IMPORTANTVILLE: #INSEN Debate Reacts—Ronald Klain on PENCE’s VP Gambit & TRUMP v. BIDEN 2020 — Will AG Curtis Hill Primary Gov. Holcomb?—The Future of City Hall.
IMPORTANTVILLE
By Adam Wren
WABASH PRIMARY DEBATE WRAP: In the second debate of what has been called the nation’s nastiest Senate Primary, all three Republican candidates argued the Mueller probe has overstepped its bounds and should end. They also agreed public school teachers should be armed.
--MESSER wins debate, per Luke Messer. “Luke Messer won tonight's Indiana Senate debate and touted his strong record of support for President Trump's agenda. "I am who I say I am," Messer said in a post-debate statement. "I'm a husband, father and son of single-parent mother. I'm a person of faith and a pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment conservative. I support President Trump, and I have the record to prove it."
--BRAUN drew the most fire from Messer and Rokita, a sign they may be concerned about his appeal to Republican primary voters.
--IN DEM RESPONSE: “Tonight’s debate proved again that none of these deeply flawed candidates are fit to represent Hoosiers in the Senate," said John IDP Chairmen John Zody.
IMPORTANTVILLE TAKE: The three GOP candidates have strapped themselves to Trump so tightly these last few months, they may have a tough time pivoting back to the center after the primary. Messer and Braun's work will be easier than Rokita's. More than anything over the last months, they’ve made the state’s November Senate election a referendum on Trump.
--FOR NATIONAL REPORTERS parachuting into the state this month: Here's your dining cheat sheet.
DAYS TO NEXT DEBATE: 14
DAYS TO PRIMARY DAY: 22.
THE PITCH
Good morning and welcome to the first edition of Importantville, a weekly newsletter chronicling the intersection of Indiana power, business, and politics in the Trump Era—and beyond. Two years ago, on the eve of clinching the Republican nomination, then-candidate Donald Trump stood at a rally in South Bend and told an audience: “Now Indiana is becoming very important .. .you folks belong where you belong; it's called Importantville right? I love it.” Trump said. Importantville, indeed. Indiana and its capital city are increasingly in the national conversation. A former governor now lives in the Naval Observatory, having brought dozens (hundreds?) of Indiana operatives with him to D.C., installing them at federal agencies and in cabinet-level positions. He is a proverbial heartbeat—or Mueller revelation—away from the presidency. Our November Senate race is ranked as the second most important in the nation. In business, a New Palestine native might be in the catbird seat to become the CEO of the most powerful tech companies in the world. And, of course, Indianapolis is a finalist to land Amazon’s HQ2, the most sought after civic competition in recent decades.
This is the guide to that Indiana, a state gaining a certain swagger, rightly fueled by a sense of its own growing importance. My hope is that this becomes a pocket guide to help you navigate the power grid of Indiana—and elsewhere in Flyover Country.
VEEP
Soon to be trending—PENCE BIOS: A spate of Pence biographies is in the works—at least three by my count. How will Pence be portrayed? And how will that affect his standing with Trump? (More on that in a future issue).
PENCE’S FIRST CONFLICT WITH TRUMP? Two stories put daylight between Trump and Pence on staffing and tone over the last 24 hours:
--Reports Axios: The White House kept it quiet until now, but on Friday the President nearly blocked the Vice President from getting his chosen national security adviser.
--PENCE’s South American trip wrap-up: From The Washington Post: “Throughout Pence’s whirlwind 26-hour visit to Lima over the weekend, he repeatedly struck a compassionate tone as he described the suffering of people around the world, especially in Venezuela and Syria, and he talked about the United States’ moral obligation to help others. It’s a tone that’s starkly different from that of President Trump, who rarely expresses sympathy for people fleeing violence, poverty or oppression in their homelands. His policies in this area have been tougher than many of his predecessors as well.”
--PENCE BLOWBACK from Comey, from USA Today’s Maureen Groppe: “Vice President Pence is rarely mentioned in former FBI Director James Comey’s new book. But when he is, it’s not flattering....Pence, like other members of Donald Trump’s incoming team, did not appear concerned with how the United States should deal with Russia after being briefed in January 2017 on Russia’s attempt to meddle in the election, according to Comey. “They were about to lead a country that had been attacked by a foreign adversary, yet they had no questions about what the future Russian threat might be,” Comey writes in A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership. “Nor did they ask how the United States might prepare itself to meet that threat.”
