The hit is out on Lugar.

[RandomGuy]

“You vill sign the papers, ve haf vays of makink you sign ze papers!!”

Here come the political purity police.

---------------------------------
Grover Norquist, the influential conservative activist who is the president of Americans for Tax Reform, will endorse Richard Mourdock over Lugar before next week's Republican Senate primary in Indiana, Yahoo News has learned.

Lugar, who has represented Indiana in the U.S. Senate since 1977, has never signed Norquist's "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" never to raise taxes. A majority of Republican lawmakers--and some Democrats in conservative districts--have signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge.

Norquist will join a handful of high-profile conservatives and organizations--including Sarah Palin and the American Conservative Union--who have backed Mourdock, Indiana's state treasurer who is running to Lugar's right with the backing of national tea-party groups.

Members of Lugar's congressional staff met with Norquist at the Americans for Tax Reform headquarters in Washington earlier this year to discuss whether Lugar would sign the no-tax pledge, a source who attended the meeting told Yahoo News.

Norquist never received a reply from Lugar's staff, the source said, so he contacted Lugar's office last week to give the Indiana senator one final chance to sign. Lugar refused, the source said.

Lugar campaign spokesman Andy Fischer said the senator did not sign the pledge to avoid being "beholden to DC special interests."

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/g...180611501.html

[TeyshaBlue]

“You vill sign the papers, ve haf vays of makink you sign ze papers!!”

Here come the political purity police.

---------------------------------
Grover Norquist, the influential conservative activist who is the president of Americans for Tax Reform, will endorse Richard Mourdock over Lugar before next week's Republican Senate primary in Indiana, Yahoo News has learned.

Lugar, who has represented Indiana in the U.S. Senate since 1977, has never signed Norquist's "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" never to raise taxes. A majority of Republican lawmakers--and some Democrats in conservative districts--have signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge.

Norquist will join a handful of high-profile conservatives and organizations--including Sarah Palin and the American Conservative Union--who have backed Mourdock, Indiana's state treasurer who is running to Lugar's right with the backing of national tea-party groups.

Members of Lugar's congressional staff met with Norquist at the Americans for Tax Reform headquarters in Washington earlier this year to discuss whether Lugar would sign the no-tax pledge, a source who attended the meeting told Yahoo News.

Norquist never received a reply from Lugar's staff, the source said, so he contacted Lugar's office last week to give the Indiana senator one final chance to sign. Lugar refused, the source said.

Lugar campaign spokesman Andy Fischer said the senator did not sign the pledge to avoid being "beholden to DC special interests."

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/g...180611501.html

Alternate le: Republican Senator acts responsibly.

Yeah, I didn't think that would float.

[CosmicCowboy]

He's been in DC since 1977 and he's not beholden to special interests?

[FuzzyLumpkins]

He's been in DC since 1977 and he's not beholden to special interests?

I wouldn't go that far but its heartening as to his character that he won't sign something that is impossible to guarantee. That Norquist is still relevant in 'conservative' circles is just sad.

[Winehole23]

"DC special interests"...is that TV speak for "special interests"?

[CosmicCowboy]

I wouldn't go that far but its heartening as to his character that he won't sign something that is impossible to guarantee. That Norquist is still relevant in 'conservative' circles is just sad.

Agreed. Norquist sucks.

[Wild Cobra Kai]

Republicans, eating their own.

[CosmicCowboy]

LOL

Norquist and Palin endorse his opponent. And thats a BAD thing?

[RandomGuy]

LOL

Norquist and Palin endorse his opponent. And thats a BAD thing?

Lugar's Indiana Loss Is a Win for Democrats

No, it is not.

Political correctness claims another victim.

[RandomGuy]

I wouldn't go that far but its heartening as to his character that he won't sign something that is impossible to guarantee. That Norquist is still relevant in 'conservative' circles is just sad.

Not only is he "still relevant", he is becoming more influential than ever, as Republicans fall all over themselves to kiss his ass.

"sad" is not the word I would use. "Scary" as in "let's see how far we can push everything to get our way" kind of scary.

[RandomGuy]

Alternate le: Republican Senator acts responsibly.

Yeah, I didn't think that would float.

How about "Former Republican Senator acts responsibly"?

[boutons_deux]

Top 5 Things You Need To Know About Indiana Senate Nominee Richard Mourdock (R)

- (1) Mourdock believes that President Obama deserves the blame for a bad economy, but no credit for its improvement: In an interview with ThinkProgress earlier this year, we asked Mourdock about the economy and who deserves credit in bad times and good. He pinned the blame on President Obama for “killing our economy,” despite the fact that the financial collapse occurred under George W. Bush’s watch. We asked Mourdock whether Obama would deserve credit if the economic recovery continues. “It won’t be because of President Obama when we see recovery,” Mourdock explained. “It will be in spite of President Obama.” [ThinkProgress]

- (2) Mourdock’s take on bipartisanship: it “ought to consist of Democrats coming to the Republican point of view”: Appearing on MSNBC following his primary victory, Mourdock offered his own unique take on how bipartisanship should work in Washington DC, telling Chuck Todd, “I certainly think bipartisanship ought to consist of Democrats coming to the Republican point of view.” In other words, the solution for Washington’s ills is not less partisanship and polarization, but more. Lugar had earned a reputation for finding some areas of bipartisan consensus with Democrats, particularly on foreign policy. That is a reputation that Mourdock appears unlikely to uphold. [ThinkProgress]

- (3) His campaign was investigated for accessing voter data: Mourdock’s campaign manager, Jim Holden, “likely violated a user agreement with the state party when he shared a logon to the database with an outside vendor.” In a March 14 email, Holden told staffers that they should “start pillaging email addresses” from the voter database, prompting the state Republican Party to revoke the Mourdock campaign’s access privileges.[AP]

- (4) Mourdock’s model Supreme Court Justice is anti-woman Judge Robert Bork: Asked on MSNBC about how he would approach Supreme Court nomination votes as senator, Mourdock promised to obstruct nominees who didn’t resemble Robert Bork. Bork’s views are so far outside the mainstream they cannot be fully enumerated here, but a few highlights include his description of a federal ban on employment discrimination and whites-only lunch counters as “unsurpassed ugliness,” his belief that it is “silly” to think that women are discriminated against, and that it’s “utterly specious” to suggest that women have a cons utional right to use contraception. [ThinkProgress]

- (5) His candidacy is fueled by dirty energy money and outside spending groups: It is unlikely Mourdock would have won the primary without an infusion of $1.6 million in spending from the pro-Wall Street Club for Growth, as well as over half a million from FreedomWorks, an astroturf Tea Party group. In addition, Mourdock enjoyed a maxed out contribution from Murray Energy’s PAC, which represents the nation’s largest privately-owned coal company. Mourdock, a former coal company executive, received an additional $18,000 in contributions elsewhere from the coal, oil, and gas industries. [ThinkProgress]

http://thinkprogress.org/election/20...ourdock-top-5/

[TeyshaBlue]

How about "Former Republican Senator acts responsibly"?

[boutons_deux]

It will be hilarious if a Dem takes Lugar's seat instead of the astroturf tea party asshole.