Mike McDaniel of Indiana Week in Review Mocks Mourdock Announcement; Senator Richard Lugar Won't Receive Endorsement of Senator Dan Coats

Indiana Treasurer and Candidate
for Senate Ricahrd Mourdock

I tuned in for part of Indiana Week in Review last week, just long enough to hear the panel make light of Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock's announcement that he would be challenging Republican Richard Lugar in the 2012 primary.  Particular appalling were Repubican Mike McDaniel's comments mocking Mourdock and suggesting he had already gone negative.

Let's be clear about one thing.  Any time you are running against an incumbent, especially one who has been in office for as long as Richard Lugar, you have to give voters a reason not to vote for the incumbent.  There is nothing wrong with that.  Lugar backers, like McDaniel, would love nothing more than have opponents who don't actually talk about why they should replace Lugar..

Apparently though Lugar's waning support among GOP activists is deeper than the approximately 2/3 of the county chairs who have endorsed Mourdock. It was reported on Senatus blog that recently elected Dan Coats won't endorse his colleague in the primary battle.  It is virtually unheard of for a U.S. Senator to not actively back another Senator of the same party in a primary battle.  In this case, Coats had even previously served with Lugar.

I think there is a real question whether Lugar ever goes to the post in 2012.  His stock appears to be falling fast. Someone wake up McDaniel and tell him the ship he is sitting on may be sinking.