I have a lot of respect for Dick Lugar and his accomplishments while in office, however congress was never meant to be a lifetime job or a career. It was originally designed for people to go and serve their constituants (oh there’s a novel idea…what happened to that??) and then go back to their local communities and pick up their trade where they left off.

While I have a lot of repsect for the Senator’s accomplishments, I lost a great deal of respect for him when he voted in favor of continuing to give illegal immagrants access to social security and medicare benefits when they have not a single dime into the program. That fact along with the fact that they are here illegally makes any arguement null and void in my book.

So for all the good that Dick Lugar has done in his years as a Senator, congrats, but perhaps it’s time for someone new in office.
I’d like to see every last member of Congress up for election this November voted out, regardless of party affiliation and get some fresh blood in there…and do so every two years until they figure out that they work for US!!

I question how long that “original design” was kept. John Quincy Adams served for 17 years in the House of Representatives AFTER his one term as President.

Now, for state legislatures, many of which are part-time, I certainly agree. But being a member of Congress is a full time job. Many lawyers who go into politics let their licensing.

I’m not a fan of term limits. If someone is really THAT good, let them serve at the people’s will.

Blue sums up the opinion of too many…but it is what it is.

I was trying to find the words to express how I feel about our senior senator, whom I know. So many accomplishments, so many complicated decisions. And then i saw a posting on the indystar site that summed it up, It went something like this:

He sat idly by while on the IPS Board and watched white flight with nary a whimper.

He was a decent mayor.

But when he found his voice, in foreign affairs, he was a bright star. Which is why I was puzzled, when, as chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, he made no overt public gestures or pronouncements, toward what I am certain was his view regarding the military’s incursion into Iraq.

Ill-advised, poorly-conceived and destructive to our international image. I know that’s what he thought,. and he could’ve served us well by stepping out on that plank, but he didn’t.

Bush might’ve listened to Lugar’s calm and reasoned, professional, experienced voice. Especially when Cheney’s outrageous views were sucking the oxygen out of the room.

But no, Lugar did nothing.

Worse yet, he now waxes poetic, in front of the Rotary no less, about Pres. Obama’s presiding over the combat exit from Iraq.

If Lugar followed blindly, and was convinced that it was right, like Burton and others did, I’d respect him for remaining true to his convictions. But he did not. And our nation will never be the same for that ridiculous incursion into SaddamLand. All on the premise of freeing the Iraqis.

Shameful.

In spite of a well-deserved international reputation for reasoned foreign policy expertise, Lugar has to go. By your criteria, Abdul, he’s not useful any more.

Sad, too. Lots of promise and experience. Flushed. I’m a little scared what we’ll get in his place, but, voters rule.

“A man who talks nonsense so well must know that he is talking nonsense” Johnson via Boswell. A person who gets his information from the Star has forgotten, “….a News writer is a man without virtue, who writes lies at home for his own profit. To these compositions is required neither genius nor knowledge, neither industry nor spriteliness, but a contempt of shame, and indifference to truth are absolutely necessary”.
Both president Bush and president Obama have had the full measure of Senator Lugar’s views.

Fortunately, Iraq will never be the same either. What is it you libs like so much about rape rooms?

By the way, Lugar voted for our new (gulp) Supreme Court Justice. That’s all I need to know that he’s out of touch with his constituents. Unfortunately, even conservative, principled politicians like Mike Pence wouldn’t support a primary challenger to Lugar. Even though that would be best for Indiana, he would view it as disrespectful. Therein lies much of the problem. I just wish Dickie would go away!

Abdul,

I wish you would recognize the folks that give you access to politicians, like Sen. Lugar. You interviewed Lugar yesterday because he came to speak at the May November Group’s grand opening, open house. You have a real opportunity to recognize (and bring attention to) the groups, organizations and people who give you access to Lugar, Coats, etc. Please start doing so.

Still contend that the election process is the best term limits there can be. Artificially setting some type of schedule is not consistent with the basic ideas of democracy where (hopefully)”we the people” will make decisions. As some will say democracy may be sometimes inefficient but it is not ineffective over the long run.

Actually the person who gets me access is me working out something with the staff. We chatted at the May-November group because we couldn’t talk at Downtown Rotary. Had I missed him at both event we would have spoken this morning at a food bank event on the circle.

Too much deference to justices that don’t believe in the written Constitution, too many benefits for non-citizens, too little advocacy for frugality compared to his own departing Democratic colleague, too many instances of “doing nothing” as cited- but being a very amicable guy.

On the other hand, we may have to look about as far left as we can, but we can definitely see President Obama standing. Two and a half years from now, I think we’ll know where to find him. He’ll be in the same spot.

This side of nuclear disarmament- what does Lugar stand for?

Pascal, dear soul, I said I got the proper verbiage from IndyStar comments section. Not the thoughts…how can you walk through life that dense?
Don’t you bump into things, and into folks?

