Thank You, Mrs. Mitch Daniels

Mitch Daniels is OUT!

IndyStar.com: Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels will not run for president

On matters affecting us all, our family constitution gives a veto to the women’s caucus, and there is no override provision,” Daniels said. “Simply put, I find myself caught between two duties. I love my country; I love my family more.

Recent reactions:

• Mitch Daniels out. Expect the pressure on Rep. Paul Ryan and Gov. Christie to increase dramatically.
• With Mitch Daniels out we can now focus on being bored with Tim Pawlenty.
• Mitch Daniels got 16 stitches on his forehead after getting hit by a door. How can u lead America when you can't lead your own face? [Background: story of the door]
• An hour or so after the news broke on Twitter, AP finally announces that Mitch Daniels is not running for President in 2012.
• Did Mitch Daniels seriously announce he's not running at one a.m.? He just wanted to make sure SNL was totally done for the year?

And from one of the RINOs at Frum Forum:

"Clearly he feared the unstoppable Herman Cain. Seriously, this bums me out..."

Why am I happy? Count the reasons.

MORE:

Politico, Memorandum

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Social Conservatives and Libertarians United...

Social conservatives and libertarians are united — against Mitch Daniels.

First, a libertarian perspective from Michael Cannon:

Mitch Daniels’s record also bears similarities to Obama’s, and his approach to Obamacare as governor has been an anchor on the repeal movement...

Whereas Obamacare requires states to open their Medicaid programs to families of four earning $31,000 (138 percent of the federal poverty level), Daniels expanded Indiana’s Medicaid program to families of four earning $44,000 (200 percent of poverty). From 2008 to 2010, Indiana’s Medicaid enrollment spiked: Adult enrollments grew 21 percent, a rate nearly double the national average. By 2010, Daniels had enrolled another 62,000 Hoosiers in government-run health care...

“Why is Governor Daniels,” wrote Pacific Research Institute health-care expert John R. Graham, “extending the hand of peace . . . when Obamacare has been mortally wounded in the courts and the U.S. House of Representatives?”

— Michael F. Cannon is director of health-policy studies at the Cato Institute (a libertarian think tank)

A social conservative speaks (Richard Land):

Most social conservatives are also fiscal conservatives. They recognize that a federal government that borrows more than 40 cents of every dollar it spends is committing generational theft, spending our grandchildren's money and impoverishing their future. Social conservatives also argue that government has such high costs partly because of the broken families, broken communities and broken ethics generated by moral relativism...

Perhaps Gov. Daniels interprets the emergence of the tea party as a sign that GOP candidates don't have to depend on social-issues voters as they once did. That seems unlikely...

Consider recent polls from the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life and the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). They reveal that tea party supporters, while motivated by the fiscal crisis, are also overwhelmingly socially conservative: Sixty-three percent oppose abortion, found PRRI, and 64% oppose same-sex marriage, found Pew.

— Mr. Land is president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

Mitch Daniels has combined right-wing statism with incoherent ambivalence toward socially conservative issues. Somehow that apparently works very well in Indiana. Could it work in the GOP presidential primaries?

More on Mitch

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America The Conservative

Today Gallup released new poll results that show that America is still overwhelmingly conservative. A summary of Gallup's findings:

• In the nation as a whole, Americans are about twice as likely to identify as conservative as they are to identify as liberal...
• Conservatives outnumber liberals in every U.S. state.
• Only in the District of Columbia do liberal identifiers exceed conservative identifiers.

And yet...

Our liberal president, formerly the most liberal member of the Senate, is lurching to the statist left, again.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is now at the top the list of the U.S. Senate's most liberal senators.

And the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives is one of the most liberal congresscritters in the land.

Democrats do not flinch in their quest to acquire undiluted statist power for the liberal left.

But Republicans are reluctant to respond to the demands of the voters by offering a clear alternative. Rather than diminish the size and scope of the state, many of the darlings of the Republican establishment and their admirers in the GOP punditry would prefer to water down the conservative movement.

Republican good ol' boys shy away from the conservative label and call for compromise even before negotiations begin. They call for a self-imposed unilateral truce on difficult issues. They offer to help their self-declared enemies. They praise the opposition.

They want a clear and easy path to power.

