This column was originally published by Sheila Kennedy on her blog, “A Jaundiced Look at the World We Live In.”
By Sheila Kennedy
June 4, 2026
I guess I can no longer ignore the most recent evidence that my state of Indiana is governed–if “governed” is even the right word–by deplorable people who lack even a minor acquaintance with the Constitution or the concept of the common good.
I’ll start with the most recent and flagrant embarrassment–Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith’s ugly rant about the Muslim religion. As several media outlets have reported, Beckwith was recently a guest on an online Christian talk show. During the discussion, he called Islam a “demonic death cult,” stated he “hates Islam,” and claimed Americans need “permission to hate again.” (He also said that he loved Muslims who “make great Christians when Jesus gets a hold of them.”)
Understandably, there has been considerable backlash. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Indiana Muslim Advocacy Network (IMAN) and multiple faith leaders convened by the Jewish Community Relations Council condemned the rhetoric, and Indiana Congressman André Carson, who is Muslim, called the remarks “outrageous and completely unacceptable.” None of those responses registered with the theocratic Beckwith, who has defended his statements by insisting that, although he has a “big heart” for individual Muslims, he believes Islam is “incompatible” with American values.
You will excuse me if I point out that what is really incompatible with American values is Beckwith’s theocratic version of America and obvious ignorance of the First Amendment.
It would be bad enough if Beckwith was the only Indiana government official who would benefit from a remedial course in civics, but one of the problems of living in a state long dominated by a single party is the slow erosion of competent governance that occurs as ambitious (and frequently unprincipled) members of that party rise to positions of authority.
In Indiana today, state-level political positions are virtually all held by people unfit to govern.
In the run-up to an election for Secretary of State, for example, Hoosiers have been reminded of the corruption and scandals of Diego Morales, the current occupant of that office. During his tenure, Morales hired his brother-in-law at a salary of $108,000, gave a bonus to nearly every employee in his office for a total of $308,000, and gave numerous no bid contracts to companies that donated to his campaign. Morales has taken trips to India and Hungary on the public’s dime, and he not only purchased a GMC Yukon Denali for $90,000 with taxpayer funds, but purchased it from a dealership that had donated $65,000 to his campaign.
I have posted frequently about Indiana’s culture war Attorney General, Todd Rokita. As I noted in one of those posts, Rokita’s efforts to out-MAGA the MAGAs in his party have been so egregious and unethical that he has been sanctioned by Indiana’s all-Republican Supreme Court. In 2013, when he was in Congress, I explained why he was more embarrassing than then-Governor Mike Pence. In 2014, I explained why he was dangerous and anti-American. Also in 2014, I highlighted his comparison of himself to Earl Landgrebe, whose most famous quote, “Don’t confuse me with the facts. I’ve got a closed mind” was perhaps more telling than Rokita had intended. But as I also noted, that history paled against the discovery that, after assuming office, Rokita continued to be employed by the health benefits firm he’d worked for prior to his election as Attorney General, notwithstanding the fact that being AG is a full-time job–a job that coincidentally gave him investigative jurisdiction over his “other” employer. (The publicity over that discovery forced Rokita to resign his “moonlighting” gig. We think.)
Most recently, Rokita has brought suit against the Trump Administration in an attempt to reverse its recent rescheduling of cannabis.
Then there is Mike Braun, our Trump-loving Governor. The nicest thing I can say about Braun is that he is disliked even by members of our Republican super-majority legislature. (He failed to persuade those legislators during the battle over mid-cycle redistricting, despite working hard to achieve Trump’s desired goal.) He has also generated considerable backlash over his efforts to create a highway dubbed the Mid-States Corridor, a multibillion-dollar, 54-mile highway connecting I-64 to I-69 in southern Indiana. The project would help Meyer Distributing—the international auto-parts and logistics business Braun owns– but it is overwhelmingly opposed by local residents who would be affected. And then there’s the helipad and other “security improvements” to his family home, costing $118,000 and paid for by the Indiana Department of Administration.
Worst of all, not only did he fail to say anything about Beckwith’s hateful rants, but he joined the bigotry. At the beginning of June–Pride month–he issued a “Take Back the Rainbow” statement proclaiming June “Nuclear Family Month” in Indiana– declaring it to be “God’s design.”
Theocrats, culture warriors, inept administrators, grifters…and don’t start me about the state’s two Senators. Jim Banks is a slightly more polished version of Beckwith, and Todd Young a craven careerist.
Welcome to Indiana, the middle finger of the South.
Sheila Suess Kennedy is Emerita Professor of Law and Public Policy at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. As an attorney, she practiced real estate, administrative and business law in Indianapolis before becoming corporation counsel for the City of Indianapolis in 1977. In 1980, she was the Republican candidate for Indiana’s then 1th Congressional District and in 1992, she became executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana. She joined the faculty of the School of Public and Environment al Affairs in 1998.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization.
