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Richard Mourdock defeats Sen. Dick Lugar in Indiana

danarhea

danarhea

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Dick Lugar, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, was defeated Tuesday as Indiana Republicans chose state Treasurer Richard Mourdock over Lugar as the party's nominee.
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The Tea Party has succeeded in primarying out Richard Lugar of Indiana. This has been expected for weeks. With the bad publicity about Lugar no longer being a resident of Indiana, his defeat was inevitable. Democrats believe that his Senate seat will now be a toss-up, but I disagree. I predict Mourdock's victory this fall by about 5 points.

Article is here.
 
This kinda clinches it for me. There are now three distinct political parties... democrats, sane republicans, and bat**** insane ultra-right wingers.
 
DiAnna said:
This kinda clinches it for me. There are now three distinct political parties... democrats, sane republicans, and bat**** insane ultra-right wingers.
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Lugar was Obama's favorite RINO-had an F rating from the NRA. Good riddance. In some cases the tea party is childish-such as getting "I'm not a witch" nominated guaranteeing that the Dems would win that senate seat. But Lugar is a senile RINO and I doubt his loss will cost the GOP that seat

In far left states, the teaparty can do harm by nominating someone extreme for that state

not here
 
TurtleDude said:
Lugar was Obama's favorite RINO-had an F rating from the NRA. Good riddance. In some cases the tea party is childish-such as getting "I'm not a witch" nominated guaranteeing that the Dems would win that senate seat. But Lugar is a senile RINO and I doubt his loss will cost the GOP that seat

In far left states, the teaparty can do harm by nominating someone extreme for that state

not here
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Indiana is a purple state, though. Had Lugar survived, he would have taken at least 70 percent of the vote this fall. Mourdock will squeak by, though, but Lugar's popularity shows that Indiana is not solid red.
 
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DiAnna said:
This kinda clinches it for me. There are now three distinct political parties... democrats, sane republicans, and bat**** insane ultra-right wingers conservatives.
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edited for rationality v emotionalism: you may be on to something.
 
danarhea said:
Indiana is a purple state, though. Had Lugar survived, he would have taken at least 70 percent of the vote this fall. Mourdock will squeak by, though, but Lugar's popularity shows that Indiana is not solid red.
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I dunno. Joe Donnelly's a pretty good candidate from the Democratic side. I suspect your right though, Indiana is still more Republican than Democrat, and Obama isn't going to outspend the GOP 5 to 1 there like he did in 08. Even if they still win the seat, it hurts the GOP by creating another state they are going to spend major money defending.
 
Mitch Daniels has done a pretty good job in that state, and Obama isn't going to win it. I think the assumption is in Murdocks' favor.
 
cpwill said:
Mitch Daniels has done a pretty good job in that state, and Obama isn't going to win it. I think the assumption is in Murdocks' favor.
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Generally speaking, the way Indiana is it is to close to call if Obama or Romney were to win. Kentucky has a democrat governor and is majority democrat and largely voted for McCain so governor means literally nothing.
 
cpwill said:
Mitch Daniels has done a pretty good job in that state, and Obama isn't going to win it. I think the assumption is in Murdocks' favor.
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He doesn't have to. Now the Democrats can force Romney to spend lots of money in a state he shouldn't have to. If Obama pulls another 50 state campaign and forces the GOP to bleed cash in formerly safe states, Romney's going to have some serious trouble.
 
obvious Child said:
He doesn't have to. Now the Democrats can force Romney to spend lots of money in a state he shouldn't have to. If Obama pulls another 50 state campaign and forces the GOP to bleed cash in formerly safe states, Romney's going to have some serious trouble.
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I don't think he'll have to outspend Democrats in the state to win it, and even so, it is rather easily made up for by forcing Obama to defend Wisconsin.
 
Not really understanding the surprise here.... I don't mind that the tpm gets credit for this, but, Lugar who touted himself as a moderate GOPer, but in reality he basically voted along the lines of dems. No longer cared about Indiana enough to even reside in the state he supposedly represented, or the once conservative party he no longer voted along its core principles. I suppose its radical these days for conservatives to vote for a conservative candidate, rather than a RINO GOP candidate who sides more with democrats. perhaps I have become a radical... hmmm.
 
This is great for the Democrats!!

looks like, once again, we can thank the Tea Party for helping the Democrats keep the Senate.

I think I'll have some tea now. :)
 
DiAnna said:
This kinda clinches it for me. There are now three distinct political parties... democrats, sane republicans, and bat**** insane ultra-right wingers.
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Considering the democrats and republicans have driven us into a massive debt sinkhole with no end in sight, cant agree on basic procedures and practices of government, and spend every moment after their election running for reelection...which do you prefer?
 
it's a shame they both couldn't lose. that was one ugly election. Donnelly has a slightly better chance in the general now, but it's a pretty right wing area.
 
Hmmm Lugar a rino... does that mean Reagan would be a rino now days?
 
PeteEU said:
Hmmm Lugar a rino... does that mean Reagan would be a rino now days?
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the Birchers considered Reagan a liberal, so most likely, yes.
 
I haven't exactly been following this, but I read a little about it yesterday or the day before and I know that the article I read said that Mourdock winning was what the Dems were hoping for because it meant that it highly increased their chances for taking the seat. It sounds like most people in this state are actually closer to the middle from that opinion. So I guess it would make sense that if a farther right leaning person was nominated by the GOP that this would increase the chances of the Democrat being elected.
 
