There was a time when a political leader stepped down, the loyal opposition would congratulate him or her for fighting the good fight – whether it was successful, unsuccessful or mixed.
Consider a decade ago, when Brian Stier resigned after a stint as Allen County Democratic Party chairman.
“As attorneys, both of us have rather hard outer shells. That is one reason that made Brian a rather formidable opponent,” said Steve Shine, the longtime Allen County Republican chairman – and, almost by definition, Stier’s nemesis at the time. “He, like myself, is used to the daily posturing and pushing of positions for our clients. … We aren’t squeamish about the verbal assaults that are inherent in political campaigns, just as doctors aren’t squeamish about surgery.”
For a sign of just how much times have changed, here’s the reaction of Indiana Republican Party State Chairman Eric Holcomb to the resignation of his counterpart, state Democratic Chairman Dan Parker:
“Since Chairman Dan Parker took over the Indiana Democrat Party in 2004, Republicans have picked up a State House majority, a majority of mayoral offices, another U.S. Senate seat, two U.S. House seats, a quorum proof State Senate majority and hold all statewide offices. Much of the Democrat Party’s decay in Indiana can be directly traced to running campaigns devoid of ideas, the expansion of their decades-long Culture of Corruption and sound bites full of rhetorical snark.”
Sounds like Holcomb understands political “snark” firsthand. Oh, and he forgot to mention that under Parker, Democrats won Indiana’s presidential vote for the first time in 44 years.
Parker’s seven years at the party’s helm are practically a lifetime for that job, but Democrats have no heir apparent. Look for John Gregg – the presumptive Democratic candidate for governor in 2012 – to play a major role in choosing Parker’s successor.
Who minds the money?
While Gov. Mitch Daniels largely made light of discovering $320 million in misplaced tax revenue, and Democrats have sought an investigation, officials who aren’t saying much are State Treasurer Richard Mourdock and State Auditor Tim Berry.
The job duties of each are somewhat complicated under the law, but the authoritative “Here is Your Indiana Government” – published periodically by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce – sums them up this way:
“The treasurer is the custodian of all state revenues.”
“The auditor of the state is the chief financial officer of the state.” Among the auditor’s specific jobs is “accounting for all of the state’s funds.”
Notably, the discovery of the “lost” $320 million came not from the treasurer or auditor but the Indiana Department of Revenue, which is essentially the state government equivalent of the Internal Revenue Service.
Both Berry and Mourdock may face some questions, but look for Mourdock to be on a hotter seat – he’s running for office next year, against Richard Lugar for U.S. Senate.
