IMPORTANTVILLE: Donnelly at Trump bill signing—Mayor Pete's big speech—GOP and INDEM platforms—Hogsett's political path—Indy's Amazon HQ2 site?
IMPORTANTVILLE
Days to Midterm Elections: 155
By @AdamWren
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THE BIG PICTURE: Indiana's incumbent Senator Joe Donnelly knows he has to run a perfect campaign to keep his seat this November. He needs every jump ball to go his way—plus a few.
During the last week or so, a few of those breaks have gone his way.
First, in a pre-Memorial Day speech, President Trump made a stunning gaffe that may have telegraphed his lack of interest in the Midterms:
Your vote in 2018 is every bit as important as your vote in 2016. Although I’m not sure I really believe that, but you know. I don’t know who the hell wrote that line, I’m not sure. But it’s still important, remember.
Second, the president hailed two of Donnelly's bills on Twitter and in a live event (which could become fodder for a high-road response television ad.)
Third, the president invited Donnelly to the Right to Try bill signing, thanking Donnelly by name. I'm told Laura McClinn, the mother of Jordan, who suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a disease with no known cure, advocated for Donnelly's presence at the signing of the bill that could potentially help save her son's life. Ron Johnson, the Wisconsin Republican, also wanted Donnelly there. There was an internal fight in the White House over Donnelly's presence. POLITICO picked up on the tension.
Fourth, the billionaire Koch brothers, expected to provide air cover for Republican Mike Braun throughout the balance of the race, showed they were willing to laud red state Democrats for their work on bills that matter to them, including Right to Try.
Check out this letter from Americans for Prosperity thanking Sen. Joe Donnelly for his work on Right to Try legislation, signed last week by Trump, which "extend[s] hope-restoring access to potentially life-saving treatments and medication to tens of thousands of terminally-ill patients." Remember, too, that as a state lawmaker, Braun voted for a gas tax A4P opposed.
To re-cap: The Koch brothers are thanking Donnelly, the supposedly battered red state senator, for his involvement in Koch-backed legislation, signed by President Trump.
READ THE LETTER: https://goo.gl/Y3Lf8s
WHAT'S IT MEAN? Donnelly is benefitting from some unforced errors. It's also conceivable the Koch brothers may not play the role analysts imagined they would just a few months ago.
Meanwhile, in Braun's camp, Indiana Republicans have started a Sleepin' Joe Twitter account. Priorities USA and the Senate Majority PAC announced a $1 million digital ad campaign to spread what the RNC says are "false ads" against Braun. Republicans want to tie Donnelly to liberal bogeymans such as George Soros.
“While Senator Donnelly is busy deceiving Hoosiers about his record, George Soros and Donald Sussman are spending millions of dollars in support of Donnelly behind the scenes," says RNC Spokesperson Michael Joyce. "Donnelly’s handlers know that if Chuck Schumer retakes control of the Senate they can count on Donnelly to be a reliable vote in opposing the Trump-Pence agenda moving forward.”
Good Monday morning, and welcome to Importantville.
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WHER'S MIKE: Vice President Mike Pence has lunch with the president and Secretary of Defense James Mattis today. Later, he'll help swear-in the U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg. He'll also join the president for a Gold Star Families reception, and deliver remarks at an Organization of American States reception.
EXCERPTS FROM MAYOR PETE'S WISCONSIN SPEECH: South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg addressed the Democratic Party of Wisconsin's 2018 State Convention. Here are some key excerpts:
"Whatever divides us, the most important things bring us together. Taking care of the people we love, having a shot at building a better life. Coming home safe.
That’s why “divide and conquer” is an affront not just to organized labor but to the American way.
That’s why the future does not belong to Donald Trump, and it does not belong to Scott Walker. It does not belong to those who look out at America and see a place to “divide and conquer.” It belongs to those who are prepared to stand up and unite.
Freedom. Fairness. These are our values. Same thing with family. We hear about “family values” a lot from the other side. But who is really the party of family right now?
We have to talk about our values more. And we also can’t be afraid to get personal. All of this is personal for me, for anyone in my generation. I’m from the generation that has done most of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The first generation to see routine school shootings. The generation that will pay the bill for giant tax breaks for the rich, and irresponsible choices on climate."
CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: The Indiana GOP is prepping for the state convention this week, set to begin in Evansville this Friday. Indiana Democrats will gather on June 16 in Indianapolis. Former Obama Attorney General Eric Holder will be the featured speaker.
GOP PLATFORM EXCERPTS: From trade to the First Amendment, much of the Indiana GOP platform is in tension with comments Trump has made about any number of issues. Some excerpts:
"We believe in the First Amendment. We believe the First Amendment of our U.S. Constitution guarantees the freedom of religion, not from religion, and it protects political and religious speech."
"We believe in strong families. We believe that strong families are the foundation of society and that such families bring forth citizens capable of self-government, as well as properly-motivated public servants so
essential for a successful republic. We support traditional families with a mother and father, blended families, grandparents, guardians, single parents and all loving adults who successfully raise and nurture children to reach their full potential every day."
"We believe in legal immigration. Indiana Republicans believe that the United States is, and should be, 'one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for ALL.' We believe that a diversity of cultures, thought and perspectives make our nation strong. Therefore, we encourage lawful immigration policies that attract new and diverse populations willing to contribute to the continued growth of our nation. We also realize that our borders must be adequately protected."
Indiana is no longer fly-over country. We are on the map, as evidenced not only by our national rankings but also by our international positioning. A large part of Indiana’s success in recent years has been our work with allies and partners overseas – work that has only accelerated under Governor Eric Holcomb. To date, he has visited the United Kingdom, Hungary, France, Japan, India, Canada, Israel, Austria, Slovakia, Germany and Switzerland to encourage additional investment in Indiana and in the Hoosier workforce. These frequent trade missions have helped Indiana build long-term relationships around the world, attract and expand businesses, bring jobs to our state, and expand our already robust network of exports. As Governor Holcomb says, 'We’re taking Indiana to the world, and bringing the world to Indiana.'"
