When McCormick picked Goodin, the hope of a meaningful Hoosier movement ended

Life in Stephen King's Shawshank State Prison, at its best, is mundane, repetitive, and stagnant. As is the state of politics in Indiana. Surviving either or both, doesn't require lightning to strike. It requires hope. Hope that can lead to a movement.

Democrats in Indiana nominated former Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jennifer McCormick as their nominee for governor in May's primary. Last week, McCormick announced her preferred running mate as former Democrat state representative, Terry Goodin.

The latter was a mistake.

There are three unrelenting, unequivocal policy issues that define what a Democrat is in 2024. To be credible with Democrat voters these days, a candidate must support women's reproductive freedom, equality for all minority communities, and common sense gun safety measures. This isn't the entire platform, but when asking a candidate about their support for these three, they are simple "yes/no" questions. And the answer to them must be an unwavering "yes."

I won't vote for any candidate, for any office, who answers any of those questions with a "no," a "sort of," or even a "generally."

Yes, that purity test applies to those running for city council, school board and county auditor. Why? Because politics, like culture, is a continuum. That pro-life county auditor might run for U.S. Senate in two years. That pro-gun rights school board member might run for Congress. And then the weakness becomes trouble.

The truth is that these deficiencies are always trouble. They're indicators a party is willing to bargain with its own morals.

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