REALLY IMPORTANTVILLE: Post debate wrap-up edition
05/01/2018 08:05 AM EDT
By @AdamWren
Send me scoops at cadamwren@gmail.com.
DAYS TO PRIMARY DAY: 7
DEBATE REACTS: In the final U.S. Senate debate, pugilistic Republican candidates degraded into friendly fire, attacking one another for being insufficiently Trumpian in their tone and disposition. The candidates did not address how the state’s 56,800 farmers would be impacted by President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs.
--The most interesting (only?) policy news of the night: ROKITA claimed that later this week he would file a congressional resolution to end the Mueller probe within 30 days. This, despite the fact that Mueller has not concluded his probe, and has dozens of questions for Trump, reports the New York Times.
--MESSER was the only candidate to attend the Indiana Debate Commission post-debate press conference, marking the first time in a decade that all primary candidates weren’t present for the event.
--MESSER claims victory: “Luke Messer won the fourth and final Indiana Senate primary debate tonight hosted by the Indiana Debate Commission. Messer has been the clear winner in all four debates, proving he's the best candidate to take on Joe Donnelly in the fall.”
--INDIANA DEMOCRATS claim victory, per Chairman John Zody: “There was one clear winner for tonight’s debate, just like there was for the last three debates, and indeed the entire year-long primary: Joe Donnelly.”
FUTURE AD AGAINST BRAUN?
You might see this again... #insen pic.twitter.com/eIajZJUrdX
— Peter Hanscom (@peterhanscom) May 1, 2018
TWEET OF THE NIGHT, per Indiana’s favorite son—the pride of Greenville—CNN Politics Reporter Eric Bradner:
The former Indiana governor who's come up the most is Mitch Daniels — not Mike Pence.
It makes sense: Daniels' influence and legacy is towering, and Pence's tenure was short and controversial. I'm not sure that matches the view from the national level though. #INSen
— Eric Bradner (@ericbradner) April 30, 2018
Good Tuesday morning, and welcome to a bonus edition of Importantville: Very Importantville. It’s May in Indianapolis. Finally.
WHERE'S MIKE? Phoenix Arizona, for an event with Governor Doug Ducey (R-AZ). WHERE'S ERIC? Merrillville, where the governor will participate in a Q&A with Marc Chase, Editor of The Times of Northwest Indiana. WHERE'S JOE (THE MAYOR)? On 38th street, at Resurrection Community Church, located near a resurfacing project that will repair 38th Street from Tacoma Avenue to Sherman Drive. WHERE'S TODD? Speedway, for a tour of the Dallara IndyCar Factory.
WHO REALLY WON MONDAY NIGHT: Fans of IU Basketball and Romeo Langford, who announced he would be joining IU’s basketball team.
INSIDE BASKETBALLL: MESSER said at a post-debate press conference that he and an aide worked out a hand-signal deployed near the end of the debate that would inform the candidate whether Romeo Langford chose I.U.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: CANDIDATES barnstorm the state. As will the national political reporters.
BASKETBALL-CRAZED INDIANA: At 7:19 p.m. last night, WTHR.com tweeted that 1,100 people were watching Romeo Langford on WTHR’s Facebook stream; only 48 were watching the Senate Debate.
STATE OF THE RACE: Nobody knows. Most Republican voters likely haven’t decided for whom they’ll vote. That will happen over the next 7 days. To be certain, though: Braun is spending a lot of money. Texts one Republican party leader on the Central Committee: “I honestly have no idea. The low turnout will matter. The geographic variations in turnout will matter. One of those elections where we’ll know more when it’s over.”
--To use an old saw: If the Election were held today, a lot of voters would be surprised.
THE LEDES
DEPARTMENT OF HOOBOY, per CNN: “Vice President Mike Pence's physician privately raised alarms within the White House last fall that President Donald Trump's doctor may have violated federal privacy protections for a key patient -- Pence's wife, Karen -- and intimidated the vice president's doctor during angry confrontations over the episode.”
--This could put PenceWorld at odds with TrumpWorld. Trump has defended Jackson, and used it against Senator Jon Tester. What will he say when he discovers concerns originated from his Veep?
--NOTE TO TRUMP: The call was coming from inside the House.
OUT THIS WEEK: The Global Philanthropy Environment Index, from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, which "aims to capture the factors that enhance or inhibit philanthropy’s success across the world. This year’s edition – the first since 2015 – now evaluates each nation’s political environment and its socio-cultural environment vis-à-vis philanthropy, in addition to evaluating regulatory factors. Of note this year is that the research identifies political uncertainty and instability as a growing and uniquely critical threat to philanthropy, and the billions of dollars in international development aid it helps facilitate. The researchers also believe that pressure on European and American governments to look inward suggests that the need for private philanthropy to address international aid and development needs is particularly acute."
--POLITICAL INSTABILITY: The consequences are real for philanthropy and the organizations that rely on it. We see this in the Trump tax cuts (What will it do to giving incentives?); to the refugee crisis in Europe (Anti-immigrant pressure on governments has left nonprofits to fill the fill the void to help migrants re-settle); and new restrictions on international giving (This is true in places like Russia, Hungary and Turkey.)
--NOT All BAD NEWS: The urge to give and serve is present in each of the 79 countries studied. And there’s noticeable correlation between a strong philanthropic environment and strong GDP per capita.
THE KICKER
“A whopping 361,000 people watched all nine episodes of Stranger Things season 2 on its premiere date, according to data shared by Nielsen at its annual NewFronts breakfast in New York," reports Variety. “At 52 minutes per episode, that's 7.8 hours of content consumption on premier day per person.”