V23, N11 Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017 What if Mitch had run (& won) in ‘12? May 21, 2011, may be the date that put us on the path to Trump By BRIAN A. HOWEY NASHVILLE, Ind. – We all know the red letter dates in Ameri- can history: July 2, 1776, with the Declaration of Independence; July 3-4, 1863, and Union victories at Get- tysburg and Vicksburg; Dec. 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor; Nov. 22, 1963, the as- letter date most folks haven’t sassination of President Kennedy; and thought about: Sept. 11, 2001, a date that needs no May 21, 2011. description. Huh? Say what? In the context of President Yes, May 21, 2011, the Trump, top ally Steve Bannon’s day we discovered that Indi- looming civil war within the Repub- ana Gov. Mitch Daniels would lican Party, Senate Foreign Relations not become president of the Chairman Bob Corker’s stunning pro- United States. He wouldn’t nouncement that Trump is “debasing” even try. He’d become a American politics, and an array of president, at Purdue Univer- polls that put his approval in the mid- 30th percentile, here’s another red Continued on page 3 Always stay proud & mean By MARK SOUDER FORT WAYNE – Did you hear about the Trump staffer who was fired yesterday after being heard hum- ming Tim McGraw’s hit song, “Always stay humble and kind?” Fake news. It is safe to say that when “He said some powerful things. the president of the United States becomes Don Rickles He indicated character counts. with hair and no smile, the king He said integrity counts in lead- of the insult, anyone singing that song at the White House ers. He thinks that’s what our would be doing so ironically. The critics of the presi- party should stand for and I dent are, if anything, worse. happen to agree with him.” What is extraordinary is how bottom-dwelling nasty liberals - U.S. Sen. Todd Young, react- have become, justified with an ing to U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake air of superiority and a con- Page 2 descending tone to those who don’t that he killed off his opponent. Nasty laugh at their meanness. politics isn’t even of American origins. The vice president of the Machiavelli, the crown prince of politi- United States cannot attend the most cal strategy, was from 16th century popular play in America without being Italy. Liberals, like Adam, immediately lectured by the cast. He cannot leave finger Trump as the person to blame a football game, which he attended for this deterioration of public dis- to honor Peyton Manning, not ob- course, and thus justify playing Cain serve players disrespecting the nation, by trying to politically kill Trump. Not without getting torn apart by liberals defeat him, destroy him. Howey Politics Indiana trying to prove they can be the mean- On my Facebook page the WWHowey Media, LLC 405 est king of the mountain. other day, one conservative expressed Massachusetts Ave., Suite We cannot watch any en- the view of conservatives accurately: 300 Indianapolis, IN 46204 tertainment awards show, already Meanness and coarse dialogue is focused on celebrating shows and when a conservative says it, not www.howeypolitics.com movies not popular with Brian A. Howey, Publisher the people who Mark Schoeff Jr., Washington made the stars Jack E. Howey, Editor rich but often attacking their Mary Lou Howey, Editor fans’ beliefs, Mark Curry, photography without endur- ing endless Subscriptions banal, crude and unoriginal HPI, HPI Daily Wire $599 political attacks. HPI Weekly, $350 The Ray Volpe, Account Manager Washington 317.602.3620 Post and the email: [email protected] New York Times, liberal but once re- Contact HPI spected institu- [email protected] tions even by those who disagreed when liberals continue to do it. Young with their ideological bias, increasingly people would point to how Obama Howey’s cell: 317.506.0883 have turned the news stories into was brutalized by conservatives. (I, for Washington: 202.256.5822 ideological crusading. It is sad when it example, continue to get berated for Business Office: 317.602.3620 is hard to tell the difference between not thinking he was Satan’s brother.) SNL (and Colbert/Kimmel) and the Middle-aged conservatives would point © 2017, Howey Politics Washington Post (and sometimes the to how Bush43 was absolutely sav- Times). Though to be fair, sometimes aged in the media, often character- Indiana. All rights reserved. the newspapers are more humorous ized as an ape. Middle-aged liberals Photocopying, Internet forward- and less contentious. remember how conservatives demon- ing, faxing or reproducing in One way to determine ized Bill and Hillary. Conservatives any form, whole or part, is a whether you are a liberal is if you will