The Epic End Game of B. Patrick Bauer the Bauersaurus
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V17, N42 Thursday, July 19, 2012 The epic end game of B. Patrick Bauer a half hour attempt at an Indianapolis union hall on June Cunning and clever, an old-school 28. Informed and reliable sources tell HPI that the politician fights to stay in power June 28 meeting was called by State Rep. Vanessa Sum- By BRIAN A. HOWEY mers to deal with growing concerns in the caucus about INDIANAPOLIS - Embattled House Minority Leader the conduct of the 2012 House campaign, with consider- B. Patrick Bauer survived not only a caucus coup attempt last week on Friday the 13th, but also a marathon four and Continued on page 3 The Bauersaurus By BRIAN A. HOWEY INDIANAPOLIS - When I was a high school page for House Speaker Kermit Burrous back in the early 1970s, I remember standing at the Speaker’s podium for a photo with him, and looking out across the House chambers as ‘‘Neither party deserves to win this members gathered for the session. I case. This story represents a ‘perfect saw Chet Dobis and Jeff Espich, and, storm’ of misguided government of course, the little giant, the martinet of the St. Joe, one B. Patrick Bauer. policy and overzealous corporate I’m 56 years old now, and those ambition.” guys are still there! I have a term for the public servant who doesn’t know - Marion County Superior Court when to hang it up: Feet firsters. You Judge David Dreyer, on the IBM case know how that goes: The only way HOWEY Politics Indiana Page 2 Weekly Briefing on Indiana Politics Thursday, July 19, 2012 www.HoweyPolitics.com Howey Politics Indiana is a non-partisan newsletter based in Indianapolis. It was founded in 1994 in Fort Wayne. Brian A. Howey, Publisher Mark Schoeff Jr., Washington Jack E. Howey, editor Beverly K. Phillips, associate editor Subscriptions they’ll leave the Statehouse is feet to opt for the Senate. Dennis Tyler first, on a stretcher in either the am- became mayor of Muncie and Craig $350 annually HPI Weekly bulance or the hearse. Fry lost the Mishawaka mayoral race $550 annually HPI Weekly and This year, 2012, is becoming with only 24% of the vote. The voters HPI Daily Wire. the anti-FF. It began in the days and delivered an indelible message to Fry. 'Call 317.627.6746 then hours leading up to the February As they did to Senate Finance filing deadline when a slew of long- Chairman Larry Borst in the 2004 time legislators decided to hang it up. Republican primary and to Senate Contact HPI The first was former Ways & Means President Pro Tempore Robert D. Gar- Howey Politics Indiana Chairman William Crawford, who could ton in the same humbling method two 6255 Evanston Ave. have kept on winning any election he years later. The same year that Borst Indianapolis, IN 46220 was on the ballot for, but as a member was dispatched, the voters of East of a 40-seat minority with virtually no Chicago booted out longtime Mayor www.howeypolitics.com chance to regain the gavel, why con- Robert Pastrick after the Indiana Su- [email protected] tinue? preme Court ordered a new election to 'Howey’s Cabin: 812.988.6520 U.S. Rep. Dan Burton came replace the rigged one in 2003 . 'Howey’s cell: 317.506.0883 to the House floor where his career These leaders accrued nicks, 'Washington: 703.248.0909 began and declared he would retire. cuts, barnacles, and vociferous ene- Burton was smart enough to read the mies and insurgent PACs with an array 'Business Office: 317.627.6746 tea leaves after winning reelection in of conspicuous and hidden agendas. the 2010 Republican primary with a This was a precursor to the most epic © 2012, Howey Politics Indiana. paltry 29% of the vote. retirement party of all: U.S. Sen. Dick All rights reserved. Photocopy- Then came the parade of Lugar’s landslide loss to Richard Mour- ing, Internet forwarding, fax- Democrats: Chet Dobis, Dale Grubb, dock in the May Republican primary. John Day, Nancy Dembowski, Dave Republican pollster Chris- ing or reproducing in any form, Cheatham and even the relatively tine Matthews – half of the Howey/ whole or part, is a violation of youthful looking Dan Stevenson. DePauw Indiana Battleground Poll federal law without permission Some left for other reasons team – observed after the April 30/ from the publisher. v than age, wear and a minority wari- May 1 primary while 15% of pending ness. Jeb Bardon was drawn out of Republican primary voters were voting his district. Scott Reske was given a for Mourdock due to ideology and Tea foul district. Mary Ann Sullivan decided Party issues, a vast majority decided HOWEY Politics Indiana Page 3 Weekly Briefing on Indiana