READ MORE: https://goo.gl/r3vJBg
DEMOCRAT PLATFORM: This platform, framed around freedom, echoes much of what South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg says about how Democrats should market themselves to voters.
"We stand for freedom: the freedom to cast a ballot, freedom from the fear of a pre-existing condition bankrupting you or worse, freedom to live in a big city, small town, or anywhere in-between and have access to good-paying jobs and good schools, and the freedom to pursue your dreams free from discrimination. This is what progress looks like."
READ MORE: https://goo.gl/3faFqC
JOBS APLENTY: Indiana's unemployment rate beat the national figure, checking in at 3.2 percent. The national jobless rate is 3.8 percent. Holcomb emceed three different job announcements last week: the electric vehicle maker SF motors in Mishawaka, the global distilling company Sazerac in New Albany, and the pilot-training LIFT Academy in Indy.
HOGSETT'S PATH: In our hyper-charged, #Resist political environment, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett is getting a lot of pressure from his left to champion liberal causes, ranging from gun control to sanctuary cities to mass transit. He's so far sidestepped those entreaties. Why? Hogsett, operating on the incremental Bayh model of politics, knows that something like 70 percent of his municipal electorate is over 55. He's an old campaign manager. He's turned down a couple of dozen national press requests to become a vocal opponent of Trump or a Democratic surrogate. In his mind, he represents the whole city, and he's betting that his style of governance can build the kind of realpolitik coalition he needs to manage the Circle City.
HOGSETT also has a potentially tough re-elect coming up. Insiders say he could face Republicans such as Pence aide Jeff Cardwell, Executive Director of Indiana Civil Right's Commission and former Daniels' aide Jamal Smith, WGU advancement officer Allison Barber, or even—wait for it—a return of former Mayor Greg Ballard.
SPOTTED: Donnelly at Workingman's Friend Saturday, ordering a burger and shaking everyone's hand. (H/T Jared Hay). It was an on-message visit at the labor-friendly watering hole a few hours before he would launch his "Labor for Joe" constituency group at IBEW 481 in Indianapolis. This may be sacrilege to some of you, but I think Workingman's Friend has the second-best classic burger in Indy, just behind the Red Key Tavern, a favorite haunt of the writer Dan Wakefield.
PENCE GUMS UP TRADE: From Slate, "Justin Trudeau Says There Was Almost a NAFTA Deal. Then Mike Pence Called Him With an Insane Demand": "Trudeau told reporters that he thought negotiations over NAFTA were going well enough that last week he suggested a in-person meeting with Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto in Washington to hammer out a final deal. “We already had the bones of a very good agreement for all parties, and I thought it might be opportune for all of us to sit down for a few hours and discuss it,” he said. On Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence called to say, sure, the White House would host the meeting, but only if Trudeau agreed in advance to add a five-year sunset clause to NAFTA, meaning that the pact would expire after five years unless the U.S., Canada, and Mexico all agreed to renew it. “So I answered that, unfortunately, if that was a precondition to our visit, I was unable to accept — and so we did not go to Washington for that day of negotiations.” READ MORE: https://goo.gl/dWB8wf
INDIANA ISSUES: On this weekend's edition of Indiana Issues Online, I joined Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, Democrat Kip Tew, Libertarian Mark W. Rutherford, and Republican Jim Merritt to discuss school safety, legislative summer study committees on alcohol, gambling, and marijuana and Roseanne Barr. Watch here:
AMAZON HQ2 LOCATION? From the Indy Star's James Briggs, "How a little-known Indianapolis developer got in position to land Amazon's HQ2": If Indianapolis is an underdog in its pursuit of HQ2, that's in part because the city's best asset — a site that matches Amazon's criteria better than almost any other property in America — is unknown even to people who have driven past it hundreds of times.
It's on the left as you travel from Downtown toward the Indianapolis Zoo, a 103-acre expanse of concrete and weeds along the White River that once included a hulking General Motors factory. The stamping plant is gone except for an Albert Kahn-designed crane bay — an elegant, if dilapidated, link between the site's industrial past and its promising future.
The site is across the street from more than 300 homes that make up a neighborhood known as The Valley. The neighborhood is closer to the center of Downtown than Fountain Square is, yet remains as anonymous and overlooked as the outline of the abandoned factory." READ MORE: https://goo.gl/wSLPHu
WALORSKI COMES OUT AGAINST TRUMP ON TARIFFS: The Republican Congresswoman, who just flew to Elkhart with Trump a few weeks ago, parted ways with him on steel tariffs last week: “Steel and aluminum tariffs are already doing serious harm to American businesses and workers, and this decision will only make matters worse.
“Imposing tariffs on our allies will do nothing to solve the problem of China’s unfair trade practices, but it will further raise costs for American manufacturers, hurt their global competitiveness, expose farmers to damaging retaliatory tariffs, and put American jobs at risk.
“The administration needs to work with Congress to fix the product exclusion process and find a more targeted, balanced solution that does not threaten to undo the economic momentum driven by tax cuts.”
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THE KICKER: From Vanity Fair's excerpt of a forthcoming book on vice presidents by Kate Andersen Brower:
Pence has sought counsel from Dan Quayle, Dick Cheney, Joe Biden, and Walter Mondale, all of whom I interviewed. When I asked one of them what advice he gave Pence in their many private conversations, he said: "If I tell you and it’s written then I’d drastically undercut him." He slid his hand across his neck, in the universal gesture for decapitation. "He’d get his head chopped off."