Right now I'm cracking up at the Tea Party telling themselves that Liberals just LURV Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN) over Koch Brothers puppet Richard Mourlock. For example:
"This is whats going to happen: Lugar will get pramried out and Mourdock will win the election. Because real americans will always vote for a genuine conservative, not some Soros-funded communist who hates america and supports islam!" - From Saturday hate mail-a-palooza: Hitching up with a Republican senator, of the front page of DailyKos
"This is all economics 101 for Republicans, but I guess they feel they can say anything to an audience of Democrats, as long as they serve the purpose of reelecting an 80-year old liberal." - from The Ultimate Treachery, a diary on RedState
"Lugar is a an Loony Left Liberal Lemming Drone." - Michael Gaines, from this FaceBook thread.
"Why should Hoosiers trust Lugar to lead the charge on health care? He has partnered with liberals to pass their plans, he has supported mandates, and he has cosponsored big entitlement spending. This year’s elections will be a referendum on ObamaCare, but unlike Richard Mourdock, Dick Lugar hasn’t even signed onto the Repeal ObamaCare pledge!" - Daniel Anderson, FreedomWorks for America
Why does this crack me up? I'll tell you after the squiggle.
Part of the reason why this shit cracks me up is because I and many other liberals worked to defeat Dick Lugar in the past. In my own case we tried in 1994, and failed, because that's what happens when you try to defeat a well-liked Republican in a Republican wave year.
Part of the reason I'm guffawing at the gullible is that Lugar, like most of the rest of the Republican bloc, has been in lockstep opposition to everything President Obama has proposed from day one. It might make a difference to the Koch Brothers, who would prefer a controllable ally to an independent one, as to which Republican gets that seat, but it makes no difference to the Democrats, and little to Obama's agenda.
But, really, most of the reason why this cracks me up is that I and a lot of other partisan Democrats have been cheering on Mourlock over Lugar for months now. Why, you ask, would we do this? Here's why:
Donnelly (D) 29
Lugar (R) 42
Donnelly (D) 34
Mourlock (R) 28
Source: The Hill
Granted: this is just one poll, taken before much attention has been paid to the general election. But it shows Mourlock's basic problem. He's not a known quantity the same way that Lugar is. This gives Donnelly a much, much better chance of winning this seat than he would have if the Republicans nominate Lugar again. His odds aren't great, but given the stakes, I'd take Mourlock as an opponent over Lugar any time.