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 ...
Awesome news!
Heh...Eric Cantor isn’t looking so good right now. He’s disavowing his own PAC, that supported Lugar. They spent a boatload of money on this race for Lugar.
He made a huge mistake with this pick. I hope he’s learned that the TEA Party is alive, well, and not protesting, but has morphed into a real and functional grassroots operation, electing folks from the local level on up.
Whoever said that the TEA Party is dead is looking pretty silly right now.
That can work, Dick, when one side knows how to hold the other side's feet to the fire without feeding the other side's expectation that soon one will be himselfCAVING!!
See ya 'round, Dick. Don't let the door hit you. And take your copy of LOST with you!
If he were a New York or Massachusetts catamite, you could expect that, but Lugar's a Hoosier, after all. They don't do crap like that, like the prison-bound mugs from next door.
Yes, McCain supported Loseger.
Pay attention, Romney
The tea it is a-boilin’
incorrect. Rush even corrected himself in that Hatch was the top vote getter but not enough to avoid a runoff. Although he got almost enough to avoid it, now the other challengers can get behind the second place person and try to unseat Hatch as well. The results from Indiana may have an effect on Utah.
Cornyn is going to support Mourdock? What a shock. Cornyn is for big government and should Mourdock get to the Senate, Cornyn will explain how he goes along with the GOP or gets on no committees. Oh, yeah! Cornyn will teach him how to vote in the Senate. Cornyn is not in favor of the TEA Party in any way, manner, shape or form.
The difference, Democrat primaries wouldn’t have an Occupy-Wall-Street candidate who was more Progressive(liberal).
.. Lugar, in the Senate since 1976, has been shown the door. But as Lugar reminded everybody tonight, he’s not finished yet:
“My public service is not concluded,” Lugar told supporters in Indianapolis. “I look forward to what can be achieved in the Senate in the next eight months despite a very difficult national election atmosphere.”Lame ducks, like wounded animals, can be very dangerous. Gird your coins
That's certainly understandable, since it seems that he hasn't lived there since 1977.
What they do in DC is not on their minds. Or, worse, they just didn't think about what happens after the election.
Former Representative David McIntosh ALSO lost in the fifth district ~ and he'd gotten in trouble by keeping only a rented house in Indiana while he relocated his family to the DC area when he took employment as a lobbyist after he lost his seat earlier.
So, yeah, it's that strict a standard as far as enough of the voters are concerned.
A woman named Brooks won the nomination in the Fifth District so she'll get to figure out where she's going to sleep too ~ this is a pretty much Republican dominated area and it's not likely a Democrat can win the district under any conditions.
So, what does this say about the TEA Party? Well, it may suggest that Governor Christie has influence in Indiana ~ he came out to campaign for Brooks.
It maybe that there are some TEA Party elements we'll just never like ~ think of them as the Lawn Order wing (former prosecutors). Her position on RTL is the standard Republican cop out ~ "I support the Hyde Amendment" ~ nothing about rolling abortion back. Some Conservatives might have a bit of a problem with her position on FDA approval processes ~ she has openly advocated adopting European methods ~ that's what the Lefties wanted with RU286 ~
In the end you don't get the perfect Conservative, and housing will always be a problem, and as long as you require Congress to meet at just one place residency questions will continue to sway elections.
remember it is only a primary, not he election!
In Lugar, the Senate would lose one of its few remaining members with a habit of bipartisanship
Translated:”In losing Lugar, the Senate would lose a Republican that the Democrats can count on for votes”
Well that’s what I thought. I was uncertain due to thinking I may have had my mind numbed robotic ears diverted by the call of duty since I’m only semi-retired.
“Let’s do away with the Department of Education, Energy, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development,” Mourdock told ABC News in an April phone interview, and he has also has proposed ending the IRS. Mourdock has suggested that Paul Ryan’s budget doesn’t go far enough, and he released his own rough plan last year to shrink spending by $7.6 trillion in 10 years (Ryan’s would reduce it by $5.5 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office).
I'd call this a "good first step" ... a sterling example of "reasonable budget control" that we can all support.
To: ElkGroveDan
I guess you and I are old f@rts.
Never thought I’d see Dylan quoted in a conservative context. It fits PERFECTLY...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.