V21, N18 Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016 HPI Power 50: Statehouse clout shift saying it is “like- Bosma, Long eclipse ly.” This scenario is not conveying Gov. Pence when it resolute leader- comes to Statehouse ship. We craft impact, control our annual list on the premise By BRIAN A. HOWEY of who will most INDIANAPOLIS – The for- likely impact mulation of the 2016 Power 50 list the events of began with this question: Who has the coming the most clout year. Pence will at the Indiana dominate the Statehouse? headlines with Normally, the his shaky reelec- governor fills tion bid, but he that bill and begins the year the House speaker is considered the in polling dead heats for reelection, his administration and second most powerful person in the reelection ticket are coming apart, and the civil rights and Statehouse. But for the second time ISTEP stories create serious obstacles for reelection. since the Power 50 debuted in 1999, Legislative Republican leaders pick up from 2015. the speaker returns to the top, simply They oversaw the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, because he holds far more cards than Gov. Mike Pence and then, when a national firestorm brewed, moved to does. It comes in a week where the governor talked of create the “fix.” This year, with Gov. Pence vacillating on using is State of the State address next Tuesday to stake a position on civil rights, only to have his staff follow up, Continued on page 3 Feeling sorry for politicians By LEE HAMILTON BLOOMINGTON – You know who I feel sorry for? Today’s politicians. You’ll laugh at this, but hear me out. This is a very tough time to be a politician, whether running for office or trying to lead while holding “I’m filing this bill (SB344) as office. The women and men who’ve undertaken to represent an alternative approach to the us face circumstances that make current civil rights discussion. campaigning and governing un- usually challenging right now. There is not consensus on this is- Not that they’ve ever been easy, at least in my lifetime. sue and I believe having an alter- Our size, diversity, and multi- native idea to consider will help layered government structure; the number and complexity of move the debate forward.” the problems our political leaders - State Sen. Travis Holdman face daily; and the divided poli- Page 2 tics of our time, which make settling data and its attendant loss of privacy; on coherent policies especially chal- the migration flows that whittle away lenging – all these combine to make at some communities while causing being a politician in a representative others to change unrecognizably from democracy one of the most demand- month to month; the tensions that ing jobs around. Several features of diversity, arguments over gender, and the current political landscape, how- racial conflict all produce; the fluid and ever, give politics a sharper edge and ever-changing patterns of religious make it far more difficult to navigate. belief and identity that have shaken Howey Politics Indiana For starters, our political many communities loose from the WWWHowey Media, LLC discourse, from city councils to state institutions that once moored them; 405 Massachusetts Ave., legislatures to Congress, is less the decline of the traditional, objective Suite 300 forgiving than it was a generation media. America today is an uneasy ago. Political opponents are no longer place, and we see this reflected in vot- Indianapolis, IN 46204 just people with whom we happen to ers’ frustration and pessimism. www.howeypolitics.com disagree, they’re people who need to With next year’s elections still be shamed into silence. They can’t be almost a year away, voters are mostly Brian A. Howey, Publisher trusted, they can’t be negotiated with, just looking around. They like candi- Mark Schoeff Jr., Washington they’re self-serving and unpatriotic, dates who express their anger and and when they’re not incompetent, resentment, but that’s in part because Jack E. Howey, Editor they’re scheming, ill-informed and they’re not measuring candidates by Mary Lou Howey, Editor ill-intentioned. This rhetoric is not just whether they seem fit for the presi- Maureen Hayden, Statehouse calculated demonization. The extent dency or Congress or the governor’s Mark Curry, photography to which politicians today genuinely mansion. Voters are just now starting distrust the other side is something to hold candidates up to the standards new in our politics. It makes progress of the offices they seek; as they do, Subscriptions on the issues of the day extremely the unsettled political environment in HPI, HPI Daily Wire $599 complicated. which we find ourselves will grow a bit HPI Weekly, $350 This is exacerbated by politi- less uncertain. Ray