Dems paint Mourdock as extremist following primary win

By Cameron Joseph - 05/09/12 06:00 AM ET

Democrats wasted no time blasting Indiana state Treasurer Richard Mourdock (R) as an extremist following his primary win over Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) Tuesday night.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) began its attacks before polls had even closed on Tuesday, and sent a series of emails blasting his record shortly after he won. Their quick response shows they feel confident Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) can win the race — if they can define Mourdock as an extremist early on.

Republicans are likely to push back hard against the attacks in coming days, and Mourdock promised Tuesday night to tie Donnelly closely to President Obama, who is unpopular in the state. But the big question of the race will likely be whether GOP-leaning independents and soft Republicans in the state decide Mourdock is simply too far right to vote for or whether he can win over enough people who fit more into Lugar's corner of the party.

A DSCC memo released Wednesday morning attacked Mourdock for backing a lawsuit against the federal government's structured-bankruptcy plan for Chrysler, saying the suit cost taxpayers $2 million and threatened more than 100,000 Indiana jobs and pointing to a Mourdock statement comparing his decision to get involved with Rosa Parks.

"By defeating Dick Lugar and nominating Richard Mourdock, the Tea Party has done it again, handing another strong pickup opportunity to Democrats," DSCC Executive Director Guy Cecil writes in the memo. "Today there are tens of thousands of disillusioned Hoosiers who have supported Dick Lugar their entire voting lives and are likely dismayed by the polarizing, extreme forces that defeated him. While Richard Mourdock is poorly positioned to appeal to these voters, Joe Donnelly is exactly the kind of reasonable, honest, job-focused centrist these voters have always supported."

American Bridge, a Democrat-affiliated outside group, sounded a similar note Tuesday night. "The Republican primary has been a referendum on Lugar, not an endorsement of Richard Mourdock," the group wrote in a memo. "As Hoosiers across the state learn more about Mourdock, they will realize that his soft-spoken demeanor belies a fervent, extreme view of politics and governance that would hurt Indiana's middle-class families, students, veterans, women, seniors and farmers."