Is it time for Dick Lugar to go?

I've always liked Dick Lugar, senior (and then some) Senator from Indiana. He's been a great Senator and a great American. And in principal, I am very supportive of moderate Republicans who turn off Tea Party types. Goodness knows we need more of those people. But Lugar is very likely to lose his seat after today's GOP primary.

I happen to have met Dick Lugar. And therein lies the problem. I met Sen. Richard Lugar when I was a high school student, when he came and ran a couple miles with our cross-country team. Pretty cool, huh? We were impressed. But that was more than 30 years ago. And he was already in the Senate. Lugar is the longest-serving Senator in Indiana's history. And you can make a pretty good case that even though his experience is second-to-none, there has to be a time when new blood is needed.

What compounds the problem in Lugar's case is that he hasn't kept a residence in Indiana for many years. He has a farm there--which apparently he doesn't, or didn't, visit often. When he came back to the state he stayed in a hotel. To me, this is a bit more than just a problem with appearances.

His primary opponent, Richard Mourdock, seems halfway smart and capable, though typically for this scenario, extremely right wing. (Tea Party support, NRA favorite; your basic nightmare.) My gut feeling is that Lugar’s much-discussed friendship with Obama is less a problem than his nonresidency. That seeming disregard for his roots is a career-killer in a state like Indiana, where people are sensitive to even the smallest slight.

The fact that Lugar even has a primary challenge is another depressing example of the GOP’s continued move to extremism. But Lugar can’t just blame political trends. He made a very bad blunder in taking his home state for granted.