tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3551647111924186318.post7990192277473520780..comments2023-11-28T22:36:11.846-05:00Comments on Matthew Stone Dot Org: 5th Congressional District GOP Forum: Post-Valentine's EditionBlog Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15900497671781531454noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3551647111924186318.post-37917842497311022502012-04-05T12:07:00.549-04:002012-04-05T12:07:00.549-04:00Good article on John R. "Jack" Lugar
By...Good article on John R. "Jack" Lugar<br /><br />By KEN de la BASTIDE<br /><br />KOKOMO TRIBUNE<br /><br />When Republican voters cast ballots in the May 8 primary, they will find two candidates with the last name of Lugar on the ballot.<br /><br />Richard Lugar is familiar to voters. He seeks a sixth term in the U.S.<br />Senate. But Jack Lugar is appearing on the ballot for the first time in his bid for the 5th Congressional District nomination.<br /><br />Lugar, 42, has a degree in law and operates his own real estate brokerage firm in Fishers.<br /><br />"I truly am a political outsider," Lugar said.<br /><br />He made the decision to run for Congress last July while Capitol Hill was in the middle of a debate on raising the debt ceiling.<br /><br />"I decided with a 9 percent approval rating for Congress, people were looking for someone who was an outsider, not tied to a political party or big money," he said. "With this year being a presidential year, Senate and governor races, I thought I could get my message out better than at other times."<br /><br />Before announcing his candidacy, Lugar heard that incumbent Dan Burton was considering retiring from Congress.<br /><br />"I factored in that he may not run, but also that it was time for him to retire," Lugar said of Burton. "I have a strong opposition to career politics; it wasn't the way Congress was set up. I felt we should have community representatives that stayed connected to their communities."<br /><br />Lugar knew it would be a tough primary fight whether Burton was in the race or not.<br /><br />When Burton announced his retirement, the field of candidates increased to seven.<br /><br />"Additional candidates were more beneficial to me because of the fact it would divide the vote enough to give other candidates a chance," he said. "A dark horse has a chance to rise up."<br /><br />If elected, Lugar said he will push for a balanced budget and spending cuts.<br /><br />"We have to cut spending, we have too many programs," Lugar said.<br />"We need to return to a country of sacrifice instead of entitlements."<br /><br />Lugar said the nation must eliminate, modify and keep some of the entitlement programs.<br /><br />He said Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid have to be modified and agrees with the proposal to make a change in paying into the Social Security system for those under the age of 55.<br /><br />"We need to develop a program where people can do some self-directed investing for themselves," Lugar said.<br /><br />Leaders in Washington are unwilling to make the tough decisions because they're afraid of losing their jobs, he said.<br /><br />"It's a field of service, and I believe most of our leaders have lost the focus on that," Lugar said. "It has become an aristocracy and one of privilege, and that's the problem with becoming a career politician.<br />You lose touch with reality.<br /><br />"As adults we need to make decisions that will benefit our children,"<br />he said.<br /><br />Lugar said he will set a self-imposed term limit of 12 years or six terms, but would support a three-term limit if there was a consensus in Congress to impose that limit.<br /><br />He also believes the health care reform legislation should be repealed and the process started anew.<br /><br />Lugar said he is sure some of the proposals in the health care legislation make sense, but the cost requires the creation of a new plan.<br /><br />"Our health care system is not ideal," he said. "People have no idea what they're paying for because of insurance. Medical providers know that, building hospitals like crazy.<br /><br />"We don't know what we're paying or what we're paying for," Lugar continued. "We don't have full disclosure of what things cost. When insurance is involved, the price always goes up."Elisabeth Lugarhttp://www.lugarforcongress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3551647111924186318.post-30197888171742523932012-02-17T21:23:08.520-05:002012-02-17T21:23:08.520-05:00I don't think McGoff ever served in Congress. ...I don't think McGoff ever served in Congress. Your article seems to indicate that.Paul K. Ogdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16137003328850866711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3551647111924186318.post-87526253050900590042012-02-17T21:22:07.489-05:002012-02-17T21:22:07.489-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Paul K. Ogdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16137003328850866711noreply@blogger.com