With Mike Pence’s inauguration as the 50th governor of Indiana only just concluded, the Columbus Republican launched headlong into signing a series of executive orders. While seeking to replace outgoing Gov. Mitch Daniels, Pence campaigned strongly on a platform favoring job creation and economic growth, which we heartily endorsed. And so with the ink on his new business cards barely dry, what did he do to further that effort? Well, not much. In fact, he signed orders that covered enhanced ethics practices (not exactly a real reach), government efficiency (an oxymoron if ever there were one) and transparency, among others. Where more jobs and boosting our economy are critical to Indiana’s immediate and long-term future, our new governor also is requiring some state agencies to develop family impact statements; nothing moves the economic needle like a good family impact statement. Do family values matter? Certainly, they do, and our economy has a heck of a lot to do with those. Oh, he did toss in one order to temporarily (hugely key word, friends) stop the establishment of new regulations “until the Office of Management and Budget can assess the costs and benefits of current regulations and recommend ways to reduce regulatory burdens. Exclusions are made for regulations needed to create jobs, reduce state spending, repeal existing rules, or address cases of emergency, health or safety,” according to his office. We expected more right out of the gate. Hopefully in the weeks ahead, it will materialize, but for now we’re underwhelmed by his initial efforts.
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Hillary Rodham Clinton, the outgoing secretary of state, is going to testify Wednesday about the horrific events that unfolded in Benghazi. We hope the concussion she unfortunately sustained late last year won’t inhibit her memory of the events.