Associated Press
Richard Mourdock (left) and Sen. Dick Lugar (right).
There's no shortage of compelling primary fights this year, but I'd argue none is as interesting as the Republican U.S. Senate primary in Indiana. There's only a week to go, and it's not too late for campaign watchers who haven't been keeping an eye on the race to tune in.
At the outset, perhaps the most remarkable thing is that this primary exists at all. Lugar is arguably the Senate's most respected Republican statesman, and has traditionally been considered a GOP hero among Hoosiers. The notion of him facing a credible challenger at all seems rather outlandish.
Former Sen. John Danforth (R-Mo.) said a while back, "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."
Well, guess what. Lugar is not only facing a serious challenge from Indiana state Treasurer Richard Mourdock, there's a credible chance the incumbent senator is going to lose a week from tomorrow.
For many within the Republican Party, this one race has become a proxy for the fight for the GOP's soul. Mourdock, who says Lugar isn't nearly right-wing enough, enjoys the support of Sarah Palin, the NRA, the Club for Growth, FreedomWorks, and Herman Cain. Lugar is backed by John McCain, Mitch Daniels, Eric Cantor, and the party establishment.
It reached the point last week that Young Guns Network, a group led by two former leading Cantor aides, have begun urging Democrats and independents to support Lugar in the GOP primary, and have mailings condemning Mourdouk from the left, criticizing him for wanting to shut down the Department of Education.
That's pretty remarkable in its own right. A Cantor-affiliated Republican group is going after a Republican Senate candidate for opposing the Department of Education -- despite the fact that most of Cantor's House GOP caucus has said largely the same thing.
If Lugar wins, it's a victory for the party establishment and this will remain a safe "red" seat. If Mourdouk wins, it's a victory for the party's activist wing, and the Democratic candidate, Rep. Joe Donnelly, believes he'll have a shot in November.
Remember, the fact that there's even a primary at all suggests to some party leaders that the GOP is "beyond redemption." And yet, here we are.
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ObQuirk!
A hunt with a microscope for the GOP's soul, perhaps
Kick ALL the bums out
Every single one of them
Then maybe, just maybe we'll have a chance to have a government that works only for the people!
A lovely substitute when thinking is too much work.
Personally, I prefer pour encourager les autres.
Lugar is arguably the Senate's most respected Republican statesman, and has traditionally been considered a GOP hero among Hoosiers.
Lugar was arguably the Senate's most respected Republican statesman. The key is the past tense. As a resident and voter in Indiana, I used to respect Lugar. Not any more! Since the election of Obama, Lugar has gone further and further reich wing, contradicting past positions and voting about 100% as McConnell has directed.
As a progressive who used to have tremendous respect for Dick Lugar, I believe that he is not deserving of reelection. With the same rational that I held when Murkowski ran as an independent after losing to the teabagger in the republican primary in Alaska, I believe that even if the teabagger Murdock wins this fall the country will be better off. Dick Lugar sold his soul (and beliefs) for the sake of reelection. Better a real teabagger than a teabagger want-to-be who votes like a teabagger. Eventually, the real teabaggers may get discovered for what they really are; handmaidens of the 1/10 of 1%ers. Nothing like a "grassroots populist" movement funded by billionares!
Unfortunately, this is Indiana and whoever wins the repuke primary is highly likely to be the next senator. The DLC/DINO/Repuke-Lites who run the state's democratic party apparatus never have the cojones to let a progressive have the dumbocrap party nomination. That is why we had the DLC/DINO @sshole Bayh replaced by a D.C. lobbyist. The dem running for senate is just another "I'm a kinder and gentler republican than the republican" democrat who will learn again that the idiot voters in this state will consistently take the better funded repuke candidate vs the "pretend repuke" candidate from the democratic party.
Speaking of Indiana and
idiotsdemocrats, the dumbocrap candidate for governor is running on virtually the same platform as the republican! We are going to end up with the 2nd stupidest person on the face of this earth as our next governor! And we continue to look for the single person stupider than Mike Pence.I live in Indiana too. Mike Pence AND Joe (DINO) Donnelly. Oy veh.
