July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
'Mitch factor" could play role locally (02/24/06)
Editorial
Call it “the Mitch factor.”
Half-way through the first term of Gov. Mitch Daniels, the state’s top elected official has become one of the most polarizing figures in Indiana’s political history.
Some folks love him, seeing him as a visionary, can-do iconoclast.
Some folks hate him, viewing him as insensitive to the concerns of ordinary Hoosiers and in the pocket of big business.
Few folks are in between.
And that polarity creates “the Mitch factor” in the 2006 election campaign.
Ordinarily, Indiana governors don’t provoke this sort of response, either positive or negative.
To be sure, there were (and are) Republicans who find the mere mention of Evan Bayh’s name to be the equivalent of fingernails on a blackboard. And there were plenty of Democrats who weren’t fans of Bob Orr when he was governor.
But no other Hoosier governor in memory prompted the intensity of reaction that Mitch Daniels does today.
That’s largely because of the governor’s willingness to take on some big, controversial issues. Whenever you start closing license branches and propose leasing the Indiana Toll Road, you’re going to get a reaction.
It’s also due, in part, to the governor’s personal style.
His friends find him candid and forthright; his critics find him brusque and aloof.
How “the Mitch factor” will play out in this election year is anybody’s guess at this point. But rest assured that it will be a huge part of the equation.
If you doubt that, simply take a look at the local race for state representative.
Incumbent Republican Bill Davis has been an enthusiastic supporter of the governor, seeing him as a non-politician willing to make meaningful change in state government. Democrat Ron Liggett, ousted by Davis from the job two years ago, has been an equally consistent Daniels critic, allying himself with his longtime political mentor, State Rep. Pat Bauer of South Bend.
The Davis-Liggett race was a battleground in 2004, and it’s likely to be an even bigger donnybrook this year.
The question is: What role will “the Mitch factor” play? — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
Half-way through the first term of Gov. Mitch Daniels, the state’s top elected official has become one of the most polarizing figures in Indiana’s political history.
Some folks love him, seeing him as a visionary, can-do iconoclast.
Some folks hate him, viewing him as insensitive to the concerns of ordinary Hoosiers and in the pocket of big business.
Few folks are in between.
And that polarity creates “the Mitch factor” in the 2006 election campaign.
Ordinarily, Indiana governors don’t provoke this sort of response, either positive or negative.
To be sure, there were (and are) Republicans who find the mere mention of Evan Bayh’s name to be the equivalent of fingernails on a blackboard. And there were plenty of Democrats who weren’t fans of Bob Orr when he was governor.
But no other Hoosier governor in memory prompted the intensity of reaction that Mitch Daniels does today.
That’s largely because of the governor’s willingness to take on some big, controversial issues. Whenever you start closing license branches and propose leasing the Indiana Toll Road, you’re going to get a reaction.
It’s also due, in part, to the governor’s personal style.
His friends find him candid and forthright; his critics find him brusque and aloof.
How “the Mitch factor” will play out in this election year is anybody’s guess at this point. But rest assured that it will be a huge part of the equation.
If you doubt that, simply take a look at the local race for state representative.
Incumbent Republican Bill Davis has been an enthusiastic supporter of the governor, seeing him as a non-politician willing to make meaningful change in state government. Democrat Ron Liggett, ousted by Davis from the job two years ago, has been an equally consistent Daniels critic, allying himself with his longtime political mentor, State Rep. Pat Bauer of South Bend.
The Davis-Liggett race was a battleground in 2004, and it’s likely to be an even bigger donnybrook this year.
The question is: What role will “the Mitch factor” play? — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
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