Don’t know what’s wrong with DIscus, Abdul, but it’s effing up again…

Pascal, re-read my comment. I said that an IndyStar commenter summed up my feelings quite well. I read those comments once in a while–not often, because it’s full of very odd comments–but someone hit the nail on the head.

But thanks for trying to participate, again, however limply you did. So glad you found your online copy of Bartlett’s, and that you’ve learned how to click and paste. Nice.

Congressman André Carson spoke highly about Senator Lugar’s advocacy of fighting hunger at the Gleaners Food Bank event this morning on Monument Circle. Chase Bank donated two refrigerator trucks to assist Gleaners.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxfj6B5BVOI

While I agree with your point, it is a good idea to add that work and culture were pretty different back then. Congress was a part-time job (6 months at the most), unlike today.

With what JP Morgan Chase extorts from its customers in terms of fees, it could feed the whole country and then some.

It’s amazing how Andre suddenly becomes very visible when it’s an election year. Too bad he isn’t as caring and attentive all of the time.

DA, err, TA, I’d be surprised if you could find those particular quotes where you think they might be. Folks who get their news from Gannett are not up to speed on anything.

Great! Did he promise 10,000 more jobs when he (and Evan) has yet to produce the very first one?

pascal? are you talking about the jobs from the completion of the cultural trail?

I’m all for term limits.

This is a shelf life issue, of efficacy & quality; protecting our Main streets & County roads from beltway taint or spoilage.

Considering the results, institutional knowledge is overrated hype. The expansion of term limits, for all elected offices, is a good idea.

Dynamic turnover, or “rotating the stock,” would do more to vitalize the election process and engage an informed public; more so than the gerrymandered static, of ever expanding fannies, perpetually planted in “the people’s” seats.

Melyssa, various fools in Indianapolis claimed that the cultural trail would produce 10,000 jobs. None of these fools have retracted that obvious stupidity. Among those fools were Wilson (the greatest fool) who claimed to be quoting from Andre (the Muslim Fool) who Wilson says got the number from our Mayor. The Mayor may be a fool but I can’t concieve that he would be stupid enough to join this aforementioned crowd of fools.

Really? Don’t be defensive. We both know Lugar did not come to Indianapolis to talk to you. Hopefully you get my point.

LMAO As if you want to test your news knowledge against mine. Laughable.

Sometimes youa re funny, Pascal. Not often, but sometimes.

The quotes, for your enlightenment, were in the Comments section regarding this particular subject. ZI freely admit the words were someone else’s…I was trying to find a way to express my thoughts on our dear Sen. Lugar. The psoter there did a better job, so I adapted his/her comments, with attribution.

Sen. Lugar should save us all the grief and not run again. Although I am a ltitle scared what the Indiana Republican machine might belch forth…anotehr Walorski or Noe is not good for Indiana.

I’m with ya when you’re right, Pascla. The Cultural Trail is nice. But tax dollars? Hmmmm.

And ten thousand jobs? That’s ridiculous.

But Ballard is still a fool. A one-term fool at that.
(Cue Ernie)

Let’s test your news ability. Which Indiana Dumbocrap Congressmen voted to steal money from the Teacher’s Pension Plan, the plan of the Police, and Firemen? Then, having been apprised of their theft, which dumbocraps introduced a bill in Congress to make these dumbocrap victims whole again?
We all know that one dumbocrap congressman from Indiana is under ethics investigation…for some years now…but the open theft of pension plan monies ought to get them all booted. Wouldn’t you agree?
Being a neophiliac, as you claim to be, is a very low rung on the ladder of understanding. I think you might be able to read but often miss the second rung. While you are checking your claim about Bartlett’s (and finding yourself wrong again-send another check to Haiti) note all the Ronald Reagan quotes in it, or, the quotes of any other prominant conservatives. Bartlett is just a liberal rag.

As posted above in response to TA one wonders if any democrat congressman in Indiana who voted to steal pension monies should be returned to office. Supporters of said thieves, crooks, should come forward with a defense of the pilfering of pension monies and admit the dumbocrap plan to steal ALL 401-K monies in exchange for more worthless pieces of democrat asswipe papers.

I’ll wager that Senator Lugar voted against stealing Indiana Pension Dollars while his counterpart, Evan, voted in favor of the theft. Nuff said?

Never too sure of folks who send stuff like this but it looks like, if true, a good enough reason to term limit our affirmative action President, ”

The Washington Post babbled again today about Obama inheriting a huge deficit from Bush. Amazingly enough, a lot of people swallow this nonsense. So once more, a short civics lesson.

Budgets do not come from the White House. They come from Congress, and the party that controlled Congress since January 2007 is the Democratic Party. They controlled the budget process for FY 2008 and FY 2009, as well as FY 2010 and FY 2011. In that first year, they had to contend with George Bush, which caused them to compromise on spending, when Bush somewhat belatedly got tough on spending increases. For FY 2009, though, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid bypassed George Bush entirely, passing continuing resolutions to keep government running until Barack Obama could take office. At that time, they passed a massive omnibus spending bill to complete the FY 2009 budgets.

