Occasionally you’ll hear chuckling from Democrats that rise of the Tea Parties has greatly complicated the electoral outlook for the Republican Party, as its moderate incumbents will face costly primary challenges and be left more vulnerable for the general election. On paper, that could happen in someplace like Indiana, where challenger Richard Mourdock would not have all of the advantages of incumbency that Sen. Richard Lugar enjoys. But Indiana’s still a pretty conservative state, with Obama’s by-the-skin-of-his-teeth victory in 2008 unlikely to be duplicated, and so it’s hard to call Democrat Joe Donnelly much of a favorite, at least so far. Then there’s this inconvenient fact : The conventional wisdom surround Congressman Joe Donnelly’s entry this week into race for U.S. Senate is that Mourdock has a good chance of defeating Sen. Richard Lugar in a primary and Democrats match up well against Mourdock in the general election.
Over on the home page , I have a chat with Richard Mourdock, Indiana state treasurer and challenger to Sen. Richard Lugar in that state’s GOP primary this cycle. Among his most interesting comments: I have great tea-party support, and I truly appreciate it, and I know he’s going to try to portray this as a tea-party rebellion. It’s not. The day I announced, three quarters of Indiana’s Republican county chairmen signed on to support my candidacy. Today, we’re announcing that more than half of state Republican committee members have signed on. This isn’t about the Tea Party assaulting the walls of the Republican fortress. This is a rebellion inside the walls. And that, too, is why I feel confident that we’re going to win.
See the rest here:
Richard Mourdock: ‘This Is a Rebellion Inside the Walls.’
In Indiana, the decision by Democrat Rep. Joe Donnelly to run for Senate is being described by the AP as a “recruiting victory” for “national Democrats.” For those of you who read the Campaign Spot , this news is more accurately greeted as a win for Indiana Republican state legislators, who managed to redraw the congressional district lines in a way that makes Donnelly unlikely to repeat last year’s by-the-skin-of-his-teeth victory. The Indiana Republican Senate primary appears set to be a big-time battle between incumbent Richard Lugar and Richard Mourdoc k , so it is possible that the GOP primary winner will enter the general election short on funds and with a fractured party. According to Indiana Democrats speaking to the AP, Donnelly expects to take on Mourdock. Republican Jackie Walorski, who almost beat Donnelly last year, is now the favorite in Indiana’s Second District; a local lawyer, Andrew Straw, is now running on the Democrat side .
The rest is here:
A ‘Recruiting Victory’ or a ‘Redistricting Victory’ in Indiana?
Tea-party groups have decided their main Republican target in the next election is Sen. Richard Lugar, a 78-year-old foreign policy specialist who, along with Orrin Hatch of Utah, is his party’s longest-serving senator.
Read the original here:
Indiana Tea Party Targets Centrist Republican
Tea-party groups have decided their main Republican target in the next election is Sen. Richard Lugar, a 78-year-old foreign policy specialist who, along with Orrin Hatch of Utah, is his party’s longest-serving senator.
Read the original here:
Indiana Tea Party Targets Centrist Republican
ContributorNetwork – COMMENTARY | Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana suggested President Obama ask Congress for a full declaration of war should a no-fly zone be approved over Libya. The Arab League had a consensus regarding the implementation of keeping the air space over Libya free of Muammar Gadhafi’s jets. He has been using his military might to bomb civilian targets in his country. Lugar touts the declaration of war as a step to involve Congress in the discussion of a no-fly zone.
