Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Mitch Daniels: Heartthrob of the elites (BARF ALERT)
Politico ^ | Saturday January 22, 2011 | JONATHAN MARTIN

Posted on 01/22/2011 6:36:32 PM PST by Bigtigermike

If pundits and columnists represented the GOP base, Mitch Daniels would be the odds-on favorite for the presidential nomination in 2012.

The Indiana governor has been showered with favorable coverage from political thinkers and analysts in recent months, most of which heaped praise on his thoughtful and principled approach to governing while celebrating his serious yet down-to-earth mien.

“Of all the Republicans talking about the deficit these days, Mitch Daniels, the governor of Indiana, has arguably the most credibility,” claimed The New York Times’ David Leonhardt in an Indianapolis-datelined economics column recently.

Daniels is hardly the first presidential prospect to be greeted with bouquets from the cognoscenti as the Last Honest Man in politics. There is a long, bipartisan tradition of White House aspirants who play the truth-teller role and they almost invariably receive better reviews in print than at the polls.

Bruce Babbitt, Paul Tsongas, Ross Perot, John Anderson, Lamar Alexander and John McCain in 2000 all won plaudits from elites for their willingness to speak hard truths about the real problems facing the country rather than just pandering to the partisan rabble.

(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: gop; mitchdaniels; palin; sarahpalin
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-82 next last
To: r9etb
Complaints against the Toll Road king and Rino, surely you joke.

I would not vote for him for dog catcher I've been to Indiana, the place is a damn mess.

61 posted on 01/22/2011 8:36:49 PM PST by org.whodat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: sgtyork

— Agreed. When I first read him saying ‘truce’ I was non-plussed but as socially conservative as I am, we are near financial meltdown. Lets get the ship righted first.


No. It doesn’t work. You either elect a socon or you elect a liar. In the latter case, you get no fiscal fix because you elected someone who won you over with lies about fixing it.


62 posted on 01/22/2011 8:37:00 PM PST by PaleoBob
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 53 | View Replies]

To: muawiyah
There is not one bit of difference in that and saying you support crony capitalism and socialism.
63 posted on 01/22/2011 8:40:59 PM PST by org.whodat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: terycarl

“a sale indicates ownership without restrictions....they have plenty of restrictions, rules, regulations, expectations, responsibilities etc.....and they can’t take it out of the state(without permission) “

I guess you guys will just have to learn that Cintra knows how to play hardball.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/fixer/article/726246—province-says-it-s-powerless-on-hwy-407-bills

Oh well, I guess you guys will just have to learn this the hard way too. Too bad you didn’t check with Canada first.

We, in Texas, knew what was coming, and pretty much stopped it.


64 posted on 01/22/2011 8:41:04 PM PST by BobL (PLEASE READ: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2657811/posts)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 59 | View Replies]

To: BobL

In Indiana, we pay our bills, apparently unlike Texas and Ontario. Seriously, with the way the toll collection system is set up, you would have to intentionally be trying to pull off some scam to run into billing problems.

Before the lease agreement, the toll road in Indiana was a political payback system that was corruptly mismanaged. We heard all kinds of complaints before the lease was signed, but hardly anybody talks about it now except with positive remarks about how much better it is.

Turning a freeway into a toll road is stupid, but Daniels didn’t do that. He took a badly managed, money losing tollway, got rid of cushy union patronage jobs, and turned it into a cash cow for the state. Not only that, he used the cash in fiscally responsible ways to keep the state in a strong financial position.


65 posted on 01/22/2011 9:10:43 PM PST by mongrel
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 64 | View Replies]

To: Bigtigermike

Mitch Daniels is a fantastically talented leader. Leave it to the yahoos on FR to talk him down. Are there any sober voices of reason on this website anymore? What has happened to this place?


66 posted on 01/22/2011 9:15:23 PM PST by beckett (Amor Fati)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: r9etb
NO, I have no complaints about Mitch Daniels -- my comment was directed to the PUNDITS, my sarcastic remark was about the "elite" MSM pundits who seek to select our candidates -- apparently because they consider us out here in the masses to be ignorant of such matters and thus from their elevated positions, they must patronizingly assist us ignoramuses by annointing their fav.

LOL

67 posted on 01/23/2011 4:34:21 AM PST by hennie pennie
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Bigtigermike

How about Romney,they are wetting thier pants over him,and John Huntsman jr.


