Indianapolis,IN:  The Purdue Board of Trustees unanimously elected Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels Thursday to be the university’s next president.

The trustees met at 10 a.m. in the Stewart Center’s Loeb Playhouse to vote on Gov. Daniels.

Michael Berghoff, the head of the search committee, said the governor was the most frequently nominated candidate. He said Gov. Daniels went through a similar selection process that all other considered candidates went through, meeting with the trustees three times.

Miranda McCormack, who was elected to the Board of Trustees by the governor last year, spoke on behalf of the Purdue student body. She expressed the board and student body were excited, stating “I couldn’t be more happy with our pick.”

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“We want a president that is approachable,” said McCormack. “And I think we found that in Gov. Daniels.”

Gov. Daniels will succeed current president France A. Córdova.

Last July, Córdova announced she would leave the office on July 15 after five years in office. She is credited with raising the standards, reputation and research profile of Purdue University. She also led the effort to cut costs at the university and ensure a Purdue degree was affordable.

Gov. Daniels is expected to finish out his second term as Indiana governor before assuming the position early next year.

Wednesday, Gov. Daniels spoke about higher education at a press conference.

“Maybe someone who reveres higher education and wants very desperately to see it succeed as well as possible, but comes at things from a slightly different maybe complimentary set of experiences, can contribute something,” said Daniels.

He appointed eight of the university’s 10 trustees, three of whom he re-appointed recently.

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The Purdue Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Daniels acceptance  on Thursday after multiple interviews with the search committee.

Daniels will replace outgoing President France Cordova who will step down in July after having served for five years.

The Governor opened his speech with an allusion to his political aspirations and the question on the mind of many Daniels political backers:

“I think it’s best to go directly to the central question that I know is on the minds of most people here. The room is pregnant with it.The answer is no, I did not buy this necktie just last night. (Former Purdue President) Martin Jischke gave me this necktie about seven years ago and I have worn it many times since…never as proudly or emotionally as today. This is not a morning of oration, at least not from me and probably not for a while.”

The jokes aside, Mitch Daniels assured those present that he starting in January, politics would be a distant memory. The governor will be keeping distance from any political activities or commentary during the 2012 election season.

Being a favorite of some Conservatives and especially in Libertarian circles, Mitch was long thought to seek the nomination for President in 2012. Well past the deadline, some still held out hope for a V.P. nod or cabinet position. His new employment and his statement of dedication to it would indicate that none of that will happen.

In March of this year, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels signed a bill that returned to Hoosiers the legal ability to defend themselves against unlawful police entry into their homes.   Some are saying that Indiana is now the first state to allow the use of force against police, however others argue that the 4th and 2nd Amendments to the US Constitution already permitted this.

The new law’s introduction states:

“it is the policy of this state to recognize the unique character of a citizen’s home and to ensure that a citizen feels secure in his or her own home against unlawful intrusion by another individual or a public servant. By reaffirming the long standing right of a citizen to protect his or her home against unlawful intrusion, however, the general assembly does not intend to diminish in any way the other robust self defense rights that citizens of this state have always enjoyed. Accordingly, the general assembly also finds and declares that it is the policy of this state that people have a right to defend themselves and third parties from physical harm and crime.”

The new law stemmed from the Barnes V. Indiana State Supreme Court decision, which stated that  ”allowing resistance unnecessarily escalates the level of violence and therefore the risk of injuries to all parties involved without preventing the arrest”.

The Barnes case was one where a police officer entered an apartment, without a warrant and without invitation from the residents, to respond to a domestic violence complaint.  Mr. Barnes blocked the doorway and resisted the use of force by an officer to enter the apartment.  Police choked and tasered Mr. Barnes and arrested him for Battery on a Police Officer.

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Last night, the Indiana General Assembly passed Senate Bill 1, which, once signed into law, will resolve a nearly year-long deprivation of the civil rights of residents of the State of Indiana. Readers who have followed me for the last year will be aware of my previous “Outrage In Indiana” posts on this very subject. For those who haven’t, let me recap.

In Part One, on May 13th of last year, I described the appalling decision by Indiana’s State Supreme Court in the case of Barnes v. State of Indiana. The court determined that a private person had no right to resist unlawful police burglary of their home. I detailed the 800-year-old legal precedents which allow for such use of force, and the farce of the court’s decision. In Part Two, I published an open letter to Governor Mitch Daniels, imploring him to take whatever action he possibly could to provide relief to Hoosiers subjected to police lawlessness. In Part Three, I published the very thoughtful response I received from his office.

