Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s proposal to use taxpayer funds in order to establish what he later characterized as an information “clearinghouse” for members of the press and average Hoosiers alike was a terrible idea.

The proposal was hopelessly redundant; the Indiana governor’s office already has a website on which it posts press releases. If it was, as Pence claimed, merely a place to disseminate news of interest to Indiana residents in a nonpartisan fashion, what was the need for a new venue? Even if Pence’s government administered this project admirably and without any interest in publishing overtly propagandistic material, the precedent it would have established would have been a regrettable one. The idea behind JustIN smacked of state-run media.

But the backlash against this proposal from the journalistic community as well as conservatives was overpowering. Pence was forced to spend more time than he surely would have liked clarifying that this proposed state-funded media outlet was far more benign than its mission led most to believe.

Few were buying the clarifications. After spending the better part of three days defending his controversial project, Pence revealed on Thursday his intention to bury it.

Via The Washington Examiner:

“As you are aware, concern has arisen regarding the development of a new website for the state of Indiana,” Pence said. “However well intentioned, after thorough review of the preliminary planning and careful consideration of the concerns expressed … I have made a decision to terminate development of the JustIN website immediately.

“The original intent of this project was to make press releases more readily available in a one-stop website for the convenience of the press and the public. At present, approximately 50 of the 90 executive branch state agencies and commissions post press releases on the state’s current public calendar website. This results in the press and the public having to visit multiple sources to stay informed about state activities.”
…
“[R]ather than developing a new website, I have instructed the Office of Information Technology update the current public calendar website to ensure that the press and the public have unfiltered and convenient access to all press releases and public meeting notices,” Pence said.

By conceding that he will instead redirect resources in order to create a more robust news and events section on the governor’s public website, Pence concedes that JustIN was perfectly superfluous. So what was the purpose of this site anyway except to create a “voiced” opinion blog in which the administration’s position on a variety of issues could be defined and broadcast in a more entertaining format?

What most likely happened here is that Pence expected a much more favorable reaction from the right than he received. If it were merely local reporters protesting this development while it was applauded by conservatives, the governor would have probably been able to weather the storm. In doing so, he would have ushered in a new era in which state-run media outlets competed with partisan blogs and the opinion sections of news outlets to frame the issues of the day for their readers. That would have been a brave new world indeed.

It’s a small victory for principle over partisanship, but it is one worth celebrating. For Pence, however, his problems are only compounding. Without JustIN, who is going to explain to Republicans why his brand of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act is the conservative course of action?