Briggs: Mike Braun's Republican opponents can't attack him without exposing themselves

The Republican gubernatorial primary can be understood through the lens of one obscure issue: qualified immunity.

U.S. Sen. Mike Braun has faced a barrage of attacks over a 2020 bill he introduced that would have limited police officers' use of qualified immunity to avoid lawsuits. Braun backpedaled after Tucker Carlson accosted him on live TV. Nonetheless, the bill has come back to haunt him since he announced his candidacy for governor last year.

Republican candidate Eric Doden suggested Braun wanted to "make it easier to unfairly sue law enforcement officers for doing their job." Republican Brad Chambers' campaign said Braun's position was "damaging to the recruitment, retention and morale of law enforcement."

Braun's flip flop on qualified immunity really is indicative of his weak Senate term — but not for the reasons other Republicans are citing. Braun's opponents are beating around the bush because more direct criticism would expose their spinelessness.

Mike Braun's record on qualified immunity

When six Republican candidates debated in Carmel on Monday, you would have thought term-limited Gov. Eric Holcomb was running for reelection. Braun is way ahead in polls, but his opponents spent far more time criticizing Holcomb and his record during the pandemic.

"I look back at your 2018 campaign and you said you were opposed to career politicians," Chambers said to Braun in what amounted to a zinger in an otherwise staid debate. "It seems like you're heading down the path of a career politician."

If I can translate for Chambers, I think what he's saying is: Braun has achieved nothing in five-plus years, he's bored and now he's asking voters to believe he'll magically become a better leader as governor.

"If you like me as a senator, you'll like me better as governor," Braun said.

But qualified immunity is an example of why few people like Braun as a senator.

Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine that protects police and other government officials from civil suits, even when it's clear that an officer violated someone's constitutional rights. It is more or less impossible for people to sue the police now. Braun's bill would have reduced officers' protection by limiting qualified immunity to cases where their conduct is protected by an existing law or previous court ruling.

There is conservative support, especially in libertarian circles, for reducing the scope of qualified immunity. Braun seemed to deeply care about the issue. But, when law enforcement and Carlson came out hard against Braun, he retreated and disowned his position.

Mike Braun's philosophy: 'Don't fight it'

Braun summed up his own political philosophy last month on Fox Business when he offered advice for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to reconcile with Trumpworld: “Don’t fight it; you gotta go along with it.”

Braun has spent the past six years going along with it and sacrificing his values for political self-interest.

He's an accomplished businessman who forfeited his dignity to genuflect to Donald Trump; he feigned concern for election integrity and pledged to cast a "protest vote" against election certification Jan. 6, 2021, until mobs stormed the Capitol and assaulted police, causing him to revoke his righteous commitment to stopping the steal.

That's Braun in a nutshell: lukewarm for MAGA and lukewarm for public service. Even when Braun demonstrates belief in a course of action, he suppresses those feelings as soon as he finds a better path to career advancement. Like running for governor.

Braun is unprincipled. That's the case against him. But his opponents can't make it because they are, too.

Suzanne Crouch throws Eric Holcomb under the bus

Listen to Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, who's polling a distant second to Braun.

"During COVID, we were lied to by (Anthony) Fauci and the federal government. We can't go back and change what happened, but I've learned from the mistakes of our top executive," Crouch said during Monday's debate, courageously criticizing the policies she rolled out alongside the unnamed Holcomb.

She might have learned from the pandemic years, but it strains credulity to believe Crouch in her heart has lined up with all the other right-wing Republicans who want to write off the Holcomb years as failed government overreach in Indiana. It's her record, too! She was there!

That's the problem for Crouch and the other Republicans contenders for governor. They're challenging a weak, inauthentic frontrunner in Braun with weak, inauthentic campaigns of their own. They're just as afraid to offend Republican primary voters as Braun was to defend his views on qualified immunity against an onslaught from the right.

Calling out Braun's timidity would require looking in the mirror. So far, Braun's opponents would rather let him win.

Contact James Briggs at 317-444-4732 or [email protected]. Follow him on X and Threads at @JamesEBriggs.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why Mike Braun is winning the race for Indiana governor