never forget the incredibly mean, violation of federal law without thought, from my beginning, that this among the worst in American history, was going to only be about Trump. A slanders of Reagan and Goldwater. permission from the publisher. corollary to the “Always Stay Proud John Adams supporters and Mean” theme pervading public would quickly point out that Jeffer- debate today is that neither side sees son was the king of smear jobs. Jef- themselves as guilty of the charge. ferson’s hatchet newspaper printed Politics is as old as man’s nearly total fake news by anybody’s beginnings. God asked Adam if he had standard. The Jeffersonians would eaten the apple, and Adam blamed respond that Adams started the con- Eve. Cain killed Abel because he want- flict (they were once close friends) by ed the best offering, so to accomplish behaving like the first American king, Page 3 who viewed dissension from his throne as treason. is something earned. Trump has been compared to President Andrew Boastfulness is insecure pride. President Trump, Jackson, even by his supporters. Jackson, honored by who is mostly a brand built on gold-plated, everything is Democrats at annual Jefferson-Jackson Day dinners, is about me PRIDE, is an extreme example. He simply cannot an interesting role model. He participated in somewhere tolerate anyone stepping on his being the biggest and best between five and 100 duels. After a conflict with a neigh- at anything, even on petty things like the inaugural crowd bor over whether Jackson reneged on a horseracing size or whether he’s called more war widows than Obama wager, after which his neighbor referred to Jackson as a did. coward and his wife as a bigamist, Jackson killed him in a They say your traits become most apparent when pistol duel. His massacre of Creek Indians in Florida, who no one is watching. I felt the most unexpected, unscripted it appears were actually mostly free blacks, is even more moment of the presidential debates was when Trump sordid. paused to wait when he saw Carson standing confused Pistols and canes, or fisticuffs, were not uncom- in the hallway leading to the debate platform. His instinct mon weapons in American political history. The record is was to wait while the other candidates didn’t even flinch not littered with kindness and humbleness. Humbleness in as they walked on by. There wasn’t the slight hesitation politics is not a particularly useful trait, but that’s also true for a brainy “being kind could be useful” action. I mean, for any profession that requires verbal jousting. Humility is I don’t want to ruin his brand, but perhaps Donald Trump not conducive to building your brand. I grew up in furni- instinctually can actually be kind. ture retailing where we, as a group, aren’t very humble, This angle may be the most important in decid- since we all stick our names on our stores. There aren’t a ing who will control Congress, including the critical United lot of successful humble trial attorneys, or car dealers, or States Senate seat in Indiana, in 2018. Will voters choose stars in any profession. There is lots of fake humility, but kind, moderately prideful people in politics, or does the getting to the top and especially staying there requires nastiest person win? v strong “self-confidence” (a kind word for pride). Christians try to give God the credit, but pride is always a struggle Souder is a former Indiana Republican congress- for every human being who wants to believe that success man. it was former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney who would President Daniels, from page 1 win the Republican nomination. Romney would likely have made a decent president, but he lacked the common touch sity. But on this day Daniels informed the IndyStar’s Mary that Gov. Daniels and President Barack Obama had. In Beth Schneider that he would not run for the White House. clumsy fashion, Romney invoked the “47%” that brought He unleashed this bombshell by saying, “Over the him ridicule and defeat in a year where all of the economic last year and a half, a large and diverse group of people telltales should have predicated an have suggested to me an idea Obama reelection defeat. that I never otherwise would have During the 2008 campaign considered, that I run for president. when not only did Daniels and Obama I’ve asked for time to think it over campaign on parallel paths – Daniels carefully, but these good people for reelection and Obama on an inspira- have been very patient and I owe tional out-of-the-blue whirlwind to the them an answer. The answer is White House – the common threads that I will not be a candidate. What were apparent. Both consorted easily could have been a complicated de- with the common man.