Dan Coats Hoosier Health Care Plan

This morning, Dan Coats released the

Dan Coats Hoosier Health Care Plan


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6IKO8FdKA8tPI5WBR4=].

Dan said, "Hoosiers have spoken: the goal should not
be expansion of government  involvement in health
care, but instead a prescription for a healthier
system that lowers costs while preserving personal
freedoms.The elements of this plan are based
on the principle that individual consumer retain
control over their own decisions and calls for
policy changes only where there is broad public
support - without  burying our children and
grandchildren in debt." You can read the full

Russ Pulliam Addresses Dan Coats Campaign

Look past Democrats' rhetoric

by Russ Pulliam

If Reggie Miller wanted to return to the Pacers in some capacity, would he be welcomed home? Of course.

So why haven't young conservatives welcomed Dan Coats' bid for his old Senate seat?Some conservatives have joined national Democrats in beating up Coats for the crime of lobbying. Or for being ambassador to Germany. Or for thinking about a retirement place in North Carolina.

It is a puzzle.

Coats, after all, was one of the most effective limited-government conservatives in the 1980s and 1990s. He started in the House of Representatives and then served in the Senate from 1989 to 1999. He also was ambassador to Germany.

Without bragging about it, Coats was an architect of what came to be called compassionate conservatism. He believed that conservatives could match big government social welfare initiatives with private sector alternatives. A key option was to let taxpayers send a portion of their tax bills, through credits, to charities that help those in need.

The theme of compassionate conservatism became a key to victory for George W. Bush. The concept was later tarnished when Republicans in Congress forgot to emphasize private-sector solutions instead of more government spending.

Yet Coats, Bush and former Indianapolis Mayor Steve Goldsmith made big strides just by increasing recognition, even on the liberal side, that community-based ministries and churches often are more effective in helping the needy than massive government programs.

Coats also has been a role model and mentor for other conservative leaders, including U.S. Rep. Mark Souder, Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson and Sagamore Institute President Jay Hein.

Coats is a modest gentleman who doesn't brag about his accomplishments. Yet he has always worn well with Indiana voters, through five House campaigns and two U.S. Senate victories.

Clearly, he has scared the daylights out of the Democratic Party. Once he jumped into the race earlier this year, Democratic insiders came up with all sorts of charges against the former senator. He wanted to live in North Carolina. He allegedly lobbied for Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez.

The puzzle is why some younger conservatives can't see through the partisan Democratic rhetoric to appreciate the talent that Coats offers. Even Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh appears to understand Coats' strengths. He decided not to seek re-election shortly after Coats entered the race.

Are younger conservatives so jaded about all political figures? Did Coats pick up radioactive contamination by serving in the Bush administration?

Coats may not know how to tweet on Twitter or share his personal life on Facebook. But conservatives of all people should know better than to dismiss a senatorial candidate simply because he has a long, serious record of political service.

Democrats jump in the mud

by Russ Pulliam

Former Sen. Dan Coats brings more than the potential for an upset in his race against Sen. Evan Bayh.

Win or lose, Coats could help Gov. Mitch Daniels gain the House Republican majority he wants for his final two years as governor.

At the top of the ticket in November, Coats could remove what historically has been an advantage for Democrats whenever Bayh has been on the ballot.

Bayh is the most popular Democrat in state history, with two terms as governor and two terms as a senator. But this year he may be vulnerable because of voters’ strong reaction against the Obama administration.

Bayh, who has never developed a political identity beyond a passion for holding the middle ground in most political debates, has not faced a strong political challenge in Indiana since he won his 1988 race for governor against Lt. Gov. John Mutz.

Coats will give Bayh real competition, similar to what U.S. Rep. Mike Pence would have brought to the race. Coats, who represented northeastern Indiana in Congress in the 1980s, moved to the Senate when Dan Quayle became vice president in 1989.

In Congress, Coats pushed conservative alternatives to big government efforts to end poverty, and his thinking contributed to the compassionate conservative ideas that helped George W. Bush land the presidency.

By personality Coats and Bayh share a modesty and reserve that seem to fit the profile of what Indiana voters like.

U.S. Rep. Mark Souder, who now represents the region that Coats once served, says the former senator will have to show passion for the race. “What Dan has to prove is he wants it,” Souder said. “People want to shake your hand.”

What remains unclear is the impact of uncivil attacks on Coats by the Democratic National Campaign Committee and other Bayh supporters. They are throwing every piece of mud they can find, hoping something might stick. He is a lobbyist. He thought about a retirement place in North Carolina. He lobbied for a firm that represented Yemen. He lobbied on behalf of a company linked to South American dictator Hugo Chavez. He may even have reached for the wrong fork once at a White House dinner.

Democrats sound like the state Republicans who tackled Evan Bayh when he came on the scene in the late 1980s. They said Bayh was not a real Hoosier, he had not lived here, he only had an address through his father. They accused him of misbehaving in college.

Mud-slinging might work if there is substance behind it. But Evan Bayh was a real Hoosier, growing up around Washington only because his father was a senator.

This time the mud-slinging may hurt Democrats. The issue is whether Coats is a man of character and integrity. On that score, the mud tossed by Democrats could splash back on them.