#in-sen

BREAKING: NBC News has called the #INSen race for Joe Donnelly over Mr. Extremist Idiot Richard Mourdock! #JoeDonnelly #RichardMourdock

The first bipartisan poll since Republican Richard Mourdock made his widely debated comments on rape, pregnancy and God indicates that what was once a toss-up is now a double-digit lead for his opponent, Democrat U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly.

Most significantly, women voters are driving the divide, according to the new Howey/DePauw Indiana Battleground Poll, taken Sunday through Tuesday.

Wow, finally there's a poll out that's not from one of the campaigns.  The Howey/DePauw University poll now shows Joe Donnelly (D) is beating Richard Mourdock (R) 47%-36%!

Indiana Democrat Joe Donnelly shows signs of pulling ahead of Richard Mourdock in the closely fought race to replace Sen. Richard Lugar (D-Ind.) Donnelly leads, 47 percent to 36 percent,according to a Howey/DePauw University Battleground Pollreleased Friday morning.

Past Howey/DePauw surveys showed the two candidates tied in March, and put Donnelly 2 points ahead in September.

“It’s all over but the crying,” Republican pollster Christine Matthews wrote of the race, according to the Star. Matthews conducted the survey along with Democratic pollster Fred Yang.

Schedule: 10.31.2012 =: US Senate Overview 11.01.2012 1: US House Overview 1 (Northeast, New England, Midwest) 11.01.2012 2: US House Overview 2 (West, Southwest, Texas, South, Florida) 11.02.2012 1: IN-Sen (Donnelly v. Mourdock) 11.02.2012 2: WI-01 (Zerban v. Ryan) 11.02.2012 3: WI-Sen (Baldwin v. Thompson) 11.03.2012 1: MO-Lt. Gov, Mo-SoS, MO-AG 11.03.2012 2: MO-Gov (Nixon v. Spence) 11.03.2012 3: MO-Sen (McCaskill v. Akin) 11.04.2012 1: IL-10 (Schneider v. Dold) 11.04.2012 2: IL-08 (Duckworth v. Walsh) 11.04.2012 3: IL-11 (Foster v. Biggert) 11.05.2012 1: IL-17 (Bustos v. Schilling) 11.05.2012 2: IL-13 (Gill v. Davis v. Hartman) 11.05.2012 3: IL-12 (My home district, Enyart v. Gill) 11.06.2012 1 : POTUS/VPOTUS (Obama/Biden v. Romney/Ryan v. Stein/Honkala v. Johnson v. Gray) 11.06.2012 2: GOTV/Election Day diary

1 = Morning 2 = Afternoon/Early Evening 3 = Evening/Overnight

As incumbent 6-termer Richard Lugar (R) ended up getting primaried from the right by Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock (R), this Super-Safe R seat is all of a sudden in play for DSCC and Team Donkeys. On the other side, the Dems nominated moderate ConservaDem IN-02 Congressman Joe Donnelly (D), as he was unopposed in his party's primary.

Now: After several numerous gaffes by Mourdock, including the infamous "God intended rapes to happen" statement and demanding bipartisanship to be his way or the highway, Donnelly has made this formerly Super-Safe R seat into yet another seat into the Democratic Party's column in the Senate.

The issues:

Mourdock (R):

Abortion:

Richard is unapologetically pro-life and will work to stop federal funding for abortion.  He believes that Roe v. Wade represents a serious misreading of the original intent of those who established our Constitution.

SCOTUS appointments:

Richard believes that judges should respect the original intent of the Founders when interpreting the meaning of the Constitution.  He will oppose the appointment of activist liberal justices like Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Social Security:

The solvency of these programs must be maintained in order to ensure that we keep our commitment to those currently receiving benefits as well as those nearing retirement.  Richard supports the “Ryan Plan” as a good first step to preserving these programs.

PPACA:

Richard believes that Obamacare is unconstitutional and wrong for America. As a U.S. Senator, he will work to ensure that it is repealed immediately.

'

Marriage Equality: Obviously opposed to marriage equality or civil unions.

Donnelly (D):

Jobs

PROTECT AMERICAN JOBS

Crack down on the Chinese government’s unfair practices that lead to a loss of Hoosier jobs. Indiana manufacturers face unfair competition, and we need to level the playing field. Close tax loopholes that encourages some giant, Wall Street corporations to ship American jobs overseas. It is unacceptable that our tax code currently offers incentives for sending Hoosier jobs to other countries. Oppose all unfair trade deals that ship American jobs overseas. We need fair trade, not so-called free trade agreements that puts American companies at a disadvantage and Hoosiers out of work.

Abortion:

Abortion in cases of rape, incest or if the mother's life is in danger.

Horning (L): SCOTUS appointments:

Let’s be real clear on this.

Treaties cannot exceed or usurp the authority granted politics by the federal or state constitutions (like, your neighbor cannot sell your house!). So, for example, the UN’s Agenda 21 cannot bind American citizens under Rule Of Law as written. The UN is not our government, and our federal constitution was never amended to cede any authority to that corrupt mess.

And ditto for appointments. I would never grant my consent to any appointment candidate who, I feel, would violate our state and federal constitutions as written.

Income Tax:

There are those who say that our 16th Amendment is illegitimate because it was fraudulently ratified. Whatever. Voter’s haven’t done anything about this abusive thug since 1913, so it is now our common-law husband. It is constitutional law by default of sanity. That said; I would do my best to repeal it. If I can’t get it repealed, I’ll try to make our income tax constitutionally administered (it’s not now).

Donnelly would be a great fit for Indiana's voters. Vote for him this Tuesday!

Race Rating: Lean to Likely D

During an appearance on the “Tonight Show” Wednesday, President Obama condemned Indiana Republican Senate nominee Richard Mourdock’s recent comments claiming pregnancies from rape are part of God’s plan.

“I don’t know how these guys come up with these ideas,” Obama said. “Let me make a very simple proposition. Rape is rape. It is a crime. And so these various distinctions about rape don’t make too much sense to me — don’t make any sense to me. The second thing this underscores, though, is this is exactly why you don’t want a bunch of politicians, mostly male, making decisions about women’s health care decisions.”

The wide-ranging interview hit on the Euro crisis, the war in Afghanistan and Secretary of Sate Hillary Clinton’s tenure in the administration. On the World Series, Obama said: “I didn’t want to let Detroit go bankrupt. In this particular World Series, I may be a little partial.”

From the 10.24.2012 edition of NBC's The Tonight Show:

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is plugging Richard [pregnancy from rape is a gift from God] Mourdock for Indiana's open seat in the fight for control of the Senate.