My colleague Jacob Stewart makes a convincing case that Indiana Republicans will nominate Diego Morales for secretary of state at their June 20 convention.
It’s not usually provocative to say that an incumbent statewide officeholder will seek reelection in November. But Morales is on the short list for most corrupt statewide officeholder in Indiana history. It would seem to be in Republicans’ best interest to nominate someone — anyone — else to run for that job.
The strong likelihood that Republicans decide Morales is the best person to represent them on the general election ballot says a lot about the state of our politics. And I hate it.
The price of winning
Morales is a quintessential product of the Trump era, a person so compromised and ill-suited for leadership that he can only succeed in a landscape where team politics determines value and moral virtue no longer matters. The Republican establishment preferred someone else back in 2022, but now that they’re stuck with Morales, the party views loyalty as the best path to winning, regardless of Morales’ conduct.
If electing people like Diego Morales is the price of winning, then that price is too high. Morales is an incompetent administrator who uses his office to benefit his personal and family interests while also conducting shady business with foreign interests.
Any remotely objective analysis would lead you to conclude that Democrat Beau Bayh or independent Greg Ballard would be preferable in the secretary of state’s office to Morales. You would be hard-pressed to find a single Republican arguing that Morales is the candidate most capable, honest and committed to serving Indiana.
They’re weighing a different set of criteria.
Endorsing the rot
U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, Attorney General Todd Rokita and other top Republicans who enthusiastically throw their support behind Morales are telling you that all manner of misconduct is acceptable so long as the transgressor wears a red hat and pays lip service to the correct politics of the moment.
These calculating knaves are degrading our society, our institutions and the government services we pay for because it’s good for them personally. They dishonor our state and exude disdain for the people who live here and pay taxes so Morales can ride around in a $90,000 SUV.
I’m not saying anything new here. As Stewart points out in his column, Morales and his crew of enablers feed off criticism such as this. They long ago swallowed their doubts and now bathe in the warm smugness of power gained at the expense of principles.
Well, most of the time.
Corruption has a ceiling
If you look closely, you can spot lingering insecurity dressed up as politics. When Banks and his people attack Sen. Todd Young or seek vengeance on Republican state senators who voted against early redistricting, they are trying to take out anyone whose honor holds up a mirror to what they’ve become. They are creating safety in numbers by excommunicating those with integrity.
As Stewart writes, the Republican convention that nominates the party’s secretary of state candidate is increasingly self-selecting Morales-friendly delegates. A critical mass of Republicans is poised to accommodate brazen corruption so long as it means defeating the Democrats and RINOs.
Another win for the team.
For now, partisanship holds that anyone who wants to be on the team must uphold a Republican scoundrel over any otherwise respectable figure who wears another label. This isn’t unique to Morales or even the Trump era. American history is littered with figures who exploited moral decay for political gain.
But history is also consistent on this point: Tolerance for corruption has a ceiling. Unrepentant wrongdoers eventually torch their careers and either exit public life in ignominy or carry on as punchlines. Even when disgraced politicians evade legal consequences, their staunchest supporters eventually lose their phone numbers and stop defending them.
Shamelessness has traditionally carried stigma. It will again.
No level of brazenness by Morales and his most powerful supporters can dissolve our moral code. Even if Morales has the numbers this time, integrity is worth fighting for. The full Indiana electorate awaits in November.
Contact James Briggs at 317-444-4732 or james.briggs@indystar.com. Follow him on X at @JamesEBriggs.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: If electing Diego Morales is the price of winning, it’s too high | Opinion
Reporting by James Briggs, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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