Pence policy shifts with the tides

The state of Indiana, it seems, has no trouble finding money when it’s politically expedient.
A couple of years ago, when Gov. Mike Pence was transparently positioning himself as a potential Republican nominee for the presidency, the emphasis was on building up the state’s budget surplus.
Money approved by the Indiana General Assembly was held back to boost the surplus, and state agencies were urged to make cuts, even at the expense of basic services.
The idea was to build a record of fiscal conservatism that would burnish the governor’s image on the national stage.
Now, however, Gov. Pence finds himself in a very different situation. His chances of ending up on the national GOP ticket range currently between slim and none, and he’s facing a well-funded challenge from a Democratic candidate who nearly beat him last time around.
So when that challenger — former Indiana House Speaker John Gregg — began decrying the sorry condition of the state’s highways and bridges, the Pence machine shifted gears.
Suddenly, the size of the surplus isn’t such a big deal. Suddenly — with 2016 on the horizon — state highways and infrastructure are a very big deal indeed.
And, just as suddenly, about a billion dollars can be freed up from the surplus to set in motion capital projects around the state.
About the same time, Gov. Pence dug around in the couch cushions at the governor’s mansion and found — surprise, surprise — several million dollars to benefit a couple of pet projects that just happen to please his electoral base: Charter schools and abstinence education.
Worried about votes? Spend money in a hurry on highways.
Want to shore up the base? Find some millions to throw in the right direction.
All of this prompts us to wonder: Is this the most cynical administration in the history of Indiana?
From here, the answer to that is pretty clear. — J.R.