To review the matter at hand: Richard Barnes had an argument with his wife, and neighbors called the police. Upon their arrival, the Barneses had reentered their home, and no further argument was occurring. Officers Lenny Reed and Jason Henry (more on them in a moment) insisted on entering the home, and Mr. Barnes refused them entry. The police, unlawfully, entered the home anyway. Mr. Barnes attempted to use non-deadly force to expel them, and he was tased and arrested.

Eight centuries of legal precedent, from the Magna Carta to two 20th century SCOTUS decisions, explicitly authorize the use of reasonable force to prevent unlawful acts of the police. The laws of the state of Indiana do not privilege police officers from justified force if they are acting outside the bounds of the law. The Fourth Amendment, and a substantially similar provision in Indiana’s Constitution prohibit precisely this conduct- the unwarranted and unlawful entry into a private home by government agents.

Nonetheless, Indiana’s Supreme Court ignored the eight centuries of legal tradition, multiple decisions of the United States Supreme Court, the United States Constitution, and the Constitution and laws of Indiana, and determined that a Hoosier’s only lawful recourse was to sue the police agency for damages after being the victim of a violent crime (in this case, burglary and assault) committed by a police officer.

Our Second, Third, and Fourth Amendment rights were established by our Founding Fathers for expressly this reason: Prior to, and during, the American Revolution, armed agents of the British government- soldiers- would routinely enter private homes without cause, assault homeowners and arrest them without charges, and quarter themselves in private homes in order to intimidate homeowners into submission. Expressly for this reason, we have a right to keep and bear arms, a freedom from quartering in private homes, and a freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.

We also have a natural, or God-given (depending on your outlook), right of self-defense, a topic which I have written about extensively. The instinct to protect ourselves, our families, and our property from violent attack is as natural to us as the need to eat. A government decree that a certain class of persons- namely, police officers- are “untouchable”, and may commit violent crimes at will, and the prosecution of private persons who exercise this right against them, is wholly offensive to the basic principles enshrined in our founding document.

Thankfully, Indiana’s legislature has taken up the cause of preserving individual liberties in this matter. Senate Bill 1, introduced by State Senator Mike Young and sponsored by numerous other state legislators, seeks to amend the Indiana Code to explicitly authorize the use of reasonable force against law enforcement officers who commit crimes against private persons.

In short, SB1 changes the language of the state’s use-of-force laws to state that “any person” may be the recipient of defensive force, and adds a section specifically addressing the use of force against police officers. This section authorizes the use of non-deadly force against “any law enforcement officer” to prevent the police officer’s criminal attack upon the person or property, and authorizes deadly force to prevent a law enforcement officer’s criminal attack which may inflict death or serious bodily injury.

Once signed into law, Indiana will become only the second state in the nation to specifically authorize the use of force against police officers acting unlawfully. North Dakota authorizes the use of force to terminate a police officer’s unlawful use of deadly force. Indiana’s statute would dramatically exceed this limited level of protection.

I applaud the state legislature for taking this necessary step to improve the right of self-defense. I also understand Sen. Young is facing a primary challenge this year. I hope Hoosiers will go to the polls in droves and show their support for this fine representative of the people.

And on a final, and ignominious note: Officer Lenny Reed, one of the two goons who burglarized Mr. Barnes’ home, and (ironically) the medic for Evansville PD’s SWAT team, was also involved in an incident involving racial profiling and substantial damage to an innocent man’s RV- which the man was delivering to a buyer- when Reed initiated a wrongful drug search. This incident occurred less than four months before the Indiana Supreme Court’s Barnes decision. Inexplicably, Reed was promoted to Sergeant during roughly the same time frame.

The other goon involved, Officer Jason Henry, resigned from Evansville Police Department after beating up a former sheriff’s deputy, only three months before the Barnes decision. The beating occurred at a meeting of the Indiana Fraternal Order of Police, no less.

Residents of Vanderburgh County have ample reason to question Evansville Police Chief Brad Hill’s professional judgment. Apparently Hoosiers can’t even rely upon the common sense of local officials and police administrators for relief from police lawlessness, which makes the passage of SB1 all the more vital. Mary Beth Schneider of the Indianapolis Star tweeted last night that SB1 passed the Indiana Senate 38-12 and passed the Indiana House 67-26, and is now on its way to Governor Daniels’ desk.

Many thanks to my dear friend April Gregory for her invaluable assistance in researching this post.