More here:
GOP Sen. Lugar Suggests Declaration of War Against Libya
(ContributorNetwork)
From the Wednesday edition of the Morning Jolt: There Are Winners and There Are Lugars Boy, Sen. Richard Lugar is just begging for a Tea Party challenge, huh? At this point, the only way his strategy makes sense is that he’s hoping to enrage every Tea Partier in the state of Indiana to the point where they all decide simultaneously to run against him, and he wins the primary against a splintered and fractured field. The latest : “Among other criticisms, Tea Party activists have taken Lugar to task for supporting the new START nuclear arms treaty with Russia, claiming the U.S. is giving up too much and Russia is not giving up enough. 'I've been working systematically for 20 years going to Russia trying to help direct a situation in which we're taking warheads off of missiles every day, destroying missiles that were aimed at us; destroying submarines that carried missiles up and down our coast,' said Lugar. 'I've got to say “Get real.” I hear Tea Party or other people talking about they were against START. I said “Well, now, hang on here.”' Lugar continued, 'If you want to get into START, let's talk about it, but realistically as Americans, not as some Republican renegade. [I'm] trying to take warheads of Russia [out of circulation] so they won't hit Indiana.' “The senator was also ready with a retort for those who've laid into him for confirming President Obama's Supreme Court nominees. Lugar said he looks at a nominee's character and professional qualifications in order to avoid creating a polarizing atmosphere. 'I hope people sort of understand that because otherwise we polarize the Supreme Court business to a point that conservative justices offered by a conservative Republican president–who'll be elected at some point–are going to have trouble,' said Lugar.” Er, Senator, do you remember the votes for John Roberts and Samuel Alito? More than half the Democratic caucus voted to filibuster Alito. Almost half the Democrats voted against Roberts and almost all of them voted against Alito, two sterling nominees. We’re already there, senator. Late Tuesday night, Sal Russo, the chief strategist for the Express, told
Will Indiana Republican Sen. Dick Lugar face a Tea Party-based primary challenge? Looks pretty darn likely : Hoping to head off a primary challenge from the right, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana, sat down with Tea Party leaders last month but did little to persuade them of his conservative credentials. The two-hour meeting, which took place over breakfast on Dec. 13th at a Marriott hotel in downtown Indianapolis, was described by participants on both sides as “cordial,” but the Tea Party activists left vowing to oppose Lugar's bid for a seventh term.”The Senator said he hoped he could earn the support of the Tea Party, and that he is conservative,” said Greg Fettig, the co-founder of Hoosier Patriots. Fettig was joined in the meeting by Monica Boyer of Kosciusko “Silent No More,” a Tea Party group in northeast Indiana. “We obviously would beg to differ that he is conservative, and our experience is that he won't get the support of any Tea Party group across the state,” Fettig told CNN. “This is something that has really been building for years. A lot of Tea Party people have said, 'Who is this guy? He might as well have a 'D' in front of his name.'” It probably doesn't help to hold that meeting when you are the most prominent Republican endorsing the “pass the START Treaty now” argument. Jim Geraghty
Will Indiana Republican Sen. Dick Lugar face a Tea Party-based primary challenge? Looks pretty darn likely : Hoping to head off a primary challenge from the right, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana, sat down with Tea Party leaders last month but did little to persuade them of his conservative credentials. The two-hour meeting, which took place over breakfast on Dec. 13th at a Marriott hotel in downtown Indianapolis, was described by participants on both sides as “cordial,” but the Tea Party activists left vowing to oppose Lugar's bid for a seventh term.”The Senator said he hoped he could earn the support of the Tea Party, and that he is conservative,” said Greg Fettig, the co-founder of Hoosier Patriots. Fettig was joined in the meeting by Monica Boyer of Kosciusko “Silent No More,” a Tea Party group in northeast Indiana. “We obviously would beg to differ that he is conservative, and our experience is that he won't get the support of any Tea Party group across the state,” Fettig told CNN. “This is something that has really been building for years. A lot of Tea Party people have said, 'Who is this guy? He might as well have a 'D' in front of his name.'” It probably doesn't help to hold that meeting when you are the most prominent Republican endorsing the “pass the START Treaty now” argument. Jim Geraghty
Continued here:
Indiana Tea Parties Not Swayed By Lugar Meeting
AP – The Senate is poised to approve a nuclear arms pact with Russia, handing President Barack Obama a huge victory on his top foreign policy priority.
Read the rest here:
US poised to approve nuclear arms pact with Russia
(AP)