"...the fact that there's even a primary at all suggests to some party leaders that the GOP is "beyond redemption."
Remember when the GOP was encouraging "tea-potty activists"? Now that they've found those children don't/won't play well with others, they're having trouble keeping them under control & in-line - they want to "keep the moderates" in the party. This is another abject lesson on denying "reality" and living in their own bubble. When the children were misbehaving the GOP thought it was a sign of "democracy at work", well GOP how's that working for you now?! You are a party of extreme immorality, soullessness, haters of women, haters of the poor/elderly and minorities.
While I used to believe that Lugar was someone I could disagree with amiably, he too babbles nonsense to satisfy and pays supplication to the sheeple within his district - which has made me loose whatever respect that I may have had for him. I'm tired of the know-nothings, tired of the obstructionist GOP, tired of people NOT paying attention to the false prophets in Washington, tired of lies being told as though they are gospel, tired of the false equivalence set up by the media, tired of the dumbing down of Americans! Aargh!
I will vote next Tuesday here in Indianapolis. As my high-quality, progressive, black, muslim Congressman (Andre Carson) is not threatened in the primary, I shall get a republican ballot and vote for the teabagger running against Lugar.
This fall, I will proudly vote for Andre Carson as being one of the few real democrats in office from Indiana. I will hold my nose and vote for the DLC/DINOs running for senate and governor. I hope against hope that the dumbocrap can win the senate seat, even though he will probably vote against Obama almost as much as the teabagger! I will vote for the dumbocrap running against Pence for governor, but that is a hopeless situation. Pence has figuratively zillions of $$$ of big money to buy him the governorship.
If anything the Dems should support the loony .
WWRD (what would republicans do ) if the tables were turned and a fringe liberal had a chance of being beaten vs a moderate liberal?
Democrats should utilize and support the fact that there are people who are willing to hand a seat to the Dems
Don't be too sure beating Lugar is tantamount to handing his seat to the Dems. There are a lot of people around here who don't think it's possible to be too far to the right. They love hyperventilating gasbags like Mourdock, and no ridiculous claim about President Obama is too farfetched or too silly for them to accept.
BTW, every anti Lugar ad I've seen so far was paid for by the Club For Growth, which is a pretty ironic name for an outfit run by people who seem to believe that the real problem with this economy is that there's still too damn much prosperity and well being in it.
Beyond redemption is accurate!
You gotta love the fact that the 'Young Guns Network' wants DEMOCRATIC and Independent support...and HELP. This same network has done NOTHING but denigrate women, vote against education and try to take away government benefits. And they want our HELP?
I was looking at the photo and geez, what's wrong with his hand?
Ha!! I thought the same thing! I couldn't even manage reading the content of the article because I kept mentally bouncing between making "Manos: The Hands of Fate" jokes and wondering if he had a giant muppet ancestor of some sort.
It is, of course, his right hand. He's that extreme.
I see "Thing" was also at the Debate. If he's running, I'll vote for him over either of these two guys.
I will go with analysis that if Lugar loses, the Dems could pick up a seat. Dems should not lift a finger to help Lugar since he has done no favors for the Dems. This might even put Indiana in play for the presidential election. Let the purge continue until there are no moderate Republicans left.
Fascinating. Lugar was the popular and staunchly conservative mayor of Indianapolis when I was still in high school there in the 60s. The state was red to the bone then, still is by a long way, and probably always will be. Lugar really is Mr. Republican himself, having NEVER lost a political contest to my knowledge. Truly, this race does speak volumes.
Lugar is 80 years old. That makes him vulnerable to a younger challenger regardless of the issues or the quality of his service. He's hale now, but will he be hale at the end of his next term? Will he even live out his term?
Mourdock seems to be a tea party enforcer, but I think Lugar's age makes him vulnerable to almost any youthful challenger.