Is the Indiana Lottery Far Behind?

If there was any doubt as to whether the sale of Indiana's toll road was a partisan issue, any question has been resolved.  During the ramrodding of HB 1008 there was a feeling that Republicans would vote for its passage and Democrats would vote against, and the votes in both chambers did, indeed, follow party lines.  Common sense would tell you that looking at the issue objectively, there would be some people for the sale and some against and that doubts on either side would be present within both the Republican and the Democratic ranks, and if we had a General Assembly that was concerned about the residents of Indiana rather than retaining power, those doubts would have been reflected in the vote on the bill.  We would have had Republicans voting for and some against and we would have had some Democrats voting for and others against.  That's common sense.  But we're talking government here, so prudence is not a virtue we expect.  

In Illinois, the governor, a Democrat, has proposed "leasing" the state lottery.  Substantially the same set of facts we had with the toll road issue here in Indiana.  And Democrats can't wait to get in line behind him to show their support for the idea.  Republicans, on the other hand, can't get to the press fast enough to voice their opinion that it's a bad idea and other options should be looked at.  Sound familiar?

It really matters not at all whether a Republican or a Democrat proposes an idea.  In today's party-line government (and I realize that partisanship is nothing new), whether the idea is good is not an issue.  We are essentially guaranteed that the members of the party who proposed the idea are going to vote for it, and the the other major party's members will vote against it, regardless of the party's tenents. 

So once Governor Daniels proposes "leasing" the Indiana lottery, we can surely expect the Republican General Assembly to push it through without thought.

Is that really the right way to govern?