Tom Kludt, reporting for Talking Points Memo has an odd story about the Indiana Senate race that I’ve seen in a few places, including Howey Politics.
Richard Mourdock, more popular among Indiana’s Tea Party and Republican primary voters, defeated Richard Lugar who is more popular among Hoosiers generally. Trying to coopt in Lugar’s more general popularity in service of the cause of getting Mourdock elected over Joe Donnelly, a Super PAC claimed in a mailer that “Indiana’s Lugar Backs Mourdock In Senate Run.”
Per Howey Politics:
The Lugar Senate office told [Howey Politics] that it did not authorize the flier and reconfirmed that Lugar has no intention of campaigning for Mourdock. “During the primary, Mourdock and his supporters perpetuated misleading statements about Sen. Lugar,” said Lugar spokesman Andy Fisher. “Unfortunately that has continued with this mailer funded by a committee that spent over $100,000 to defeat Sen. Lugar. It was clearly unauthorized and done without consultation with us. Lugar clearly stated on September 17 that he would not campaign for Mourdock in the general election for Senator from Indiana.”
Lugar’s coolness toward Mourdock is unsurprising given that, after he’d won the primary, Mourdock sent out a fund raising letter that continued to pile on Sen. Lugar claiming, Lugar “routinely betrayed conservative voters to push through some of the most radical aspects of President Obama’s agenda.”
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I just got a call on my office line from “Freedom Works,” a conservative organization. I got the question “If the election were held today, who would you vote for, Mordouck or Donnelly.” I replied I already voted for Donnelly in early voting and continue to donate to him. A very short call.
If freedom works, then why do conservatives hate it so much?
Why do you think conservatives hate freedom?
I’m an “individual liberty and personal responsibility” fan, myself.
They support capitalism, for one.
I don’t think we would define capitalism the same way, then – I don’t see how it is opposed to freedom, in and of itself.
So what’s the pro-freedom alternative to capitalism?
Communism.
Because of its great track record?
It works well for termites and ants, though…
Indeed, just look at Ukraine, Catalonia, or Paris. Were doing fine until outside aggressors beat them down, and that’s hardly their fault.
For me, anyway, the Indy Star nailed it on the matter with their Sunday political notebook:
If he didn’t want the support of Lugar voters in May, he shouldn’t expect it in November.
I should have known that James Bopp was involved with the PAC.