Conway Falling Into Repug Trap Already

Not even 24 hours after liberal donors around the country and liberal voters around Kentucky handed him a from-20-points-down victory in the Senate primary, Jack Conway is running away from the Real Democratic positions that are his only hope of beating Rand Paul in November.

From at Evan McMorris-Santoro at TPM:

As for himself, Conway pushed back on Republican claims that he's a liberal. Conway was billed as the progressive choice in the primary -- earning endorsements from MoveOn and DailyKos -- but he told me today he doesn't apply the label to himself.

"I call myself moderate, always have," Conway said. He pointed to his record of fighting child pornography as attorney general (he founded the state's Cyber Crimes Unit in 2008 to combat online child predators) and his support for the Second Amendment as evidence that he was a mainstream Kentucky politician.

Earlier today, the NRSC pointed to Conway's Kos endorsement, and the survey he filled out for the site to get it, to suggest that Conway was too liberal for Kentucky. I asked about the charge in our interview.

"I'd have to go back and look at the survey," he said when I asked him about the characterization of his answers. He stood by his support for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell -- but at the same time emphasized that he thinks marriage "is a sacred institution between a man and a woman."

Conway said he'd "welcome any President of either party to our Commonwealth" when I asked if he'd invite President Obama to campaign for him. If Obama did come, Conway said he'd "take the opportunity to tell him what I what I disagree with him on and what I agree with him about."

Despite the GOP charges that he's too liberal, Conway says he can win Republican votes in the fall. He said that his "pro-business record" gives him a bipartisan tent.

"I get a lot of Republican support," he said.

Sigh.

Jack, Jack, Jack. Dan Mongiardo lost the primary to you for the same reason he lost the general election to Jim Bunning six years ago: because the liberal Democrats he infuriated with his gratuitous gay-bashing and me-too-republicanism withheld their money, their support, their votes.

And if you don't get your head out of your ass, you're going to lose to Paul for Exactly. The. Same. Reason.