Former Indiana Senator Richard Lugar, a foreign policy giant, dies

[CatWoman]

Source: USA Today

WASHINGTON – Former Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, a foreign policy leader in the Senate who received the Defense Department's highest civilian award for his efforts to secure and destroy weapons of mass destruction after the collapse of the Soviet Union, died Sunday, according to his family.

The cause of death was complications from chronic inflammatory demylinating polyneuropathy.

Lugar, 87, served as mayor of Indianapolis from 1968 to 1975 and served in the Senate from 1977 to 2013.

He was president of the Lugar Center since 2013 where he continued work on many of his foreign policy priorities.

Lugar is survived by his wife Char, his four sons Mark, Bob, John, and David. Their families were with him throughout his short illness.

Few senators in history served longer than Lugar or earned as much respect.

He had been a leading voice for decades on foreign policy, helping create a highly respected program to reduce the chance of nuclear annihilation. He also tried to mitigate hunger around the world and in schools, and to warn about the national security consequences of fossil fuel dependence.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/04/28/richard-lugar-dies-former-indiana-senator/3608748002/?fbclid=IwAR2NkmWwD34VL0s7UM1F1U216ESrNuKpLxgQX6he3rE-Tuhb8p2H7dK2WpM

[csziggy]

1. Why do we have to get to the 12th paragraph to find out he was Republican?

From the link in the OP:

When he sought a seventh term in 2012, Lugar was defeated in the primary by a Tea Party Republican. At the time, he was the Senate's most senior Republican.

[Polybius]

4. You don't remember him?

He was always in the news in the mid-late 90's.

[csziggy]

6. Vaguely, but I did not have much time for politics in the 1990s

And the parties were not as polarized back then.

[Polybius]

7. Fair enough

You are right. Their 1996 nominee Bob Dole was nothing like Trump.

[DrToast]

22. Obama also worked with him closely on nuclear disarmament

As far as Republicans go, he was a good man.

[Dennis Donovan]

5. ...because, up to that, it read like he was a decent person.

RIP Senator Lugar

[Duppers]

20. More decent than any rethug alive today.

I know, it's surprising that he was a Republican.

Biden wrote:
"Dick Lugar was among the most decent men I have ever known. Kind, loyal, dedicated beyond measure to the service of the American people. Dick Lugar was my dear friend. Jill and I send our condolences to his wife Charlene and the entire Lugar family."

[murielm99]

2. A good Republican.

They used to exist.

[babylonsister]

3. Aww, that's sad. An honorable rethug; few and far between now. nt

[demmiblue]

8. Michael McFaul: Senator Lugar was a great, great man, vital to enhancing the national security...

Senator Lugar was a great, great man, vital to enhancing the national security of America and generous in his mentorship and support for me. "Richard Lugar, six-term senator and leading voice on foreign policy, dies at 87"

Link to tweet

[JI7]

9. sad to hear this. he was a good decent man

which is why Republicans defeated him.

[INdemo]

25. i dont remeber but wasnt the guy that defeated Lugar in the primary defeated by Evan Bayh

in the General?

[JI7]

26. Bayh lost the election. he might still be there is he had never retired

[INdemo]

27. now i remember Richard Mourdock defeated Lugar in the primary ..he lost to Donnelly in the General

[JI7]

28. yes, I think Mourdock was one of the rape is not rape candidates

Bayh lost last year I think.

[karynnj]

32. No he was defeated by Joe Donnelly

The tea party guy was Murdock and to some degree he defeated himself with extreme comments.

[Jokerman]

10. The only republican I've ever voted for.

Once, many years ago after I had a bad personal experience with the democratic candidate and Lugar had just contradicted Reagan publicly over the Philippine elections.

[AwakeAtLast]

17. Yes, me too! n/t

[RandySF]

11. I'm sorry to hear that

He seemed like a genuinely good person.

[radical noodle]

12. Defeated by the Tea Party

He was way too liberal for today's GOP.

[jmowreader]

15. Stop right there.

Jesse Helms was too liberal for today’s GOP. Barry Goldwater would have been considered a flaming leftist, and he was the guy MAD Magazine used as their token hard-right punching bag.

While Lugar was a good man, being too liberal for the Trump Party isn’t hard to do.

[radical noodle]

23. That was pretty much my point

however, Lugar would always have put country first.

[Polybius]

29. You're right about Goldwater, but wrong on Helms

No one is to his right in the current US Senate, not even Cruz. People forget just how racist he was. Roy Moore would be about his equal.

[jmowreader]

30. Or Trump.

[Polybius]

31. Yes Trump is racist too

But he's not the ideologue that Helms was. Helms was always far-right, even as a boy. Trump before 2000 was not even liked by conservatives.

[LakeArenal]

13. In the olden days....

Not every Republican was an ass.

Don’t remember specifics but I remember not hating him.

[DallasNE]

14. The Albatross Lugar Carried

Was Nixon calling him his favorite Mayor. That left him to focus on Senate work

[AwakeAtLast]

16. A Republican I actually respected.

May he RIP.

[NBachers]

18. I agree - a republican I respected.

[DoctorJoJo]

19. I'm An Indiana Native--There Are No Richard Lugars Left In the Repuke Party.

I'm sure he was mortified by the Orange Buffoon!

[Recursion]

21. Damn. The last sane Republican, and a giant of nonproliferation

I'm sorry he had to watch his life's work shredded by the orange shitler.

[FailureToCommunicate]

24. Senator Lugar (R) traveling with Senator Obama to secure nuke sites in Ukraine...

RIP Senator.

[IronLionZion]

33. RIP. They don't make Republicans like they used to

He just wasn't conservative enough to fight off a primary challenge from a real asshole.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Lugar