Dan Coats disclosure debacle is just latest misstep
In some ways, you sort of have to assume at this point that senator-turned-lobbyist Dan Coats is ready to embrace the “no news is good news” mantra for the rest of the primary election season. He is, after all, the conventional front-runner for the Republican senate nomination, enjoying big financial support from the same Washington D.C. culture he’s been trying to distance himself from for the last few months.
But try as he might, Coats has segued from one of the worst candidate roll-outs in recent memory to a seemingly endless series of not-so-positive stories. Yesterday was no exception:
All but one candidate for the GOP Senate nomination have blown by a deadline for disclosing their income and financial holdings.
Marlin Stutzman, one of five contenders for his party’s nod, filed the required form, but the others have not. Their reports are 10 days overdue.
Dan Coats’ campaign press secretary, Pete Seat, said an adviser gave Coats wrong information about the deadline and that Coats will request an extension “soon.”
But Senate ethics rules say that “an extension granted to a candidate is ineffective past the date such extension will result in a report being filed later than 30 days prior to an election.”
To be clear, for most candidates this is not a story. For Dan Coats, though, it most definitely is.
Plagued by questions about his financial dealings over the last twelve years, Coats’ campaign should have realized that secrecy begets secrecy, and nothing derails an effort to change a largely negative campaign narrative quite like an old-fashioned lack of transparency piece.
To make matters worse, the official response for weeks from the Coats campaign — and the candidate himself — as to the simple question of how much money Coats made while working as a lobbyist has been as consistent as it has been bizarre: “I don’t know.”
I’m sorry, but if you’re trying to connect with Hoosiers after spending more than a decade on the East Coast, perhaps saying that you’ve made so much money you can’t keep track of it all isn’t the best message to bring to the table.
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Agreed. Marlin Stutzman has again shown why he has my vote, by adhering to the rules of the game and getting in his disclosure in a timely manner. He might not have the most money, once Coats has disclosed his numbers, but he stands for what I believe, and he’s never been beat by the Dem nominee in an election, like Hostettler.
You might want to look at the latest poll numbers, which you can actually find on Mike O’Brien’s latest post. You’re a true genius, Thomas…insane.
Totally agree! Marlin is right on every time. No matter where you look, you will find Marlin being real — a real Hoosier, a real Christian, a real family man — just the best guy I have met in awhile. I am so glad that he has come forward to serve our country — it gives me hope for the future. Put a guy in Washington that has conservative values, who is fighting for the future of his two young kids, and we’ll see him fight to the death all those who are trying to rob us of our freedoms! God bless America and GO MARLIN!!!