Sam Adams Alliance

By Alan Pell Crawford

Dick Lugar has been around the U.S. Senate so long no one would be surprised, some fine morning, to find he has quietly taken his place among the colossi in Statuary Hall. Reports that greenish age spots have already begun to appear on Lugar’s bronze toga are to be dismissed as good-natured fun, though some observers insist such oxidation is real. After six terms of dutiful service, Lugar has become the kind of senior statesmen the public rarely hears from because he offers his sage counsel “behind the scenes.” He believes in and supports the Senate, like a truss.

You Can’t Please Everybody

This is all very admirable, though institutional fealty has its drawbacks. You really can’t please all of the people all of the time, nor can you serve it, the Administration and the special interests, too. Eventually somebody or other gets mad, and when that happens, a lot can change. Lugar is learning this now. Having offended the banking industry by voting against a measure involving “swipe fees,” he finds himself facing a primary challenge. This is especially troubling to party officials because Lugar’s seat is considered a safe one.

Be that as it may, lobbyists for the financial services industry have been raising money for Richard Mourdock, who wants Lugar’s job. Mourdock, the Indiana state treasure, enjoys tea-party support, which promises to add spice to a race that would otherwise be as exciting as waiting for those statues in the Capitol to waltz.

‘Reckless’ Behavior

Professional Republicans, who use “primary” as a verb, don’t find this funny. “Engaging in efforts to primary a sitting Republican senator is pretty reckless for an industry without a lot of friends at the moment,” one “senior” Senate staffer told Politico. “It certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed within the Republican Conference.”

Well, good. If they hadn’t been paying attention, someone should wake them up.

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