Critical Restraint
In every government administration there must exist watchdogs, and Gov. Daniels’ administration is no exception. But there is a fine line between helpful watchdog and partisan shrill and I worry that Taking Down Words (TDW) is crossing that line. Based upon this short article in Inside INdiana Business about Daniels’ plan to consolidate legal services in state agencies, TDW writes:
Next thing you know, Daniels will be sending the work to outside firms. Bet he won’t be able to find many in Indiana that don’t have a glut of conflicts. Hello, law firms in other states? Do you have any attorneys who’d like to suck money out of Indiana? Super!
It’ll be interesting to watch what happens as they metaphorically kill off attorneys who’ve been handling detailed, agency-specific legal issues for years.
Is this kind of analysis really serving the public interest? Without any specifics TDW is drawing overly broad and presumptious conclusions. As the article specifically notes, “changes are being handled on a case-by-case basis.” In other words, highly specialized agencies or services will likely retain in-house attorneys while generalized and overlapping ones will be consolidated in the attorney general’s office. But there is no way to know for certain yet, making TDW’s brash claims unfounded. If Daniels were to endorse more cute puppies and children, I’m starting to get the impression that TDW would suddenly oppose them.