--ALSO: COMEY COMING TO INDIANA, per Northwest Indiana Time’s Dan Carden, a recent Jeopardy champion: Purdue University Northwest has landed controversial ex-FBI Director James Comey as the opening speaker to kick off its highly regarded Sinai Forum series Sept. 9.
KEY BOOK IN PENCE WORLD: This is the book Mike and Karen Pence, along with former GOP Chair Jim Kittle, use to get in shape: Younger Next Year Live Strong, Fit, and Sexy - Until You're 80 and Beyond.
THE LEDES
IMPORTANTVILLE SCOOP...CITY HALL FOR SALE? IF IT WAS, THAT COULD BE A GOOD THING: In next week’s State of the City Address, Mayor Joe Hogsett is expected to talk about modernizing the city’s use of physical infrastructure, including, possibly, the City-County Building. In an era when everyday services are becoming digitized, do metropolises like Indianapolis still need a physical city hall?
--From a source familiar: Unigov required the construction of the CCB due to the dramatic changes to how city and county government interacted with the public–and one another. This is the next iteration of that.
IMPORTANTVILLE SCOOP: The Indiana Democratic Party is opening its first field office of the 2018 cycle on Saturday, April 21st in...wait for it...Carmel. This will be the first of at least 25 offices around the state in what's expected to be the largest field operation ever in the history of the Indiana Democratic Party. The Party has already hired its Coordinated Campaign Manager and Field Director. Donnelly will have all a full team of regional organizers hired up before the conclusion of the primary. Says one Democratic insider: “None of this grassroots engagement or hiring has ever happened pre-primary.”
BEZOS PLAYING INDIANA: From IBJ’s excellent, just-launched Friday newsletter, The Rundown with Lindsey Erdody: “Super PAC With Honor Fund Inc. is spending close to $225,000 for ads opposing Republican Steve Braun, who is running to represent Indiana’s 4th Congressional District….The PAC is largely backed by the Bezos Family Foundation, which is the private foundation for the parents of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.”
RNC and Indiana GOP hosted a National Day of Action in Greenwood Saturday. “You see the headlines about the historic levels of fundraising that the RNC has had over the past year, and clearly we aren’t hoarding the cash, we’re putting it to good use right here in Indiana,” said Indiana Communications Director for the RNC’s Michael Joyce. “When you look at the RNC’s ground game in Indiana you can see that there’s a massive infrastructure in place that puts Hoosier Republicans in a position to defy history and win big up-and-down the ballot in 2018. I’d be very nervous about reelection right now if I was Senator Joe Donnelly considering the responses we heard out in the field this afternoon.”
HOLCOMB most popular governor in Midwest, per Morning Consult.
TIRED/WIRED
Tired take: Attorney General Curtis Hill will take on Holcomb in a Republican Primary! Wired take: That was a fashionable talking point to believe back when Curtis was at odds with the Gov. on a few issues. But where does his support or money come from? At least one prominent Republican says that Hill doesn’t seem to like his current gig. Latest thinking: Hill might be eyeing something in DC.
FOR THE RECORD
#MeToo at the Statehouse?…. Why haven't there been #MeToo stories out of the Indiana General Assembly this past session? Certainly not for lack of incidences. Reporters are working on the stories. A Republican texts Importantville: “My best guess is that most of the people involved are in the business: either in a caucus, or for a trade group, or a lobbyist. They don't want it out as much as the legislator."
Highlights from Dan Spehler’s #INFocus: IN Focus panelists Tony Samuel, Christina Hale, Mike Murphy, Jennifer Wagner and Tim Swarens pick last week's winners and losers.
HOT TICKET: Michael Wear, former Obama White House and campaign staffer, will talk about the need for “civility in the public square.” Happening next Tuesday, April 24 at 6 p.m. in the Gallery Room at Herron High School. He’ll be joined by Allison Melangton, the Senior Vice President of Hulman Motorsports, who will discuss practical ways that local communities can grow and flourish through cultivating a more civil public square. Tickets here.
