Lugar To gop: 'Please Do Your Duty For Your Country'

[babylonsister]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026732.php

Video at link~

LUGAR TO GOP: 'PLEASE DO YOUR DUTY FOR YOUR COUNTRY'.... The pending arms control treaty with Russia, New START, has no greater Republican champion than Sen. Dick Lugar of Indiana. Lugar, the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has long been Congress' most respected and most credible GOP voice on international affairs, and his unyielding support for the measure should carry considerable weight in Republican circles.

What I find especially interesting this week, however, has been Lugar's willingness to raise the volume of that voice. On Wednesday, the mild-mannered-to-a-fault senator appeared at a press conference alongside Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), and was surprisingly animated about the importance of ratification.

Yesterday, Lugar appeared on MSNBC, and again made his case in a more forceful way than is usually expected of him.

"Please do your duty for your country," Lugar said in a message to his colleagues. "We do not have verification of the Russian nuclear posture right now. We're not going to have it until we sign the START treaty. We're not going to be able to get rid of further missiles and warheads aimed at us.

"I state it candidly to my colleagues, one of those warheads ... could demolish my city of Indianapolis -- obliterate it! Now Americans may have forgotten that. I've not forgotten it and I think that most people who are concentrating on the START treaty want to move ahead to move down the ladder of the number of weapons aimed at us."

Urging Republicans to "do their duty" for their country is good advice. If only they weren't so inclined to place party over patriotism.

Watching Lugar this week, it seems the quiet, reserved senior senator is just frustrated. I don't know Lugar personally, but seeing his passion on New START, I wouldn't be surprised if he's noticing that he seems to be the only Republican senator on the Hill who isn't afraid to put our national security needs over petty, partisan nonsense.

For the record, on the vast majority of the major issues of the day, I completely disagree with Lugar's positions. The way in which he's conducted himself during this debate, however, is a reminder that Lugar may be well to my right, but he tends to conduct himself in an honorable way.

Congress would be a less infuriating institution if we could say the same about his Republican colleagues.

—Steve Benen

[MBS]

1. good for him

may Lugar and the Dems succeed in shaming a few more Republican senators into putting their country first, and voting for thie treaty. Miracles do happen

[wilt the stilt]

2. Never confuse the GOP with patriotism

Party first country and citizenry last. Name something the conservatives have ever done that doesn't directly benefit themselves.

[indepat]

3. Republicans doing their duty to their country: how quaint, dichotomous, and oxymoronic

;)

[CBHagman]

4. I can add very little to this, as Lugar said it all, but...

...for DUers, I should note that this week Senator Lugar appeared with Secretary of State Clinton and Senator Kerry (chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee) to urge that the Senate ratify the new START treaty during this session of Congress.

During an interview on Larry King Live, Vice President Biden had this to say about Lugar:

"Dick Lugar is, as you know, the single most informed guy, probably in either political party, on the issue of nuclear weapons and arms control. And he is passionate about it."

On edit: I'm going to contact my senators about START, as well as other unfinished business in the lame-duck Congress, and urge other U.S. DUers to do the same.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

5. Good for Lugar!

He is perhaps the only Republican Senator I've ever felt good enough about to vote for a regular basis. Too bad there are not more of him left in the Senate.

[Phx_Dem]

6. If Dick Lugar gave one of his testicles ot Caville, Carville would have one

and he'd still be half the man GOP Sentator Dick Lugar is. I have no big love for Lugar, but I'd take him over Carville any day.

Way to call out the assholes in your party, Lugar!

[dennis4868]

7. Lugar may be putting country over party....

when it comes to the START treaty but what about all the other fillubusters he joined in on....even this seek he helped fillubuster the Paycheck Fairness Act. So before we get all happy clappy about Lugar let's not forget he is still from the party that puts their political over country (except for START).

[old mark]

8. Well, good luck with that - the GOP has no interest in "duty to country"...

they are more interested in hating our black Democratic President...and ending unemployment compensation, medical insurance reform and any sense of decency left in the USA.
Senator Lugar, by now you should know better. Republicans suck.

mark

[AlinPA]

9. Lugar has no influence in the republican party. He is a dinosar now and the teabaggers

are in charge of the party. Nothing will pass the senate as long President Obama is in office.