Tea party hero Mourdock changes his tune to woo Indiana moderates, help GOP keep Senate seat

Washington Post ^ | Sept 27, 2012 | AP

[Innovative]

Richard Mourdock became one of the tea party's biggest winners of the 2012 primary season when he knocked off veteran Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar in a brutal campaign built on his contention that Lugar was too old, too out of touch and too friendly with Democrats - a RINO, Republican in name only.

But the movement's biggest RINO hunter is now changing his tune as he tries to woo moderate voters in a tight race that stands as a key test of the tea party's ability to win outside the nation's most conservative states.

Mourdock is matched in the general election against moderate Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly, who is running even in recent polls despite Indiana's Republican tilt. Suddenly, gone is the strident rhetoric in which Mourdock proclaimed that bipartisanship meant Democrats coming over to Republicans' thinking and that winning meant he would "inflict my opinion on someone else." In its place are support for parts of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, pledges to protect Democratic-championed programs like Social Security and Medicare, and even the once-shunned notion of compromise.

[Innovative]

This is a clear example of the Dem's strategy: suppress the R/conservative vote. I hope people don't fall for it.

[cripplecreek]

It wouldn’t bother me much anyway. Its traditional to run on the right in the primary than move toward the center in the general.

[muwarriors92]

He’s in trouble. I’m friends with a Lugar staffer and the polls they are seeing is that Murdock is going down.

We keep doing this to ourselves, go for the “pure” conservative because we don’t like the Republican in there because he is too liberal. What do we get? Liberalism 10X.

We never learn. Harry Reid would be out of a job right now if we didn’t employ this strategy. It does no good to put a “pure” conservative in there if they can’t win the general because we end up trading a 30% liberal Republican for a 90% liberal Democrat.

We truly...never...learn.

[griswold3]

Seems Mourdock doesn’t fit the ‘right wing Tea Party extremist’ template. The MSM has not come up with a ‘gotcha’ to help the Dem in this race. Don’t worry though they’re trying really hard to manufacture dissent.

[Steelers6]

Why do we trust the Washington Post people, this is how the media play things and plays us. Just work hard and get the vote out, I haven’t heard Richard Mourdock do or say anything since the primary that would be considered a blunder.

[napscoordinator]

I truly believe that principles are most important. We must pick the most conservative even if it costs us a seat every once in a while. Your types are why we are in such a mess.

[nhwingut]

test of the tea party's ability to win outside the nation's most conservative states

LOL!.. The corruption of the liberal media never ceases to amaze me. The Tea Party won in many swing states (far more moderate than Indiana). They won in PA with Toomey, a purple/blue state. Wisconsin with Walker, a blue/purple state. It won in Massachusetts with Scott Brown the first time around, a deep blue state. It won in Florida with Rubio, a purple state, far less red than Indiana. Etc.

These clowns are sickening.

[nhwingut]

He’s in trouble. I’m friends with a Lugar staffer and the polls they are seeing is that Murdock is going down.

Okay, Newb.

[perfect_rovian_storm]

Welcome to Free Republic. Friends with a Lugar staffer? What a shock! Glad you made it here to tell us all how badly it’s going. Door’s over there. Kthxbye.

[kcvl]

“moderate Democrat”

Donnelly strongly supports expanding health care so it covers a greater number of people. Because many are losing their insurance as a result of losing their jobs, or because their small business cannot afford to provide workers with health care, Donnelly suggests revising the health care plan so that all Americans are covered, as opposed to the 46 million that are currently uninsured. On March 21, 2010, Joe Donnelly voted in favor of approving the Senate version of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act aka OBAMACARE...

9/29/12

So it’s interesting to see the line Donnelly walked this week in an AP interview, acknowledging that he’ll support Barack Obama’s reelection next month — but insisting that he hasn’t decided who he’ll back for Senate majority leader:

http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/09/donnelly-ducks-on-majority-leader-vote-136917.html

[Eccl 10:2]

It wouldn’t bother me much anyway. Its traditional to run on the right in the primary than move toward the center in the general.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Exactly.

[Eccl 10:2]

All you need to know:

Palin Endorses Mourdock

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/palin-endorses-mourdock_642158.html

[Chgogal]

I detested Lugar and his dummycrat/liberal stances. So why the hell should I believe a word you say if you pal around with a$$es like him and his staffers?

[Innovative]

You stated it well. Sad, but true.

And the Dems happily exploit it for their benefit.

[Reily]

Lugar started his career a great representative of conservatism. But he stayed way way past his expiration date. (The media would claim he “matured” since he evolved toward their positions.)

The problem is, if you stay in DC 20 plus years you over time you become representative of that culture and outlook. The average career conservative probably doesn't even realize he is changing. Eventually they no longer represent their home constituents, they now reflect their new DC constituents. Lugar was an example of that.

Term Limits !
2 terms in the Senate (12 years) then sit out a term (6 years) to regain eligibility.
6 terms in the House (12 years) then sit out 3 terms (6 years) to regain eligibility.

During the periods of ineligibility, these guys need to go home! Find out want 12 years of their particular genius actually effected the people back home! Get a private sector job! (I know fat chance since these are career vote suckers!) If they must remain in politics run for mayor, county commissioner, Governor, etc. But get out of DC!

[montag813]

Mourdock is not just facing the RATs and RAT media, but also the Daniels-Bush-Rove-Lugar Moderate Mafia, who want him defeated so they can say “We told you so...the Tea Party is the problem”. When I was younger, people just called that what it was: TREASON.

[muwarriors92]

The problem is that it costs us more “than just a seat once in awhile”...that one seat can cost us the entire Senate. It’s the difference between Obamacare passing and not passing.

At some point we do this to ourselves without looking at the big picture and then can’t understand why some of this nonsense gets passed into law. We do it to ourselves.

[muwarriors92]

Sigh.

I don’t pal around with them. First, I live in California, not Indiana. I am friends with one of the staffers, that doesn’t mean I support Lugar or support his policies. However, I do know that I’m 100% right that Harry Reid would be out of a job right now, Obamacare would not have passed if we weren’t so stupid in how we go about things. There are some states where we could have won EASILY except that we go for ultra pure and we lose as a result.

Maybe you are thrilled with Obamacare, I’m not. We did it to ourselves. I know that’s hard for some of you to swallow, but that is the reality. Sharon Angle, no chance to beat Reid...a walking mushroom would have beat him but we went with Angle. The idiot in Colorado, O’Donnell in Connecticut, and the list goes on.

If you like trading a 70% conservative Republican for a 90% liberal Democrat, than God bless you because that’s what you’re doing.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Ultrapure ? You mean Mourdock, a guy who has won statewide twice, including the year Emperor Zero carried the state, is toast against a guy who barely got reelected in a swing district and was too scared to run again in a race he was guaranteed to lose ? ‘Kay.

[muwarriors92]

Field, do you agree that if we had not run Sharon Angle that Harry Reid would not be in the Senate and Obamacare would not have passed?