THE COOLING SAUCER
NEXT NEXT NEWS CYCLE: Will Donnelly back Mike Pompeo at CIA?
--CNN says Pompeo is courting moderate Dems such as Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. Donnelly is close to Heitkamp, and the two often vote similarly.
YOUNG on Syria strikes: “It is in America's national security interests to deter the use of chemical weapons, and the international community must not look the other way as Assad continues to murder his own people. I thank our brave service members and our allies who carried out this military action. I look forward to receiving a full briefing on this latest military action and the administration's broader strategy in Syria."
DONNELLY: “The recent chemical weapons attack was the latest in a series of barbaric actions by the Assad regime. I support tonight’s international military response, which demonstrates that there are consequences for using chemical weapons on innocent civilians. Now, I want to hear from the president, the military, and our diplomatic leaders on the strategy moving forward.”
FAKE NEWS: Politifact, who Rokita called “Liberal Politifact” during Sunday night’s debate, ruled Congressman Todd Rokita's MAGA hat ad claims as "Mostly False."
--It’s difficult to make non-Trump-related news these days. But one of the more interesting developments has been Sen. Todd Young's effort to get food delivered to Yemen, which is in the middle of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis at present. Young held up one of Trump's State Department nominees late last year. He wanted something from the administration in return: A crane shipped to the country to deliver enough food to feed 1.8 million people. That crane arrived on Monday, Jan. 15. It’s hard to find press clips about this. This was a pretty gutsy move for a freshman senator in a red state.
--Young spent much of his first year in office visiting the most impoverished parts of the state listening and building relationships. This year, he has rolled out a platform he calls his Fair Shot Agenda to address some of the themes he encountered. Though conventional wisdom says no large bills will pass before the election, Young has inserted Fair Shot principles in several bipartisan bills that have a chance, including one this week with Senator Tim Kaine to include job training in addiction recovery programs. If a Higher Ed Reauthorization Act gets done this year, he could also include several priorities there due to his spot on the HELP Committee. He has already shown an ability to get his bills passed through other vehicles, including his Social Impact Partnerships legislation and a bill that will speed up placement of foster children by 40 percent.
FOURTH ESTATE
PULITZER DAY: Will the committee retroactively recognize the Indy Star’s Nassar reporting?
How Indy Star’s Ronnie Ramos, a Cuban American and the first minority to lead the newsroom, could win over his troops in his first weeks on the job, according to one staffer: Agree to a fair health care contract. The newsroom has been without a contract since January, which means journalists there are paying more for healthcare than journalists elsewhere across Gannett.
--Read Indy Monthly's Q&A with Star reporter Marisa Kwiatkowski: How she got her start: "I was working on an investigation in March 2016 related to failures to report sexual abuse in schools. A source suggested I look into USA Gymnastics, and they pointed me toward a lawsuit in Georgia that a gymnast had filed against the organization. I flew to Georgia later that day, picked up almost 1,000 pages of court records, and as soon as I got back to Indianapolis, Tim Evans, Mark Alesia, and I went on from there."
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Robert King is leaving the Star. Few reporters have written with such empathy and skill about the city of Indianapolis. Read this great Indianapolis Monthly profile of him. Then read his final byline, a profile of U.S. Senate candidate Braun.
SWAMP EXIT: Sen. Young named Andrew Kossack, former Associate Counsel to Vice President Mike Pence, his new state director. Welcome back to the Retention Ponds of Central Indiana, Andrew!
Holcomb on Friday announced that he has appointed Michael McMains to serve as chairman for the Indiana Gaming Commission. McMains, a lawyer, served on staff for then-U.S. Sen. Dan Coats from 2010 to 2017, first as his state director and then as senior counsel.
