While the Lugar camp continues to boast high approval and poll numbers to counter suggestions he may be vulnerable in his bid for an unprecedented six term next year, he is obviously not going to ignore the case State Treasurer Richard Mourdock is building to deny him another term. In particular, Lugar is fighting a contention that he is too close to and supportive of President Barack Obama. In an e-mail blast on behalf of Friends of Lugar, Emily Krueger accuses Mourdock of engaging in "uncivil rhetoric and false statements." In response to Mourdock's claim that Lugar is "leading the way to bring in the Obama agenda," Kreiger calls the statement "so demonstrably false as to be slander."
Krueger continues, "Senator Lugar has a consistent record of voting against the Obama agenda." "He voted against all of Obama's major spending initiatives, against President Obama on the health care bill, against Obama's plans for cap and trade, against financial regulatory reform and against the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell." Eat your heart out on that last one, Chris Douglas.
Krueger responds to Lugar's vote in support of four issues upon which Mourdock and other Lugar detractors have criticized him for parting company with his Republican colleagues, including the START Treaty, Dream Act, Food Safety and Congressional Debt Commission. Krueger contends a vote against the START Treaty would have been "celebrated in Iran, North Korea and other rogue states that do not want nuclear cooperation between the United States and Russia." She defended Lugar's sponsorship of the Dream Act, which would provide a path to legal status for undocumented aliens who "came to our country as children and who want to serve in our military or pay their own way to attend college" as one "based on fundamental conservative principles." Krueger says Lugar was joined by a third of his Republican colleagues in supporting the Food Safety legislation, and the Congressional Debt Commission bill "would have forced spending cuts that the Congress can't seem to find the courage to make."
Krueger encourages supporters of Lugar "to e-mail the campaign with any attacks that you hear and want to know the truth about." "In the meantime, you may count on the fact that our campaign will be active and vigorous in putting a clear choice before Republican voters in May, 2012."
