Friday, October 22, 2010

Tully Nails Dan Coats

Star political columnist Matt Tully sums up what many people like myself who are looking for change in Washington think about the dilemma voters in Indiana face in choosing between lobbyist and former Indiana Senator Dan Coats and U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth. I want to see the Republicans recapture the U.S. Senate, but I also despise everything that Dan Coats' candidacy represents. As Tully writes:

Dan Coats' former lobbying firm could hardly have a more prestigious address.


The offices of King & Spalding sit on a corner of Pennsylvania Avenue here in the heart of the nation's capital. From the front door, it's a two-minute walk to the White House. From there, it's just another mile and a half to the U.S. Capitol . . .

Until recently, Coats was one of those employees. He'd cashed in big by trading on his years as a senator. He joined one lobbying firm after leaving the Senate in 1999, and then cashed in again, joining King & Spalding after a stint in the Bush administration.


Now Coats wants Hoosier voters to forget that and send him back to Capitol Hill. His story is the revolving-door syndrome to the extreme.

Election Day is approaching fast and Coats is leading Brad Ellsworth, his Democratic opponent, in the polls. For Coats, it's a remarkable feat.

Somehow, he's gotten many voters to gloss over a resume that should disqualify anyone -- no matter how good a person or sharp a mind -- from serving in the Senate. He's asking voters to elect him to the world's so-called most deliberative body after spending years making gobs of money by lobbying his old pals in that same body.

The revolving door, through which lawmakers walk to become high-paid lobbyists, is a crushing problem. Firms with big bucks hire former lawmakers to peddle their client's causes. It is a spirit-breaker for citizens -- an abuse perpetrated by Democrats and Republicans equally.

But this case is particularly glaring. At a time when voters are railing against "politics as usual" in Washington, they're on the verge of electing a lawmaker-turned-lobbyist to the Senate. At a time when voters are complaining about the insider culture in D.C., they are considering electing a man that a King & Spalding news release once touted to clients as a leading member of its team of "Washington insiders" . . .
 
Because once a politician walks through the revolving door, it should lock behind him.

9 comments:

I know said...

Great article Gary but the last sentence leaves you dreaming a hollow dream in Indiana. Ain't gonna happen. The good ole boys are ruthless and will do whatever it takes to ruin good people and recycle the buddies of old......

Good luck Indiana the world is going right on by while a State swims in it's own filth.

interestedparty said...

I wish you'd give Ellsworth a try. He's a blue dog. You can always vote him out in 2016 if you end up not liking him, but I predict you would like him.

Anonymous said...

I agree with interestedparty. I wish you'd give Ellsworth a try.

Gary R. Welsh said...

Thanks for the advice, but Ellsworth isn't the answer either.

M Theory said...

A lot of conservatives I know are voting for Rebecca Sink Burris. We don't want lesser evil.

This serves the GOP faithful right. They're going to get a monster beholden to big banking, big pharma and the banksters for a senator instead of someone trustworthy.

I'm passing on accepting the lesser evil of Ellsworth because evil is evil.

Maybe next time the conservative party will run one.

dcrutch said...

Coats will be the most corrupt official I can recall voting for, if it's down to single digits Nov 1. But, he beats voting for somebody that rolls over for legislation as expensive, corrupt, ponderous, and illegal as our health "reform".

interestedparty said...

so you only vote if it gets close? that's patriotism all right.

Anonymous said...

couldn't agree more, if this doesn't scream for a libertarian vote, what/when will? even if the tried and true 'that just takes a vote away from the republican' holds true, is that such a bad thing? F coats and our buddy brad is just below that.

dcrutch said...

In a close race, I choose to vote for the incredibly corrupt Dan Coats. I I believe the worst alternative is to pepetuate the power of the present administration. If
Coats has a good lead Nov 1- then I'm voting for Sink-Burris.

I don't like it. I understand if I'm called every name in the book. But, my personal calculation.