases? In addition, the lack of housing stock is driving up the cost of housing. Young people are forced to rent, which is also also exorbitant. You don’t need a bachelor’s degree to work in retail.
One other note for those wanting to read up on the coming National School Choice Week: I found this great article on Truthout:
https://truthout.org/articles/millionaires-are-funding-national-school-choice-week-to-attack-public-schools/
That was after I read the IRS Form 990 for the “nonprofit” that organizes the defunding of public schools. Surprise, surprise, the billionaire Gleason, Walton, and Koch families are behind the entity pushing for public school defunding. Keeping track of these billionaires is Lisa Graves at True North Research. I would subscribe to their newsletter to see who is pulling the strings of the Republican Party:
https://truenorthresearch.org/2023/06/truthout-new-details-from-leonard-leos-trust-fund-expose-the-inner-workings-of-the-right/
I can’t believe he thinks his biggest accomplishment is making the trip “through” Indiana even faster! Oh the irony… the “crossroads” indeed. I am surprised the outgoing gov didn’t add, “everyone who lives here, loves it!”.
“When it comes to civic participation, Indiana is pathetic. We rank at the very bottom for voter turnout in general elections, and according to last year’s Civic Health Index, Indiana has consistently placed in the bottom 10 of all states on midterm voter turnout since 2010.” This paragraph explains much about Indiana’s dedication to self-serving politicians and those who vote. Nationally, when voter turnout is low, Republicans win. And therein lies the solution to the idiocy of Indiana politics – or anywhere else where Republicans are in charge.
Everything Republicans touch dies. Indiana being the midwestern Mississippi is pretty insulting, but then the voters in both states deserve their reputations … by not voting.
Watching the hearing news films from yesterday, an unwanted distraction from Trump’s name and face, I realized he and his MAGA Republicans are turning decisions over to state level government is based in Trump’s Fascist foundation. Using Gestapo tactics he has managed to bastardize one of Rev. Martin Luther King’s most famous quotes; he is “Using the content of their character AND the color of their skin” to fill his Cabinet and administration to transition this nation from the American foundation of democracy, Rule of Law and upholding the Constitution of the UNITED States of America.
We can look for Indiana’s state level of transition to follow Trump’s lead.
Republicans in state government don’t measure success by the quality of life issues Ms. Kennedy mentions. They measure it by the number of businesses attracted and the amount of money in the state treasury. They make it clear that they really don’t care about people’s lives. It is not a compliment that Indiana must offer extremely generous tax incentives to attract businesses to the state. Additionally, some communities are offering generous amenities packages to attract remote workers. If Indiana were such a great place for business and living, these incentive packages would not be necessary.
In addition to gerrymandering, a contributor to our incompetent legislature, and unqualified statewide officials like Diego Morales, is straight ticket voting. Indiana is one of only a few states that allows this. Voters don’t have to evaluate individual candidates on their merits, they just mindlessly vote for their favorite party. Straight ticket voting should be eliminated.
You are what you were when.
“You are what you were when” is an expression that suggests our past experiences and choices shape who we are. It implies that our values, beliefs, and habits are often rooted in our upbringing and past actions.
While we can change and grow over time, our past remains a part of our narrative.
That is all quoted from a noted authority and my mentor, AI.
Through effort and invested time, some people and institutions trudge cognitively forward through time. Still, some find a comfortable spot in their journey and mentally sit and rest until the day they die.
We are all diverse individuals with no two alike due to DNA and the cultures we emerged from as adults. Still, all groups of us can also be averaged or forged into other numbers using different statistical magic.
Hoosiers are, on average, Republicans, and average Republicans are Maga who blindly follow MTV (Musk, Trump, Vance, in order of influence).
I remember the 1950s as I grew up in that decade. It was fun but much less advanced than this millennium has been.
Getting back to Hoosiers and like states: Let your people go. You are among the states least able to govern, and these words have consequences. Look at the bottom states by almost every measure that has emerged as necessary in today’s world.
Is white Evangelical Christianity a cult? It looks, sounds, and acts like one. The answer must be yes, it is.
The true believers are in thrall to their religious leaders. Be wary of them because they think that God has asked them to do whatever they do. Zealots are dangerous.
It has long been said, “it’s all about the money”. I beg to differ: ” it’s ONLY about the money!”
On the plus side, Indiana does not suffer from massive landslides, volcanoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, or (so far) forest fires. If we protect our water resources, we might wind up being one of the places still able to get homeowners insurance.😏
WOW, and I thought my REPUBLICAN run state sucked.
KEEP asking what can we do? how can we educate nonvoters?
Re Sheila’s comment – (Indiana legislators recently tried to ban early coal-fired plant retirements that had been proposed by the utilities.)
Have no fear – they’ve brought it back with House Bill 1007, authored by Edmond Soliday (Indiana coal’s favorite legislator).