The unmitigated liberal statism of our federal government is not a reflection of the values of the citizens of this country, but of the power-greedy ruling class of both parties and the cowardice of the Republican party.

Discussion: Memeorandum

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I am Mitch Daniels, Hear Me Purr!

I've been warning folks about Mitch Daniels. Warning, warning, warning. Fortunately for those of us who have been ringing the alarms, Mitch Daniels has essentially committed political suicide. Hopefully it will now be a bit easier to persuade fellow conservatives that Mitch is not our man.

Yesterday, Mitch Daniels opened the door to a presidential bid...

During an interview at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association here over the weekend, Daniels said he has now been persuaded to keep open the door to a possible candidacy.

...and then he promptly slammed that door shut after throwing Scott Walker under the bus:

Democrats went into a behind-closed-doors meeting Monday, refusing to return to the floor. Today, sources told The Indianapolis Star that Democrat lawmakers have left the state.

Daniels, a Republican, supported their right to deny Republicans a quorum to do business and the rights of labor unions to protest at the Statehouse.

“The activities of today are perfectly legitimate part of the process,” he said. “Even the smallest minority, and that’s what we’ve heard from in the last couple days, has every right to express the strength of its views and I salute those who did.”

Mitch is so desperate to be "liked" by Democrats that he's willing to salute the fleebaggers? What a wuss!

...right at the moment when Scott Walker is being treated like a conquering hero by conservatives across the country for standing up to the unions and the Democratic fleebaggers, Mitch Daniels is faced with the exact same situation and he's choosing to give in. To find someone who was routed as clearly as Daniels was here, you have to go all the way back to France in WW2.

Even Jim Geraghty (once a starry-eyed Mitch Daniels apologist) is finally seeing the light.

Color me extremely disappointed with Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels right now...

...a concession to Democrats on major reforms like these will spur a lot of talk about Daniels’ toughness, or whether he’s too conciliatory to an opposition that has gone completely off the rails, or more accurately, out of the state….

I hope George Will (a Scott Walker admirer) will soon see the light too.

Headlines:

The Other Mccain: Mitch Daniels Boomlet Ends

Hot Air: Apparently, Mitch Daniels not running for president.

Say Anything: Mitch Daniels Caves

More:

Right Wing News: The End Of Mitch Daniels’ Presidential Aspirations

The Roughblog: Mitch Daniels is a Coward

Mark Levin: "Mr. Daniels, you get a little ‘x.’ You’re too weak."

Memeorandum discussion

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Update: David Brooks, known for his "bromance" with Barack Obama, lurves him some Mitch.

Repeal ― or Make a Deal?

Wherein Mitch Daniels proposes a "truce" on ObamaCare in the Wall Street Journal:

Many of us governors are hoping for either a judicial or legislative rescue from this impending disaster, and recent court decisions suggest there's a chance of that. But we can't count on a miracle—that's only permitted in Washington policy making. We have no choice but to prepare for the very real possibility that the law takes effect in 2014...

If there's to be a train wreck, we governors would rather be spectators than conductors. But if the federal government is willing to reroute the train to a different, more productive track, we are here to help.

[emphasis added]

I'm not encouraged by Daniels' use of the word "miracle" to describe repeal of Obamacare. Does Daniels think that repeal of Obamacare would be a miracle because he thinks a Republican is unlikley to win the White House in 2012? Does he think Republicans would somehow fail to repeal Obamacare if Americans entrust the GOP with opportunity to do so?

I understand there's a need for a "Plan B," but I see no reason to suggest that a repeal of Obamacare would be miraculous, even if the courts don't make it especially easy for us. And speaking of miracles, I see no reason to think that Obama and the Democrats would ever agree to the truce that Daniels has proposed.

Pointing to some red meat in Daniels' article, Jim Geraghty assures us that Daniels' proposal to reform the reform is not an "acquiescence to the permanence of Obamacare."

I hope Jim is right. But Mitch Daniels has not earned a reputation for an appreciation for smaller government:

“He’s kind of a more of a ‘trains run on time’ kind of guy, like a balanced budget kind of guy. He wants the government to be efficient but he doesn’t necessarily want it to be smaller... I get a sense from some of the things he’s done that his political instincts aren’t quite where they should be in a terms of limited government point of view. ”

Unfortunately, this new truce proposal from Mitch Daniels seems to comport with his reputation.

