A post on FB [FN1] asked: "What do we do now about Beckwith?" Suggestions’ goal was make sure the public knows who Beckwith is. [FN2] I say make Mike Braun, GOP nominee for IN Gov tell everyone NOW, before we go further, if the GOP ticket wins: 1/12

A) Will Gov Braun limit Beckwith to the authority of the office Lt Gov? Indiana’s Constitution & statutes make the job of IN Lt Gov more than ceremonial. [FN3] Goals Beckwith stated last year are outside Lt Gov’s authority. [FN4] He quit the board of HEPL 2/12

to focus on his Lt Gov campaign. [FN5] [FN6] He “promised to be a ‘thorn in the flesh’” if a Gov fails to pursue socially conservative policies [FN7] & judged candidates. [FN8] How the GOP nominates Gov/Lt Gov is a bastardized illusion of a free election. 3/12

Braun won the primary w/nearly 250k votes, [FN9] but is bound to Beckwith, w/891 votes. [FN10] A sub-title quotes Braun: “There’s no doubt about this. I’m in charge.” [FN11] That Braun had to say it means there is doubt. 4/12

If Braun is brave and says, “I am in charge. No one will be a thorn in my flesh,” he will, in an instant, lose the rabid, right-wing vote.
B) Will Gov Braun make nice and say he & Beckwith are part of a “team”? 5/12

The rabid, right-wing vote stays, but Beckwith is a problem. For example, he believes that you cannot be moral if you are a “Hindu, an atheist or a Jew.” [FN12] His views of his role as Lt Gov mean he will be a de facto Gov. 6/12

Facebook blocks my posts almost instantaneously & has begun to cull posts going back several months. The Constitution protects our rights to free expression against government, not private, action. The internet, much of it privately owned, has replaced the “public square.” 7/12

The internet has been subsidized by tax dollars. It should be a place where speech, particularly political speech, is protected. My posts are censored for my criticism of a Christofascist and FB’s censorship. Please: pass this on. 8/12

Footnotes:
FN1. The page is “Hoosiers Against Micah Beckwith for Indiana.”
FN2. Categories include contact corporate donors to Braun/Beckwith, send letters to editors to papers across the state, boost social media posts that expose who Beckwith is. 9/12

Footnotes:
FN3. Civil Discourse Now, “What Lt Gov can't & can do,” 8/18/23; “Indiana's Lt Gov has a lot of authority,” 8/19/23.
FN4. Id.
FN5. Hamilton East Public Library. 10/12

Footnotes:
FN6. “Indiana library board replaces ultra-conservative pastor,” IndyStar, 2/9/24.
FN7. Adam Wren, “Confessions of an (alleged) book banner,” Importantville, 09/24/2023.
FN8. Id.
FN9. CNN, Republican Governor Primary: Indiana Results: 2024 237,123. 11/12

Footnotes:
FN10. Muniz, “Hoosier GOP insiders spurn party establishment, nominate Beckwith for LG,” Indiana Capital Chronicle.
FN11. Id. 13/14
FN12. FB video, 10/24/19, “The Church’s role in politics.” 12/12