Welcome to politics, Mr. Businesman. The main rule is to win:
Hoosiers used to the big ideas of Gov. Mitch Daniels' time in office may find themselves a tad parched as they wait for ideas from the early front-runner in the race to succeed him in November 2012.
Rep. Mike Pence leads a small pack of candidates for governor handily in campaign cash and enjoys the status of being the Republican establishment candidate in a GOP-dominated state.
But one of his first campaign promises, made the day before he kicked off his campaign last month, was that he won't talk policy until after the May 2012 Republican primary -- which he's widely expected to win.
"I was insulted," said Fishers businessman Jim Wallace, who is challenging Pence for the Republican nomination. "I think that presumes voters don't care or don't know that there should be a serious discussion."
Insulted? It's not personal, OK?
Actually, I'm sympathetic to Mr. Wallace's position. I understand Pence's thinking: Wallace has no realistic chance of winning, so there is no incentive for the frontrunner to give him ammunition with early announcements of policy promises. But as a votere, I'd like to hear a thorugh discussion of everything, especially whatever bold ideas the challenger (or challegers) might offer.
Wallace has laid out plans, for example, to cut $6 billion from the state budget while, at the same time, spending $500 million more in transportation projects. The Daniels administration has made a good start on cutting state spending -- $6 billion more would be a nice next step, would it not? And making such a big cut while upping spending half a billion in one area would be a nice trick. Wallace also advocates giving local governments greater a
