Secretary of State Diego Morales has seen a slew of powerful Republicans, from Sen. Jim Banks to Attorney General Todd Rokita, rescind their endorsements of his reelection campaign. Many of them have announced they are supporting Banks’ staffer Max Engling instead.
Their calls for Morales to exit the race, after ignoring years of brazen corruption, are rooted in politics and self-survival.
Powerful Indiana Republicans want Morales to go away. They do not want him to be held accountable. The difference is important.
Morales has had four years of scandals
High-profile scandals have consumed Morales’ four years in office. He disappeared to India for 10 days for a mysterious economic development mission and refused to say who paid for the trip, gave no-bid contracts to campaign donors, used state resources to film a campaign commercial and attended the NBA Finals with a donor who was once convicted on federal bribery charges.
The most recent bad headline was that Morales had allowed a non-citizen, Elina Kupce, to spend the last two years in a chief of staff role. State Treasurer Daniel Elliott claimed Kupce was illegally in the country and other Republicans have said she illegally registered to vote.
Four years of repeated abhorrent behavior from Morales was not just ignored by politicians including Banks and Rokita. Two of the most high-profile Republicans in the state gave Morales their endorsement, lavished him with praise and encouraged everyone to vote for him.
Yet, they would have us believe that while unfazed by years of one scandal after another, the pair suddenly decided that a non-citizen staff member was a bridge too far.
Republicans fear losing the secretary of state’s office
Banks, Rokita and numerous other Republicans who bailed on Morales did not have some Ebenezer Scrooge-like epiphany. They were not visited by the ghosts of taxpayer accountability past, present and future.
Banks and Rokita finally came to accept what I wrote in IndyStar two weeks ago. If Morales is their nominee, Republicans are likely to lose the secretary of state’s office.
In the column, I laid out how Morales is doomed to fail against likely Democratic candidate Beau Bayh, especially if former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard can secure his spot on the ballot as an independent candidate.
Banks, Rokita and the rest used the breaking story of Kupce as their excuse to dump Morales. Morales claims she left the office for “personal reasons.”
In rescinding their endorsements, Banks and Rokita come off looking like complete fools. Party leaders and elected officials who followed their lead have no shame. What might be an embarrassing flip-flop to a person with any sort of humility was just another day at the office for them.
Banks, Rokita walk a tightrope of accountability
Not one of the politicians or party power players who called on Morales to drop out and endorsed Engling has demanded Morales be held accountable for his actions. None have asked Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears or Indiana’s inspector general to investigate numerous acts of potential criminal activity.
Four years of abhorrent behavior and the most we’ve gotten so far was from Elliott, saying Morales should resign.
Everyone is acknowledging Morales is a walking, talking, ethical and legal timebomb, but the politicians are very careful about what they demand.
A review of campaign finance reports shows many of the donors who have given generously to Morales have also given to the biggest Republican names in the state, including Rokita and Gov. Mike Braun. Braun recently said he is neutral in the secretary of state’s race.
That truth has put both Rokita and Banks in a hard position. They must make the numerous Morales scandals bad enough to force him out of the race but not implicate themselves by association.
The damage is already being done
Morales shocked political observers by refusing to step aside. He issued a statement saying he was taking his campaign to the convention and will let the delegates decide his fate. If he stays true to his word, Banks and Rokita will have two options.
They can either let Morales — who has over $1 million in his campaign account — have a free pass for another three weeks, make his case to delegates and potentially win the nomination. Or, they can go full nuclear and dish as much dirt as they possibly can.
Either way, Bayh and Ballard — if he makes the ballot — will end up huge winners. If Morales is the nominee, Bayh and Ballard continue with business as usual and hammer his numerous scandals. Now their ads will be able to say even the party leaders did not want anything to do with him.
If Morales gets ditched at convention, they can say the Republican Party knew exactly what he was for four years and totally enabled him.
Republicans are now stuck with the monster they created
Morales is the monster. The Indiana Republican Party is Dr. Frankenstein. Banks, Rokita and countless party insiders knew what Morales was for years. They did nothing to stop him and propped him up. Their refusal to act may result in dire consequences.
The best-case scenario for Republicans is they can bounce Morales at convention and hope the public fails to notice they were complicit. However, Morales will remain in office through the election and the party’s years of silence will be the focus of election ads.
The worst-case scenario is Morales wins at convention. The endless issues Bayh and Ballard are running on have been acknowledged by Morales’ own party. He would have no ability to deny much of anything and would drown in negative ads across the state.
Either way, it is likely to be a very long five months for Indiana Republicans. They deserve every second of their misery for refusing to hold Morales accountable.
Rob Kendall is the host of The Rob Kendall Show, which broadcasts 10 a.m. to noon weekdays on YouTube and is available on-demand on most major podcast platforms.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Republicans want Diego Morales to disappear | Opinion
Reporting by Rob Kendall, Contributing Columnist / Indianapolis Star
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