(CNN) – Fresh off his Republican primary victory Tuesday, Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock said he doesn't anticipate successful compromise in the Senate and hopes bipartisanship will be defined as Democrats backing the Republican agenda following the 2012 elections.
"I hope to build a conservative majority so bipartisanship becomes Democrats joining Republicans to roll back the size of government, reduce the bureaucracy and get America moving again," Mourdock said Wednesday on CNN's "Starting Point with Soledad O'Brien."
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Mourdock, who beat six-term incumbent Sen. Dick Lugar in part by attacking Lugar's work across the aisle, said those on both sides of the aisle should not compromise their principles.
"One side or the other has to win this argument, one side or the other will dominate," the two-term state treasurer said.
Lugar was critical of Mourdock's approach to governing throughout their primary battle, a message he furthered in a statement after his electoral loss Tuesday night, in which he said a change in his philosophy will be necessary if he hopes to succeed as a legislator.
"His embrace of an unrelenting partisan mindset is irreconcilable with my philosophy of governance and my experience of what brings results to Hoosiers in the Senate," Lugar said in the release. "He will find that unless he modifies his approach, he will achieve little as a legislator."
But Mourdock, who was supported by local and national conservative grassroots groups early in his bid, reiterated his vow to stand by his convictions, which he said include rolling back the size of government and lowering taxes.
When asked which current representatives he would model his service after, if elected, Mourdock referenced Republican senators Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Mike Lee of Utah, who both enjoy significant backing from those associated with the tea party movement and are known as fierce defenders of a fiscally conservative platform.
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I just watched Chuck Todd interview the new Republican Candidate from Indiana. The candidate said he was for bipartisanship. Then he described his idea of bipartisanship; when democrats were willing to do what conservatives wanted.
The reasonableness of Mr. Murddock was clearly apparent to everyone, except Mr. Murddock. The conservative Tea Party folks are so happy with making the US House of Representatives completely dysfunctional that they want to try to do the same in the senate. This has become an imperative, as the Republicans abuse of the filibuster practically guarantees, in its current form, will be discarded into the historical dustbin to rest beside the Whig Party banner.
The GOP is the next Whig-Party-in-waiting. It does not really exist right now. The Grand Old Party name is there, but it doesn't function as the operating head of the new embryonic ultra-conservative party. The baby is eating its mother carcass.
They cannot raise real money, and this has been true for awhile. RNC Chairman Priebus runs around the country pretending to be relevant. The true new-party leaders allow him to play at the edges. These leaders tell Priebus exactly what he will do and say on important issues and campaigns. His real job is to carry around their spittoon! This new reality has already manifested itself by portraying Priebus as completely incompetent. It is not so much that, as that none of the major players really pay that much attention to him!
I now think the democraft have a change to win the seat in indiana unless the hooisers want gridlock and more
gridlock because in a free country they has to be comprise.
Yep, he says he'll only represent some of his constituents....now THAT"S a representative of whom we can be proud...
Oh great. Another non-compromising, my way or the highway, partisan, Tea Party jerk. They have proven time
and time again how willing they are to let the American people suffer, bring us to edge, and even push us over
if they have to. Still, they keep coming, and some keep believing them. They haven't learned anything from the
2010 elections. Really pathetic.
Does his mindset really suprise anyone? This is not the party of Regan. Hell, he would not have even won the primary if he was running as a Rep. today.
"I got 98% of what I wanted" John Boehner Speaker of the House on what Republicans refer to as compromise! Now looks like they have another great compromiser on their side.
@1twinsfan then no one in congress is fit to serve their state or district. Both parties have become so polarized due to the vocal extremes that the moderates in both parties have either been pushed out in a primary or retired because they became sick and tired of the partisan gridlock. America fails due to the increasing lack of intelligence and common sense of the people.
