What's in Buttigieg's book?—Young and Braun on the end of the shutdown—Hogsett has jury duty
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What's in Buttigieg's book?—Young and Braun on the end of the shutdown—Hogsett has jury duty
What's happening—and what's next—at the intersection of Indiana business and politics?
By Adam Wren and design by Kris Davidson
Days until the 2019 election: 281
Days until the 2020 election: 645
In his forthcoming book, Shortest Way Home, Pete Buttigieg intimately traces his life as a millennial alongside the life of the city he brought back from the brink. He argues that “the fundamental sentiment moving people in my corner of the the industrial Midwest” is “not resentment, but hope.” I obtained a copy last October.
Some key excerpts:
ON CALLING PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP A ‘DRAFT-DODGING 'CHICKENHAWK’ DURING THE DNC RACE: “While true, that statement was not in keeping with how I publicly speak about political figures, or anyone else , and afterward I reflected that this president was inspiring a loss of decency not just in his supporters, but also in those of us who opposed him.”
ON PENCE AS TRUMP’S RUNNING MATE: A whole chapter is dedicated to RFRA and Buttigieg’s relationship with Pence. Here, he writes about why Pence joined the ticket: “And while the Trump’s life story was anathema to everything Mike Pence believed in, this was the right move for Pence, too, if viewed in the cynical light of raw politics.”
NY TIMES REVIEW: “When Obama wrote his memoir, the idea that the nation would soon put an African-American in the White House seemed beyond the realm of the possible. After reading this memoir written 25 years later, the notion that Buttigieg might be the nation’s first openly gay president doesn’t feel quite as far-fetched.” The full review is here.
The book is out Feb. 12. I’ll be at a Feb. 10 book launch in South Bend. You can pre-order here.
Good Monday morning, and welcome to Importantville. Filing from Washington, D.C. today. Less than a week after announcing a presidential exploratory committee, Buttigieg is mourning the death of his father, Joseph, a popular former Notre Dame professor. “We are in mourning today,” Buttigieg posted to Facebook Sunday. “With his family at his side, Dad passed away peacefully earlier this afternoon. We miss him already but his love of life, and his moral passion, will stay with us forever.”
WHERE'S VEEP? He’s lunching with the president today at 12:30 p.m.
HOWARD’S MAN MITCH: Asked to name a Republican he admires, prospective 2020 independent candidate and Starbucks founder Howard Schultz told Axios' Mike Allen that would be Purdue University President Mitch Daniels.
HAPPENING THIS WEEK: The Indiana House and Senate are in session at 1:30 p.m. today. State Sen. James Merritt is expected to post an “off-the-charts” fundraising week. “We knew we would raise cash, but people are giving more than expected,” a source close to Merritt tells me.
NEXT LEVEL UPDATE—“Holcomb hits some workforce goals, still faces hurdles on others,” by IBJ's Lindsey Erdody: Gov. Eric Holcomb has made workforce development a priority since taking office in 2017—but while he’s made progress, the issue appears overshadowed by bigger priorities in this year’s legislative session.
“In 2018, Holcomb boldly outlined specific goals: Re-enroll 25,000 Hoosiers in college-degree programs, double the number of students in apprenticeships from 12,500 to 25,000, and see 1,000 prison inmates earn certificates every year, to name a few.
“One year later, Holcomb has exceeded some targets, like getting 400 businesses to apply for employee training grants in 2018, when the goal was only 250.”
TALKER: What’s behind this move?
WHAT PENCE IS READING: New York Times: “Trump and His Associates Had More Than 100 Contacts With Russians Before the Inauguration”—
During the 2016 presidential campaign and transition, Donald J. Trump and at least 17 campaign officials and advisers had contacts with Russian nationals and WikiLeaks, or their intermediaries, a New York Times analysis has found. At least 10 other associates were told about interactions but did not have any themselves.
Knowledge of these interactions is based on New York Times reporting, documents submitted to Congress, and court records and accusations related to the special counsel investigating foreign interference in the election.
On January 15, 2017, Pence told Fox News’ Chris Wallace that the campaign had no contact with Russians.
“Of course not,” Pence told Wal”ace. "Why would there be any contact between the campaign?” Pence told Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.” “This is all a distraction, and it's all part of a narrative to delegitimatize the election and to question the legitimacy of (Trump's) presidency.”
Importantville Soundbites: Shutdown Edition
.@SenToddYoung: The President’s announcement today is an encouraging step forward. I will continue working with the President and my colleagues in the Senate to advance policies that keep our government funded, secure our border, and protect our national security.
.@SenatorBraun: President @realDonaldTrump continues to keep his promise of putting America First and I fully support this legislation that will reopen the government while working with him on border security measures that will protect Hoosier families.
Around Importantville
Mayor Joe Hogsett has jury duty today. He was called once as a federal prosecutor as well.
“In 2018, the Republican National Committee led by Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel played a key role in helping us elect Republicans in competitive U.S. Senate races across the nation,” Indiana Republican Party Chairman Kyle Hupfer said in a statement Friday. “That includes here in Indiana, where we defeated Democrat Joe Donnelly and elected now-Senator Mike Braun. The RNC invested early in Indiana, and helped us establish a ground game of unprecedented size and scope in our state. Under Chairwoman McDaniel's leadership, our national party has never been stronger -- from our record fundraising to our superior data and beyond. Chairwoman McDaniel is the perfect person to continue leading the Republican National Committee, and I congratulate her on her re-election today.”