While conservatives are working night and day to derail the ObamaCare express before it derails our economy and our freedom, Mitch Daniels is thinking of ways to ensure that the train shows up on time, telling the Obama administration that he's "here to help."

I don't like that.

PS: Remember, this isn't Daniels' first time calling for a unilateral truce.

Update: Good questions from Protein Wisdom...

Is this the GOP trial balloon for “principled” compromise?

And if so, is this the kind of conservative-friendly usurpation of liberties that the Republicans believe they can sell to country at large?

Update II: I should hasten to add that anyone running for the GOP nomination for POTUS should seriously be considering the options relating to defunding Obamacare.

Update III: Mark Levin: I can’t vote for Mitch Daniels (2-14-11)

Update IV: Mitch Daniels’s Obamacare Problem: "Why is Governor Daniels extending the hand of peace . . . when Obamacare has been mortally wounded in the courts and the U.S. House of Representatives?"

Memeorandum thread

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Your Next President: Mitch Daniels?

Any day now, the race for White House will begin in earnest. If the appearance of national TV ads signifies the beginning of a presidential race, this weekend's unapproved Pro Bowl spot for Mitch Daniels marks the unofficial starting line for the 2012 marathon to the White House.

It's time to begin scrutinizing the likely candidates one by one, starting with Mitch. In a thumbnail sketch here's what you want to know...

Mitch is a diminutive, balding, ex-pothead Hoosier with Syrian roots, currently serving as a wildly popular governor in Indiana. As a motorcycle enthusiast who is known for crisscrossing the state on his iconic Harley, Mitch has broad-based appeal, even among Indiana's youngest voting demographic.

Through impressive accomplishments as Indiana's hard-working chief executive, Mitch has earned a reputation as a reliable fiscal hawk even as he reportedly eschews the "conservative" label. On the other hand, through his support for a VAT, and through dubious comments about social conservatism, Mitch has spooked many of the conservatives on whom he would depend for a successful GOP primary campaign.

Moreover, Daniels' deep "establishment Republican" roots, his connections with special interests and his cozy relationship with Democrat James Zogby's Arab American Institute will likely disenchant some tea party groups and other influential conservative organizations.

Now the details...

First, a generous slathering praise via Michael Barone:

• In 2008, Mitch was reelected Governor of Indiana, receiving more votes than anyone who has ever run for office in Indiana.
• Mitch received 24% of the Dem vote in '08, up 11% from 2004.
• He received 20% of the African American vote, up 13% from '04.
• Mitch won every age demographic, including the 18-29 year-olds.
• The governor did as well with independents as he did with the general population, winning the independent vote by a 57%-39% margin.

Daniels' everyman appeal:

Daniels kept it real. He has remained in touch and accessible to average Hoosiers through constant statewide travel. His view is always from the taxpayer's perspective and that showed on Election Day. Voters came to appreciate his preference to travel the state on his Harley Davidson motorcycle and his insistence to stay overnight in Hoosier homes, not in hotels. It's no coincidence Daniels did not use campaign consultants, and personally wrote the scripts for all campaign commercials.

Another Daniels fan explains Daniels' impressive electoral success:

Daniels was re-elected to the governor’s mansion in 2008 by a wide margin even as his state went blue. Voters rewarded him for having eliminated in four short years a $200 million hole in Indiana’s budget...

Among his most popular (and typical) accomplishments was to overhaul Indiana’s dysfunctional bureau of motor vehicles – reducing average wait times significantly and raising customer satisfaction to 97%. He is a self-described cheap-skate whose healthy aversion to waste underscores his every move and has rewarded him throughout his career...

Daniels' fiscal accomplishments are quite impressive:

After five years in the statehouse, admirers point out, Daniels has managed to lower property taxes by an average of 30 percent; transform a $200 million budget deficit into a $1.3 billion surplus; and insure 45,000 low-income Hoosiers through a budget-neutral combination of health savings accounts and catastrophic coverage. His approval ratings routinely top 65 percent.

Now some criticism, via our center-left friends at Politico:

Daniels recited from Kahn’s book: “It would be most useful to redesign the tax system to discourage consumption and encourage savings and investment. One obvious possibility is a value added tax and flat income tax, with the only exception being a lower standard deduction.”

