INDIANAPOLIS | Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan is shown distancing himself from fellow Republican Richard Mourdock in a new television ad by Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Joe Donnelly.
The 30-second commercial, released Monday, features a segment from a May interview where Congressman Ryan, prior to his selection as the Republican vice presidential nominee, tells reporter Judy Woodruff he opposes Mourdock's oft-repeated stance that bipartisanship means Democrats doing what Republicans want.
"I just don't agree with that," Ryan says.
The ad also includes a clip of Mourdock, on the day after his Republican primary victory over U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar, saying, "To me the highlight of politics, frankly, is to inflict my opinion on someone else."
Donnelly spokeswoman Elizabeth Shappell said Indiana voters should join Ryan in rejecting Mourdock's "my way or the highway" style.
"Hoosiers want a U.S. senator who will work with others to get things done for our state and country, not the Mourdock approach that fights to eliminate Indiana jobs and thinks Social Security is unconstitutional," Shappell said.
Brose McVey, Mourdock's deputy campaign manager, said Donnelly's ad is intended to distract voters from his support for the policies of President Barack Obama.
In recent weeks, Mourdock has stepped up efforts to shake off his post-primary reactionary rhetoric and portray himself as willing to work across party lines.
For example, Republican Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman declares in a new television ad that as Indiana's state treasurer Mourdock "worked side by side with Gov. Mitch (Daniels) and me to move Indiana forward." If elected to the Senate, Mourdock "will work to make Washington run more like Indiana," Skillman says.
The ad also shows Mourdock shaking hands with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney at an August fundraiser in Evansville.
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