Dick Lugar Turns Down Obama Air Force One Invite

My colleague Carol Lee reports that Indiana Republican Senator Dick Lugar won't accompany President Obama to his home state tomorrow, despite an invitation from the president.

Indiana's other senator, Democrat Evan Bayh, will be aboard Air Force One, along with six current and former members of Congress, one of whom, Brad Ellsworth, voted against the House bill.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[vippy]

Richard Lugar and Phil Gramm, they concocted the additional 1200 pages into the Commodities Futures Modernization Act, whic h gave us the horrible gas prices. The man needs to go!

[FebM]

Why Lugar Declined That Air Force One Trip
By Elana Schor - February 9, 2009, 2:34PM
Ben Smith raised an interesting question this morning: Why did Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), whom President Obama has singled out as a valuable mentor, pass up the chance to ride to Indiana on Air Force One today?

Lugar's absence looked a bit amiss to Mike Tomasky and other wise heads, particularly since Rep. Fred Upton (MI) -- another Republican whose vote on the final stimulus bill is still within reach for the president -- did join Obama on today's trip. But as a Lugar spokesman explained to me, the senator had a pretty good reason to decline the Air Force One invitation.

Lugar, the longtime senior Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, was previously committed to joining panel chairman John Kerry (D-MA) and Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai at a conference on protecting the world's forests from the devastating effects of climate change.

Lugar also wanted to stay in town to study up on the stimulus compromise that was announced over the weekend, his spokesman explained. Sounds like reason enough to remain in Washington -- especially if Lugar ultimately votes for the recovery bill.

[notconfindtweenhatnboots]

Thank you for posting...­. I knew this Senator from the Great State of Indiana is a man of character and honor....

[kgb999]

Good job ... I was just going to post the same thing. We've got enough trouble in America without intentionally stirring up trouble.

[rosal]

Lugar is not as e v il as the other ones. A good friend of Biden

[rf-hawaii]

Slow news day?

[elcojonu]

Don't wanna get too close to a Brother ?

[notconfindtweenhatnboots]

Lugar unofficially mentored Obama- across the aisle in the Senate.

Here's a pic of them at a nuclear facility in Rus sia

http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=1850&issue_id=46

[jcwtts1]

this isn't about that, he didn't head back to Indiana today. The invite is typically given to all reps from a state. It wasn't an invite to the rally it was an chance to hitch a ride.

j

[poster1122]

This is silly. The insinuations here are a bit much based only on the fact that he didn't take the President up on an invitation. The man is 76 years old, and he was on a trip to the other side of the world (Russia) just last week.

FYI, Lugar actually endorsed Obama over his own party's nominee back in October. Some people need to just step back and take a breath.

[research]

It may be. Lugar is a moderate GOP.

[poster1122]

Actually, one correction. Lugar actually endorsed McCain but allowed Obama to film ads touting their work together. Moreover, in at least one policy speech during the campaign season, he explicitly endorsed Obama's approach to diplomacy.

[sej100]

GOP = hypocrisy.

They ran the most anti democratic partisan administration for years. They have stolen elections, lied about just about everything under the sun and destroyed the economy with greed.

Now even when handed an outstretched arm they respond with a spit in the face.
It is now time for the DEMOCRATS TO JUST MOVE ON WITH THE AGENDA PEOPLE VOTED FOR AND NO MORE PANDERING TO THE HYPOCRITES.

BI PARTISANSHIP REQUIRES TWO PARTIES TO WORK TOGETHER. IT CANNOT BE ONE GIVES IN ALL THE TIME. SO GOP YOU HAVE EARNED A SNUB. AND MAY YOU REMAIN THE MINORITY FOR A GOOD LONG TIME. NEVER HAS A GROUP BEEN MORE DISTASTEFUL, MORE UNCONCIONABLE TAKING ORDERS FROM RUSH PRETTY MUCH ESTABLISHES YOUR LACK OF CREDIBILITY.

[Jaxy]

Looks like turning down the President's various invitations to be part of the political process is a big theme with the GOP these days.

What is wrong with these people? Especially since they invariably proceed to issue self-serving announcemnts, claiming that the President is not sufficiently bi-partisan. WTH??

[notconfindtweenhatnboots]

Senator Lugar went to the White House to witness the signing of the S-CHIP bill.... Senator Lugar just returned from a diplomatic mission to Rus sia on behalf of the President.­...

