By Scott Tibbs, April 7, 2010
Perception is not reality. Dan Coats has a reputation as a strong conservative. When he was a U.S. Senator, many saw him as the conservative to balance Richard Lugar in Washington. His reputation is not deserved. Coats has a very weak voting record that should be a concern to Indiana Republicans going into the May 4 primary.
See the new video by John Hostettler's campaign here.
Dan Coats voted to confirm Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the Supreme Court. Ginsburg demonstrated that she is either illiterate and cannot read the clear text of the Constitution or that she simply does not care. Most likely, it is the latter. For Coats to campaign as a conservative after voting to confirm this woman is a joke.
But that's far from the only time Dan Coats betrayed conservative principles in the U.S. Senate. Coats is openly hostile to Second Amendment rights. He voted for the Brady Law that is hated by gun-rights advocates. He voted for the ban on "assault weapons" - a manufactured term meant to make people think Congress was banning machine guns. This was a major move toward taking away our Second Amendment rights that Congress thankfully allowed to expire in 2004. For more, see here, here and here.
Dan Coats is clearly the weakest of the Republicans running for the chance to face Brad Ellsworth in November. Marlin Stutzman, Don Bates and Richard Behney would all be a better choice than Dan Coats. The best choice, and the candidate I will be voting for, is John Hostettler.
