VERY IMPORTANTVILLE: Trump show in Elkhart—Donnelly's response—Pence's bad week—Hogsett on Aaron Bailey fallout

By @AdamWren

DAYS TO ELECTION DAY: 179
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WHAT'S NEW AFTER TRUMP'S ELKHART SHOW: Donnelly's nickname, "Sleepin' Joe"—which, who among us hasn't also slept? Who among us is not a habitual sleeper? We imagine the president will continue to workshop this one.

RNC RESPONSE: “President Trump made it crystal clear this evening to Hoosiers in Elkhart that Do-Nothing Democrat Joe Donnelly has not represented Hoosier values and it’s time to elect conservative leader and businessman Mike Braun in November," said RNC Spokesperson Michael Joyce. "From obstructing the Trump-Pence agenda to being a reliable vote in the Senate for Chuck Schumer, Donnelly’s days are numbered in Washington.”

NICKNAME GAME: For those keeping score at home, here are the four nicknames Donnelly has acquired:

--Do-Nothing Donnelly

--Mexico Joe

--Democrat Donnelly

--Sleepin' Joe

DONNELLY'S RESPONSE: "It's okay that the President and Vice President are here today for politics, but problems only get solved when you roll up your sleeves and put in the hard work. I'm Indiana's hired help in the Senate because I don't work for any president or any political party - I work for Hoosiers, and that will never change."

--One wired Indiana Republican texted me after Curtis Hill spoke: "Curtis Hill being vetted for Trump admin role?"

--THE PRESIDENT had Hill come on stage twice, in what seemed an Apprentice-like audition.

INDIANA GOP CHAIR KYLE HUPFER: "With a major statewide primary and a visit from the president and the vice president to officially launch a general election season that will determine the control of the U.S. Senate all in the same week, Indiana continues to be the political epicenter of the nation."

OUR TAKE: Epicenter, Mr. Chairman? With all due respect, you misspelled...

...IMPORTANTVILLE. Happy Friday, and welcome to a special edition of it: Very Importantville.

PENCE'S FRIDAY SCHEDULE: THE VICE PRESIDENT and THE SECOND LADY depart Indianapolis, IN on Air Force Two en route to Washington, D.C. at 2:40 p.m.

ROCKING IN AIR FORCE ONE (AND TWO)

JET-SETTING HOOSIERS: Reps. Rokita, Banks, Bucshon aboard AF2 with VP en route to Elkhart. Meanwhile on AF1: Congresswoman Jackie Walorski, from the district, Indiana Sen. Todd Young.

WHO WASN'T THERE: Messer. He was noticeably absent, meaning that Hoosier Republicans couldn't quite claim this was a Unity Rally they wanted.

ELKHART POOL REPORT, from HuffPost Senior White House Correspondent S.V. Dáte: The motorcade spent much of the route to Elkhart on a closed off Interstate 90, but once it got off the toll road, supporters lined Route 19, on both sides.

There were many hundreds of them, on both sides of the road, for the entire remainder of the drive. Most waved or held up cell phone cameras. Some carried Trump signs and U.S. flags.

Toward the end, as we approached the venue, people were lined up several deep at the intersection. At this point, there were a number of protesters mixed in, some carrying signs:

"No hate. No racism. No Trump."

"Fight truth decay."

The venue is the largest gym in Elkhart, where the high school basketball team plays. The capacity is approx 7,000, and it was full to the rafters.

Per NPR political correspondent and former colleague Don Gonyea, some rally attendees had traveled from at least five states to see Trump: Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

VEEP'S BAD WEEK: There has always been a tension between the way the national media has covered Pence and the way that many Hoosiers see Pence. National talking heads have up until recently covered Pence as Trump's deferential–if preening and obsequious—number two. Steeled. Sober. This week, though, something shifted.

All of this happened this week:

--Columnist George Will wrote that Pence is "horrifying."

--Morning Joe's Joe Scarborough said, “I think it is a fair time to start asking this question: What did Mike Pence know and when did he know it?” Scarborough said. “Mike Pence is an honorable man, Mike Pence says that Gen. (Michael) Flynn lied to him. Really? Did he? Is this the way Mike Pence wants this investigation to begin and then end prematurely before we get the truth to all the questions?”

