By James Briggs
First, Republicans mocked Greg Ballard. Now, they can't agree on whether Ballard is hurting or helping Democrat Beau Bayh.
The answer is obvious by now: Ballard is competing on his own behalf, as well as paving the way for future independents. Not only is he running to beat Bayh, but he's also running to defeat Max Engling, the newly minted Republican nominee for secretary of state.
Ballard's campaign says it will turn in tens of thousands of signatures beyond the legal threshold to put him on the ballot as an independent candidate for secretary of state in November — a feat that looks downright superhuman given Republicans' jeers about how he couldn't do it.
Ballard is used to the jeers. He's a lifelong overachiever. Republicans used to love that about him, back in 2007 when Ballard ran for Indianapolis mayor as a Republican and defeated incumbent Democrat Bart Peterson with just $51,000 on hand compared to Peterson's $1.5 million.
Indiana Republicans know that story — and yet, somehow, they dismissed Ballard's independent run for secretary of state as some ridiculous ploy to boost Democrats or even as a pathetic gambit to cling to relevancy at age 71.
They're not laughing at Ballard now. They're just mad.
Jim Banks runs the party now. Ballard walked away.
Republicans are attacking Ballard with an intensity perhaps surpassing their disdain for Bayh. Why?
The obvious answer is that Ballard left the tent to become an independent (he's technically running under the Lincoln Party, a name he made up so that if he clears 2% in November, future independents can run on a Lincoln Party line without collecting 37,000 signatures themselves — another sign of how much Indiana's power structure abhors independents).
If you followed the recent Indiana Republican Party convention, though, you can see why Ballard's move cuts into the identity of today's Republicans. The convention served as a coronation for U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, now the undisputed leader of the state party. Banks singlehandedly replaced Secretary of State Diego Morales with Engling, his own staffer, and delegates enthusiastically went along with it.
Banks has demonstrated he's a man of low character — someone willing to kneecap Mitch Daniels, Morales and anyone in between who gets in his way. Some of Banks' biggest boosters today will no doubt feel his wrath in the future.
More importantly for today, though, Banks has demonstrated he's a winner. Republicans across Indiana genuflect to him, whether out of fear or sincere admiration, in order to reap the social and financial benefits of playing on his team.
When Banks gives orders, Republicans follow them with religious fervor. Look at how rank-and-file Republicans talked about early redistricting and Engling's nomination. These weren't just routine tasks. They were ordeals, proof of commitment. Indiana Republicans pursue Banks' priorities as though success on his behalf determines self-worth and meaning.
Ballard doesn't derive his self-worth from Banks. Those who do can only look at Ballard with jealousy and contempt.
Ballard doesn't need to win — and that's the threat
"This is no time for weak Republicans," Banks said during the convention.
Ballard is the weakest of them all — a Republican so weak that he walked away. Ballard is without a party, devoting himself to a campaign that might not win. What could be worse, in the eyes of Banks and his loyalists?
Yet, Ballard is the only secretary of state candidate who seems to be having fun. He's loose. He's laughing. He's joyful.
He's found freedom in weakness — or, at least, what Banks would define as weakness.
Ballard retired from the Marines as a lieutenant colonel and won two terms as Indianapolis mayor he was never supposed to win. He's playing with house money now. He doesn't need vindication, validation, money or cheap friends. He doesn't need to win to feel secure.
Ballard is what Banks fears most — someone who doesn't need his approval.
That autonomy made Ballard a loose cannon when he was a Republican mayor, someone who couldn't be trusted to toe the party line. It makes him even more dangerous as an independent. However much Republicans want to mock, dismiss or disparage Ballard, they know in their hearts people respond to free-thinking, principled leaders.
They know that because they'd like to be that way themselves. They've chosen a different path.
This column was written by James Briggs and originally appeared in the IndyStar