Friend of the newsletter Jake Koneman opened Central State Brewing in New York City this weekend.
I joined Fox 59’s IN Focus to talk Buttigieg’s possible 2020 bid.
Importantville Reads
Mitch Daniels, The Washington Post: “The State of the Union is a tasteless, classless spectacle. It must go.”
One needn’t be a hidebound traditionalist to appreciate the value of our national civic ceremonies, those uplifting occasions when Americans pause even briefly to be reminded of our shared citizenship and our fortune to live in a government subject to the people’s consent. The wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns on Memorial Day; public naturalization proceedings, when we welcome new Americans into the national family; state funerals such as those last year for Sen. John McCain and former president George H.W. Bush; the peaceful transition of authority at a presidential inauguration, which not even the occasional subpar speech can fatally depreciate.
A fractured country needs, if anything, more such moments for reflection on common bonds and mutual obligations. Events that dignify, unify and signify our membership in this special polity, and all the reasons we should be grateful for it, faults and all. Mark me down as a big fan of them.
But one such event has long since passed its sell-by date. It no longer fulfills the civic purpose that might once have justified its existence. On the contrary, it diminishes rather than elevates respect for the United States and its institutions. I refer to the tasteless, classless spectacle of the modern State of the Union speech. Or SOTU, in White House parlance. The political mud-wrestling over the State of the Union address in recent weeks only underscores the reasons for my belief that it’s time for this affair to be retired.
IMPORTANTVILLE TAKE: Curiously, Daniels omits his own participation in the modern spectacle he chides: He gave his party’s response in 2012. Daniels, who wrote his own speeches, is among the greatest American speechwriters of his generation. Perhaps he just wants better speeches.
Cate Brock, Harvard Political Review: “Hoosier Politics: An Interview with Christina Hale”
HPR: What do you hope to do to stay involved in Indiana politics?
CH: I want to continue to raise attention to issues that affect Hoosiers, whether through writing columns in newspapers or doing broadcast media. There are issues that we need to talk about and take action to solve. There’s a lot that needs to be done. I want to continue to drive the public conversation to be about practical solutions for Hoosiers. I want to support candidates around the state who are in it for the right reasons, who have good hearts and good minds, and who want to do the right thing for Hoosiers.
IMPORTANTVILLE TAKE: Hale, a fellow panelist on Fox 59’s IN Focus has been talked about as possible challenger to Rep. Susan Brooks and Gov. Eric Holcomb.
Arika Herron, Indianapolis Star: “Here's how Gov. Holcomb's plan to boost teacher pay could widen pay gap in Indiana”
A plan to save public school districts money — and hopefully get those dollars into the pockets of overworked, underpaid teachers — was supposed to save schools millions.
In some cases, like large and suburban districts in the Indianapolis metro area, it will. And teachers in those districts are poised to see raises of $1,000 or more. In some small and rural districts, though, the savings will be paltry and teachers may see little benefit.
The plan, which Gov. Eric Holcomb unveiled this month during his State of the State address, would take $150 million from Indiana's budget reserves and pay off an unfunded portion of the state's retirement fund for teachers, dropping the amount that school districts are required to pay toward the plan. Holcomb said he wants those savings to go toward raising teachers' salaries — a top issue at the Statehouse this year.
Chris Sikich, Indianapolis Star: “Pacers would stay long-term, Indy Eleven stadium has outside shot in proposals worth millions”
Indianapolis officials and state lawmakers are negotiating a lucrative deal to keep the Indiana Pacers in town for the long haul while significantly upgrading the Indiana Convention Center.
Indy Eleven is piggy-backing onto those talks for a similar agreement to fund a long-discussed soccer arena to lure a Major League team, but at this point that seems like more of a long shot.
The Pacers' current deal, $160 million in public money for a 5-year lease extension, expires in 2024. Sen. Ryan Mishler, chairman of the powerful budget-writing Senate Appropriations Committee, thinks there's legislative will to broker an agreement to keep the team in town longer.
“There are communities out there that are wiling to pay quite a lot of money to get sports teams,” Mishler said. “The goal should be to keep the Pacers here in Indiana. The entire state benefits from the Pacers, not just the city of Indianapolis.”
Adam Nagourney, New York Times: A Memoir From the Young, Gay Mayor of South Bend Running for President
Pete Buttigieg has been the mayor of South Bend, Ind., since 2012. He went to Harvard, spent two years as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford, where he studied Immanuel Kant and John Rawls, and served as a Navy lieutenant in Afghanistan. He speaks Arabic. He plays concert piano. He is gay. And now, at the age of 37, he has written a memoir, “Shortest Way Home.”
On the face of it, this does seem a little early. Yes, Barack Obama wrote one in 1995, nine years before he made a name for himself with a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. But Obama was an unusual figure, a graceful writer with an arresting story of being an African-American with national political ambitions growing up in the turbulence of a race-torn nation.
That’s all for today. Have a good week. Send me tips at cadamwren@gmail.com.
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