Indiana Democratic Party's response to Gov. Daniel's comments

From the Indiana Democratic Party:

Last year, this state and our country voted for a change from the Bush Administration's disastrous eight years of mismanagement. It was a historic election that brought together long-time Democratic Party activists and first-time voters, and with one voice Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States.

Unfortunately, the Republican Party still doesn't get it, and no one is more clueless than Governor Mitch Daniels.

Despite the ongoing budget debate here at home, Mitch Daniels once again hopped on a plane heading East yesterday and continued his campaign for attention among Washington insiders.

Here's what he had to say about the millions of Hoosiers that voted for change last year:

"A lot of upper-income people that I saw vote for him, it was a luxury purchase in the sense that it didn't seem a threat economically, there was the history of it, there was the natural desire for change after a period of poor results," Daniels said."

"Quite honestly, it was a fashion-statement vote for some people..."

"People wanted to demonstrate enthusiasm for a society that could elect an African-American president."

But, Daniels said, some of those voters might now have regrets because the policies -- particularly the stimulus spending -- and debt that President Obama has launched.

(Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, 6/4/09)

This comes just one day after Gov. Daniels proposed a state budget that heavily relies on the federal stimulus dollars that President Obama made a top priority when he took office. Someone should tell Mitch that you can't have it both ways.

Remember, our current economic situation can be directly traced back to Mitch Daniels' days as President George W. Bush's budget advisor, and it seems that the closer President Obama and the Democratic Congress get to putting our country back on the right track, the more Republicans seem to dig in their heels.

Indiana went blue for the first time in 44 years last November, but the fight is far from over. Mitch Daniels and his Republican friends want to turn back the clock on the progress being made by Hoosier Democrats and President Obama, and your support will help to ensure that their smear campaign does not go unopposed.

For those of us from Indiana, this kind of disrespectful, wrong-headed speech from Gov. Daniels is nothing new, but now more than ever it is important that we redouble our efforts to support the Democratic Party's campaign for change. I'm proud of our accomplishments thus far, and know that with your help, we can continue to fix the mistakes of Mitch Daniels and his former boss.

From the Statehouse to the White House, Democrats are working tirelessly to prove Mitch Daniels wrong, and I know you will continue the fight to show that your vote last year was more than a "fashion-statement" or "luxury purchase."

Democratically Yours,

Daniel J. Parker

Comments

[Robert Phelps]

Karen Mitch put stimulus money in his budget as a way to reach out to member of your party who wanted to use stimulus all along something he did not support it is called compromise he was doing it to give hoosiers a budget before this one expires. And I love how the state democratic party talking about the state budget talks about the change that Indiana wanted and saying Mitch Daniels is clueless do they forget that Mitch Daniels won reelection by 18 points statewide 22 in Allen County. I would want to forget that also. I love how the democratic party acts like things are finally starting to change for them do you forget that in 2008 every Republican on the ballot won the Allen County vote? In Indiana Republicans are the only party of purpose and when national republican leadership learns from Indiana this country will get back on track.