Indianapolis Star Endorses Joe Donnelly (D) over Richard Mourdock (wingnut)
The firestorm over State Treasurer Richard Mourdock's remark about rape and abortion in Tuesday's debate has obscured the overriding question of how he and opponent Joe Donnelly would serve if elected to the U.S. Senate.
It was clear even before the latest controversy that Donnelly was better prepared than his Republican rival to represent the state and the nation effectively in the Senate. Donnelly has earned a strong endorsement by The Star in the three-way race, which includes Libertarian Andrew Horning.
Horning, who has run in several elections as a Libertarian and as a Republican, maintains that neither major party offers small government and serious deficit reduction. He's right to question Mourdock's and Donnelly's promises to do so. Yet Donnelly still wins the test of effectiveness.
In six years of representing the Republican-leaning 2nd District in Congress, the Granger Democrat has reached across the aisle on many occasions and has bucked his own party and president on major issues, such as the Bush-era tax cuts, coal and gun control. He opposes cap-and-trade energy legislation and enjoys the backing of the National Rifle Association.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20121027/OPINION08/210270349/Our-Opinion-Joe-Donnelly-U-S-Senate?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|IndyStar.com