Free Republic

INDIANAPOLIS — Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels said Friday he will sign restrictive abortion legislation, making Indiana the first state to cut off all government funding for Planned Parenthood and boosting Daniels’ credentials among social conservatives as he considers whether to run for president. Daniels said he supported the abortion restrictions from the outset and that the provision added to defund abortion providers did not change his mind. He said women’s health, family planning and other services will remain available. The bill wasn’t part of Daniels’ agenda and he did not publicly advocate for the Planned Parenthood provision, but signing it...

In a previous entry in support of Mitch Daniels, there was considerable blow back and one critcism was his alleged support of a value added tax (VAT). The single mention of the VAT as concerns Daniels is in a speech he gave at the Hudson Institute in October, 2010 while receiving the Herman Kahn Award. Herman Kahn, for those unaware, was a founder of the Hudson Institute after leaving the RAND Institute, both of which are conservative think tanks. Kahn had written a book called The Coming Boomin which he noted that a tax on oil imports would be a...

In other words, there's a kitchen cabinet of political advisers who haven't exactly been twiddling their thumbs lately but who have been eager for a campaign to take shape. And in it, the Bush connections are prevalent. That raises another issue: fundraising. Between his own experience in politics, the Bush team whispering that they hope he runs, and the potential support of Haley Barbour, Daniels has a vast fundraising network. On top of that, a longtime Indiana and national Republican operative who served in Vice President Cheney's office and was vice president of the 2008 GOP convention, Mel Raines, is...

The Indiana House of Representatives voted 66-32 on Wednesday to approve a controversial bill tightening the state's abortion restrictions and cutting off funding to Planned Parenthood, which now awaits the signature of Gov. Mitch Daniels (R), a potential presidential candidate who has yet to comment publicly on the politically sensitive legislation. Daniels has seven days to take action on the bill, and has three options once it arrives on his desk: 1) Sign the bill into law; 2) Veto the bill; 3) Do nothing, and allow the bill to become law after seven days without taking a stance. Daniels' decision...

Indiana votes to defund Planned Parenthood By: Sarah Kliff April 27, 2011 06:15 PM EDT The Indiana State Legislature has voted to strip Planned Parenthood of its federal funding, putting the state on a path to barring the group from receiving public dollars. The legislation now hits the desk of Gov. Mitch Daniels, putting the presidential contender who has famously called for a “truce” on social issues squarely in the middle of a contentious, national debate over Planned Parenthood’s federal funding. Daniels now has one week to veto the bill or it becomes law without his signature. The bill, which...

PITTSBURGH – Here along the Allegheny River in 1753, a young George Washington, clad in a woolen match coat and accompanied by guide Christopher Gist, walked toward the forks of the Ohio River after spending the night on a tiny island. The night before he wrote in his journal that he “expected every Moment our Raft to sink, and ourselves to perish.” Washington did not perish but he did fall into the frigid river after hastily constructing the raft with Gist. They swam to a small island and the next morning crossed the ice-covered channel to Shannopins Town, no worse...

While some GOP presidential contenders ratchet up their anti-Muslim rhetoric to toxic levels, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniel (R) is set to accept a prestigious award next month from the Arab American Institute. Maya Berry, executive director of AAI, told TPM that the award was incidental to his status as a possible presidential candidate and celebrates his broad record of public service and his Syrian heritage, which is not commonly known. Nonetheless, she noted that Daniels' award comes at a time of increasingly mainstream anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiment in conservative circles. "It's a moment to honor our own and Mitch Daniels...

Is Mitch Daniels, the governor of Indiana, going to run for president in 2012? Mr. Daniels, a wonkish Republican, has not yet said whether he will seek his party’s nomination, but his comments Wednesday about immigration could make it a bit more difficult if he does. Faced with lawmakers who are considering an Arizona-style immigration law, Mr. Daniels said he did not support controversial provisions that sparked a national debate last year that would provide police officers the power to question and detain people they think are illegal immigrants. “I think that legislation will be changed,” Mr. Daniels said Wednesday,...

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is expected to announce his decision regarding the 2012 Republican presidential nomination in the coming weeks. Allen County Republican Party Chairman Steve Shine says, “The Indiana Legislature will be adjourning at the end of this month and that is the Governor’s timetable to make his decision on whether or not to run for President.” The Republican county chairman also noted that he expects Mr. Daniels will enter the 2012 Republican presidential race.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana House on Wednesday passed what would be the nation's broadest use of school vouchers, allowing even middle-class families to use taxpayer money to send their children to private schools. The bill passed the house 56-42. In an effort to lure House Democrats back from a five-week, self-imposed exile in Illinois, Republicans agreed to reduce the number of vouchers, with a limit of 7,500 the first year and 15,000 the second, 6News' Norman Cox reported. Still, unlike other systems that are limited to lower-income households, children with special needs or those in failing schools, this one would...

