“Indiana” on The Daily Caller

When Democratic lawmakers in Wisconsin fled their state in February 2011 to hamstring Republicans working to limit the collective-bargaining rights of public-sector unions, their colleagues in Indiana were clearly paying attention. Beginning Wednesday, Hoosier State Democrats have been skipping out of work to prevent Republicans from passing a “right to work” law. (more)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana tea party groups have overwhelmingly endorsed the Republican state treasurer’s bid to unseat six-term U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar in next year’s Senate race. (more)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A stage collapsed during a powerful storm at the Indiana State Fair on Saturday, sending steel scaffolding into the terrified crowd and killing at least four people awaiting a performance by the country band Sugarland. (more)

Indiana state Rep. Phillip Hinkle is under pressure to resign, just a day after a series of emails was released to The Indianapolis Star suggesting the politician had arranged a sexual rendezvous with an 18-year-old man via Craigslist. (more)

Starting this fall, the Indiana Department of Education will no longer require Indiana’s public schools to teach cursive writing. (more)

The White House on Thursday urged Indiana to back off a new law that would withhold taxpayer funding to Planned Parenthood, setting up a clash with the state after formally declaring its policy illegal. (more)

Overturning a common law dating back to the English Magna Carta of 1215, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Hoosiers have no right to resist unlawful police entry into their homes. (more)

Mitch Daniels did not announce his candidacy for president Thursday night. (more)

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence is running for the Republican nomination for governor. (more)

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said today he will sign a controversial bill that cuts off government funding to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. Indiana will become the first state to take such an action. (more)

When legislation to defund Planned Parenthood hit the desk of Indiana Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels late Wednesday night, headlines excitedly proclaimed ‘the truce is over,’ referring to Daniels’ remark last year that the next president would need to call a ‘truce on social issues.’ But social conservatives, many of whom were infuriated by Daniels’ comment, are divided on whether signing the bill would absolve Daniels, who is considering a run for president in 2012. While signing the bill could put Daniels on the road to redemption, many leaders in the social conservative community say it will not get him all the way there. (more)

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels spoke to Indianapolis Star reporters yesterday and gave strong indications that he might step into the race, while simultaneously noting his concerns. (more)

Mitch Daniels is cheap. (more)

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A new government building in Fort Wayne, Ind., may officially be called Citizens Square, but to some not-so-square citizens it will always be the Harry Baals Government Center. (more)

The flight of Wisconsin’s Democratic state senators to Illinois to avoid voting on a measure to strip public unions of power has attracted national attention for weeks. The flight of Indiana’s Democratic legislators, not so much. (more)

The state’s top election official will face seven felony counts, including voter fraud, perjury and theft, a special prosecutor said today. (more)

URBANA, Ill. (AP) — Illinois, known for its wayward politicians and back-door political dealings, is in the odd position of having become the Switzerland on the Prairie as lawmakers fleeing votes in Wisconsin and Indiana take refuge in its borders. (more)

Among those who follow campaigns from Washington, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana is regarded as an almost certain candidate for president in 2012. His speeches are carefully scrutinized by the press. Every list of potential Republican nominees contains his name. Yet according to many who know him, Daniels hasn’t come close to making up his mind, and in fact may not be preparing for a national run at all. (more)

In what is becoming a signature move of a defeated political coalition, Democratic members of the Indiana state legislature followed their Wisconsin counterparts and fled Hoosierland this week. Ostensibly done to avoid voting on legislation that would make Indiana a “right-to-work” jurisdiction, the real devil for Indiana Democrats may not be this “union-busting” legislation. After all, private-sector unionization — the bill’s key target — is now the sick old man within labor’s empire. Rather, the real fear of fly-by-night Democrats is recently introduced legislation that would establish path-breaking statewide tuition scholarships enabling students from low and middle income families to choose their own school. By running, these politicians are signaling blanket opposition to the education reform proposals of a conservative coalition led by Governor Mitch Daniels. (more)

A day after offering a laid-back message on Democratic lawmakers fleeing his state to avoid a vote on union legislation, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels toughened up his talk this morning. (more)