Lionizing the newly departed, particularly in politics, is so inevitable that it has become mundane. Richard Lugar suffered what amounts to a political death last night, losing his first GOP primary for the Senate since he was elected in 1976 — and though I don’t know if there is such a thing as a “moderate lion” of the Republican Senate, Lugar’s reputation is that of someone who kept some of his colleagues on the Right from going over a cliff, particularly on foreign policy.
Lugar added some grist to that perception after his defeat last night at the hands of Tea Party Republican Richard Mourdock. In his concession speech, Lugar cited his bipartisan work with President Obama, and turned a rhetorical firehose on his fellow Republicans:
I don’t remember a time when so many topics have become politically unmentionable in one party or the other. Republicans cannot admit to any nuance in policy on climate change. Republican members are now expected to take pledges against any tax increases. For two consecutive Presidential nomination cycles, GOP candidates competed with one another to express the most strident anti-immigration view, even at the risk of alienating a huge voting bloc…
Our political system is losing its ability to even explore alternatives. If fealty to these pledges continues to expand, legislators may pledge their way into irrelevance. Voters will be electing a slate of inflexible positions rather than a leader.