The counsel and encouragement I received from important citizens like you caused me to think very deeply about becoming a national candidate,

Daniels continued,

In the end, I was able to resolve every competing consideration but one, but that, the interests and wishes of my family, is the most important consideration of all, If I have disappointed you, I will always be sorry.

Daniels’ decision not to run will impact the GOP field to a large degree as Daniels was considered a heavyweight in the group. Many believe that this announcement will push Republican voters into Mitt Romney‘s court, others say it would clearly benefit Tim Pawlenty.

Considering the strong showing of Herman Cain in the GOP debate, his rousing speech yesterday and the strong support that is growing for him, it would seem more likely that he might be the benefactor of Mitch’s choice to stay a Governor.

Daniels signed into law a measure that would nullify all existing contracts between the state and planned parenthood clinics and would prevent the creation of future contracts. This will basically remove the possibility of state or federal  funds being used in Planned Parenthood’s abortion clinics.

The ACLU and Women’s Health Organization, both progressive leaning, pro-abortion activist groups, almost immediately filed suit in the district court of Judge Tanya Walton Pratt on the grounds of the new law being unconstitutional. The judge is expected to rule Wednesday.

Taking on these kinds of issues is likely to build support from social conservatives as Daniels considers a Presidential run. Monday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said he would “give real consideration” to supporting Daniels.

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is no media darling. He seems to be equally a target for both the left and right these days, and that may work to his advantage even more than his conserable record for toeing the fiscal line. Watching the press on Governor Daniels for the last few weeks has been much like watching a ping pong game. His twitter mentions are much the same. Why the back and forth? Simple, because he, much like Rep. Paul Ryan, is a man with a plan.

By now, most have heard that Daniels has called for what amounts to a moratorium on addressing social issues. While this stance has angered many hardline Republicans, it can really be our only stragey for curing the most pressing ailment of this country: our out of control spending and massive public debt. Pundits on the left and right have both pointed to the deficit increase during Daniel’s tenure as U.S. Director of the Office of Management and Budget (2001-03), but outside of his already thrilled supporters, few have mentioned his long list of achievement inline with the most Conservative agenda in decades.

Despite his mellow demeanor and apparent lack of charisma, Daniels has managed to take Indiana from being a state deeply in debt to one with a consistently balanced budget. He also has recently signed hard line immigration legislation, will soon sign legislation banning tax dollar use for abortions, and has taken the lead in this country on education reform . If you are looking for the anti-Obama, with a shot of wooing the center right AND the center left ( which means an actual change to make Big O a Big Zero) , then Mitch is an obvious choice.

If you haven’t been following, his fans aren’t just politicians and certain Twisters tweeters. Governor Daniels has been urged to run by quite a few student groups. Students for Daniels has been actively supporting him since January. In February, Yale students ran a media spot urging the Governor to run. If the future of our country seem to think he can give Obama a run for his money, isn’t he worth checking out?

Update: On May 22, Mitch Daniels announced he would not run for President in 2012.

“I will sign HEA 1210 when it reaches my desk a week or so from now.  I supported this bill from the outset, and the recent addition of language guarding against the spending of tax dollars to support abortions creates no reason to alter my position. The principle involved commands the support of an overwhelming majority of Hoosiers, as reflected in greater than 2:1 bipartisan votes in both legislative chambers.

“I commissioned a careful review of access to services across the state and can confirm that all non-abortion services, whether family planning or basic women’s health, will remain readily available in every one of our 92 counties. In addition, I have ordered the Family and Social Services Administration to see that Medicaid recipients receive prompt notice of nearby care options. We will take any actions necessary to ensure that vital medical care is, if anything, more widely available than before.

“Any organization affected by this provision can resume receiving taxpayer dollars immediately by ceasing or separating its operations that perform abortions.”

More about the impact of HEA 1210 in Indiana:

• This law will affect 7 entities in Indiana which have a total of 34 locations in 21 counties throughout the state.
• In the 21 counties where these 7 entities currently operate, there are approximately 800 Medicaid providers which are eligible to provide Medicaid clients with health and family planning services.

While CDN is our serious side, the radio outlet is meant to show that we are human, not just word-churning, progressive-mashing, cynics. Ok, maybe it still will show that, but we’ll laugh about it .. or something.

This was our first episode so give it a listen as Michelle, Allenah and I talk about the worthlessness of zero tolerance rules, possible Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Mitch Daniels, the battle over budget cuts and the upcoming feature film, Atlas Shrugged.

You can listen to the archive version of the show with the player below (don’t forget to tweet and share it – we rock .. or something.

To keep up with the whole show and future episodes, go to the show site.