He is the co-chair of the foreign relations committee, and I hope he is in Washington working with Kerry, Biden and the Clintons to clean up the mess that Bush left the world in.... (as it is well-known that Bush did not listen to the advice of the senate foreign relations committee)­..... Yes, it is a big mess, and there is no time to waste on our foreign policy front.

Elkhart should be Mitch Daniels problem... Bush propped up Northern Indiana over the last 3 years by giving his old financial policy adviser (Daniels) all the contracts for the Kat rina trailers..­. Since Daniels is probably going to run for Lugar's seat in 2012 (Lugar is retiring) Daniels should come out either for or against the package...­. Mitch should be the one to be there to represent Indiana Republicans.

[Bafun]

may be it is bi-partisanship at its best, may be he is afraid to fly!

[notconfindtweenhatnboots]

Or maybe Senator Lugar is just tired from just returning from Moscow as Obama's representative .....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/4530042/Cold-warrior-Henry-Kissinger-woos-Russia-for-Barack-Obama.html

It's not partisansh­ip...but the man is 76 years old...

[Graywolf48]

Well, this should show the people of Indiana where Lugar's priorities are. I think Indiana has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. Double digits, I believe. But old Dick doesn't want to offer any debate, make himself available to his constituents for open questions and answers about what he and his GOP thieves have to offer in the way of alternatives to the President's stimulus package. Another gutless good ole boy seeking the safety of DC, while his people back home suffer. I hope the Indiana voters remember that when Dicky is up for reelection. Maybe he'll get to join the ranks of Indiana's unemployed?

[notconfindtweenhatnboots]

Indiana is around 7.9.... Elkhart is around 15%.... Elkhart is almost in the Chicagoland area, not that it means it isn't part of the state, but it also means that Obama has a better understanding of it than most people in Indiana.

Elkhart was doing well when they were creating jobs over the last 3 years, since this is where all the (unusable) FEMA trailers have been made to be trucked down to New Orleans. With the fear over the price of gas and the economy, no one is buying RV's or trailers which is what Elkhart's economy has been based upon.

[apoyo]

Term limits.

[notconfindtweenhatnboots]

No.... Richard Lugar even ran unopposed by the Democrats last election in 2006.... I don't think anyone commenting here understands Indiana, or Sen. Lugar.

[notconfindtweenhatnboots]

Ultra-left groups like Move-on, and Americans United for Change are targetting 13 moderate senators in order to get them to vote for the stimulus. Richard Lugar is among them.....

I used to be supportive of these groups.... but honestly after reading through the vil e and hat eful comments here, I cannot believe that "good" people would say these things about a man that they obviously know NOTHING about.....­.

Shame on all those posting here who are ignorantly insulting Senator Lugar for not joining Obama on this trip.

[Dace]

Keep hate alive white hood boys - they are nastier than ever.

[notconfindtweenhatnboots]

See my comment above. You obviously don't know anything about Richard Lugar, either.

[slipthalo]

Right on! Richard Lugar will be missed when he retires and he has worked with then Senator Obama.
People need to know what they're talking about and evidently Dace and others just enjoy rushing to judgment and b a s h i n g for the fun of it.

[DrBillo1]

Luger is another old conservative who has outlived his use to our country-obstruct is his only answer to the 21st century world and change of guard--

[notconfindtweenhatnboots]

Is that what Move-On dot com told you to say about him?

[vippy]

and thanks to him and Phil Gramm we had the high gas prices which they snuck into the Commodities Futures Modernization Act and it was passed without ever being reviewed. Thanks a lot Dick and goodbye Dick!

[SPQR1775]

They Reason the GOP is stalling is because they don't want to support OBAMA. The Deomocts need to respond by shaming the GOP and bringing all Bush Adminsitration officials to CONGRESS to get jailed so every American can get some satisfaction. The rate the economy is going the GOP will be living the "BLING, BLING" life in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, while everyone else will be scrounging like we are in Haiti and God bless the people of Haiti. American's it is time for CHANGE! As the President said so much time CHANGE will not be easy, it will not come without a fight and he has proven to be corect in his prediction! The GOP want to be for the people but they do not know how to unclench their fist!

[peluza88]

Posturing, that's all the republicans can do now. Wait ! That's all they've been doing the past 8 years along with that baboon that just left for Texas !

[Pyrrhus]

Reminds me of something my old man used to say about Richard:

"DickLugar before he dicksyou."

[notconfindtweenhatnboots]

That's uncalled for....

[take10]

WILL YOU BE ATTENDING THE k&& RALLY TONIGHT?