Be Careful What You Wish For
Back on June 15, 2015, just hours before he filed for re-election, Indiana Democrats called on voters to “Fire Mike Pence”.
They argued Pence hurt the state with support of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. They also said Indiana was falling behind when it comes to jobs and wages.
I remember the rhetoric quite well. Now all I can think of is what grandmother Shabazz used to tell her favorite grandson, “be careful what you wish for.”
Democrats in general, John Gregg and Glenda Ritz specifically, have basically built their entire re-election campaigns around Pence and his personality.
What has helped them get traction have been those “Lugar-Daniels-Ballard Republicans” who had soured on Pence because of his prior controversies. None of those folks are/have/ever will be Democrats, they just didn’t like Mike.
Well guess what, he’s gone now. He’s running for Vice-President.
So all take all the lines about how Pence hates the LGBT community, teachers, labor and puppy dogs and throw them in the trash with the rest of the “Fire Mike Pence” signs.
And if you think any of that stuff is going to work on Eric Holcomb, Susan Brooks or Todd Rokita, then you’ve been spending too much time at the First Church of Cannabis.
If you recall the Bellwether poll, released just before Pence filed for re-election, on the generic ballot Republicans beat Democrats for the Presidency by 12 points, but Pence was basically tied with Ritz and Gregg as possible candidates. A subsequent poll done a year later showed similar results and further cemented the belief that Pence’s troubles were his alone and weren’t translating to the rest of the ticket.
So now that Pence is gone, Democrats will have to come up with a new playbook. Luckily for them Gregg has money in the bank and Evan Bayh in the U.S. Senate race. Those are the two things that will keep them somewhat competitive, especially since they don’t have Pence to kick around anymore.
Or if I may use the full line Grandma Shabazz used to say, “be careful what you wish for, because not only might you get, but God may give it to you in the way you neither expected nor liked.”
