Daniels calls a “truce” on principled leadership

Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana.

As if his clumsy “truce” rhetoric on social issues hadn’t been stupid enough — you do have to win over the base before you get to the general election after all — Mitch Daniels has pretty much declared today he’s not particularly interested in taking on tough fiscal issues, either. The man who (allegedly) would be president and praised Governor Scott Walker for his political courage can’t even muster enough of his own to do the right thing by his state.

As Allahpundit at Hot Air wonders, if not now when?

Daniels claims the Star mischaracterized his comments, insisting that he didn’t tell the legislature to drop the bill but merely said that, in his opinion, they should wait until next term. Why wait? Because, according to Daniels, the right-to-work bill is a big enough deal that it shouldn’t be taken up unless voters are expecting a debate on it. And because the GOP didn’t campaign on it last fall, voters aren’t expecting it this term. Which … is an interesting “good government” principle, but not a convincing one. If you have a legislative advantage, why not press it to advance your agenda and let the public deal with you at the polls next cycle? That’s precisely how the Democrats passed ObamaCare. And yes, they paid dearly for it, but while congressional majorities may come and go, our new health-care law will quite possibly be with us forever. Mitch the Knife, as he’s known for his budget-slashing ways, should be especially prepared to act on big-ticket items when he has the chance, whether they’ve been fully debated in a campaign or not. If he faces off with Obama next year as the nominee, there’s no telling what issue will drive the election:Maybe it’ll be entitlements (in which case we’ll lose) or maybe it’ll be the Middle East or maybe it’ll be something else entirely. If the Medicare debate gets crowded out during the campaign, would a President Daniels refuse to address it because he and The One didn’t talk much about it on the stump?

Nice Deb calls Daniels, “cowardly”:

UM?

Looks like Daniels is calling a friggin’ truce on fiscal issues, too – and not serious about running for President.

Dude.

(Speechless).

She also links to Ace, who is equally unimpressed with Daniels’ lack of spine, evidenced further by his public statement of support for Indiana Democrat legislators who absconded on their responsibilities by running away instead of making their case and then going on record for a tough vote. Quoth the GOP Establishment’s best anti-Palin hope, “…the activities of today are a perfectly legitimate part of the process. Even the smallest minority — and that’s what we’ve heard from the last couple of days — has every right to express the strength of its views and I salute those who do.”

The strength of its views? Is this guy serious?

If he can’t stand up to runaway Democrats and their union special interests, how the hell is he going to stand up to America’s enemies (pardon the redundancy)? Last time I checked, most conservatives and responsible people frown upon adults who behave like children in order to avoid confrontation — which in this case means showing up at the state capitol and you know, doing the job you were elected to do, for which you also receive  a paycheck. But in Daniels’ mind, this is an admirable way to express opposition to legislation that upholds the rights of Indiana residents and helps break the influence of corrupt union bosses.

Some leader.

If he does run for president, I have a great slogan for his placards: Fleebaggers for Daniels!