68 posted on 01/23/2011 5:37:19 AM PST by ballplayer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: org.whodat
In order to avoid crony capitalism and socialism, we must maintain the power and scope of government over our lives, got it.

Joking aside, the idea of private operation of public functions is an idea that goes back through Ronald Reagan to Margaret Thatcher. And the fact of the matter is an asset is better maintained by an entity that has a financial stake in it, over one that does not. Even those much-despised parking meters in Chicago actually work. (The one that I found that didn't--I called the 1-800 number and the technician was standing next to me within 15 minutes--you think that would've been possible under the old, government run system?).

69 posted on 01/23/2011 5:56:40 AM PST by 1rudeboy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 63 | View Replies]

To: beckett
Leave it to the yahoos on FR to talk him down. Are there any sober voices of reason on this website anymore? What has happened to this place?

Most of them have already chosen their candidate and will tear down any opposition.

70 posted on 01/23/2011 6:10:20 AM PST by Pan_Yan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 66 | View Replies]

To: Pan_Yan

That pretty much covers it. If you hold the opposite view (of holding judgement until the races actually begin), it’s quite amusing to watch.


71 posted on 01/23/2011 6:14:17 AM PST by 1rudeboy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 70 | View Replies]

To: 1rudeboy

Comparing parking meters to the united states tax payer built and user funded interstate highway system is comparing an ant to an elephant. And is silly as hell.


72 posted on 01/23/2011 6:52:42 AM PST by org.whodat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 69 | View Replies]

To: hennie pennie
NO, I have no complaints about Mitch Daniels -- my comment was directed to the PUNDITS, my sarcastic remark was about the "elite" MSM pundits who seek to select our candidates

So, apparently, you will accept only candidates about whom the MSM does not report; or at the very least, you won't accept anybody about whom the MSM has something nice to say.

That's a remarkable admission on your part.

73 posted on 01/23/2011 7:03:34 AM PST by r9etb
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 67 | View Replies]

To: Bigtigermike
Daniels doesn't have the charisma to run for President. A lot of shallow voters are disgusted with Obama, but not disgusted enough to vote for a short, bald, white guy. He's a policy wonk - Al Gore without the physical beauty. :)

But he'd make an excellent Commerce Secretary.

74 posted on 01/23/2011 7:10:22 AM PST by Mr. Jeeves ( "The right to offend is far more important than any right not to be offended." - Rowan Atkinson)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 1rudeboy

Daniels first action here in Indiana upon taking office was de-certifying the UAW as representative of state employees.

That little deal had been set up by Evan Bayh 16 yrs previous.

It took a lot of b@lls to do that in a state with a lot of union members.

It certainly made the state budget a whole lot more healthy.


75 posted on 01/23/2011 7:16:52 AM PST by nascarnation
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: org.whodat
I've been to Indiana, the place is a damn mess.

I've lived here for 28 yrs and beg to differ.

And compared to Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois (states with similar geography and demographics) we're stellar.

76 posted on 01/23/2011 7:19:35 AM PST by nascarnation
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 61 | View Replies]

To: nascarnation

LOL, it is a mess, just because you get accustom to your septic tank leaking is no sign your neighbor don’t smell it.


77 posted on 01/23/2011 7:54:03 AM PST by org.whodat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 76 | View Replies]

To: org.whodat

as we used to say at my old workplace

without data, you are just another manager with an opinion


78 posted on 01/23/2011 8:01:08 AM PST by nascarnation
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 77 | View Replies]

To: org.whodat
You meant to direct your comment to the person who first did it, then. If you want to compare apples to apples, then privatizing the operation of the Chicago Skyway worked just as well as privatizing the operation of the Indiana Toll Road. In fact, if Illinois could privatize the operation of its tollroad, the taxpayers would save a lot of money, also.

And why talk about roads? Let's talk about nuclear power plants, water filtration plants, gas pipelines, and airports, etc. All of which are run by private entities with success.

79 posted on 01/23/2011 9:32:58 AM PST by 1rudeboy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 72 | View Replies]

To: nascarnation
Don't you know your opinion is worth less than that of people who don't know what the heck they are talking about (or read Politico, same difference).
;)
80 posted on 01/23/2011 9:36:00 AM PST by 1rudeboy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 76 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-82 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson