Republicans saved Indiana from stagnant Democratic rule

Jim Stinson
| Indianapolis star

In her recent guest column, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat who heads her party’s gubernatorial elections commission, said Indiana “needs a governor who isn’t afraid to tackle the tough issues that put Hoosiers first.” will put’.

I wonder where Kelly thinks Indiana has been for the last twenty years. The Hoosier State has one of the best business environments in the country (CNBC), has the region’s top-ranked infrastructure (also CNBC), and has the lowest income tax, a flat rate that goes down to 2.9%.

Republican governors have pushed through road projects, including investments in finishing Interstate 69, US 31 and more — investments that will be free of gas tax increases for a decade. Indiana’s roads have improved a lot since I was a graduate student and statehouse reporter in Central Indiana.

Such change came after sixteen years of stagnant democratic rule from 1989 to 2005.

There are of course some challenges. Former Governor Mitch Daniels’ big moves lasted just a decade and the Republican Party-led Assembly is now dependent on the double tax on gasoline and diesel. But voters appear to like the trade-off for lower income taxes — continuing to vote with a Republican supermajority.

So Indiana’s Republican Party isn’t in much trouble this election season. U.S. Senator Mike Braun learned to listen and compromise as a former state representative and now federal senator — to the point where it can sometimes upset the base. And his running mate is an undisciplined gadfly who will learn the ropes once he understands that not every fight is an opportunity to brag about on the radio.

The alternative is an out-of-shape Democratic party that doesn’t know how to propose a majoritarian agenda. Abortion and ‘books at school’ are not enough.

Jim Stinson is a former Indiana Statehouse reporter for the Gary Post-Tribune. He lives in Spring Hill, Florida.