Daniels on the Indiana Senate race, 2012 election

>>> the gentleman that just defeated senator lugar said something that i found disturbing. he said, i am totally against any compromise. our world views are irreconcilable, and we just have to keep fighting until somebody wins it all.

>> that was former president bill clinton earlier this week talking about the indiana senate nominee richard murdock . murdock 's mantra, joining me is governor daniels who supported senator richard lugar in that primary. he joins me now. good morning. i want to talk to you about a lot of stuff. i want to start with the senate race. are you comfortable with richard murdock as nominee of the republican party this year in your home state?

>> i am. i think he'll win. he is a republican regular and has the support of the vast majority of republican regulars in the election he just won so handily. so it'll be a competitive race but i think he'll -- i think he speaks for the basic principles that most hoosiers agree with and his opponent joe donnelly has a problem because the president is not popular here and he'll have to answer for presidential policies he supported.

>> governor, i want to play a quote that mr. murdock said to me the day after his victory.

>> i certainly think that bipartisanship ought to consist of democrats coming to the republican point of view. we entered this campaign wanting to be a voice and hoping to give more of a national voice to the idea that republicans and more specifically conservatives would be in the majority of the united states senate and the house and hopefully that we have a republican in the white house . if we do that bipartisanship means they have to come our way.

>> well, that's his ideal world , governor daniels, but that's not the real world . you saw these budget votes this week. mike lee , rand paul, two people that philosophically richard murdock is closer to on some things let alone the ryan budget, all of them failed and all of them had republican votes against them in some form or another so forget, let's not talk about compromise with the democrats. republicans -- is richard murdo murdock , is he, you know, basically uninformed about how the united states senate works?

>> i think he is very well informed. he doesn't like the way the united states senate works. and neither do most americans right now. they'd like to see something different. i think richard is simply saying that the needle has to move in the direction of more limited government, fiscal solvency while we have time to forestall a europe-like debacle.

>> have you gotten a hundred percent of everything?

>> of course not. and, chuck, you know, i don't think richard murdock ever would expect to get a hundred percent of what he wants either but i think he is reacting to a very familiar phenomenon and you've co it's always republicans or people to the right and center right who are supposed to give on these things and i think he is saying it's time really for more from both ends.

>> well, i guess -- no, he didn't say that. i mean, he didn't say that there's time -- when you look at for instance the -- probably the most compromise proposal out there it's simpson bowls. let me ask you specifically. where are you and simpson bowls? if simpson / bowles were enacted in whole would you be comfortable with that fiscal plan?

>> i'd be more comfortable than i am today. i think it was a very good starting point. it was incomplete and as far as it went it wasn't fully adequate to the extent of the emergency we are facing.

>> but that's compromise.

>> it would have been -- but wait a minute, chuck. who was it that threw simpson / bowles over the side? it was the president. he created this commission then completely ignored it. has sent two budgets forward.

>> so the house republicans who voted against it, they don't hold -- they don't deserve any blame for voting against this, paul ryan in particular? you had tom coburn , mike cray, two very conservative senators voting for this proposal. had the three house republicans jumped on, this thing would have been forced into a vote, it would have forced the president to support it because it would have gotten the 14 votes.

>> exactly the same thing could be said of the democratic members. you want to talk about parties fighting with each other let's look at a much more interesting example. president obama has sent two budgets in a row to congress and every single democrat voted against it.

>> let's be realistic. those weren't real votes on his budget. it was a piece of paper amendment designed to do that. i mean, in all fairness was it not?

>> chuck, in all fairness that's the most washington viewpoint i've ever heard. what wasn't real was the budget the president sent. that's why nobody in either party could vote for it. if you want to talk about finding a reasonable middle i think you ought to be directing your questions first of all to the guy in the white house .

>> well, i've asked him that. why he showed simpson / bowles multiple times and, you know, on that front i don't think they've given a very clear answer. they claim that the minute they endorsed it, that the one answer on this, the minute they endorse it more republicans would come out against it.

>> well, you know, he's been the president of this nation for three years in which we have drifted ever closer to the biggest peace time crisis we may have ever faced. and there is no doubt about it. it's a mathematical certainty.

>> right.

>> there are case studies right in front of us in this news cycle that tell us what's going to happen sooner or later if we don't get busy. so to me the central question in this election is why such an administration deserves a second chance and whether somebody ought to have a chance, an opportunity to do better.

>> let me ask about governor romney 's budget. because there is a lot of studies that claim it could add as much as -- add to the deficit. doesn't cut from the deficit. part of the reason is because he is trying to do two things -- lower taxes and raise defense spending and the question is where does he find the other savings and you know politically he's not going to get it out of the discretionary spending that he thinks he's going to get it from. do you think this budget needs to be reworked?

>> i think possibly it needs to be augmented. i haven't made a big study of it. we all know that no plan is serious until it deals with the so-called entitlement programs, where two-thirds of the money is. and, you know, he has talked much more forth rightly than certainly the president has about the need to do that. i think as the campaign continues he'll extend that advantage.

>> let me ask you the vp question. will you participate in the vetting process if the romney campaign asks you to?

>> is this the double jeopardy ?

>> yeah oh, no.

>> the double jeopardy answer?

>> yeah. never in my lifetime, what is, no. in all seriousness would you be willing to hand over tax records and things like that if the romney campaign asks?

>> chuck, let me give you the best tip you'll get all day. make some easy money and bet against this whole idea. i'm not interested in doing that. it won't happen anyway and if i have something to contribute, to the national debate we're in then i'll look for other ways.

>> so if he comes asking you're not going to take the phone call ?

>> well, it's the call that won't come.

>> fair enough. indiana governor mitch daniels republican always good to talk with you u i appreciate you coming on the show, sir.

>> thanks, chuck.