Pragmatism And Decency

For thirty-six years, Richard Lugar proved that pragmatism and decency work—not only in Washington but all over the… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

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Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 28, 2019

broken dreams

Steve Benen: Less than two months ago, Sen. Dick Lugar (R) of Indiana was still touting his support for the DREAM Act … one of the strongest Republican supporters of the bill not only boasted about being a co-sponsor of the measure, but said he hoped it will actually pass this year.

And then he got a primary challenger.

“As the politics of the 2012 election heat up, GOP Sen. Richard Lugar declined today to join Democrats in reintroducing an immigration measure he’s long supported. Lugar has for years co-sponsored with Sen. Dick Durbin a bill to let illegal immigrants who grew up in the United States earn legal status through college or the military.”

….The senator wants to do the right thing, and understands how worthwhile the legislation would be, but suddenly can’t be responsible because right-wing activists in his home state will kick him out of work unless he panders to them shamelessly.

We’re starting to see the same thing with Olympia Snowe (R) in Maine, who’s moving to the right, and Orrin Hatch (R) in Utah, who’s already dropped his strong support for the DREAM Act and is quickly becoming one of the institution’s most buffoonish hacks. Both are facing credible primaries, and so both have given up their decency. Now, we see Lugar starting to do the same thing. It’s quite sad.

Full post here

john & joe

Vice President Joe Biden talks with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., after President Barack Obama signed the New START Treaty in the Oval Office, Feb. 2, 2011. Behind them, the President talks with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

a great start

President Barack Obama signs the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, February 2. Looking on are Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator John Kerry and Senator Richard Lugar

Six short years ago ….

During the August recess of 2005, Richard Lugar and freshman Senator Barack Obama visited Russia, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine  to inspect nuclear facilities there. In January 2007, President Bush signed into law the Lugar-Obama Proliferation and Threat Reduction Initiative

Check the microphones, the media didn’t seem too interested in what the freshman senator had to say then 🙂

Baku, Ajerbaijan August, 2005. Photo: Pete Souza

More photos from that 2005 trip, all by Pete Souza:

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Inside a dismantled nuclear missile. Photo: Pete Souza