Lugar’s Loss…a Lesson to Future Losers
Reading all the follow-up reports of Indiana Senator, Dick Lugar’s loss in the Republican primary to Tea Party favorite, Richard Mourdock, I’ve yet to see any journalist fully address a very good reason why voters might have been disenchanted with their long-ensconced incumbent: Lugar’s non-residency in his home state. The man had not maintained a residence in the state he represented since 1977, according to a report at Politico.
Think about that: that’s forty-five years this guy went without being an actual, physical resident of the state he supposedly served. When you want to know what’s wrong with our Congress and why so many of our elected representatives are so out of touch with the needs of the folks at home, Lugar’s a great starting point. Think about that some more: for forty-five years the suave, elegant, sophisticated Lugar lived the good life on the taxpayers’ dime while he wouldn’t stoop to live among those Hoosier hayseeds who kept electing him. There’s a word for that:
Arrogance.
As the good voters of Indiana, Utah and Maryland have shown the rest of the nation, it is high time for this kind of condescending arrogance of too-long serving senators and congressmen to end. We trust them with our votes and send them to represent our interests within the system and the system wins by corrupting them to the point that they no longer care about our interests but only their own self-preservation as members of the governing elite. It is indeed true that power corrupts and with these people their gradually accumulating power corrupts them to the point they no longer are representatives of their constituents, they exist purely to represent themselves and to do whatever is necessary within the isolated confines of congressional Washington to preserve their own privileged existence.
Enough! The voters in every state should look very closely at their members of Congress who are currently tasked with the responsibility of representing them. If they resemble Lugar in any small way, they should be replaced with someone to whom it has been made abundantly clear, “Don’t go there and sell us out for your own self-interest or you will be out on your ass.”
Richard Lugar may be the nicest guy in the world; but can you imagine the Founding Fathers ever expecting any elected representative to the peoples’ Congress they created not living in his district for almost half a century? OK guys, you can stop spinning; he’s history.
Do you know what really sums it all up for me about the properness of Lugar’s defeat? Guess who was on television today mourning his loss? Not his Republican colleagues but:
What’s that old saying about, “Speaking volumes?”
Category: Congress sucks
The ruling elite (of both parties) may never figure it out.
My sentiments exactly.
Arrogance fits well as a descriptor of the Washington Aristocracy that is trying to both entrench itself, and expand it’s influence into every aspect of our lives.
More than 200 years ago we, the people, gave the heave-ho to George the Turd and his fellow aristocrats. Perhaps it’s time we reminded our own brand that it’s time to leave.
35 years.
1977 = 35 years ago. But, it is still ridiculous for these clowns to not “reside” in the state that elected them. al gore was one of the biggest offenders. tom foley did not even bother to return to Washington state after his defeat – he just became another DC lobbyist. clinton took his carpetbags to NY after his time was up…
35, 45, either way these guys have spent the majority of their adult lives supposedly “representing” places they barely step foot in anymore. Orrin Hatch is butthurt that he might actually have to face a primary opponent in one of the most “red” states in the country? Boo-freakin-hoo. Guys like him, Lugar, Specter, and the rest of the Beltway Blathering Class need to realize they still work for US.
Too many people in DC, whether elected or civil servants, seem to have forgotten that.
I’m not defending most of those in Congress – I don’t have a high opinion of many of them. But CongressCritters do have a full-time job while Congress is in session. P. J. O’Rourke gives a sample of one Congressman’s typical daily schedule in Parliament of Whores; it’s a killer, and is likely representative. (smile) His daily sched started around 0800 and ended well after 1900 – nonstop. And that’s pretty much every day, Mon-Sat, either in DC or in his home district (similar schedule there), according to O’Rourke. See pages 55-65 at
http://www.scribd.com/doc/48351188/P-J-O-Rourke-Parliment-of-Whores-Politics-Humor-pdf
The whole book appears to be available there; it’s worth a read if you’ve never read it before.