THE GREEN ROOM
--RONALD KLAIN is the former chief of staff to two vice presidents, and has a unique insight into the office. Here's our Importantville exclusive with Klain:
Should your former boss, Joe Biden, challenge Trump in 2020, or should the Democratic Party look to a fresh face? How are you advising him being closed doors? KLAIN: If Vice President Biden choses to run – and that’s a personal decision – he will be a formidable candidate. I’ve never provided anyone advice on whether or not they should run: that’s a choice that has to come from deep inside a candidate’s heart and head, not from the views of an adviser. If he runs, I will do whatever I can to help him win: I think he would be a great President, and a wonderful antidote to the Trump years. If Vice President Biden decides not run, Democrats have some fantastic leaders who would be strong alternatives.
How is Vice President Pence doing so far? He seems to be walking the narrowest of tight ropes. KLAIN: A Vice President’s fate is inevitably tied to the President’s fate, for better or for worse. The notion floating around that somehow Mike Pence can be a viable alternative to Trump in 2020 if Trump does not seek a second term is laughable: if Trump is too damaged or too unpopular to stand for reelection, Mike Pence will be pulled down by that (even if he gets the GOP nomination). Without litigating each part of the Pence record, I will say that his decision to call Stormy Daniels’ charges against Trump a “baseless allegation” was probably not a good choice, in retrospect.
As the Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Revolution, you’re at an investment firm that spends a lot of time outside the coastal tech corridors. In Indy right now, there’s a lot of civic boosterism around the idea that we can be the Silicon Prairie. But how do we really stick up against a Chicago, say, or a Columbus, Ohio? KLAIN: Indianapolis has a thriving, growing technology sector, and some really incredible things happening there. A great deal of credit goes to Salesforce’s acquisition of ExactTarget, and the company’s decision to leave the business in Indianapolis (and then build the state’s largest building to house the company). What Scott Dorsey and Christ Baggott have done to stimulate the growth of this sector in Indianapolis is amazing. We brought the Rise of the Rest tour there last October, and had a great day visiting High Alpha Labs, the Speak Easy, Union 525, and other sites that are driving this change. The energy, the innovation, the talent are all first rate: Indianapolis is a major player, particularly in the business software industry. Our firm has invested in two companies based in Indianapolis, and I expect there will be more. I’m very bullish on the city’s future.
In an alternate universe, you’re likely chief of staff to President Hillary Clinton. What does April 2018 under a President Clinton look like? KLAIN: A major infrastructure program would be underway, investing in roads, bridges, broadband, and transit projects – not a needless wall on our Southern border – creating jobs in the short term and the underpinnings of economic growth for the long run. President Clinton has sent legislation to Congress to raise the minimum wage, provide paid family leave, strengthen Obamacare, promote common sense gun safety, and prevent discrimination in the workplace – some of that will have passed, on other issues, we’d still be fighting it out. America would be working with its allies to combat our security threats, not feuding with our allies and placating our adversaries. And the US would still be part of the Paris accords, and a global leader combating climate change. I could go on, but, the contrast is too stark, and too depressing, to merit more elaboration.
You have a free day back in Indianapolis. How do you spend it? KLAIN: If the day is the Sunday before Memorial Day, you would find me at the Indianapolis 500, my favorite event to attend anywhere in the world. If the day is early August, you will find me at the State Fair, enjoying the rides, the food, the exhibits, and the feel of the place. Otherwise, I’m spending it with my mother, my sister and brother, my nieces and nephews who live in the Indianapolis area, enjoying time with family and visiting old haunts. Plus, always, a drive past North Central High School, my alma mater – go Panthers!
THE LONGREAD
YOUR FLYOVER COUNTRY-IS-SO-HOT-RIGHT-NOW LONGREAD, from The California Sunday Magazine: “Does Tech Need Silicon Valley? Startup founders throughout the Midwest are doing something new. Staying.”…“A crop of co-working facilities and incubators and accelerators sprang up downtown and in nearby cities like Fishers, the site of the warehouse-size Launch Fishers, which offered space for 500 entrepreneurs. Real estate was cheap. Founders could sink more of their cash into development. And in contrast to the frequently cutthroat nature of Silicon Valley, the emerging scene in Indianapolis was, for the most part, mutually supportive, infused with Midwestern politeness.”
TIP JAR: What did I miss? What major storylines or tidbits should be in the next issue? I’ll give it my best shot, but this newsletter will only be as good as you make it. Ideas of how I can make it more useful for you? Reply with scoops and feedback.