‘Fighting Irish’ Joe Donnelly to be the U.S. Senator from Notre Dame after Mourdock gaffe?

Posted on Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 08:09 AM

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Joe Donnelly

When Congressman Joe Donnelly declared for the Indiana Senate race he seemed to have two chances, slim and none.

As a Democrat in a red state he was at a major disadvantage. Expected to face a popular incumbent in Richard Lugar, he seemed out of his depth.

Then a funny thing happened. The Tea Party threw out Lugar and picked hard-liner Richard Mourdock instead.

And now all is changed utterly in a key senate race that could dictate ultimate control of that chamber. Donnelly has a real shot and is now a slight favorite.

Joe Donnelly went to Notre Dame from Long Island New York and never left.

He settled in as a small businessman and lawyer in South Bend Indiana and soon found himself active in the local Democratic Party.

He was elected to Congress in 2006, winning by sweeping the St. Joseph’s County vote, which includes South Bend and Notre Dame.

I met Joe Donnelly at the White House St. Patrick’s Party last year and also at a Notre Dame game.
He is conservative by Democratic standards, and anti-abortion, except in the case of rape or incest and the life of the mother.

Read more on the US Elections 2012 here

Suddenly he has been cast into the center of a massive struggle for control of the U.S. senate as he comes on strong against Richard Mourdock, the Republican who upset Richard Lugar in the Republican primary.

This week the media has made the Indiana race the hottest in the country with Donnelly on the verge of a major upset after Mourdock made a statement in a debate that rape victims should be forced to carry their babies to full term.

At stake is not just the senate seat, but this is also a setback for Mitt Romney, who endorses Mourdock but who denied he supported Mourdock’s comments.

In a race tighter than a tick and where the women’s vote is critical, Mourdock’s comments caused a major headache for Romney -- and Mourdock himself.

“Today has not been a fun day,” Mourdock, close to tears, told a meeting of the Hamilton County Republican Party. “Professionally, emotionally, it’s been one of the toughest days of my life quite frankly.

“What I said last night I didn’t mean obviously to be mistaken but it became a news story,” he told the crowd. “For whatever reason, it seemed to further identify me in the public’s mind. And if that’s the way it is, that’s the way it is.”

Joe Donnelly did exactly the right thing, kept his mouth shut after disavowing Mourdock’s remarks.
He was following the first rule of politics that when your opponent is damaging himself you keep quiet as a church mouse.

Donnelly looked to have no chance when this senate race began and Lugar was widely expected to win the GOP nomination.

Speaking to pro-Obama friends at Notre Dame, they told me they would not canvass against Lugar, who was revered for his big picture world and foreign policy expertise.

Along came Mourdock and the Tea Party and they easily defeated Lugar who was out of touch and over 80.

But that move gave Donnelly’s long-shot effort an opening and now he could be on the brink of a major upset.

Donnelly would be likely known as the senator from Notre Dame, an underdog Irishman who defied the odds and took a shot against a bigger opponent who was much more fancied.

Sounds like a particular football team of his acquaintance.

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pilib04 | Oct 26, 2012, 04:14 PM EDT

jetsnoone, "trying to say"? No, He said it! God sanctioned Rape! Just like Akin and his "intentional rape" and Paul Ryan's "Violent Rape," and Paul Ryan's protege, Richard Rivard's "Easy Rape." These Republicans are very sick people and need to be shut down on November 6. I am so tired of these so-called christians and so-called catholics justifying RAPE.

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eiriamach | Oct 26, 2012, 09:49 AM EDT

Of all the human beings who might ever experience the grace to view moral questions through "the eyes of God," Mourdock would be the very last one I'd expect to be able to do that. What incredible presumptuousness he shows, to think that any man has the right to impose his view of morality on any woman, and then to claim that God has decreed that arrangement-- what self-deluded, arrogant pride! Abortion is "worse than rape"??? Wishful thinking by men, m'dear!

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jetsnoone | Oct 25, 2012, 07:10 PM EDT

I think what Mourdock was trying to say is that in the eyes of God there is only one sin worse than rape and that would be abortion which is quite true.

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eiriamach | Oct 25, 2012, 02:23 PM EDT

Mourdock decrees that a pregnancy resulting from sexual assault represents God's will ("It is something that God intended to happen"), so the law should force a pregnant rape victim to give birth. Even after this asinine comment, Romney again voiced his support for Mourdock! Will it be a surprise to men when the GOP goes down in ignominious defeat Nov. 6? Mourdock's barbarism follows Todd Akin's idiocy about abortion being unnecessary for rape victims because they can "shut that whole thing down," and it follows Ryan's arrogance about rape being only a "method of conception" that won't change his extreme anti-choice votes. Meanwhile, 39% of women polled by USA Today/Gallup say that abortion is the most important issue, 18% say health care, and 15% say equal rights. The neighboring state of Ohio, with 18 Electoral College votes, has one of the largest gender gaps: Ohio women support Obama by 55 percent, while men support Obama by only 44 percent (Quinnipiac poll). Some men still don't get it, but women are screaming about the GOP's barbaric beating up on rape victims!

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Nicomax | Oct 25, 2012, 01:34 PM EDT

Someone should remind Murdock that Islamist extremists also refer to specific directives from God that make them take all kinds of action, some of it injurious to others. They just use the term 'Allah', but it's all the same-a supreme being beyond our sight that commands all. With that as a fact, the separating of religious belief from secular laws is the best approach, just as our founders told us.

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pilib04 | Oct 25, 2012, 01:27 PM EDT

We were at Corby's Friday night before the BYU game and they had a large Donnelly banner. This is a clear choice between a TeaParty whackjob and a Democrat. I heard the TeaParty Mourdock talking about "God Intended Rape." I can just imagine Joe's face when Mourdock spewed that one.

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TheOldPerfessor | Oct 25, 2012, 11:27 AM EDT

The good news is that there is a clear choice for the people of Indiana. They can pick a pragmatist who will work to solve the many problems facing Americans. Or, they can choose a Christian extremist who will use the power of government to enforce his brand of morality on others. Elect this man and Thomas Jefferson will be turning over in his grave.

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patrickesq | Oct 25, 2012, 11:15 AM EDT

Mr. Murdock is (in)famous for his remark that he would compromise with Democrats as long as they fully accepted his positions. We do not need people like him in the Congress. Absolutists are dangerous in politics and in morality.

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slainte9 | Oct 25, 2012, 11:02 AM EDT

Mourcock is this generation's version of a dry Republican. If Donnelly wins he will be this era's Senator Robert Wagner, who went on to father Social Security and the National Labor Relations Act. Is the Tea Party a Tammany Hall conspiracy to undermine the Republican Party? PS: Hermit, a legitimate Catholic, nevermind a savy politician, would know that you don't try to explain intrinsic evil to non-Catholics, especailly when you're running for the Senate. The guy's too dumb for that important office, regardless of whether he's right or wrong.

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hermitTalker | Oct 25, 2012, 09:19 AM EDT

It helps to have the actual words. He acknowledged that God ALLOWS evil to happen, so He does not stop all murders, rapes and planes flying into buildings or DUI drivers. Sometimes He does and cancers are cured without medical explanation. LIFE is conceived in rape and in incest. GOD allows that. Mr Murdoch agreed and any opponent, graduate of Notre Dame or otherwise who denies that is not in touch with reality. GOD can bring good out of the Evil if we allow Him

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