“That might suit our current situation pretty well,” said Daniels, who served as George W. Bush’s Office of Management and Budget director and was a senior adviser in Ronald Reagan’s White House...

The so-called VAT, common in European economies which have stagnated, is a toxic acronym to fiscally conservative activists like Grover Norquist and Dick Armey. It slaps a tax on the estimated market value for products at every stage of production.

Immediately after Politico stirred the hornet's nest, the hornets came out!

“This is outside the bounds of acceptable modern Republican thought, and it is only the zone of extremely left-wing Democrats who publicly talk about those things because all Democrats pretending to be moderates wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot poll,” Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist told POLITICO. “Absent some explanation, such as large quantities of crystal meth, this is disqualifying. This is beyond the pale.”

Speaking of drug use:

While in college in 1970, Daniels was arrested for marijuana possession and spent two nights in jail. Daniels always disclosed that fact on job applications and was forthcoming about it in his public career, writing about the incident in a 1989 column published in The Indianapolis Star.

Democrats' efforts to capitalize on this snippet of Daniels' biography were described as "the great Marijuana Flop of 2004."

More important to Daniels' potential political aspirations is his relationship with social conservatives. When given the opportunity to ingratiate himself to social conservatives with a fiscally responsible position, Daniels failed utterly:

Daniels, speaking to reporters in Washington last week, said he wanted to declare a “truce” on social issues with the left. Daniels wants to focus on fiscal issues in Washington. However, in so doing, Daniels is signaling he is not so much of a principled fiscal conservative as he is a technocratic policy wonk.

When asked if he would reinstate the “Mexico City Policy,” which Ronald Reagan put in place to ban federal funding of abortions overseas, Daniels responded “I don’t know.”

If rendering opinions on abortion are above Daniel's pay grade, it's not because he hasn't had an opportunity to hone his communication skills. Daniels' résumé is golden:

Career History: Director, Office of Management and Budget, Bush Administration, (2001-2003); Senior Vice President, Eli Lilly and Company, (1990-2001); CEO, The Hudson Institute, (1987-1990); Served as director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee under Dick Lugar in 1983-84. In the second Reagan Administration, he was political director and head of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs but quit after clashes with Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan.

Education: Georgetown law school, '79; B.A., Princeton, '71; J.D.

Lately though, Daniels' has impressed all the wrong people. Lefty writers at the Washington Post, Politico, Newsweek ― all smitten. The conspicuous backhanded infatuation with Mitch Daniels is highly suspect and strangely reminiscent of the love fest enjoyed by John McCain, circa 2007.

While Daniels certainly has the right credentials to make a serious run for the White House, it remains to be seen whether his establishment pedigree would serve as an asset or a liability in the Tea Party era. Daniels would do well to show grassroots conservatives that his values are more in line with those of Ronald Reagan than with those of his good friend of four decades, Liberal Republican Dick Lugar.

There are other portions of Daniels' résumé that Daniels may need to downplay if he runs for the GOP nomination. From his history with Eli Lilly, an Indiana-based pharmaceutical company that rallied in support of Obamacare to his warm relationship with Democrat James Zogby's Arab American Institute, Daniels would have much to explain to GOP primary voters. Any lingering reluctance to identify himself as a conservative would be especially problematic.

Last, but possibly not least, there's the matter of Daniels' diminutive and unpresidential physical appearance. This is from our socialist buddies at Newsweek:

At 5 feet 7 (in boots), Daniels is shorter than Obama’s 12-year-old daughter, Malia. His rather uninspiring demeanor—reticent, stiff, and slightly skittish, with darting eyes and long blanks between words—better suits a former director of the Office of Management and Budget, which he happens to be, than a leader of the free world. And his comb-over is borderline delusional. As conservative journalist Andrew Ferguson recently put it, “I see [Daniels] as he strides toward the middle of the stage to shake hands with Obama before the first debate and comes up to the president’s navel. Election over.”

Are we getting ahead of ourselves? Jennifer Rubin reminds us that at this point, perhaps the most important question to ask about Mitch Daniels is whether he's serious about running.

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Next in the series: Herman Cain, Pros and Cons