Rader Steps Away after Long, Distinguished Career at WTHR

Kevin Rader
Photo: WTHR

A legend of the Indy airwaves is retiring.

Kevin Rader, a longtime friendly face at WTHR, is stepping away after a 30-year run as one of the top political reporters in Indiana. He is the dean of TV political reporting in this city.

Landing in Indianapolis in 1990, Rader became the political reporter for the station, as he describes it, pretty much because no one else wanted it. He writes in his retirement piece, "I was the only one who wanted the beat. No one wanted to get tied up at the Statehouse, but I did."

Rader took that opportunity and has run with it. He's covered, as he states in his piece, political conventions, local politicians, political icons and national tragedies. I say that he's done it with distinction, class, professionalism and a heart that comes through in everything he does.

Beyond his reporting on politics and national events, I'll remember Rader's excellent "Only in Indiana" features. He has a gift for storytelling, and it comes through in these tremendous pieces bringing ordinary Hoosiers the recognition they deserve. The segment compares favorably with legendary Indy news icons like Fred Heckman's "My Town Indy" pieces or Ray Rice's "Indiana's Own" segments. Reporters don't last for 30 years on TV in a market unless they love it and unless they are good. Rader talks about his love for our city in his piece and that also comes through in his reports.

When I first began to care about politics, Indy had three of the finest reporters on the beat that you could find. At WRTV, you had Norman Cox, who retired in 2013 after some 37 years on the job. WISH had Jim Shella who came to our screens in 1982 and retired in 2016. Now, Rader steps away after 30 years of reporting. Three unmatched reporters whose institutional knowledge of the ins and outs of all the major politicking around here cannot be downloaded onto someone's laptop.

Rader, who I never have met, has a reputation of being one of the nicest and most genuine people in this market, and that comes from multiple people that I have met who know him. On a personal note, I have always been a fan of his reporting. His integrity, credentials and professionalism are unquestioned.

Congratulations, Mr. Kevin Rader. You will be missed, and your retirement leaves big shoes to fill for your potential replacement. As a citizen of Indianapolis and as a political observer in this city, I know I'll miss your reports and journalistic excellence.

Voting, Running for Office Each Can Impose Term Limits

Here's today's hot take.

Congressional term limits are overrated.

That's right, I said it. Term limits are things that people often push as a way to change the metaphorical kitty litter in Congress, but I say that the people have that power.

First of all, Congressional term limits can toss perfectly good representatives. Just because someone has been in their job for a long time, it doesn't mean that they deserve to be removed by an arbitrary term limit. If a Representative or a Senator is serving his or her constituency and they keep sending him or her back, that's the electoral will of the people.

Secondly, the ability to term limit a politician is cooked into the stew. It's called voting. As we've recently seen in Iowa where racist Steve King was tossed from office, a Senator or Congressperson can become so problematic that his constituents make the decision to push him out. Eliot Engel, a powerful Democrat in the House, was just defeated in the primary in New York by educator Jamaal Brown. If it matters enough to the constituents to remove someone's power, the voters do it.

Finally,  I would just say that if you're so up in arms that people have been around for too long in office, and you wan them out then run against them in the primary. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez did. Brown did. Heck, even Richard Mourdock did here in Indiana in 2012. Take your message to the voters. It's hard work, but there's nothing more powerful than beating an incumbent.

Granted, it's hard to beat an incumbent. They have influence, money and the power of the bully pulpit. Those are all things that need to be reformed. Ranked choice voting would help. Campaign finance reform would help, but an arbitrary number of years or terms someone can serve in Congress is not helpful, in my opinion.

I do believe in term limits for executive offices. Executives are singular individuals, and the longer they are in power the more they become drunk by it. Granted, this same argument can be used against the powerful Senators and Congresspeople, but one voice there is simply one voice. One voice as the President carries significantly more weight.

I know some will disagree with me, and that's fine. If term limits pass, I'm ok with it. I just think that term limits for the U.S. House and Senate don't need to be implemented because the mechanism exists to fix the problem of people hanging around the Capitol Building for too long.

Run for Office. Vote.

Biden Launches Effective Ad

If you haven't seen this ad from Vice President Joe Biden, take a gander. It's absolutely brilliant.

The ad strikes the perfect tone for the political climate today. It avoids negativity and strikes a completely different tone than the current climate in Washington. It stirs "the feels", and it hearkens back to the themes of the Obama 2008 campaign which became a movement for hope and change.

As the 2020 election season rolls on, it's becoming clear that the political climate is playing into Biden's strength. Joe knows empathy. Joe knows compassion. He's built his career on it. Along the way, he has overcome personal tragedy and professional disappointment. Pardon the cliche, like America, Biden's been down, but he's hard to knock out. He's told that story about his father's advice that when he's gotten knocked down that he hears his dad's voice say, "Joey, get up!"

Biden's already been down and out. He went from a dreadful start to his campaign to the nomination in the blink of a political eye. I admit, I wrote him off many months ago. In fact, I wrote a blog post about it here. In true Biden fashion, the kid from Scranton is kicking, and he's kicking serious tail at the moment.

More ads like this and a campaign strategy that incorporates that "Duty to Care" mentality will go a long way in a campaign season that sees the electorate screaming out for someone to unite us. That's where Joe Biden excels.

