By Brian Howey
Guest columnist
To the congressional Republican rank and file, Democrats today are often described as “radical leftists,” “socialists” and even “Marxists.”
Some Hoosier Republicans describe Democrats as partisans who “don’t love our country.”
I would have loved to have seen the reaction to this type of criticism from the last Indiana Democratic governor, Joe Kernan.
Kernan died at age 74 in July 2020 due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease. Recently, with bagpipes playing at the Statehouse, Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb joined former First Lady Maggie Kernan, family and friends in unveiling a bust of Gov. Kernan.
“It’s obviously just a perfect day, on St. Patrick’s Day, that we set aside time for this unveiling of … a legend, a leader, a statesman and so much more than that,” Holcomb said. “Gov. Joe Kernan was certainly all three of those.”
Kernan served three terms as mayor of South Bend before Frank O’Bannon selected him for the Democratic ticket in 1996. Kernan reluctantly accepted the nomination and with an upset win moved to Indianapolis from his beloved South Bend. He served almost seven years as lieutenant governor and upon O’Bannon’s death in 2003 became governor.
But more importantly, as a Navy navigator based on the USS Kitty Hawk, he was shot down over North Vietnam in 1972, spending the next 11 months as a prisoner of war.
When Kernan died, then-Purdue University President Mitch Daniels, who defeated Kernan in the 2004 gubernatorial race, observed that his predecessor “was at different times my ally, opponent and advisor but always a friend to me, and as far as I could tell, to everyone he met. In wartime and in peace, he embodied patriotism and the goodwill toward all we associate with the term ‘Hoosier.’ He was a true leader, and we have lost him far too soon.”
Holcomb, a U.S. Navy veteran, keeps portraits of two of his predecessors — Kernan and Republican Gov. Edgar Whitcomb — in his Statehouse office. Both had been POWs. Whitcomb, a B-17 navigator, was captured by the Japanese during World War II, winning the governorship in 1968 after writing the book “Escape from Corregidor,” which detailed his eight-hour swim to the Philippine mainland.
“This official portrait of him, kind of larger than life, to this day still looks down at me over my shoulder, almost as if he’s grading my work,” Holcomb said of Kernan. “Joe could connect with anyone, anywhere. His character was impeccable, his courage unwavering, his unrelenting commitment to duty is again legendary.”
Kernan’s gubernatorial legacy was brief. Upon O’Bannon’s death Sept. 13, 2003, Kernan became the 48th Indiana chief executive. He was defeated for a full term 15 months later and left office the following January.
Kernan gave only one State of the State address (in 2004 described by Howey Politics as “exceptional”) and didn’t preside over a single biennial budget process.
Tina Noel, Kernan’s former press secretary as both LG and governor, said, “Joe’s priorities would have stemmed from the kind of person he was … compassionate, competitive and ridiculously smart, someone who famously encouraged everyone on his team to ‘do the right thing, always.’
“I think his work on government efficiency and improving Hoosiers’ interactions with state agencies would have continued,” Noel said. “Joe would have done all that he could to ensure that our state’s veterans received the care they deserved.”
What is the lesson here? During the O’Bannon and Kernan era, Indiana was a true two-party state. Republicans and Democrats would fight hard over budgets and policy. But in those days, no one’s patriotism was questioned.
“Those among us so ready to bear malice against those with whom they differ,” Daniels said, “… should pause and consider the life and character of Joe Kernan.”
Brian Howey is managing editor of Howey Politics Indiana/State Affairs at StateAffairs.com/pro/Indiana, where this column was previously published. Find Howey on Facebook and Twitter @hwypol. Send comments to [email protected].