House GOP to Bauer: Enough with the Shenangians

By: Brian Sikma

On Thursday evening the Indiana House Republican Caucus finally had enough with the shenanigans of Speaker B. Patrick Bauer and his various minions. In a bold and overdue move House Republicans refused to reconvene with the rest of the House after a series of amendment battles involving immigration reform legislation, specifically SB 335.

The action started when the Speaker failed to call the Senate passed immigration bill down to the floor for amendments and votes. This amounted to a killing of the Senate passed bill. Democrats then began trying to incorporate some provisions of the killed bill into another Senate passed bill. House Republicans left the floor, objecting on the grounds that they did not have sufficient time to prepare for amendments to the other Senate bill or even offer any amendments on the fly.

Speaker Bauer appears to have defended his move saying that he was trying to prevent the passage of a racist bill. According to the Indianapolis Star, Bauer declared “we don’t need a hate debate on this floor.” Apparently it is hateful when a group of legislators seek to pass legislation that provides for greater law-enforcement tools.

The charge of racist has been leveled repeatedly at Sen. Mike Delph, the lead sponsor of SB 335. According to one report, Rep. Vannessa Summers (D-Indianapolis), who sits on the House Public Policy Committee, repeatedly lashed out at Sen. Delph during a committee hearing on SB 335. Of course one of the charges she leveled at Sen. Delph was that he was a racist.

It is disturbing when our elected officials resort to name-calling at a time when serious debate and discussion should be had. Many of the state legislators who support state level immigration reform are reluctant warriors in this battle. It is widely acknowledged that our current immigration woes are the result of inadequate border security measures and sporadic enforcement of immigration law. Both of these are federal issues.

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However, even as the federal government fails to act there are some very careful and very important steps that states can take to work towards, if not a solution, then a mitigation of the problem. SB 335 focuses its efforts on requiring employers to verify a prospective employee’s immigration status using a federal database program known as E-Verify. If the employer proceeds to knowingly hire an individual who is in this country illegally then specific and careful penalties are to be applied. The bill also criminalizes the providing of aid to an illegal immigrant who is seeking to escape detection. To clarify, this provision does not apply to those who are rendering medical or charitable aid and are not seeking to help the individual break the law. A third general measure contained in the bill is an authorization for the State Police to seek and make use of federal immigration law enforcement training funds. Subsequent to this training state troopers will then be allowed to work with federal authorities in the normal course of their duties to enforce federal immigration statutes.

To paint anyone who supports the very basic provisions of SB 335 as racist simply because they want to enforce the rule of law is deeply unfortunate. If one is opposed to the bill for whatever reason, then there should be plenty of ways to express thoughtful opposition without having to smear supporters of the bill with accusations of bigotry, racism, or hate. There is absolutely nothing in this bill that singles out any particular minority, race, or nationality. The bill is aimed at those who break the law irrespective of other characteristics.

Senator Mike Delph and the various senators and representatives who have stood with him in advocating for some measure of immigration reform should be commended for trying to make the best of a less-than-desirable situation.

To get back to the House walkout, this was a good thing to see. Not only was the issue an important one, but the signal that the walkout itself sent was an important one as well. Democrats in the House, whether they are in the minority or the majority, play like they are the ones in charge. They push their agenda, the fight the Republican leadership if they have to, they are not afraid of being seen as partisan. While many of the ideas they are advocating for are flawed, it is admirable that they believe so strongly in their policy positions. This is not to say that all of the tactics that they use are acceptable or worthy of imitation.

The House Republican caucus needs to start acting like the loyal opposition that it should be. It is never a good thing to pick a fight simply for a fight’s sake, but it is quite a worthy thing to fight a fight because you are standing firm on your principles. Until now it has been disappointing to see occasions where House Republicans missed a good opportunity to draw a strong distinction between themselves and the policies they support, and the actions and policies of the majority party.

If House Republicans are going to win back the majority this fall, and I think they can, they are going to have to boldly, read that again, boldly advocate for real solutions to the problems that Hoosiers face. Last year’s opposition to the state budget bill and this year’s opposition to the immigration stunts are two examples of what should have been an overriding legislative mentality.

Let me be clear, I am not advocating for a nasty, acidic political environment on the state level. What I am advocating for is some calm, positive, and firm leadership on the part of House and Senate Republicans. We can advocate for our ideas without being nasty, we can smile at press conferences as we point out why the Speaker’s actions were so dismal, we can affirmatively communicate our ideas and still draw strong distinctions on issues.

House Republicans have shown that they can stand apart from House Democrats and it’s time for them to adopt an attitude that rises above the short-sighted “solutions” offered by some Democrats and goes firmly and directly to the people of Indiana with the message that conservatism works. Only when House Republicans start playing to win will the people of Indiana see that they really do deserve to win this fall.