--And here's Republican Strategist Steve Schmidt calling Pence a "titanic fraud."

WHY IT MATTERS: Sure, a lot of this chatter is coming from Never Trump Republicans. Pence defenders will call his detractors irrelevant and out of touch. But in the increasingly likely event Pence assumes the presidency if Trump resigns or is forced from office, Pence needs moral authority and a deep reservoir of good will to unite the nation. It seems he's losing that by the day among people who should otherwise by sympathetic to his cause.

IMPORTANTVILLE READS

LESLIE KNOPES? YEPS, WE GOT 'EM: A record number of Hoosier women are their party's nominees this year. Seven of the 18 for the U.S. House in Indiana are women. (H/T Indy Star's Maureen Groppe)

.@SmartPolitics confirms this is a record. Professor Ostermeier says the previous record was five female major party nominees, set last cycle in 2016 with Republicans Jackie Walorski, Susan Brooks, and Cat Ping and Democrats Angela Demaree and Shelli Yoder. https://t.co/YBl91BME2v

— Maureen Groppe (@mgroppe) May 10, 2018

From Indiana Public Media: "That includes two districts with an incumbent woman: Jackie Walorski (R) in the 2nd District and Susan Brooks (R) in the 5th District. Walorski’s district is the only one in Indiana with two women on the general election ballot. The last record of five women running was set in 2016, according to Political Analyst Eric Ostermeier. He says there’s been at least one female major party candidate in a U.S. House race in every race since 1988." Read more.

AARON BAILEY: "Two Indianapolis police officers who fatally shot an unarmed black motorist did not violate department policy and will keep their jobs, a citizen review panel ruled Thursday evening," according to The Star. Read more.

MAYOR JOE HOGSETT'S RESPONSE: "Today’s decision by the Civilian Police Merit Board to overturn the recommended termination of two officers is a disappointing and frustrating reminder that even as we continue our efforts to reform our criminal justice system, much work remains to be done....In the coming days, I will be engaging with community and public safety leaders to assess what should be considered to help restore faith in the police discipline process."

DONNELLY'S SECOND AD, "BRIDGE": “In Washington, someone has to bridge the divide between the far left and far right,” Joe says in the ad. “That’s where I stand – in our Hoosier common sense middle.”

WATCH the ad.

IMPORTANTVILLE DENIZEN CAM SAVAGE, in The Washington Post, on Democrats and the Affordable Care Act, which will play a big issue in Indiana's Senate race this year: “Democrats tried to tuck tail and run,” recalled Cam Savage, a GOP strategist who is working on races across the country. “Many of them lost in 2010 because they weren’t willing to defend that piece of legislation.”

READ more.

JAMES BRIGGS, writing against the grain of the narrative that Obama saved Elkhart, in the Indy Star: "Elkhart has become a popular presidential backdrop. Barack Obama made his first trip as president there in 2009 and returned two years ago to mark Elkhart's recovery from 20 percent unemployment. Elkhart's unique reliance on Americans buying RVs — nearly 90 percent of RVs are built there — makes it a laboratory for federal policy, from Obama's $800 billion economic stimulus package to Trump's tax cuts and tariffs." READ more.

YOUR FRIDAY LUNCH READ, from Chicago Magazine, ‘Ope!’: The All-Purpose Expression of Midwestern Politeness. "Trying to flag down a waiter? Almost run into someone? Feel the first drops of rain? There’s only one way to say it all. READ more.

THE NEXT NEXT NEWS CYCLE

PENCE comes to Indiana again next Thursday and Friday for a fundraiser.

THE KICKER

WHENEVER a sitting president visits Indiana, it's obligatory to watch what is perhaps the best two-episode run of Aaron Sorkin's West Wing, "20 Hours in America," which is set in the Hoosier state.

IMPORTANTVILLE'S favorite clip, among a dozen or so, occurs when Toby and Josh and Donna are left behind in Indiana because they mix up the state's dueling time zones. It's chock-full of Indiana references. Donna wears an Indiana State sweatshirt, for example.

DONNA: We came in this morning.

HOOSIER 1: We know who you are. We're not rednecks.