Politics Thursday, July 19, 2012 to retire Lugar because of his age and that he had “been to the ground and attuned to what the folks back home there too long.” are saying. The House Democrats who don’t reside in slam That may be the message Hoosier voters are try- dunk party bastions are hearing the unease about longtime ing to deliver this year: No matter who you are, no matter leaders doing whatever they want and for how long they what you’ve done, there are limits to how long we want want.The Democrats who live in those Democratic bastions you doing our bidding in Washington and Indianapolis, or – like Scott Pelath’s Michigan City, Charlie Brown’s Gary and even at City Hall. Matt Pierce’s Bloomington – know the emerging vulnerabili- A decade ago, it was almost unfathomable ties of their less fortunate, ungerrymandered brethren. to think that a Lugar, Burton, Garton or Borst could be They don’t see a plan. They don’t detect an end dislodged from their perches. Today, there is a new recog- game. And Hoosier voters see Bauer as a punching bag. nition that no one is safe. And it goes beyond our politics. They see a dinosaur – a Bauersaurus – who Right, Peyton Manning and Bill Polian? missed the astroid trail that lit the primitive night skies in The behavior of Hoosier voters belies the need for 2004, 2006 and now 2010; the one that brought climate legal or constitutional term limits. The voters will decide. change. There’s climate change in the Statehouse, and if Which gets me back to B. Patrick Bauer. you use a Grecian formula, a walker, an oxygen canister, if The reason that a good chunk of his House caucus you keep losing your bifocals and you think tweeting is for is up in arms is that a state legislator should have his ear the birds, well, it just might be time for you to go home. v friend. Revolt, from page 1 Gov. Mitch Daniels cautioned reporters on Tues- day of writing off Bauer, saying that he is clever and has a able fallout from the disastrous 2010 election that saw unique set of survival skills that managed to help him keep House Democrats lose a 51-49 majority to become a 40-60 his job over the years, despite intra-party opposition. minority. Exasperated caucus members then watched as “He’s very tenacious and a very clever guy,” Daniels majority Republicans passed a series of education, labor said. “There’s been suggestions before that they might and abortion rights reforms that assaulted the very core make a change and he’s survived. He’s been a survivor. I constituencies of the Indiana Democratic Party. wouldn’t bet against him.” The June 28 meeting moved from a question of Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan, who served with whether Bauer should oversee House campaigns, to wheth- Bauer in the House caucus, framed the situation this way: er he should remain as caucus leader. Sources say that the “The issue for House Democrats is that you’ve got a leader core of the insurgency includes State Reps. Scott Pelath of who is an old school politician, and you’re fighting over Michigan City, Charlie Brown of Gary, Matt Pierce of Bloom- scraps.” ington and Terri Austin of Anderson. It also includes State Kruzan told WFIU on Wednesday that with minor- Rep. Linda Lawson of Hammond, part of Bauer’s own lead- ity status, Bauer cannot hand out many favors or reward ership team. But after the June 28 meeting, Rep. Summers members with power. “It comes down to who has the best moved from the challenge and now appears to be backing plan to get you to the promised land,” Kruzan explained. Bauer. “The only way is to have a plan in place for policy, politics On Friday, Bauer was able to stave off a second and candidate recruitment. If they don’t think leadership attempt to oust him, preventing a simple 21-member has a plan, you make sure you’re a target.” quorum. Sources tell HPI that while some caucus members deliberately stayed away from that meeting – including Bauer himself – the insurgents may have been just short Next week, or next fall? of enough votes because of the timing of the session on a Indiana Public Media reported on Monday that two mid-summer Friday afternoon. Some were on vacation, Rep caucus members – retiring State Rep. Dave Cheatham and Lawson reportedly is experiencing back problems. Ed DeLaney – are calling for a leadership change in a time While the conspirators may have counted 21 votes frame DeLaney described as “in the next week.” in the intervening two weeks, sources say they didn’t cor- “There were just some issues that were discussed rectly follow up to ensure that anti-Bauer forces would about how the campaign’s been running and the need to actually show up.