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 ...
I not only expect him, but YellowSnowe and Brown-stain as well to potentially run as IND.
Six terms???
Already way past the time for him to (be) retire(d).
Cecil Rhodes was a key founder of what’s become known as the New World Order movement. Anyone who has been the beneficiary of his largesse should be distrusted.
Can’t wait to see this guy’s exit. He should be on a poster for term limits & Rinos
“The only question is whether he’ll drop out and run as an indy.”
That rarely happens in Indiana, which is has strong party systems.
He’s already had 6 terms too many!
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