Editorial Roundup: Indiana

Kokomo Tribune. Nov. 28, 2020

The life of Ryan

Many of us are taught that every life has a purpose. We're told God never gives us more than we can handle as we endeavor to realize our full potential.

If that's true, Ryan White's purpose was to lead us all to a better understanding of AIDS - one that required an unfathomably strong spirit and unwavering bravery.

Ryan suffered from hemophilia, an inherited deficiency in the clotting of blood. At 13, that condition suddenly became less of a concern.

It was 1984, and Ryan and his family lived on Kokomo's South Webster Street. The Whites filed suit against one of the manufacturers of the blood products Ryan received three times each week for his hemophilia. Soon, the city and, later, the world learned the middle-schooler had AIDS.

At that time, little was known about the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it only could be transmitted through sex or intravenous drug use. But others in authority, particularly President Ronald Reagan, told Americans not enough was known about AIDS for such a determination.

The only certainties: The virus was a death sentence that disproportionately plagued gay men. Then came Ryan.

AIDS wasn't just a disease that affected homosexuals, we learned. Because of tainted blood products, young hemophiliacs all over the country - as many as 8,550, estimates the National Hemophilia Foundation - contracted AIDS.

If a 13-year-old boy could get it, anyone could get it. Many people were frightened.

Ryan was made a pariah by many in his hometown. His school barred him from attending class. He and his family, in effect, were run out of Kokomo.

The Whites found a new home in Cicero. Ryan made new friends in a new school. Six years later, on April 8, 1990, he died - but not before he changed the world.

Sunday, Dec. 6, is Ryan White's birthday, and Kokomo, Indiana and the world have reason to remember him.

Because of his very public struggle with hemophilia and AIDS, the nation's blood supply was made safe, AIDS sufferers finally were humanized and an assistance program was established in Ryan's name.

Despite the pain and prejudice he endured, he realized his full potential and left a lasting legacy - all in just 18 years of life.

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Terre Haute Tribune Star. Nov. 24, 2020

Opportunity for leadership

Indiana's two U.S. senators, Todd Young and Mike Braun, have been mostly quiet in the three weeks since Election Day. They have not mounted the same high horse of indignation as some of their Republican colleagues in the aftermath of President Donald Trump's defeat. There have been no wild claims of election stealing. No crazed fits of outrage about alleged ballot fraud, dead people voting or a rigged election.

Yet neither has publicly acknowledged the election results or congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-president-elect Kamala Harris on their victory. When Young and Braun have made statements, they echo the tepid, party-line refrain about legal ballots being counted or the rule of law being upheld.

It's understandable that these Hoosier senators are treading lightly around Trump, supporting and defending him so as not to incite his ire while conspicuously avoiding the appearance of joining the chorus of unsubstantiated and false claims about widespread election fraud.

Trump's refusal to accept defeat while claiming he is a victim of a rigged election has stoked rage and resentment among his ardent followers. More restrained Republicans such as Young and Braun find themselves in an awkward position. Perhaps even more awkward than most Hoosiers realize.

Carl Bernstein, the investigative journalist of Watergate fame, reported on Twitter this week that there are 21 U.S. senators who privately express contempt for Trump and his behavior while remaining publicly silent. Among those on Bernstein's list were Sens. Braun and Young.

Both have denied Bernstein's reporting, which leaves it up to the reader to decide whether the report rings true or false. If true, the Hoosier senators would not be alone. A small but growing number of their GOP colleagues are publicly expressing similar thoughts about Trump.

Their personal feelings about Trump - whatever they may be - are irrelevant in the current political climate. What they should be willing to do, however, is stand up in defense of our democratic institutions and take the lead in tamping down political hostility toward the voting process and those who carry it out.

Acknowledging the results, congratulating the winners and expressing gratitude to poll workers and our stout election system is the only appropriate action at this point. No one is going to doubt either senator's reputation as a red-state warrior simply because they do the right thing and encourage others to do the same.

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South Bend Tribune. Nov. 29, 2020

Missed opportunities on redistricting reform

Earlier this month, Democrats in the Indiana Senate made a last-minute pitch for redistricting reform.

Expect that to go over as well as previous attempts at changing the way the state draws its legislative and congressional districts.

Under the current system, the legislature is responsible for drawing these districts. This has resulted in maps that make it easy for incumbents to get reelected and nearly impossible for challengers to be competitive. The real losers are the voters, whose role in the political process has been reduced. No wonder that the nonpartisan, nonprofit FairVote calls redistricting a 'œblood sport'ť that allows incumbent politicians to 'œchoose their voters before the voters choose them.'ť

Over the years legislators (of both parties) have been loathe to change a system that gives them an advantage. During the 2019 session, Indiana lawmakers passed on another opportunity to establish an independent redistricting commission. Six bills addressing redistricting reform were filed; one narrowly passed the Indiana Senate but was never called for a hearing in the House.

Earlier this year, critics of how Hoosier lawmakers carve up congressional and legislative districts knew the clock was ticking on the opportunity to reform the process with the once-a-decade U.S. Census taking place. It was after the 2010 census, when Republicans gained complete control over redrawing the legislative and congressional maps, that they achieved a full supermajority command of the legislature.

Julia Vaughn, policy director for Common Cause Indiana, noted in an op-ed last year that if Hoosiers were going to get fair districts for Indiana in 2021, 'œvoters are going to have to convince our legislators to pass redistricting reform legislation in 2020. 'œ

That didn't happen, of course.

Indiana sorely needs an independent commission to move redistricting out of the legislature, away from the political party in power. That clearly won't happen before new maps for Congress and state legislature are drawn next year. Acknowledging that reality, the minority caucus has instead called for requiring standards by which the maps will be drawn - and for allowing the public to have input.

Both are reasonable suggestions. But given the legislature's history of failing to act on redistricting reform, this will most likely be another missed opportunity to create a more open process that is fair to all Hoosiers.

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