Volpe, Account Manager cians’ awareness that voters have lost But the long-term issues, confidence in our traditional political the fears and uncertainty and the 317.602.3620 leadership and are searching hard for forces driving them, won’t have gone email: [email protected] alternatives. You see this in the rise of away. Which is why I feel great sym- Contact HPI candidates like Donald Trump on the pathy for politicians at the moment. [email protected] right and Bernie Sanders on the left, The skills we need in our political who speak to voters who are looking leaders, like the ability to approach Howey’s cell: 317.506.0883 for someone to express their anger those with whom they disagree with a Washington: 202.256.5822 and frustration. measure of good will and an openness Business Office: 317.602.3620 Why are Americans upset, to negotiation and compromise, are and more willing than usual to rally not held in high esteem by the voters © 2016, Howey Politics to outlying candidates? I don’t think or by the loudest voices in their own there’s any great mystery. For start- parties. Indiana. All rights reserved. ers, we have a society that is deeply It’s easy for a politician to Photocopying, Internet forward- concerned about economic insecurity; pander to anger and frustration. It’s ing, faxing or reproducing in as the Pew Research Center reported much harder to face a roomful of dis- any form, whole or part, is a recently, the American middle class parate opinions and forge a consensus violation of federal law without – for decades the stable anchor of behind a solution. Yet that is precisely economy and society – is in trouble what many politicians recognize our permission from the publisher. and no longer in the majority. People country needs. v are moving up, but most are not, and some are moving down. Small won- Lee Hamilton heads Indiana Uni- der that immigration causes so much versity’s Center on Congress. He concern. was a member of the U.S. House You can add to this the fear of of Representatives for 34 years. terrorism and a deeply unsettled view of the major changes taking place in American society: The rise of big Page 3 In the Survey Monkey list, the top 10 vote get- 2016 Power 50, from page 1 ters were Gov. Pence with 52.% of responses, followed by Bosma at 40%, Sen. Long at 33%, Indianapolis Mayor civil rights, his transportation plan receiving a lukewarm Joe Hogsett at 26%, Sen. Joe Donnelly at 25%, Purdue reception, his surprise third Regional Cities designee that President Mitch Daniels at 25%, Republican Chairman Jeff seemed to catch Bosma off guard, and his late-to-the table Cardwell at 24%, Rep. Todd Young at 21%, Lt. Gov. Sue response to the coming dive in ISTEP scores, we view Ellspermann at 20% and U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks at 19%. Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate President David Long For the sake of generating a great conversation, as in a much greater position to shape the events for the for our annual assessment of the key public servants, 119th Indiana General Assembly session than the gover- movers and shakers and those generating wisdom, action nor. and intrigue, here is our 2016 edition of the Howey Politics Gov. Pence and his advocacy of Lt. Gov. Sue Ell- Indiana Power 50: spermann for the Ivy Tech presidency reveals what a num- ber of sources tell us as a rift in the highest reaches of the 1. House Speaker Brian Bosma: We administration, despite the staff responses to the contrary. have traditionally viewed House speaker as the second At a time when Pence needed to show political stability, most powerful position at the Statehouse. But this year, the fact that his administration is in this kind of flux at this Speaker Bosma heads our list simply because he and Sen- stage is unsettling. ate President David Long hold more cards than the gover- And With Gov. Pence’s stance on the civil rights nor when it comes to shaping the 119th General Assembly, extension unknown, and Sen. Long working in tandem as well as the political dynamic that will follow. Bosma and with State Sen. Travis Holdman House Republicans stand to be the to try and forge a compromise critical arbitrators on civil rights (if that won’t alienate the already SB100 can clear the Senate), road troubled business community, and transportation funding, and the we find a virtually unprec- Regional Cities expansion. While edented scenario emerging. Long took the civil rights bull by The 2016 election the horns and began the legisla- cycle also features an open tive process, we opted for Bosma U.S. Senate seat without an at No. 1 because in a post-Pence obvious heir apparent, two world, he will be the early favorite open Congressional seats for the 2020 gubernatorial race.