Mourdock vs. Lugar isn’t about Mourdock
November 15th, 2011 at 10:59 am by Jim Shella under Jim Shella's Political Blog, Uncategorized
My latest column in the Indianapolis Business Journal:
I ran into Richard Mourdock in a Statehouse hallway the other day and I gave him a bad time.
“I’m surprised to see you here,” I said. “The Lugar folks say you never come to work anymore.”
The man who is challenging U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar in the 2012 GOP primary hung his head and quietly talked about what a “slog” a statewide campaign is. He said that he had just experienced an “introspective weekend.” Might he leave the race? Not a chance.
There’s too much invested now, including $100,000 of his own money. But is he on a fool’s errand?
One of our producers wondered that the other day when I volunteered to work a Friday night (not my usual practice) to do a story on the Senate race. Aware of the fact that Lugar has $3.8 million in the bank and Mourdock has $300,000, the producer asked, “Can Mourdock win this thing?”
“The short answer is, yes,” was my response. Mourdock doesn’t have the gravitas, the experience, or the fundraising ability Lugar has, but this race isn’t about him. It’s about the Tea Party movement and how Lugar is the biggest target on the horizon for national organizations looking to put another pelt on the wall to demonstrate their clout in Washington.
That’s why when the Tea Party Express sent representatives from Georgia and California to endorse Mourdock, they couldn’t answer a simple question about why they support the challenger. All the discussion was about their belief that Lugar must go. After I asked repeatedly for a reason they support Mourdock, the candidate finally stepped in and listed the issues they had talked about.
It was the same when FreedomWorks, the political action committee led by former Texas congressman Dick Armey, sent a representative from Virginia to grant Mourdock an endorsement. He brought along signs for the crowd (made up of local Tea Party members) that read “Retire Lugar.” He passed out a seven-page list of grievances against Lugar that includes the same vote for a successful New York City bailout that was the subject of Club for Growth TV ads earlier this year.
Endorsements generally come with donations attached but there will be none forthcoming from FreedomWorks. These folks don’t want to bolster the message being put out by the Mourdock campaign. They want to send their own message and they will. Look for lots of what are known as independent expenditures in the coming months. They will be attacks on Lugar.
Mourdock, meantime, doesn’t want to be called a Tea Party candidate but, rather, a coalition candidate. He cites support from a number of GOP county chairs. Those people, however, are also Tea Party supporters.
Max Pappas of Freedom Works told me his group will be involved in just two GOP Senate primaries involving incumbents in 2012—Indiana and Utah. In Utah, Orrin Hatch still doesn’t have a solid opponent, though he may yet. That makes Lugar the only game in town at the moment. That’s why the Lugar campaign is scouring the landscape for dirt on Mourdock.
When Lugar ran for president in 1996, he set out to prove it could be done using positive campaign tactics. I was invited to appear on a taping of “Washington Week in Review” on PBS during that campaign, and when I said Lugar was “taking the high road,” the late Jack Nelson of The Los Angeles Times responded by saying, “There aren’t many voters up there!” With 4 percent of the vote in Iowa and New Hampshire, Lugar learned that lesson.
I suspect he will fight hard and use whatever methods necessary in this race, but there will be times it will be difficult to know whom he is fighting against.
Richard Mourdock won’t defeat Richard Lugar in 2012, but Lugar could still lose this race.•
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Tags: Club for Growth, Freedomworks, Max Pappas, Orrin Hatch, Richard Lugar, Richard Mourdock, Tea Party, Washington Week in Review
After much consideration, I decided to leave a comment because after two days nobody else has left one. I can certainly understand why. This is such a biased and prejudiced blog! Mr. Shella, don’t you understand that people are sick and tired of all this media manipulation? We can see right through you sir. We know what the right thing is and we do it. We realize that some people just don’t care about right or wrong. You fall into that category sir. We don’t care what YOU think which is why you have no comments here.
If you NEED a reason I will give you ONE. Richard Mourdock travelled this entire State when he campaigned successfully for his second term as our Treasurer. (Lugar has not been seen in over 20 years) People know who he is and we encouraged him to run for Senate way back then. Mr. Mourdock radiates wisdom, decency, integrity and thorough knowledge of our Constitution. You may say Senator Lugar also has wisdom and a thorough knowledge of our Constitution but we all see clearly where he’s gone with that for these past 30 years, haven’t we?
We need someone we can TRUST in our Senate seat. Richard Mourdock would be that man and he stepped up to the challenge by demand from the people. Rather Constitutional, don’t you think? So tell me Mr. Shella, what other reasons are you looking for? A voting history? Nope, as Treasurer, Mr. Mourdock doesn’t have that. A bill writing history? Nope, as Treasurer, Mr. Mourdock doesn’t have that either. Maybe an entourage of impressive people you could climb your little ladder with? Nope, as Treasurer, Mr. Mourdock doesn’t have all that. All he has is Hoosiers behind him. And trust me Mr. Shella, we know who YOU are and what your all about.
Now let me ask you something, knowing all the facts, can you provide one good reason why Richard Lugar should be allowed to remain in our Seat?
Take a few days to answer. We realize this will take time. And not to worry, no one is paying any attention to you anyway.
I gave an honest analysis of the race with no suggestion of which candidate deserves your, or anyone else’s, support. I always say that I can control what I put out. I can’t control how it is perceived.
a fair analysis, Mr. Shella. Unfortunately, for Mr. Mourdock, with his desperate attempt at getting attention with his $7.6 billion in cuts debacle, he will fail to win the election IF, and that’s a big if, he can succeed in defeating Lugar in the primary. Most Americans (and that includes Hoosiers) view the Tea Party in a negative light these days. This does not help his cause.
I drive all over S. Indiana and talk to mostly business folks and I can tell you they want Lugar to retire. Mr. Mourdock is a very informative and dependable individual. Tea Party person of course. Just remember they are going to back the most conservative candidate. The majority of people now understand how liberal the media is. People want a common sense approach to all the short comings that Government has created. Richard Mourdock represents that sector and he will use his good common sense to make a smaller and much smoother running Government. That’s something we all need, so please vote for Mr.Mourdock.