Ex-senators Specter, Bennett reflect on Lugar's loss

Two longtime senators who were ousted in 2010 have different ideas about the impact of Sen. Richard Lugar's defeat at the hands of a new Tea Party favorite.

Former Pennsylvania senator Arlen Specter, a Republican turned Democrat, sees Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock's victory over Lugar in yesterday's GOP primary as another blow to bipartisanship in Congress.

Former Utah senator Robert Bennett, a Republican defeated by Tea Party supporters at a state GOP convention, believes supporters of the anti-tax, small-government movement should not feel as though they can repeat their success against Sen. Orrin Hatch in his home state.

Specter told USA TODAY he had a hard time finding the right words to explain the message behind Mourdock's primary victory. Mourdock faces Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly in the fall.

"It's not possible to run the U.S. government without compromises. It's become a dirty word for political extremists," Specter said. "To criticize bipartisanship on foreign policy is repugnant to what America stands for."

Lugar, a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was targeted for defeat by Mourdock in part over his work with Democrats on issues such as the dismantling of nuclear weapons. His 36-year-tenure in the Senate and the fact that Lugar doesn't have a house in Indiana were also factors.

Bennett said in a phone interview that Lugar's defeat should not be portrayed solely as "Tea Party vs. Lugar and the Tea Party won."

"It would be giving them more credit than they deserve," Bennett said.

Specter believes that Hatch, elected in 1976 with Lugar, should be on notice. Hatch was forced into a June primary by former state senator Dan Liljenquist, who is backed by Tea Party supporters such as the group FreedomWorks.

Hatch has "moved deftly to the right and has made a very persuasive argument on seniority" in the Senate, Specter said. "He may escape but it's taken a heavy toll on his voting record."

Bennett disagrees.

"If they think this means, 'OK, let's double down on efforts to attack Sen. Hatch,' all that will do is drive up his favorables and make him even stronger in the primary," Bennett said. "Utahns are angry at outside groups trying to dictate how they should vote."