Posted on 05/08/2012 7:35:13 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Sen. Richard Lugar, the third longest-serving member of the Senate, went down to a primary defeat tonight to his Tea Party-backed opponent in the Republican primary. State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, backed by tea partiers and conservative campaign groups outside the state, ousted Lugar in Indiana’s GOP primary, the Associated Press projected.
Mourdock will face Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly in November.
In Lugar, the Senate would lose one of its few remaining members with a habit of bipartisanship. In Mourdock, Lugar has been unseated by a mild-mannered, twice-elected statewide official who wants to eliminate five federal departments and cut more spending than House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., would.
“I hope that Richard Mourdock prevails in November so that he can contribute to that Republican majority in the Senate,” Lugar said in his concession speech. “We are experiencing deep political divisions in our society right now. And these divisions have stalemated progress in critical areas. These divisions have stalemated progress in critical areas. But these divisions are not insurmountable. I agree that people of good will, regardless of party, can work together for the benefit of country.”
Mourdock began his acceptance speech by leading a round of applause for Lugar.
“When I began this campaign, Sen. Lugar was not my enemy. He is not now my enemy; he will never be my enemy. He was, simply, over the last 15 months, my opponent,” Mourdock said. “Hoosiers want to see Republicans inside the U.S. Senate take a more conservative track.”
President Obama lamented Lugar’s defeat in a statement released to press.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
most folks won’t recognize those lyrics...but I do....nice post!
I believe Indiana has a “sore loser” law that prevents Lugar from running as an independent after losing a primary. Thankfully so, as he probably would try it.
Great news.... a wonderful start
I’m lost in the sixties again.... ;)
They mentioned “tea party” twice in the first paragraph.
Bet me on that.
Ding! Dong! The Dick is out!
Bravo! 5 federal departments is a good start.
not a chance...Lugar has so much clout that he'll spend the rest of his life making speeches, public appearances, and money. He is also a class "A" individual !!
Glad to hear about the Sore Loser Law. My main point was the things that the GOPe did. Just didn’t want to see a repeat of that on the fine folks in Indiana.
Did you click on the link and listen to the speeches ? Lugar was classy and threw his support to Mourdock , Mourdock said the GOP Senate guy , John Cornyn , called and he has their backing . It seems the GOP elite are paying attention , for the moment .
"Get things done" = help the Democrat socialists grow government.
That’s not entirely true. Utah saw some good solid conservatives beat the insiders’ choices in congressional races, and forced Hatch into a primary to everyone’s surprise. I think we saw a couple surprises in other states too. West Virginia comes to mind, but I can’t remember the specifics. We also have seen guys like Mandel in Ohio move to the front of the pack in Senate primaries.
Not sure how many states have already voted in primaries (for example here in FL ours isn’t until August).
You celebrate anyone whose defeat Obama laments?
I think you probably mean any defeat which Obama laments you celebrate.
He can’t. Indiana has a sore loser law. He can’t run in he general for any party after losing the primary.
I read someplace, yesterday, that in Indiana, you cannot do that. If you lose a race in a primary, you are not allowed to file as a third party candidate.
***
He can now spend more quality time with his great-great-grandchildren.
Fixed it.
Oh I hope so.......then McConnell, McCain, Graham, Collins......the list goes on.
Shocked? You really shouldn’t be. This is the first real opportunity we’ve had to unseat this RINO rather than having the GOP decide for us and we took it.
Far from just bumbling along in a haze, we’ve managed to achieve quite a lot in this state over the past few years, the most recent being the passage of RTW legislation. Many people across the state and the nation worked really hard to make this happen. Maybe you could throw some kudos their way instead of snark.
Way to go Hoosiers Good Rino Hunting!!!!!!
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