Thursday, April 12, 2012

Mourdock-Lugar Recap

Somewhat surprisingly, watching the Indiana Senate Debate last night didn't settle my choice for me as I expected it would.

My preconception about Lugar was that he'd be showing his age and have some difficulty communicating effectively. Although I found myself thinking, "What did he mean by that?" on occasion, he generally spoke well.

Having no real preconceived idea about Mourdock, I think he did a decent job expressing himself in the debate. But nobody will ever be able to accuse him of a charismatic personality.

It was a bit disappointing to me that the debate never touched on issues of interest to me. I want to know how Lugar defends himself on being the Senior Senator from Indiana who hasn't lived in the state for 35 years and seldom makes an appearance. I also wanted to hear Lugar defend his anti-second-amendment voting record, his affair with cap-and-trade, his support for Obama's radical Supreme Court appointments, and his sponsorship of the Dream Act.

For the issues that were raised, the only Lugar position I have a problem with is his steadfast support for ethanol subsidies. Personally, I believe that industry needs to be weaned from those artificial government supports and allowed to succeed or fail on its own. Otherwise, Lugar and Mourdock spend most of the evening agreeing with each other.

My jury is still out. I still think Lugar's out of touch with the people of this state and should retire. I also don't think Mourdock has sold me on his ability to beat Donnelly in the general election, even though I found very little disagreement with the principles he voiced last night.

I may just have to decide when I'm in the booth.

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