Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Sen. Dan Coats Not Seeking Re-Election

This is very good news. Sen. Dan Coats will not be seeking re-election according to Indianapolis Star political columnist Matt Tully. “You reach a time,” he said, “ when you have to acknowledge that it is time to step aside. And when you realize you have a responsibility to turn things over to the next generation. We have a deep bench and there probably hasn’t been a better time to do this.” Well, that time came and went long ago when Coats left the state permanently in 1998 for greener pastures as a Washington influence peddler before making a surprise reappearance in the state when his successor stepped away from the Senate in 2010. This latest stint in the Senate should be worth a few million dollars more to the Coats household.

Tully is throwing out several potential candidates who might jump into the race to succeed Coats, including three members of the Republican congressional delegation, Susan Brooks, Todd Rokita and Marlin Stutzman, along with former GOP Chairman Eric Holcomb. None of these choices particularly excite me. Let's hope some other candidates emerge. My concern is that Coats might choose to retire from the seat early, allowing Gov. Pence to handpick a replacement. After all, that's how Coats made it to the Senate originally. Gov. Robert Orr appointed him to fill Dan Quayle's seat following his election as George H.W. Bush's vice president.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is more than good news, it is GREAT news. Coats proved long ago he is little more than a carpetbagger who made himself a multimillionaire being a shill for the military industrial complex corporatists. Coats is one of the tools the establishment Republicans used well and used often; he is far from the so-called “Hoosier Values” the majority in the State hold.

That Tully tossed out names like Susan Brooks (of all people!) and Eric Holcomb does not at all surprise me; Tully is a faux journalist and Brooks and Holcomb are surely faux conservatives from what I’ve seen, read of, and heard from them. And isn’t an even more direct link to Senatorial power exactly what David Brooks needs now? DB screwed over his Marion County GOP buddies to the detriment of the Republican party more than once- you think they’d learn or realize a thing or two about the guy by now.

Rokita is all right with me although I consider him a BG insider; Stutzman I could leave at the gate.

A key point about all this is how Indiana Republican “leadership” (a misnomer if there ever was one) have this penchant for being able to name a replacement to a retiring elected politician who can then run as the seat-holder. I think this is THE reason Indiana GOP was so furious about Mourdock because he was depriving them of the ability to get the aged Dick Lugar in for a last time and to then have Lugar retire a few years in… allowing them to name another Indiana establishment GOP tool to run as a Senate incumbent.

Anonymous said...

Dig deeper. Did the DOJ finally nail Indiana politicians? Specifically of Coats and his ilk. More to come.

Anonymous said...

This is not good news. My guess is Israel hawk neocon Mitch-Daniels bag man Rokita will be picked to have the seat.

Unless Mitch isn't handling the heat at Purdue and wants a soft landing.

Coats was done when he didn't sign neocon Cotton's pro-Israel treason letter.

The Republican Party is owned by Israel, so whoever gets their nose the farthest up Israel's butt will be chosen to be the Senator.

Anonymous said...

Now I read that Israel was caught spying on Obama and the White House.

Israel is an enemy of America that we should attack, impose sanctions on, bar their dual citizens from holding any position in United States government, bar them from funding any American election and bar any candidate from office who supports Israel.

The Rokita, Stutzman, Pence pro-Israel traitors need to be turned out of office as allies of a hostile foreign power.

Gary R. Welsh said...

Israel spying on the Obama White House? What a joke. They've run it from day one. Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod, et al. weren't working for the American people when they signed up to manage Obama.

Anonymous said...

If Rokita is chosen he won't be a RINO nor a Carpetbagger from North Carolina, Now if we can get rid of Brooks and other RINO's
and rid Indiana of Crony Capitolist from Indiana, we will all be better off.

Anonymous said...

Rokita is neocon scum. He'll be a pro-war, pro-corporation, pro-Israel, Fox News half-wit whose vote is for sale to the highest bidder.

Rokita is a remote-controlled drone of Mitch Daniels. Rokita came from little, became a pawn of the Indianapolis Republican establishment and knows to keep his place, he has to play ball with the Indianapolis Republican kingmakers.

Rokita is nothing on his own. He's a Wabash College frat boy who can be trusted to do exactly as he's told.

Flogger said...


This should be an amusing tussle. Who can out NEO-CON each other. Who has the most Hoosier Values, the Most Family Values. Who will promise to end Obama Care the quickest?? Who can Thump that Bible the hardest???

Anonymous said...

I present to you, Senator Gregory A. Ballard.

Anonymous said...

I pray Holcomb or Brooks are not chosen. Holcomb is perhaps the most corrupt chairman the State GOP has ever had! Susan Brooks as US Attorney allowed the Daniels admin to get away with everything under the son! As for Todd Rokita their are serious rumours flying around that he used his position as the Indiana Secretary of State to win his congressional seat! Gary Welsh for Senate!

Pete Boggs said...

Israel's an ally, who has not been "caught" spying on the blight house; just faux-gressive propaganda.

What did anon 1:59 say, when Germans caught this administration tapping the phones of Angela Merkel & other members of their government?

Anti-Israel sentiments appear to confuse the infected; about who's an enemy or friend.

LamLawIndy said...

Rep. Stutzman -- having previously run for the seat -- may have a leg up, but I wouldn't count Rep. Brooks out. It'll be an interesting couple years...

Sir Hailstone said...

"The Republican Party is owned by Israel"

Pretty strong statement considering a significant number of Jewish families vote straight Democrat.... a glancing of the election results from North New Jersey, lower New York, and even throw in the Southeast Coast of Florida from Boca Raton to Fort Lauderdale will tell you that.

"I think this is THE reason Indiana GOP was so furious about Mourdock"

Slight Correction - the Marion County GOP [read: the usual crowd, plus the Lugar Ladies] was furious about Mourdock. The rest of the state was relieved to see Lugar go. Mourdock then proceeded to take dead aim at his foot and fire, and now we have Donnelly.

Anonymous said...

"Pretty strong statement considering a significant number of Jewish families vote straight Democrat"

Under what logical rule do you consider Brooklyn Jewish voters voting for Democrats out of local considerations to have more influence on national elections than Adelson, ADL and AIPAC?

Israel's greatest support comes from Republicans and red states. Brooklyn and South Florida do not find the support for Israel found in the South or the Evangelical West.

http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/End-Times/On-The-Road-To-Armageddon.aspx