Oh goody! Another person who advocates "my way or the highway." How childish and unproductive. So in essence, if he wins (yuck) he will then be getting paid and receiving health care benefits for essentially doing nothing but causing unnecessary problems because he will not compromise; and we the people will suffer for it. These uber-conservative, Tea Party people are a bane to our democracy. We need folks who will work across the aisle – this is how things are accomplished.
OBAMA/BIDEN/FIRST LADY MICHELLE 2012!!!!
"Bipartisanship"? You keep using this word. I don't think it means what you think it means.
In the interview i say this AM he was reminided of the publics 17% approval rating of congress b/c of gridlock created by the Teaparty and his response was that there was no room for collegiality. He said the only way to govern was throught "CONFLICT"......HMMMM straight from Marx's communist mannifesto. Interesting.
One effective way to destroy our government is to make the Congress dysfunctional. The Tea Party has done that with their majority in the House. The unethical use of the filibuster by Republican Senators has turned the Senate in to a useless waste of money – essentially making Republicans mindless drones dedicated to obstructionism. When compromise becomes a dirty word our political system ceases to represent the will of voters – giving only the radicals representation. It's time to use our votes to remove any politician unwilling to compromise for the good of all American people – not just the undereducated, white, bigoted radicals representing the ultra-right-wing.
Keep in mind that 105,854 votes were cast for President Obama yesterday in WV, vs 75,402 votes for Mitt Romney.
Overall, we are still a DEMOCRATIC state, and a state that LOVES incumbents.
The only thing that kept my attention on that interview was Margaret Hoover. Total hypocrisy as usual from the left on the compromise issue where in the Senate, Reid will not even bring House bills he does not like up for debate. Soledad must be on conference calls daily with the White House on how to promote their consistently distorted agenda.
"I hope to build a conservative majority so bipartisanship becomes Democrats joining Republicans to roll back the size of government, reduce the bureaucracy and get America moving again,"
Hows that working in Europe?
If you can't compromise, then you have no place being in the Senate. That is part of the legislative process.
The GOP snake continues to eat it's own tail......
So kind of you Indiana, to throw a wrench into progressive compromise.
The people of Indiana voted for him to STOP the Democrat destruction of this country, not to compromise on how long it will take for them to accomplish it. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi will be very lonely leftists after the November elections.
Wonder if he's related to the skunks that own FOX? I know the name is spelled different, but lots of folks change the spelling to "start anew".
Remember folks. just because it's the 21st century doesn't mean that history can't repeat itself. Hitler was democratically elected not too long ago in a country that never wouild have dreamed that it's people would be so delusional and desparate as to elect itself into the horror that it found itself in. Evil has a way befriending the good and dragging them into the darkness. Conflict theory is not a tenent of democracy. I'll let you guess what political party is it a strategy of though. Hint: we lost a lot of American lives fighting it. Hint: thousands dissappeared or were executed if they didn't "compromise".
""I hope to build a conservative majority so bipartisanship becomes Democrats joining Republicans to roll back the size of government, reduce the bureaucracy and get America moving again,"
Hows that working in Europe?"
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Hehe...good point...cuz it's not working very well. It only ever works in short bursts anyway...it's the mass destruction and loss of life, liberty and the puprsuit of happiness that it generally causes while "working" that's the problem. Even worse, the solution is often further loss of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness in the short term when the public has had enough of it.
Sharpen your pitchforks, folks. It may be the only way to get rid of these extremist know-nothings.
This is exactly what is wrong with our country. We can't solve problems because the GOP wants a dictator ship and will not compromise for the good of the country.
So compromise=unconditional surrender?
This is exactly what is wrong with the Congress. Being too entrenched in ideology to get anything done.
Another simple minded, narrow minded, hate filled parasite looking to make a name for himself as the keeper of the flame. How this stooge got elected can be traced back to Indiana's desire to repel its entire population back to the 1950's. The word progressive is looked upon with much disdain in the hoser state.
Vote Dem these republicans is holding our country back.