Republican Flirt with a Strongman Government
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V21, N16 Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015 Republican flirt with a strongman government. They The allure of Trump are deeply critical of congressional leader- may be the anti-Putin ship. They view Presi- By BRIAN A. HOWEY dent Obama as one INDIANAPOLIS – Hoosier of the worst presi- Republicans are watching the Don- dents ever, under- ald Trump presidential candidacy scored by his mealy with all the fascination of witness- national address ing a traffic accident. Many see a Sunday night. They candidate who is articulating their see the decline of the deepest frustrations. But in the end, middle class and an they know evil and violent world that Trump sprawling beyond lodged at anyone’s control, and the top of they view Trump as the 2016 a man who is not be- ticket could holden to campaign be a har- contributors, who binger for tells it like it is. widespread collateral damage. Between now and Part of this enthrallment Super Tuesday on could be something as simple as March 8, we will learn this: They want a strongman at the whether Trump can helm. A capitalist Vladimir Putin. Polling shows that Republicans are distrustful of Continued onpage 4 Exploding cigar Governor By BRIAN A. HOWEY INDIANAPOLIS – Years after the last cigarette was snuffed in the legislative lounges, there is still smoke in the air, now emanating from the second floor in the explod- ing cigar Mike Pence governorship. It comes a year after JustIN obscured his HIP2.0 vic- “I just received a death threat tory, and months after the RFRA fisasco broadsided him. yesterday in my own office, and The first term governor is it’s largely in part to this toxic presiding over an economy with a 4.4% jobless rate, asphalt is environment. You have dema- pouring into road beds at a furi- ous pace, and his 2016 rematch goguery taking place from people with John Gregg finds the oppo- who are seeking to become sition floating above the issues like a phantom. He should be on president of the United States.” an upswing. - U.S. Rep. Andre Carson Yet, what happened Page 2 earlier this week was entirely predict- basis of nationality.” able. Tuesday morning, we learned And when reporters pressed that Catholic Charities had resettled him, Pence said his administration a Syrian refugee family of four in wouldn’t deny state benefits with re- Indianapolis despite Gov. Pence’s Nov. settled refugees. So the ban amount- 16 “ban” on such happenings. It came ed to political theater, and a huge less than a week after Bishop Joseph opening for Indiana Democrats, where Tobin spent an hour in the governor’s spokesman Drew Anderson charged, office where Pence made his plea “When will Mike Pence admit that his based on “security concerns” following knee-jerk, Donald Trump-like reaction is a non-partisan newslet- the Nov. 13 Paris terror attacks. to ‘bar’ Syrian refugees from the State “I listened to the gover- of Indiana was not only the wrong ter based in Indianapolis and nor’s concerns regarding security and thing to do, but also puts our ‘Hoosier Nashville, Ind. It was founded prayerfully considered his request Hospitality’ reputation in jeopardy? in 1994 in Fort Wayne. that we defer from welcoming them Hoosiers deserve to have a governor It is published by until Congress had approved new who won’t embarrass our state over a WWWHowey Media, LLC legislation regarding immigrants and lousy attempt at political gain. We can refugees,” Tobin said in a statement. do better.” 405 Massachusetts Ave., “I informed the governor prior to the This all came a day after Suite 300 Indianapolis, IN family’s arrival that I had asked the Republican presidential candidate 46204 staff of Catholic Charities to receive Donald Trump declared his position of this husband, wife and their two small a “total and complete” shutdown of Brian A. Howey, Publisher children as planned.” Muslims – even U.S. citizen Muslims This was followed by a traveling abroad – entering the United Mark Schoeff Jr., Washington perplexing press conference Tuesday States. It invited a furious rebuke Jack E. Howey, Editor afternoon at the Indianapolis Interna- from most of his fellow Republican Mary Lou Howey, Editor tional Airport, where Pence defended contenders (sans Sen. Ted Cruz), Maureen Hayden, Statehouse his “ban” that in reality never had any Hillary Clinton and the Democrats, Mark Curry, photography teeth, no statutory origin or judicial and even former Vice President Dick precedent. This Syrian family, and the Cheney. Pence found him lumped into one that detoured to Connecticut just that narrative, with the Fort Wayne Subscriptions after he announced his “ban,” had Journal Gazette’s Niki Kelly describing HPI, HPI Daily Wire $599 left