Senator Richard Lugar

Senator Richard Lugar is in election primary trouble. It may be of his own making, but let me tell you a tiny bit about Senator Lugar.

I was a reporter in Indianapolis when Richard Lugar ran for mayor of Indianapolis and was elected. I interviewed him at the time and I liked what he had to say, I liked his ethics and I liked his honesty, but I did not have much to do with him after that.

I do know that he is now 80 years of age. He is a centrist and he is the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. I also know he is a gentlemen and I know he knows how to compromise.

In this day and age of Congressional acrimony I like Richard Lugar. I hope the Hoosiers will find a way to re-elect him. I believe the Senate needs a moderate voice, an elder voice in order to guide his colleagues into an understanding that political absolutism is disaster.

A Columbus, Indiana newspaper put Lugar’s position this way reporting on the challenge by the State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, a tea party favorite:

“Mourdock, the primary challenger who threatens to end Lugar’s long career, is an introverted 60-year-old geologist who hates parties and loves riding motorcycles and running marathons. He is a bomb-thrower only by Hoosier standards."

I hope Lugar prevails.