<p>I caught up with Karl Rove, at least by phone, in Austin. In the public’s mind, he’s become so identified with President George W. Bush that it’s easy to forget he remains one of the savviest political analysts, in part because of his encyclopedic memory of Republican races.</p>

Currently, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is being billed as a genuine conservative who can defeat Barack Obama, reform the federal government, and balance the budget. Yet a close examination of the governor's record and statements reveals that he is actually a strident liberal who cannot be taken seriously.

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: The Politico has a story out of Iowa: "Republican Sounds Alarm over American Decline -- Republican activists in this key presidential state have a dark, foreboding feeling that America is in decline. They believe the nation is hurtling in the wrong direction and, worse, on the brink of losing its unique place in the world. That sentiment is hardly new to American politics, but it's one that’s been reanimated by the presidency of Barack Obama. Some see him as hostile to the notion of American exceptionalism. Others simply don’t believe he's an American at all. "Together, it’s...

So much for Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels being the last, best hope for fiscal conservatives in 2012. Daniels was my choice for the 2012 Republican nomination until I heard an interview RealClearPolitics.com dug up from his days as political director for the Reagan White House. Imagine the individual mandate morphed with the public option, and that's what Daniels supported in 1987. When Robert Novak, famed journalist and cohost of "Evans and Novak" on CNN, asked Daniels if federal health insurance for catastrophic illnesses should be a GOP agenda item, he replied, "I sure do, and I'm glad you asked." If...

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels remains committed to the social issues-abortion truce he declared last summer despite new and continued criticism from Republicans who say social issues have to remain prominent.Over the weekend, Daniels said the economy should remain the number one concern and added that “we’re going to have to do some very, very big things” to fix it, including getting “together people who disagree on other things” — which he says is the reason for a truce on social issues.The potential presidential candidate admitted “I don’t know” when asked if he could run a presidential campaign based on...

President Obama mocked his potential 2012 GOP rivals — and poked fun at himself — while Mitch Daniels returned fire and got in his own shot at Sarah Palin at Saturday night’s 126th annual Gridiron Club dinner of Washington politicos and journalists. Obama, in his first address to the group as president, pounced on Haley Barbour’s weight – by highlighting First Lady Michelle Obama’s efforts to end obesity in the country. “Haley, when Michelle said you should run, she didn’t mean for president,” he cracked. The president didn’t spare Tim Pawlenty either. “Tim Pawlenty’s not here, but he’s hit the...

Indiana legislators have received thousands of letters and email messages from concerned teachers, principals and superintendents. Many are politically generated by special-interest groups. Most, though, are from dedicated educators whose passion for the classroom is made clear in every word. Yet, I disagree with almost all of their conclusions. As a new member of the legislature, it surprises me so many of these writers, some personal friends, believe I would leave them vulnerable to an unfair evaluation system developed and managed by state bureaucrats. I am working every day to keep that from happening. Many express a fear that I...

The Iowa Republican.com, in conjunction with McClatchy newspapers, assembled a small group of conservative activists last week for a focus group. The main topic, naturally, was the upcoming 2012 Iowa Caucus. The group was unanimous, or near unanimous, on several topics. The most interesting conclusion is that most of them believe Sarah Palin is unelectable.

Pundits say he's too short, at 5-foot-7, and lacks the requisite pizzazz to be elected president. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels believes he faces a taller challenge as he ponders a White House run: Could voters warm to his message that the country is doomed unless it slashes its debt and radically revamps the popular Social Security and Medicare programs? In any other year, a campaign platform that gloomy would render a politician toxic. Today, with concerns over the nation's fiscal health on the rise, the Indiana Republican's wonkish bravado is making some think he is a good fit for the...

Mitch Daniels: Indiana Republicans Should Drop the Right to Work Bill Color me extremely disappointed with Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels right now: Gov. Mitch Daniels signaled this afternoon that Republicans should to drop the right-to-work bill that has brought the Indiana House to a standstill for two days and imperiled other measures. Daniels told reporters this afternoon that he expects House Democrats will return to work if the bill dies. It would be unfortunate if other bills are caught up in the turmoil, he said. He will not send out state police to corral the Democrats, the Republican governor said....