And where was Barack Obama during this time? He was a member of that very Congress that passed all of these massive spending bills, and he signed the omnibus bill as President to complete FY 2009. Let’s remember what the deficits looked like during that period:

If the Democrats inherited any deficit, it was the FY 2007 deficit, the last of the Republican budgets. That deficit was the lowest in five years, and the fourth straight decline in deficit spending. After that, Democrats in Congress took control of spending, and that includes Barack Obama, who voted for the budgets.

If Obama inherited anything, he inherited it from himself.

In a nutshell, what Obama is saying is I inherited a deficit that I voted for and then I voted to expand that deficit four-fold since January 20th.

WAKE UP, AMERICA, BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!

There is no way this will be widely publicized, unless each of us sends it on!
This is your chance to make a difference.”

Well, the c and p missed the pretty, colored bar chart but serious readers can dope it out themselves…..even TA must be getting tired of his champion blaming Bush for everything.

Bartlett is a liberal rag? You’re hilarious. Reagan and Lee Atwater memorized it. Pres. GW Bush should’ve read it before he butchered the language on an hourly basis. And who said I was a neophiliac? Sleeping with a dictionary again, Pascal? Here’s a hint:

In order to throw around big words, and imrpess folks, you have to know what they mean.

That said, if you could please cite your source for the ethics investigation(s) and pension legislation, I’d love to learn something new this morning. If open theft occured, then yes, I’d agree. But open theft hasn’t been alleged or proven. At the very least, there was undue risk taken and sloppy procedures in place.

You really don’t understand the federal budget process, do you?

Step One: The Office of Management and Budget, which our good governor directed for two years, sends “The President’s Budget” to Congress. When it arrives, typically, a budget resolution or two are already floating around.

But I can tell you, having worked on the Hill, the budget being debated is almost always the President’s. Or variations thereto.

As for blaming Bush: he alone stood for lowering taxes on the top 1.85% of Americans. He found enough sympathetic votes on both sides of the aisle to shove it through. Under the mantle of freeing up business’s dollars to create jobs. Which it did not do…not one single job. Ever.

His tax cuts for that top tier expire Dec. 31. Letting them die a rightful death is not a tax increase, as Sen. Graham and others touted yesterday on the talking heads shows. It was an experiment that didn’t work.

And besides that–Pres. Obama campaigned mightily on the tax cut being eliminated. Who didn’t know that was his goal? He’s following through on a promise. Doing so will bring the Treasury more dollars. I hope Congress spends less, too, but both sides of the aisle are awash in PAC money, and that isn’t likely to stop soon. The solution there is term limits and federal campaign funds.

Blame enough for everyone, Pascal. But Presidents propose budgets. Always have, and always will. The actual budget bills start in the House, tweaking the President’s budget, where budgets must originate. Didn’t you get this stuff in high school government class?

What gets enacted becomes a piecemeal department-by-department budget vote, some of which never get final passage until after the fiscal year starts anew. Continuing Resolutions keep the government afloat too often.

Simply put: we spend too much to continue with the current tax structure. We need to cut spending, but as long as there are lobbyists, there will be a defense authorization bill for every Senator. A chicken in every pot, whether the Pentagon wants it or not. We spend more on our defense, stupidly than every other industrialized nation in the world–combined. Much of it on weaponry that is antiquated at best.

Remember when we went into Iraq? That ill-fated Cheney testorterone dream? My cousin’s son was there with little or no body armour and he ran out of food weekly. We shipped him a vest and food. He got written up in That Man’s Army for accepting civi defense gear.

I’m a fan of our incumbent SecDef, who has pledged to revolitionize the Pentagon procurement process. May his tribe multiply. We cna drastically reduce the number of duplicated defense programs, redirect that savings to real tax cuts or needed federal budget programs, and still have more than enough to properly defend ourselves. Except Congress gets in the way.

If you need more real-world budget lessons, let me know. I know a few Republican Hill staffers would be glad to tutor you. It’s messy. Wear your rubbers and overcoat.

**revolutionize

I stand by what I thought was a bit of agreement: rescinded tax cuts go to pay-off debt, deficit, future obligations- anything besides increased spending.

Same for the current business-centric proposal(s) by President Obama. I’m glad he got herded to reviving business, but (per my office Democrat) where are the dollar-for-dollar spending cuts to balance it out? Both parties need their feet held to the fire re any more spending or tax breaks if there’s not a dollar match in reduced spending.

I stand by what I thought was a bit of agreement: rescinded tax cuts go to pay-off debt, deficit, future obligations- anything besides increased spending.

Same for the current business-centric proposal(s) by President Obama. I'm glad he got herded to reviving business, but (per my office Democrat) where are the dollar-for-dollar spending cuts to balance it out? Both parties need their feet held to the fire re any more spending or tax breaks if there's not a dollar match in reduced spending.