Lugar is a foreign policy expert with an extremely solid track record. His conventional and nuclear disarmament work has directly made this nation safer. Both parties agree on keeping weapons out of the hands of our enemy, and as a true statesman Lugar didn't let partisanship get in the way of getting things done. Its completely idiotic to replace proven competence with nothing but rhetoric, but that is way our country is going to its detriment.
 
roguenuke said:
I haven't exactly been following this, but I read a little about it yesterday or the day before and I know that the article I read said that Mourdock winning was what the Dems were hoping for because it meant that it highly increased their chances for taking the seat. It sounds like most people in this state are actually closer to the middle from that opinion. So I guess it would make sense that if a farther right leaning person was nominated by the GOP that this would increase the chances of the Democrat being elected.
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there's a large spread of ideology between the cities and rural areas, just like in other midwestern states. Mourdock has greater name recognition due to 24/7 superpac ads. however, if Donnelly can increase his exposure and can appear even slightly reasonable, he has a chance.

Republicans recently forced through right to work and pissed a lot of people off. however, my guess is that Pence unfortunately takes the governor race and Romney gets the state.

on the other hand, maybe the state will be flush with cash after the next administration finds more misplaced tax money. half a billion dollars that Indiana didn't even know it had was just discovered. unfortunately, this happened after many teachers were fired to cut the budget. instead of hiring them back, the plan is to send everybody in the state fifty bucks. :roll: i guess if Indiana wants to improve education, it will have to sell a few more roads to global investors.
 
rathi said:
Lugar is a foreign policy expert with an extremely solid track record. His conventional and nuclear disarmament work has directly made this nation safer. Both parties agree on keeping weapons out of the hands of our enemy, and as a true statesman Lugar didn't let partisanship get in the way of getting things done. Its completely idiotic to replace proven competence with nothing but rhetoric, but that is way our country is going to its detriment.
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Interesting that so many (myself included) call for change and are so unhappy with the status quo, yet, when a status quo person is given the boot in a primary, people then claim that voters are going off the deep end and are not voting with their brain for a tried and true success.... but I question the success given the state of our economy and pretty much everything else these days. I am not impressed whatsoever. IMO voting for the tried and true failure of the status quo and expecting change is going off the reservation.
 
00timh said:
Interesting that so many (myself included) call for change and are so unhappy with the status quo, yet, when a status quo person is given the boot in a primary, people then claim that voters are going off the deep end and are not voting with their brain for a tried and true success.... but I question the success given the state of our economy and pretty much everything else these days. I am not impressed whatsoever. IMO voting for the tried and true failure of the status quo and expecting change is going off the reservation.
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This is like saying that your car is running rough -- the status quo is no good -- so you drain all the oil out on the theory that any change is good.

That last ... and I mean LAST thing we need is more partisan wankers in Congress who are more interested in punishing the opposing party than they are in finding solutions to our country's problems.

Senator Danforth said it well:

In 2010, former Sen. John Danforth (R-MO) told the New York Times that “If Dick Lugar, having served five terms in the U.S. Senate and being the most respected person in the Senate and the leading authority on foreign policy, is seriously challenged by anybody in the Republican Party, we have gone so far overboard that we are beyond redemption.” Danforth, an ordained Episcopal priest and President George W. Bush’s Ambassador to the United Nations, served with Lugar in the Senate from 1977 to 1995
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THINKPROGRESS: What do you think is happening here?

DANFORTH: An effort by some, and apparently a large number, 60% in Indiana, to purge the Republican Party and to create something that’s ideologically pure and intolerant of anybody who does not agree with them — not just on general principles, but right across the board.

THINKPROGRESS: Do you stand by your view that GOP is beyond hope?

DANFORTH: If this trend succeeds, yeah. What they will be left with, if indeed they want to purge the party of all but people who have a particular ideological slant… it’s not a way to win elections, it’s not political sustainable. It might make them feel good for a time but doesn’t work, it hasn’t worked. It didn’t work in Nevada or in Delaware in last election. They won nominations but couldn’t win elections. I don’t know how you win elections without getting 51% of the vote. I don’t see how you’re gonna get 51% of the vote if you make it clear that people in your own party, who don’t absolutely agree with everything you want to do, aren’t wanted.
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00timh said:
Interesting that so many (myself included) call for change and are so unhappy with the status quo, yet, when a status quo person is given the boot in a primary, people then claim that voters are going off the deep end and are not voting with their brain for a tried and true success.... but I question the success given the state of our economy and pretty much everything else these days. I am not impressed whatsoever. IMO voting for the tried and true failure of the status quo and expecting change is going off the reservation.
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You could hardly call most members of congress a "tried and true success". Lugar is somewhat noteworthy because he actually has accomplished something useful during his tenure. I would hardly call his domestic policy stellar, but the same goes for his opponent, not to mention the fact that the result of a primary isn't going to shift the economy in any noticeable way. At the end of the day, the senate will have less foreign policy expertise and gain nothing in return.
 
johnny_rebson said:
I thought you liked RINOs, you're giving all your support to Romney.
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that's funny coming from a guy who thinks conservative only applies to those who want women barefoot and pregnant and gays burning at the stake. Your boy Santorum was a fascist when it came to religion but a marxist when it came to fiscal issues. And his nutty views that the product of a rape is a gift from God a woman ought to cherish is enough to make this guy, whose wife was the victim of a date rape who had an abortion as a result-want to puke
 
cpwill said:
I don't think he'll have to outspend Democrats in the state to win it, and even so, it is rather easily made up for by forcing Obama to defend Wisconsin.
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Again, not the point. It's highly likely that the Obama campaign will raise significantly more money than Romney. He merely needs to fight a war of attrition. Obama can afford to waste more dollars in loss state than Romney can afford to spend in win states. You're right on Wisconsin though, there are number of states that are possible to go either way. The more money each side forces the other to waste in safe states, they less they have to spend in battleground states.
 
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