Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) today blamed his primary loss on “a large portion of the Republican Party of Indiana” believing “in the idea of individualism as opposed to community.”
Lugar said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that he supports the candidacy of Richard Mourdock, the Tea Party favorite who ousted the six-term senator in the primary, because he wants leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to attain a Senate majority this fall. Lugar also said he’s offered advice to Mourdock “as to trying a way he could be a constructive senator and how he could make any difference whatsoever.”
“But for the time being, I don’t plan an active campaign,” he added.
“Some said I was 80 years of age, which is correct, that I served far too long, for 35 or 36 years, far more than you want to. And furthermore, some county chairman said, ‘We haven’t seen you, Dick, at our Lincoln Day dinners for a while. You’ve been so busy touring over in Russia or Ukraine or Belarus or in Asia, or what have you, during your recesses. We wanted to see more of you,'” Lugar said.
“And I understand that, and they make a point. I’m just saying that, in terms of service to the country, as I saw it, I think our priorities were right. We have been very much involved in Indiana throughout this period of time with all sorts of programs, but this was just not a year in which that was necessarily appreciated.”
The senator said his race was unique in that groups such as FreedomWorks and Club For Growth “had no other playground” and focused their money and energy on him.
He said it is difficult to win with a positive campaign anymore, and stressed “there’s still a lot to be done” on the Hill.
“There have to be people who are putting it together, who bring about a sense of community in addition to individualism,” Lugar said. “Now this was the beauty, I thought, of the Ronald Reagan administration.”
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