One of the comments from a story in yesterday’s edition of the Indiana Capital Chronicle states “It additionally provides an avenue for lawmakers to get tough with utilities that plan to close or convert coal plants — though its provisions would apply to any type of generating resource of at least 100 megawatts. It would require utilities to give regulators information on their plans. If regulators don’t think a utility can provide reliable service, they can investigate — then either approve or block the utility’s plan.”
Todd commented “The only people who needed the I-69 extension were the people who made a killing selling their land to the state”. We can’t be sure anyone was happy about being forced to sell their land to the state. When the state government takes someone’s land through Eminent Domain, it is rarely even close to a fair deal for the land owners. The state hires appraisers and when it involves farm ground the state is actually taking away part of that owner’s future income. Most of the time that loss of future income is not fairly compensated and the owner may need to take the state government to court to try to get a more fair compensation.
I forgot to add to my 11:28 am comment – While I don’t have proof, I tend to believe the extension of I69 to Evansville was requested by large corporations that wanted to save time and money on shipping their products.
We now have a man who has sold his supporters on the idea that he will run the state like a business. The state is not a business. It is a public service.
Utilities are monopolistic and now with GOP-driven public/private ownership, run for profit. The customer is the last consideration because we have no choices.
Braun is old. What happens if he becomes incapacitated while in office? The Lt. Gov. is self-declared white, christian nationalist, with no administrative experience, who talks to his god, who thinks women are purely vessels for reproduction and should be subject to male control if/when they vote. He would remove that right to vote as well if allowed to enact his agenda.
When looking at the state and country today, try to keep in memory what we have today as compared to what we had 50 years ago or even more recently. It will change for the worse without fail. Remind young people that it was our hard work that changed things for the better for women and minorities. If we don’t hang together, we may hang (literally or figuratively) apart.
Gerrymander, straight ticket voting, closed primaries, any dirty trick they can force through, means that Indiana will remain at the bottom while our young people leave in droves for a better quality of life.
FYI: A friend visited the local post office last week and found it very busy with a line of people waiting for passport services. I wonder where they want to go and if that is actually as easy as they might think.
Indiana–AKA: middle finger of the south—we are always ranked right up with our Nation’s finest–Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana. Infant mortality rates are dismal and have been for 30 yrs; education been in the bottom 10 for decades; infrastructure is a joke–the interstates need to be at least 3 lanes from state line to state line–partially because like Illinois–I-70 is typically down to one lane due to remedial patch work. My husband and most of his friends have been forced to leave the state–our family moved from Plainfield to Nashville, TN, 9 years ago for jobs. What I have found intriguing is how much futher along in the MAGA structure Indiana has been then TN–so, Indiana seems to lead the wave of Tea party/MAGA ideology before there was a MAGA party
“The Lt. Gov. is self-declared white, christian nationalist, with no administrative experience…”
JD; that part of your comments immediately reminded me of Mary Cathryn Barton, of the Democratic Barton family here; a former Nun and very strange person, was elected as Marion County Surveyor about 2008 I think. I added the “very strange person” because I knew her socially and tried to avoid her at parties. When interviewed after her election by an Indianapolis Star reporter who asked what changes she intended to make in the Surveyor’s Office her reply was that she knew nothing about surveying and would let her staff take care of the office business while she concentrated on her community service activities. Not only Republicans can make a major goof by backing a candidate who has no knowledge of the position they are campaigning for. Cathy didn’t bother showing up for work or calling in to report or for information and was asked to resign her position.
Years earlier I found myself in an IUPUI Continuing Education class with her located less that 2 blocks from my home. I was attending the class with a friend who also knew her; Cathy insisted on driving Maria and I to my home, she took us to her Volkswagon Bug where her full size poodle Samson was waiting for her. She knew my husband and insisted on coming in to say hello; he made the mistake of mentioning my birthday was the following week. The following week she again insisted on driving Maria and I to my home where she unloaded two birthday sheet cakes from a well known Broad Ripple Bakery whose owner’s son had recently been arrested as the Speedway bomber. Well; I told you she was strange.
Just an attempt to insert a tidbit on the lighter side during the Soap Opera Drama we are living today.
I was looking the other day at the women4change Indiana website and found that their youth engagement program is something adults in Indiana could use as well as youth. We need more people willing to work together on important issues rather than standing back and insulting each other. And I get it. I get that its frustrating to deal with people who seem to be engulfed in this white Christian Nationalist movement/cult. It’s very hard to talk to someone locked into conspiracy theories or false statements who just wants to argue and gets defensive anytime you talk politics No one likes being told that they are wrong or that someone pulled the wool over their eyes. Everyone wants to feel that their opinion is valued and that they are right. Everyone wants to feel heard. Lets invite everyone to speak at the community table not just one side.