Mitch Daniels Can't Avoid Politics

"When former Gov. Mitch Daniels became Purdue University's president," reports Gary R. Welsh, "he said he was getting out of partisan politics. Recent events suggest that's an impossible promise for Daniels to keep," Welsh writes in Advance Indiana today (31 October 2013).

"This week, he irritated some on his campus when he announced that Purdue, unlike IU, would not oppose the constitutional amendment opponents of same-sex marriage have vowed to push before the legislature next year.

"At first blush, that would appear to be consistent with his position since Daniels claims the university doesn't typically weigh in on social issues.

"The problem is that the proposed constitutional amendment puts at risk the domestic partner benefits the university has offered for several years and is inconsistent with the university's nondiscrimination policy.

"Thus," Welsh concludes, "some critics argue that he put his own political views ahead of the university's stated policies."

And, this Indianapolis Observer notes yet another reason his selection as Purdue prez was a bad move.