SHABAZZ: ‘Diversity’ is about thought and opinion, not race
It’s offensive—and, in fact, quite racist—to think a black person or minority has “black” or “minority” opinions simply because of the color of his or her skin.
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IRELAND: Candidates can win millennials with right agenda
A longtime—though unreliable—target group of the left, young adults for the first time in a generation could instead flip for conservatives this November.
DANIELS: Female candidates face unnecessary challenges
It is a sad truth that when men are forceful, they are viewed as strong, just the sort of leader we want. But when women are forceful, they are seen as strident, lecturing, even “bitchy.”
SIDDIQUI: Times may have changed, but our values shouldn’t
Voting against Trump is a moral imperative.
WAGNER: Politics without purpose is no fun
Like so many of my friends, I just can’t find much joy in mindlessly hurling insults to advance an agenda—if there even is one—that helps no one.
Trump’s rise should prompt GOP to look in mirror
For decades, Republican leaders—desperate to boost dwindling numbers as old white men die and minority populations grow—have embraced anyone who would have them, from corporate CEOs to white supremacists, gun enthusiasts to evangelicals, anti-abortion activists to warmongers.
SEAT: Scott Walker is example of what others should have done
What if one, two or 10 of the other GOP presidential candidates had followed Scott Walker’s lead? What if Ben Carson, John Kasich and Ted Cruz got out before Super Tuesday?
LEPPERT: Character would naturally have culled field
I recommend Republicans re-energize their platform to be pragmatic and attractive to that moderate group of voters who have lost interest in them. One of the major parties will win the middle. Right now it’s not the GOP.
BOEHM: States should steer clear of refugee policy
Governmental actions classifying people by nationality, like race and gender, rarely survive judicial scrutiny.
MILLER: Hoosiers deserve paid family leave
Paid family leave is a unique issue in that it can unite both pro-choice and pro-life groups.
SPALDING: A state that works (to erase RFRA from memory)
What we knew back then is now confirmed—the RFRA local and national backlash in 2015 was a big concern for the Pence administration, and rightfully so.
BARLOW: LGBT battle lacks real cases of discrimination
The Legislature pulled off a feat of magic that even the past valedictorians of Hogwarts would be jealous of: They created an environment of discrimination that hadn’t existed simply by affirming the right of religious objection.
TOMES: More criminal violence raises need to carry guns
SB 259 would allow employees of the General Assembly to carry a handgun within the Statehouse and surrounding grounds if they possess a valid Indiana license to carry. It’s an important safety measure for those who work for the General Assembly.
BREAUX: Let’s keep reasonable limits on right to bear arms
I deeply respect the right to gun ownership, but we rightly place rational limits on it. We don’t allow violent felons to purchase weapons, and any Joe off the street isn’t entitled to a bazooka. It’s my belief that those rational limits should extend to the Statehouse.
SOWELL: Emotions trumping reality in voter support for Trump
Today’s big puzzle is how so many otherwise rational people have become enamored of Donald Trump, projecting onto him virtues and principles that he clearly does not have, and ignoring gross defects that are all too blatant.
DOWD: Palin is so bad that she’s actually good for feminism
Before Palin, if a woman flamed out in a spectacular fashion, it was considered an X through the X chromosome. But when Palin turned out to be utterly unqualified and unintelligible, it did not reflect poorly on women as a whole—only on her and John McCain.
BLOW: Hillary Clinton’s attacks on Sanders only sully her
There are a tremendous number of echoes starting to be heard between the way Clinton ran against President Obama, and the way she is running against Bernie Sanders. If Clinton can’t find a positive, energetic message to project, and soon, she is going to be swept away by Sanders.
BROOKS: Feelings of powerlessness are perverting 2016 election
Today we live in a world of isolation and atomization, where people distrust their own institutions. In such circumstances many people respond to powerlessness with pointless acts of self-destruction. The American election has been perverted by these feelings of powerlessness.
IRELAND: Finally, signs of life in the state superintendent’s race
Republican leadership has been itching to see Glenda Ritz out the door but struggled to recruit a candidate to lead the charge. Even though this is a no-brainer priority race, it took Indiana Republicans until the end of January to field a viable candidate to challenge her: Jennifer McCormick, the current superintendent of Yorktown Public Schools.
SPALDING: Is this campaign the making of a terrible president?
As Hoosiers consider which person to choose as our next president, I urge them to approach the task as if they were interviewing candidates for a job at the company they own. So far, those running for president are not making a good first impression.