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Commentary: Pelath strikes new, better tone for Democrats

March 7, 2013
By Cam Savage Special to TheStatehouseFile.com

Im extremely disappointed in Indiana House Democratic Leader Scott Pelath. I predicted Pelath would be a total disaster of a minority leader. Lets be fair, as a Republican, I hoped he would be. So far, hes been anything but. Pelath became leader of the House Democrats after the last election where Republicans picked up nine seats, enough for a quorum-proof super-majority. He took the reins from an interim party leader Rep. Linda Lawson, who Democrats temporarily installed after finally ousting Rep. Pat Bauer in the waning days of the 2012 election. I hated to see Bauer go, I really did. He did more to help Indiana Republicans in recent years than anyone save Mitch Daniels. Bauer was, for many years, an able legislator and legislative leader. Smart, tough and skilled at wielding influence and power, he was the closest thing Democrats had to a counter-balance to Daniels. But Bauer hung on just a little too long and a little too tightly and let his distaste for Daniels affect his judgment to the point he became a liability for his party. He led the Democrats exile to Urbana, Illinois in 2011 and in doing, became a caricature of an angry and bitter political boss who lost touch with the realities his party faced. He badly damaged Democrats prospects for the 2010 and 2012 elections. So you cant blame Republicans for hoping Pelath would offer more of the same. And there was reason for optimism. Like Bauer, Pelaths a fiery partisan from decidedly Democratic and union-heavy district. As leader of a dwindling caucus of only thirty-one members who represent mostly urban areas, university towns, and old union rust-belt communities, who would be surprised if Pelath played to his partys

shrinking base? Republicans hoped Pelath would be a rabid, foam-at-the-mouth partisan who pushed an overtly liberal agenda and catered to the unions whose cash has sustained the Indiana Democratic Party in recent years. That is, after all, what Bauer had done. Instead, Pelath has been a steady hand. The angry, snarky, and divisive rhetoric that defined the Indiana House Democrats in recent years seems to have vanished, or more precisely, isnt coming from the leader. Hes joined with Speaker Brian Bosma in pushing job training legislation and his public comments and appearances strike a tone of rationality and reasonableness. Here lies the danger for Republicans. Pelaths House Democrats have nowhere to go but up. Sure, in 2014 Republicans can and will target a few Democrat seats that slipped by them in the last few elections, but Democrats are as close to rock bottom as theyve been in some time. For Pelaths Democrats to work their way back to relevance theyll need to drop the divisiveness, appear rational and sane, and focus on issues that appeal to more than just their base. Theyll need to be fiscally responsible and offer some genuine ideas on job creation, education reform and issues Hoosiers really care about. In short, theyll have to turn their back on the Bauer years and reestablish themselves as a party capable of governing. Then, theyll have to wait for a chance. There is a cyclical nature to politics. Youre up, youre down, but you are never totally out. The pendulum will eventually swing back. Pelath seems to understand this and hes guiding his caucus is a direction that indicates they may very well be ready to take advantage of that next pendulum swing. Republicans, with nowhere to go but down, have to accept the responsibility the voters have entrusted to them in the form of their supermajority. So far, so good. Republicans and Statehouse observers, if not Democrats, are giving Bosma good marks for the way he has tempered and guided his caucus through its first few months of super-majority status.

The House budget increases education spending and includes $500 million in additional spending on roads and bridges. If revenues remain strong, even with the increases for schools and infrastructure, Republicans should still be able to deliver on Governor Pences proposed income tax cut for all Hoosiers. For Bosma and his young caucus that could only be perceived as a win, win, win. Can this era of reasonableness and rationality last in the Indiana House of Representatives of all places? Probably not. But for now, both Republicans and Democrats, having witnessed the end of the Pat Bauer era have learned its lessons and are leading their caucuses in a starkly different manner. Cam Savage is a principal at Limestone Strategies and a veteran of numerous Republican campaigns and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He is a graduate of Franklin College. He can be reached at Cam@limestone-strategies.com. http://thestatehousefile.com/commentary-pelath-strikes-new-bettertone-for-democrats/10404/

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