Sen. Richard Lugar, in a tight GOP Primary fight for his Senate seat against Republican Richard Mourdock tells The Brody File that he is not a moderate.
“I just reject altogether this idea that somehow or another, that I'm a so-called middle-of-the-roader, a moderate. Some people find that a compliment, but many Republicans don't,” Lugar said.
Watch the video below along with the transcription.
Critics accuse Lugar of being a moderate because, among other things, he voted for TARP, the stimulus bill, and voted to confirm two of President Obama’s Supreme Court justices (Sotomayor and Kagan). Lugar’s bigger problem is that he’s been a senator for& 36 years and many big national Tea Party groups want the long-time establishment types out.
Mandatory Courtesy: CBN News/The Brody File
David Brody: You have been considered, and you might not like this, this is the label the media gives you, you're a "moderate Republican." You'll call yourself a "conservative Republican." I know. They'll call you a moderate Republican who works across the aisle, and you are bipartisan in nature. But my question is, is that a dying breed on Capitol Hill right now?
Sen. Richard Lugar: I'm not certain that you've very well described my situation, and I hope it's not a dying breed if you're including me in it. But, nevertheless, political opponents understand that saying somebody is a moderate, a Republican in name only, a RINO, various other terms, you say, 'hey, now hang on.'
I had the highest voting record percentage in support of Ronald Reagan for eight years of any Republican of the Senate, any of them. And at least the Chamber of Commerce, and the manufacturers, and the businesspeople of the country still give me 100 percent, and we have a trophy case out here filled with all of those awards.
You know, this is why I just reject altogether this idea that somehow or another, that I'm a so-called middle-of-the-roader, a moderate. Some people find that a compliment, but many Republicans don't. They want to say, you know, you need to be fighting for jobs, against budget excesses, for a secure America. Well, I am.
I'm not temporizing with that, saying well after all sometimes either this or that. What I do say is that frequently, I can be persuasive with people on the other side of the aisle, and I have been. But it's been my ideas that are persuasive. And the preparation for that, the presentation of those ideas, and the doggedness of pursuing them.