EVANSVILLE, Ind. — When Mitt Romney campaigned last week in Colorado, a key swing state whose governor and senators are Democrats, he sought to sell himself with a simple message: He is a deal maker, someone who can work with Democrats and reach across the aisle, as he did when he was the governor of Massachusetts.
[h=6]Charles Dharapak/Associated Press[/h]Mitt Romney campaigned with Richard Mourdock, a Senate nominee, on Saturday in Indiana.
[h=3]The Election 2012 App[/h]A one-stop destination for the latest political news — from The Times and other top sources. Plus opinion, polls, campaign data and video.
“We’ve got to have someone that goes to Washington that buries the hatchet and says, ‘You know what? There are good Democrats, there are good Republicans that care about America,’ ” Mr. Romney said at a rally in a Denver suburb. “Let’s work together to get the American people working.”
But on Saturday, Mr. Romney flew on a Gulfstream IV to the southwest reaches of Indiana to campaign for someone with a distinctly different view of bipartisanship: Richard Mourdock, a Tea Party favorite and the state’s Republican Senate nominee, who this spring defeated the incumbent, Richard G. Lugar, one of the most influential Republicans of the past generation.
In that primary, Mr. Mourdock, a two-term state treasurer, attacked Senator Lugar for working with Democrats. Bipartisanship is not the way forward, he said: “The most powerful people in both parties are so opposed to one another that one side simply has to win out over the other.”
These starkly differing views highlight a central challenge for Mr. Romney: He must woo the rising numbers of Tea Party adherents in his party, many of whom were skeptical of his political record and favored more conservative candidates in the primaries like Rick Santorum. Even though Indiana is not an especially conservative state — President Obama defeated John McCain here four years ago — a poll showed Mr. Santorum running neck and neck with Mr. Romney as late as the end of March, when the nomination had been all but decided, and two weeks before Mr. Santorum dropped out.
During a brief stop on Saturday afternoon here at Stepto’s Bar-B-Q Shack — known for its pulled pork — Mr. Romney did not say anything about the need to work with Democrats. And he avoided mention of issues he and Mr. Mourdock might disagree on.
But he did underscore his commitment to some Tea Party principles. As he outlined his five-point plan for renewing the economy, his biggest applause line came when he described his proposal to slash government programs.
“You can’t keep spending massively more than you take in, and a treasurer knows that, a governor knows that,” Mr. Romney said, referring to Mr. Mourdock and himself.
And for a moment he almost seemed to apologize for being from Massachusetts, perhaps the most liberal state in the union.
“Well, I was raised in Michigan, but I’m really a Massachusetts guy now,” Mr. Romney said. “But you know what? I’m an American that loves this country.”
If his record in office is any indication, Mr. Romney is also a pragmatist, one who earlier supported abortion rights and successfully enacted a health care plan in Massachusetts similar to what he now derides as “Obamacare” and pledges to repeal.
Just as he cannot offend too many social conservatives and Tea Party members who see bipartisanship as spinelessness, Mr. Romney must also win over moderates and independents who might look favorably on the sort of political approach he adopted before he ran for president.
Mr. Mourdock seemed to implicitly acknowledge this conflict, and that he and Mr. Romney do not have the same viewpoint on perhaps many issues. Emphasizing the need for party unity to defeat President Obama, Mr. Mourdock introduced Mr. Romney by telling the crowd of nearly 100 people that four years ago Mr. Romney was “one of the very first” presidential primary candidates to back Mr. McCain, even traveling here to Evansville to rally support for him.
“He is back, and he is here in part because he is the ultimate team player, and politics is all about being a team,” Mr. Mourdock said. “This is not a solo sport.”
[h=6]Charles Dharapak/Associated Press[/h]Mitt Romney campaigned with Richard Mourdock, a Senate nominee, on Saturday in Indiana.
[h=3]The Election 2012 App[/h]A one-stop destination for the latest political news — from The Times and other top sources. Plus opinion, polls, campaign data and video.
“We’ve got to have someone that goes to Washington that buries the hatchet and says, ‘You know what? There are good Democrats, there are good Republicans that care about America,’ ” Mr. Romney said at a rally in a Denver suburb. “Let’s work together to get the American people working.”
But on Saturday, Mr. Romney flew on a Gulfstream IV to the southwest reaches of Indiana to campaign for someone with a distinctly different view of bipartisanship: Richard Mourdock, a Tea Party favorite and the state’s Republican Senate nominee, who this spring defeated the incumbent, Richard G. Lugar, one of the most influential Republicans of the past generation.
In that primary, Mr. Mourdock, a two-term state treasurer, attacked Senator Lugar for working with Democrats. Bipartisanship is not the way forward, he said: “The most powerful people in both parties are so opposed to one another that one side simply has to win out over the other.”
These starkly differing views highlight a central challenge for Mr. Romney: He must woo the rising numbers of Tea Party adherents in his party, many of whom were skeptical of his political record and favored more conservative candidates in the primaries like Rick Santorum. Even though Indiana is not an especially conservative state — President Obama defeated John McCain here four years ago — a poll showed Mr. Santorum running neck and neck with Mr. Romney as late as the end of March, when the nomination had been all but decided, and two weeks before Mr. Santorum dropped out.
During a brief stop on Saturday afternoon here at Stepto’s Bar-B-Q Shack — known for its pulled pork — Mr. Romney did not say anything about the need to work with Democrats. And he avoided mention of issues he and Mr. Mourdock might disagree on.
But he did underscore his commitment to some Tea Party principles. As he outlined his five-point plan for renewing the economy, his biggest applause line came when he described his proposal to slash government programs.
“You can’t keep spending massively more than you take in, and a treasurer knows that, a governor knows that,” Mr. Romney said, referring to Mr. Mourdock and himself.
And for a moment he almost seemed to apologize for being from Massachusetts, perhaps the most liberal state in the union.
“Well, I was raised in Michigan, but I’m really a Massachusetts guy now,” Mr. Romney said. “But you know what? I’m an American that loves this country.”
If his record in office is any indication, Mr. Romney is also a pragmatist, one who earlier supported abortion rights and successfully enacted a health care plan in Massachusetts similar to what he now derides as “Obamacare” and pledges to repeal.
Just as he cannot offend too many social conservatives and Tea Party members who see bipartisanship as spinelessness, Mr. Romney must also win over moderates and independents who might look favorably on the sort of political approach he adopted before he ran for president.
Mr. Mourdock seemed to implicitly acknowledge this conflict, and that he and Mr. Romney do not have the same viewpoint on perhaps many issues. Emphasizing the need for party unity to defeat President Obama, Mr. Mourdock introduced Mr. Romney by telling the crowd of nearly 100 people that four years ago Mr. Romney was “one of the very first” presidential primary candidates to back Mr. McCain, even traveling here to Evansville to rally support for him.
“He is back, and he is here in part because he is the ultimate team player, and politics is all about being a team,” Mr. Mourdock said. “This is not a solo sport.”