So unless they stay away from Washington a helluva lot of the time (and are consequently absent from doing the things they were elected to do – like voting, attending hearings, committee meetings, drafting legislation, working constituent issues, etc . . . ), unless they’re from MD or VA it’s pretty difficult for them to even spend much time heir home state while Congress is in session and still do what they were elected to do. About the only time they can spend much time “at home” is when Congress is in recess or on weekends. And we tend to give Congress crap about the amount of time it’s in recess, too.
I’m not sure I’d want their job at any salary, much less the “princely” $174k/year salary most CongressCritters get.
@Hondo: The job would be fine if I could personally shoot any lobbyist I saw.
Kerry called Lugar’s loss “a tragedy” for the Senate. “It’s a blow to the institution during a period when the institution itself has been strained,” — from the article Poetrooper linked at the bottom.
holy shit! two things….fuck you Kerry seriously FUCK YOU, and secondly they still do not understand that they need blows to their arrogant heads (typing the blows comment made me giggle.) Americans want/should/need to inflict blows to their institution of lies, glad handing, general abuse and thievery
Also in other news….FUCK YOU KERRY
You know he was in Viet Nam, ba?
Not entirely convinced. May have all been a mirage.
Residency doesn’t always matter to us Hoosiers. Couple of years ago we elected a Virginian named Dan Coats to the Senate. Coats had to fly to Indy, rent an appartment, and register to vote before he could file for the election. I’m pretty sure that Coats hadn’t been a registered Indiana voter long enough to sign his own petition to get on the ballot.
David McIntosh who Tuesday nearly captured our 5th District Repub House nomination (and certain victory), had a Virginia Drivers licence in his pocket when he filed for the race.
Hell, we even elected Charlie White our Secretary of State knowing that old Charlie expected us to believe he was living with his ex-wife (to keep his job on the Fishers City Council and keep voting there), all the while, driving across town to the condo he owned to boink his fiancee. Surprisingly, the guy we elected to oversee our elections was convicted of voter fraud and ousted.
Just my opinion, but residency isn’t what did Dick Lugar in. Failure to get with the “take no prisoners” mentality of todays politics coupled with outside money and endorsements is what did.
@#6 Hondo – I’d argue that the excessive schedule is a result of Congress stepping far beyond its Constitutional bounds. A quick look at the schedule published in O’Rourke has little to do with Art. 1, Sect. 8, US Constitution.
#9 I am confused..I do not know if you are being facetious. I know he spent time in Vietnam. I have great disdain for that man for the reasons he commissioned into the military. I have great disdain for that man for the actions taken immediately following his military career. Previous generations of Veterans are my heros! Just not him and people like him that create lies, forgeries, exaggerations and serve only to advance a political agenda(which ever agenda it is.)
Frank: unfortunately, I hear DC has pretty strict laws regarding discharge of firearms.
Bobo: no argument that much of what Congress does today is of questionable Constitutional authority. But even stripping out the bogus stuff, doing the rest would still be very time-consuming if done right. Add to that constituent services, actually reading and discussing bills (as opposed to having your staff do it), and the realities of commuting in the NoVA/MD beltway area (one to two hours, one way, every day, to anyplace worth living), and the daily schedule would still be a killer.
Look, I’m not defending most CongressCritters. But even with all the prestige the job has, it’s still not an easy one. I certainly don’t think I’d want to give it a shot for $174k a year.
My family came to the US from the UK (I am 1st gen) and received lots of good nature’d (and not so friendly) ribbing about the monarchy and the House of Lords. Well, at least they are up front about being in for life was always dad’s answer. Maybe this is the start of the Senate returning to a democracy. Now if only it could be a federal republic again….
@ #12 It’s a bit of a joke, ba! Ridiculing his telling us repeatedly during his campaign that he was in Viet Nam. It was nauseating. Evidently we (you and I) are on the same page with our lack of esteem for the fool.
OWB that is good to know we are on the same page…I was pretty young when Kerry had his attempt at subverting our country by running for President. I was way more interested in girls and beer at the time but I do remember.