Posted on 04/01/2011 4:23:59 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued
Unfortunately for Lugar, things have changed in Indiana as they have elsewhere. The fact that he lives in Virginia surely will become an issue in his bid for re-election, while the fact that he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 or was a Rhodes scholar probably means little now.
In fact, Lugar’s emphasis on crafting legislation to attract broad support, his efforts to solve problems in ways that go beyond knee-jerk left-right approaches and his disinclination toward sharp, polarizing rhetoric leave him increasingly vulnerable in this day and age.
Moreover, instead of ingratiating himself with conservatives and the tea party, Lugar has been more than willing to poke them in the eye, as he did when he supported Senate approval of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and the DREAM Act, opposed the ban on earmarks, and expressed support for the assault weapons ban.
Last cycle, when I interviewed then-candidate Coats, a mainstream conservative never known as an ideologue or one of the Senate’s more intense partisans, I was surprised how readily and heartily he embraced the tea party movement.
Lugar, in contrast, has been dismissive of the tea party, refusing to back off of his longtime agenda or pander to conservatives with his votes or his rhetoric.
Lugar’s stubbornness — or dedication to principle, if you prefer — has earned him a formidable primary opponent and the opposition of three-quarters of GOP county chairmen, who already are backing state Treasurer Richard Mourdock.
Mourdock, who will almost certainly be Lugar’s main primary opponent, is wooing conservatives, including tea party activists, who aren’t likely to make the same mistake that they did in 2010, when multiple tea party primary candidates divided the conservative vote and handed Coats the nomination.
(Excerpt) Read more at rollcall.com ...
Spit Lugar out like a LUGGIE!
'But he was a Rhodes Scholar!'
"Good point. He can count on my vote!"
Beware of those with 'Rhodes Scholar' in their resume'. Cecil Rhodes (Rhodesia) was an anti-black English first imperialist who preached white supremacy. New World Order folks come to mind.
Richard Lugar is a poster boy for term limits.
Here’s a little good news in Indiana. Lugar won’t be getting my vote.
The Captain of the Titanic was a nice guy, probably highly-educated too.
Time for Dick to go ! New blood ! Anyone with elitist credentials need not apply ! No ivy-league degree, no elite connections like Rhodes Scholar, CFR, Bildaberger, etc.
A lick Lugar’s rear piece like I’ve never heard before.
That’s us; the”odds”.
He's Nixon-style fossil from the 1970s who thinks he should be able to hold a Senate seat for life.
If there was ever a poster boy for term limits, Lugar is it.
Mourdock may beat Lugar in the primary by using misleading ads as the article claims, but he won’t win IN by doing so. Lugar is an honorable man from what I’ve seen watching over many years, and trying to convince IN voters he’s an Obama clone is a sure way to lose. If Murdock’s plan is to demonize Lugar, rather than showcase his own record of accomplishment if one exists, then IN conservatives should find someone with more integrity to support, and the sooner the better.
The Tea Party should publish a RINO List of all those in DC who need packing boxes now so they can start packing early for 2012.
Lugar WAS honorable. He curdled after two terms (which will be 24 years ago come next year).
A loss for Lugar is a win for America.
He’s dead in the primary.
The only question is whether he’ll drop out and run as an indy. He’s got plenty of time to do that.
Sorry. Lugar deserves to be “demonized”.
I challenge you to prove anything Mourdock has said is “misleading”. That’s leftist propaganda.
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