The Colorado tea party’s favorite in the U.S. Senate race appeared on CBS’ Face the Nation Sunday to offer some harsh words for his own party. Republicans are “every bit as much to blame for where we are right now as Democrats,” said Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, adding, “We have to find some discipline from outside of Washington, D.C., and impose it on our Congress and executive branch.”

Buck backs the GOP’s “Pledge to America,” which would make permanent President George W. Bush’s income-tax cuts. Democrats want to maintain tax rates for families making as much as $250,000, but they’d also like to see Bush’s cuts for the wealthy and some businesses expire.

Buck, who has faced negative political advertisements for his stand against abortion, was also pressed about a statement he’d made saying he’d never vote to confirm a pro-abortion candidate in any federal position.

“I won’t use abortion as a litmus test. But if someone is pro-abortion—not just pro-choice, not just believing that abortion should be rare, limited—but if someone is promoting abortion, I think that goes beyond the, outside the boundaries of, normal politics. I will not support a candidate that is pro-abortion,” Buck explained.

His campaign has been attempting to soften his image, including in a new television spot called “Good Man,” which is meant to counter Democratic ads stating that Buck favors privatizing Social Security (via RealClearPolitics).