Have faith in system

There are plenty of arguments that could be put forth against putting strict property tax controls into the Indiana state constitution.

A case can be made that constitutional limits unrealistically bind the hands of future legislatures.

A case can be made that the whole property tax cap movement is a case of short-sighted political panic.

But those cases weren't made.

Instead, rather than face the argument and attempt to win the debate, the House Democratic leadership - with Pat Bauer at the helm - has opted to manipulate procedures to keep the issue from coming to the floor.

There's nothing particularly Democratic about that. House Republicans have abused power in a comparable manner in the past.

But the Bauer method is far more heavy-handed than Hoosiers are used to seeing in state politics.

It's been petty. It's been venal. And it has not reflected well on his party.

Bauer's longevity in the House has long been a puzzler.

He's a man of modest intelligence, short on eloquence, and more focused on settling scores than advancing the state of Indiana.

He may also be right that the property tax caps shouldn't be incorporated into the state constitution.

But he ought to have enough faith in the system to allow it to come up for a vote. - J.R.[[In-content Ad]]