Syria well before ISIS formed and the governor as navigating “a political HPI Weekly, $350 metastasized, and had gone through minefield.” Ray Volpe, Account Manager a two-year vetting process. It came as A minefield of his own mak- the New York Times reported that of ing. 317.602.3620 the 780,000 refugees legally entering Pence went on to say “I do email: [email protected] the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001, none of strongly disagree with the call that them had been caught or even linked would ban Muslims from this country,” Contact HPI to a domestic terror attack. before he was asked if he would sup- www.howeypolitics.com If you hear the late Congress- port Trump should he win the Repub- man Earl Landgrebe’s echoes of “don’t lican nomination. Pence responded, [email protected] confuse me with the facts,” you are “I will be voting for the Republican Howey’s cell: 317.506.0883 not alone. nominee for president of the United Washington: 202.256.5822 “I do strongly disagree States.” On the same day, Republican Business Office: 317.602.3620 with the call that would ban Muslims National Committeeman John Ham- from this country,” Pence told report- mond III told the IndyStar, “I think ers at the airport. “My concern with most Indiana Republicans consider © 2015, Howey Politics Indiana. the Syrian refugee program has to do him unfit to hold the office of the All rights reserved. Photocopy- with the country of origin. It has to do presidency. Those comments are com- ing, Internet forwarding, fax- with the fact that Syria is a war-torn pletely outrageous and irresponsible. ing or reproducing in any form, country whose own regime has been And I think they’re seen that way by whole or part, is a violation of exporting terrorism for years. For me most Republicans.” it’s about identifying a country of ori- Ka-boom. federal law without permission gin where we have security concerns. That Pence made his Syr- from the publisher. This is about public safety. It’s not ian refugee “ban” decision a mere 72 about identifying individuals on the hours after the Paris attacks, along Page 3 with 24 other Republican gover- Resolution in 2002 that paved the way for the nors (and one Democratic gover- U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, the civil war that nor), made it seem like a contrived followed, the Surge, the catastrophic with- and overt political move. That his drawal by the Obama administration, which administration couldn’t cite specific created the vacuum that ISIS now fills. authority brought the process to As a congressman, Pence and the fore, as opposed to the security U.S. Sen. John McCain toured the Baghdad issue, was a problem unseen on all Shorja bazaar on April 1, 2007, where Pence, of the recent Indiana gubernatorial dressed in a Kevlar jacket and helmet with administrations. U.S. helicopters flying overhead, observed, When Pence last met “Thousands and thousands of Iraqis were with the press on Dec. 2, he urged moving about in regular everyday life like a “national security and intelligence” normal outdoor market in Indiana in the sum- figures to weigh in on the refugee mertime.” A day later, 21 Shorja vendors were threat. This came on the same massacred by insurgents. day that a bipartisan letter from Ka-blam. former secretaries of state Mad- When Pence announced his “ban” eleine Albright and Henry Kissinger Gov. Pence meets with Bishop Tobin on on Nov. 16, his administration appeared to be and former officials such as David Dec. 2 at his Statehouse office. unaware that a Syrian refugee family was in Petraeus said, “We believe that the pipeline, with the Family Social Services America can and should continue to provide refuge to Administration spokeswoman at first saying no such family those fleeing violence and persecution without compromis- was en route, then backtracking over the next couple of ing the security and safety of our nation. To do otherwise days. FSSA spokeswoman Mari Lemons issued a painful would be contrary to our nation’s traditions of openness response following student Statehouse File reporting: “I and inclusivity, and would undermine our core objective will say again now as I did on both of those occasions, of combating terrorism.” The other signers were the who’s that the answer I gave was a misstatement, a mistake on who of the U.S. security, defense and intelligence strata, my part – one I openly acknowledged and for which I have including Samuel R. Berger, former National Security repeatedly apologized. I didn’t – and still don’t – recall the advisor; Zbigniew K. Brzezinski, former National Security question being asked or answered, and I had absolutely advisor; General George W. Casey, Jr., U.S. Army (Ret.), no intention of misleading TSF or anyone else.” former Chief of Staff, U.S.