Joe Biden has never had this kind of political wind at his back in his two previous runs for President. Still, Biden must run as if he is 20 points behind because Donald J. Trump will lie, cheat and steal if he has to to win. Running up the score is going to be critical. Even at 77, I think that the political gods have delivered us the right person for this moment in time. Now, it's up to America to seal the deal and start to roll back this nightmarish four years we've been experiencing together by electing Joe Biden.

Is Mike Pence Stealing Eric Holcomb's Hot Pockets?

Vice President Mike Pence
Photo: The White House

A few days ago, it came to light that former Indiana Governor Mike Pence has not bothered to update his voter registration.

He's still registered to vote at 4750 N. Meridian, better known as the Indiana Governor's Mansion. While the national news just picked up on this story, local news station WRTV reported on this back in May 2018.

Hoosiers will note that the Vice President moved out of that location and into his new government digs in Washington in January of 2017. That means that the United States' highest-ranking head nodder has voted in the 2018 primary and general elections, the 2019 primary and general elections and the 2020 primary election using that registration.

Pence's refusal to change his registration to One Observatory Circle, Washington DC brings to mind a scandal that almost cost an Indiana legend a chance to vote for himself. in 2012.

Astute political observers will note that the late former Senator Richard Lugar utilized a voting address of an Indy house he had not lived in for decades for many years despite living in Virginia full time. The Senator would hang his hat at the Howard Johnson's (or whatever hotel he booked...it didn't have to be a Ho Jo) when he would come to the state and visit. 

Lugar ended up getting called on the carpet and registered at his Decatur Township tree farm for voting purposes. That meant that he was essentially my neighbor though he never invited me over for tea.

Democrats do it too. Evan Bayh got caught during the campaign for Senate in 2016 using an empty condo he at least owned in Washington Township as his local address for voting purposes. Bayh, like Lugar, lived in Virginia. Of course, he wasn't a sitting Senator at that point. He'd somehow make due staying in hotels when he visited Indy. At least he made the effort, am I right?

Of course, in 2020, Pence and his boss want to rail against mail-in ballots as having the potential of voter fraud, but they both voted by mail in the primary election this year with Pence doing it from his old residence in Indiana. They aren't the only ones, either in the Trump Administration who utilized voted by mailing it in. Yet, to hear Trump tell it, mail-in voting is a sure-fire way for an election to be rigged. 

I do have a suggestion, though. If Indiana election officials ever force Pence to live in Governor Holcomb's basement, that would be a sure fire riot of an SNL skit. Holcomb and Pence bickering over who ate the last Hot Pocket.

If push came to shove, though, maybe Pence could call up Evan and see if he still has that condo.

The Product of Too Much Thought: Indy Democrat Blog 2.0

Well, I guess it's time to start writing again.

For approximately 10 years, I wrote here (the blogosphere) daily at times...weekly at times about the trials and tribulations of politics in all its grandeur. I focused mostly on the local political scene, but I also talked national and international politics.

It was all great...with too many ellipses.

Then, it got old. It got to be a burden. I'd read a post and wouldn't feel a connection to it. It was the definition of wash, rinse and repeat. Politically, I felt old. I found myself in my early 40's feeling like an baseball player who had lost his fast ball. It didn't fulfill me any more the way it used to, and I felt as if I'd taken this blog's first version as far as I could go with it. Tired, frustrated, you name it. I hit delete and that blog is gone forever.

For the first few months, I didn't regret it. I no longer felt a burden to post, and I honestly didn't miss the politics. I still got to exercise my political muscles when I felt I needed to on social media. It worked. It's a lot easier to come up with an interesting social media post than a four or five paragraph blog post that is factually accurate and interesting.

Inevitably, I got the itch again, and I've been trying to scratch that blogging itch when it nags with this new iteration of the blog. Oftentimes, I start a post and then I don't finish it. I still don't feel that mojo yet. I haven't rekindled whatever it is that Jon Easter of 2008 felt.

Enter the pandemic.

As my friends know, I'm a loner. While it has been tough sacrificing trips to try new restaurants, I have become accustomed to quarantine life. I've had a chance to work on some of my cities on Cities Skylines. I've done some ancestry work. I've written some stories (that no one will ever see). I've also worked a lot on the day job of being a teacher.

What I think I've done the most is think. I like to turn off the lights in my house sometimes and listen to the silence and think. Recently, I've been thinking about my place in the world and what I want to do with my remainder of time on this earth rather it be long or short.

I don't know who that man will be in 10-15-20 years. I don't know what exactly I want to do when I retire, but I have to lead with my strong suit. I feel as if I am a good blogger. I feel as if I have some things to say, and I feel as if I want to say them again.

I don't know if this blog can ever be what it was, but I guess I'll never know if I don't start again. I know I won't be that happy-go-lucky "Pollyanna" type figure I was when I entered politics and immersed myself in it. Politics will make you cynical if you hang around it too long and get too deep into it. I don't want to get back there again.

What I do want to do is use this platform to discuss politics as I did before. They'll be my opinions. Hopefully, I'll get some scoops again, but I think I can enjoy this again if I keep my wits about me and practice proper social distancing from it when I feel burned out.

At long last, I'm back. Thank you to those of you who have stuck around.