The Republicans have a problem. For the last two years, they have let reality stars take the de facto leadership role in their party. The 2008 election saw Sarah Palin emerge as a spokesperson for the GOP, and this was after she quit her governorship in Alaska and went on to get a show on TLC. In the past month, Donald Trump jumped in and took all the media attention away from any serious conversation occurring in our nation. His biggest claims to fame: He has the ""most popular show on NBC.""
Needless to say, it's time for the Republicans to put serious candidates on the campaign trail. With President Barack Obama beginning what many speculate will be the first $1 billion campaign, the Republicans and the nation need a strong, conservative GOP to put his or her hat in the race. Perhaps nobody embodies this character better than Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels.
Daniels may not be as spectacular a public speaker as our current president. He may not have written any memoirs or novels. He may not be a ""transformative"" politician. But he has experience, and in as tough of times as these, that is what the Republicans should be seeking out in a candidate.
Daniels flew under the radar until recently. He spent time in the Reagan administration, national security think tank the Hudson Institute, pharmaceutical corporation Eli Lilly and Company, the Office of Management and Budget, the National Security Council and is currently in his second term as Indiana governor. With unemployment at an unacceptable level and the deficit approaching $15 trillion, these credentials should appeal to a nation becoming too accustomed to simply accepting big personalities.
Indiana is dealing with issues shared by the entire nation, and Daniels has dealt with them maturely and effectively.
To me, the most impressive action from Daniels was maintaining a balanced budget throughout the recession. In his second year as governor he passed a balanced budget for his state, something that had not been done in Indiana in eight years. This happened in tandem with creating a health care assistance program that helps underprivileged Indianans. Unlike many of the Republican candidates and Obama, Daniels has actual results in his public service.
Daniels has also kept a strong face when dealing with education reform. Like many states, Indiana has faced resistance when trying to enact any reform, especially from teachers' unions. When the Democratic legislators walked out of the Indiana Capitol, Daniels and his Republican colleagues compromised, taking some of the controversial right-to-work legislation off the table. But he made sure that key education reforms, including a state voucher system and teacher merit pay, were still passed, much to the chagrin of Indiana teachers' unions and joy of education reformers.
For a short time, I was skeptical if Daniels could make it out of the Republican primaries, especially when he said conservatives should declare a ""truce"" on social issues.
While issues like abortion and gay marriage are not my top political priorities, they are for a large amount of the Republican base. But Daniels may have rectified this with recent laws that banned synthesized marijuana and diminished funding for Planned Parenthood. These actions will not be popular with the rising libertarian faction of the GOP, but it will surely play in his favor by attracting votes from the party's larger, socially conservative base.
It definitely seems Daniels has what the Republicans want as a candidate, but he still has to officially make the decision.
With people like Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin and Donald Trump taking the Republican spotlight, it is time for a more experienced, more credible leader to step up. The GOP's problem is its failure to have truly legitimate candidates running, and Daniels is its solution. Though the 2012 election is still more than a year away, Gov. Daniels' self-declared May deadline to make a decision is here now. And based on his experience and results as Indiana governor, he is who the GOP needs to challenge Obama to get America back on track. So please, Mr. Daniels, just run.
Matt Beaty is a sophomore majoring in math and computer sciences. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
