Mitch Daniels caves

By Ralph Alter

Today Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana dealt a serious blow to his chances for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, when he caved in to the walk-out by Democrats in the Indiana House over a controversial right-to-work bill. Beth Schneider writes in the Indianapolis Star:

Daniels told reporters this afternoon that he expects House Democrats will return to work if the bill dies. It would be unfortunate if other bills are caught up in the turmoil, he said.

He will not send out state police to corral the Democrats, the Republican governor said.

The Democrat minority has (the) right to express its views, he added.

Daniels is a fiscal hawk who has won national acclaim for the bang-up job he has done steering the Indiana economy out of the mire of the recession compounded by two previous terms of Democrat irresponsibility. The governor gave a controversial speech at the CPAC convention asking Republicans to "call a truce" on social issues while dealing with America's faltering economy.

Word to Mitch: the stifling effect of labor unions on the economy is not a social issue.

Daniels' unwillingness to stand on principle on issues important to social conservatives suggested that there might be a weak spot in the former Reagan Budget Director's resume. Daniels earned the sobriquet "Mitch the Knife" for his willingness to stand on economic principle while helping trim the fat out of the federal budget.

Apparently, Daniels now wants to be known as "Mitch the Nice." That won't work for me or any of the conservatives that I know. Now is the time to draw the proverbial line in the sand and act on the mandate provided conservatives in the 2010 mid-term elections. Reigning in union greed must be a top priority.

I'm sure teachers, federal employees, Indiana Democrats and associated union ilk are searching the thrift stores for "My Man Mitch" buttons that they would previously have spat upon.

Sorry Mitch, but it's only taken two weeks in the national public eye to prove that you ain't no Chris Christie or Scott Walker.

Ralph Alter is a regular contributor to American Thinker. He blogs at www.rightot.blogspot.com