I think it's worth pointing out that, unlike some on the right, I completely respect my liberal friends in Democratic, Republican, and unaffiliated circles. I believe there is a legitamate discussion to be had about what the government's role is in our lives, what services they should and shouldn't provide, and so on. I don't inherently believe that a progressive political viewpoint is anti-American or is incompatible with American values.
That being said, I think politicos such as Tully and Douglas are imagining a Richard Lugar that they support because they pretend Lugar agrees with them on issues when, in fact, that isn't true.
A common theme Douglas strikes on in his well written posts on Facebook is advocating for a progressive tax system. Specifically, let the Bush era tax cuts expire and maybe even raise rates on money that comes from capital gains.
And that's a fair discussion to have. I might not agree, but I'm happy to have that discussion.
So where has Senator Lugar been, over the past 30+ years, and what is his voting record in regards to the tax system which Mr. Douglas believes needs to be changed?
Turns out that Lugar has supported the abolition of the Internal Revenue Service, repeal of the income tax, and replacing all of that with a national sales tax. Lugar is also a recent co-sponsor of the FAIR Tax, which uses a national sales tax as the basis for most federal revenues. If I had to wager a guess, I bet Lugar and Mourdock ac
What about LGBT issues? Well, Lugar has voted for a federal constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman...twice. He has also supported and voted for the Defense of Marriage Act and voted against the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. And while the Equal Non-Discrimination Act never came up for a vote in the US Senate, I don't think Lugar is going to be a co-sponsor any time soon.
So, to my moderate and liberal readers, what are these moderate and liberal policies that attract you to Senator Lugar? Because I think you're supporting the idea of a candidate rather than what the candidate actually stands for.
I think Lugar's reputation as a moderate used to be a carefully-groomed myth that is now backfiring with the more Radical Right members of his party. It was aided by occasional rational votes on things like national security, nuclear arms, or judicial appointments, but those were rare indeed.
ReplyDeleteThe issues are only one part of the equation – while I disagree with Lugar on just about every issue, I have a tremendous respect for him, mostly for the way he runs his office and his constituent services. Way back when I was considering entering the service academies, Lugar's office was extremely helpful (unlike my Congressman's office). Whenever I've contacted his office about an issue, I've almost always received a reply that was thoughtful and focused on the issue – unlike almost every other office holder in Indiana.
ReplyDeleteMatt, they see a man of honor and a true American Patriot.
ReplyDeleteMourdock?..all they see is a disgusting mean man be who spews hate and has no respect for anyone other than his merry band of Gestapo henchmen
Corruption.
ReplyDeleteJust look at the recent examples of Lugar corruption: voting from an address he abandoned 35 years ago; paying personal hotel costs with taxpayer dollars; paying campaign costs with taxpayer dollars, etc. These are not examples of an honest leader.
Lugar is simply corrupt.