In an intimate gathering of locals and media earlier this week at The Foundry, United States Mike Braun gave a speech on why he believes he should be our new Indiana Governor.
United States Senator Mike Braun announced his Gubernatorial candidacy in December of 2022. No stranger to politics, he was a former Indiana State Senator, State Representative, and a Jasper school board member.
Some of the laws Braun wrote include; The Growing Climate Solutions Act (PL 117-328), the Better Odds to Reduce Diversion Act of 2021(PL 117-328), The PLUM Act (PL117-328), The STREAM Act (PL117-328), and several others.
Steve Hammer, Â Braun’s Field Representative gave him a warm and confident introduction. He reminded us of Braun’s business background and acknowledged some of his many political achievements, accolades, and awards, such as “Most effective 1st term US Senator ” by the Nonpartisan Center for Effective Law-making in 2021, which came with respectful applause as Braun took the center floor.
Dick Luger was re-running for Indianapolis Mayor when Braun first entered the political arena. He studied economics at Wabash College from 1972-76, receiving his MBA. He worked for the Youth for Luger campaign in ’74 with other aspiring colleges. Luger entered the Senate 2 years later.
Past articles from Braun’s 2017 Senate Campaign boast of Braun being a democratic sympathizer. This could be why he explains the economic climate in past decades as being majority Democratic. As a fellow Southern Indiana citizen, I can attest to the line that is toed.
Historically, we are either all Democrats or all Republicans.
BRAUN’S favorite testimony is that “he has lived the American dream.” He holds steady on 3 main principles\ After college he and his wife moved back to Jasper, IN. Leaving the potential salary of a politician, Braun and his wife opened a small business.
Finishing Touches is still in operation today, 45 years later. For the next 30 years, Braun would have lunch with his parents, in which talks of his future would sprout. After a few tough career decisions, Braun started a career with Meyer Body, now Meyer Distributing. Three of his four children now work alongside him.
Braun’s political career started with the city’s interest in recruiting his wife for their local school board. This was during a time when small cities simply recruited good people for these positions, rather than taking votes. His wife, respectfully declining, volunteered her husband’s recruitment instead.
Braun recalls his political rendezvous in college, thus triggering his next career moves. He spent the next 10 years on the school board committee, not without battling political problems within its small reach. The school board President was explained as “progressively liberal”, with habits of frivolous borrowing of tax-payers dollars. “Saying no to nothing” was not the strong suit of the Democratic climate at this time. In 2014 a State Representative called Braun and asked him to consider taking his seat. He was elected to the Indiana State House and spent the next few years as an Indiana State Representative concentrating on infrastructure legislation. He later ran for The Indiana State Senate in 2019 and won by a close margin. Braun’s win turned the Democratic tide into a Republican wave in the Senate.
Trump’s election in 2016 opened Senator Braun’s eyes to the “business as usual” aspect of government, and how that was changing. He explains the election atmosphere; mentioning that 2nd term campaigns had become a priority to the topics of their campaigns. He reiterates his legislation success as action behind his campaign words. In this same fashion, he expresses his belief that term limits should be implemented. He predicts a worsening before the bettering and a shift of the economy as the founders of our nation originally intended.
Some of the laws Senator Braun championed were; The Growing Climate Solutions Act (PL 117-328), the Better Odds to Reduce Diversion Act of 2021(PL 117-328), The PLUM Act (PL117-328), The STREAM Act (PL117-328),
During a public Q&A time, Â Some of the topics brought up included
Q. Governor Holcomb’s decision to appoint vs. elect our public school Superintendent. How would he assist in this hindrance of democracy and/or assure a Superintendent for our schools?
that the people want?
A. Familiar with political calculations, Braun explains that these changes start with the change of
our Sheriff. To put things into perspective, he explains that 50% of the State’s budget goes to
K-12 education. Another 15% to secondary education. He states he’d like to see this funding go
out as merit, available to all schooling atmospheres and sectors.
Q. Is there anything the Senate can do about moving along the January 6th trials, now 2 years
in counting?
A. After personally asking Attorney General Garland if prosecution was going to be had against
the Washington and Oregon rioters, in lieu of J6 prosecutions, Braun explained nothing ever
happened about them. AG Garland had promised Braun the pursuit would be just as
aggressive, leaving a broken promise. Braun denounces the weaponized use of the government for party line agendas.
Q. There are currently 58 immigrants here with full and immediate access to welfare and federal
benefits. By 2024 the projected number of immigrants will be 1580. How will you support these
sanctuary cities funded by our federal tax dollars?
A. Braun articulates the law, differentiating Executive Order/Mandates vs. Law. He explains that
in order to negate those issues is to open a lawsuit, in which precedence trumps mandates, or
potentially even E.O. Braun evoked The Congressional Review Act, for example, during the
vaccine corporate mandates. He admits that you must have the right Presidential Administration
to then make law.
Q. How will you reconcile our cities’ enormous debts with the infrastructure contracts laid out in
the form of Climate Action Plans?
A. “Climate and infrastructure are two separate issues,” Braun says. He is up for conservative
conversations about the climate, rather than it being force fed a “Green New Deal”. He admits
that the most weaponized government agency is the D.O.J. & E.P.A. He reiterates that this
should be a separate issue from our infrastructure and that our National Defense arena should
be more aligned with that kind of funding. He called out the Republican “Neocons” who’d rather
suppress people’s rights than protect them. Braun admits to a potential economic depression.
He expresses the importance of where and what we are spending our money on. He laid out an
eye-opening fact; The Defense Department shows 3.5 Trillion as what they own, like weapons
systems, buildings, ect. They do not have to engage in regulated bank auditing. Currently, the
D.D. can only account for 39% of what they say they own. “61% of what they say they own is
out in the ether.”
The engagement ended with an appreciation that Braun is “a man of faith”. A scripture example,
Matthew 12:8, regarding the division that has taken hold of our people, was brought up. Braunwas asked how he would help reconcile the people. Braun asserted equal opportunity and that our community is where the change has to start. Government organizations are not the solution to our divide. Braun reconfirms his stance on D.E.I., agreeing that it can not be mandated in corporations under the cloak of a solution for division. “It only further divides”.
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