You can't make everybody happy, as the saying goes. For Gov. Mike Pence that was true even for a normally reliable conservative after the governor's State of the State address on Tuesday.
Pence didn't expect a warm response from Democrats, and so the reaction from Senate Minority Floor Leader Tim Lanane — a Democrat whose district includes Muncie and part of Anderson — was no surprise.
The governor maintained he had carefully researched the issue of religious freedom and the rights of LGBT people.
"I will not support any bill that diminishes the religious freedom of Hoosiers or that interferes with the Constitutional rights of our citizens to live out their beliefs in worship, service or work," Pence said in his speech.
Pence made is clear he would not support any bill that challenged the religious freedom of Hoosiers, which could include civil rights bills.
Indiana Democrats have called the governor's position "delusional" and said the issue has cost the state millions of dollars in economic losses.
Lanane called the speech a missed opportunity.
“To me, it sounded like he said he felt we didn’t need anything, or it was a ‘Careful what you send me or I’ll veto it,’” Lanane said.
And to Lanane, that was disturbing.
“It’s not in line with protecting rights, and Hoosiers' views on it aren’t aligned with his,” Lanane said.
Muncie, along with 11 other Indiana cities, has a non-discrimination ordinance that protects citizens from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
But the state of Indiana as a whole does not offer those same protections.
Pence was even criticized by the normally reliably conservative Tim Swarens, opinion editor at The Indianapolis Star.
In a column on Jan. 13, he said Pence “totally punted” after dodging questions about if he was going to expand Indiana’s civil rights laws.
“He looked at the 150 members of the General Assembly and said, essentially, ‘Don’t send me a civil rights bill that would violate the state Constitution,’” Swarens said in his column. “But here’s the thing: A strong and expansive civil rights law and vibrant religious liberty can co-exist.”
Aside from civil rights protections, Lanane said he was hoping to hear more about how to raise wages for more Hoosiers, how the state is planning to help them with childcare and how to improve overall health and infrastructure.
While Pence did talk about infrastructure — he wants to make $1 billion available to fix state roads and bridges within the next four years — Lanane said his proposal was “a one-time shot in the arm” without any real leadership or an ongoing plan for cities to maintain their infrastructure.
The rest of Pence’s time as governor may be rocky after his address, Lanane said.
“I personally think on the civil rights matter that Hoosiers were looking for a way to resolve this issue, and instead everything is up in the air,” he said. “We just didn’t hear a lot of concrete solutions and plans for either the civil rights act or things like raising wages of infrastructure.
“I don’t think it bodes very well for the remainder of the term.”
John Gregg, Democratic governor candidate, said in a statement that Pence has proven that he is “just an officeholder, not a leader.”
“On issue after issue critical to the state of Indiana, he passes the buck, rather than doing the job he was elected to do,” Gregg said. “His refusal to take a stand for equality is unconscionable given the fact that he created this mess, which continues to damage Indiana’s economy and reputation.”
Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Coates defended the governor, pointing to economic improvements since Pence took office.
“Indiana has become a model for effective, efficient government [under Pence’s leadership],” Coates said in a statement. “Unemployment is its lowest level since August 2001, budgets are balanced, new businesses are choosing to come to Indiana and the state has a $2 billion budget surplus.”
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