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Abolishing the IRS may sound a little like pandering, but in fact this Republican is that rare thing in politics, a stubborn truth teller, a man who votes and speaks his conscience. Consider some of his stances. Term limits? "Not a sound idea in a democracy," he says. Immigration? "Let's resist finding some new enemy of the week." Food stamps? Lugar voted against handing food stamps over to the states, saying: "A basic nutritional safety net should be available to all Americans." Affirmative action? In his speech he talks about his Lugar scholarships for black, Hispanic and Native American students. "Is that affirmative action?" he says. "You bet it is. They deserve a boost." (No cheers there.)
This Senator from an agricultural state and the head of the Agriculture Committee recommends ending price supports for farmers and trimming 30% of the agriculture budget during the next five years. "Why should taxpayers subsidize farmers when they do not subsidize small businesses, which have a failure rate hovering around 50%?" And despite voter tune-out on global issues, this former chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee harps again and again on the threat of rogue nuclear weapons around the world.
Nationwide, Lugar is favored by only 4% of Republican voters, according to a TIME/CNN poll in mid-September, but his campaign hopes his decency and trustworthiness will shine through as the primaries draw near. Only Colin Powell seems to mirror Lugar in conveying a sense that there is congruence between the man's character and his principles. But in contrast to Powell, who seems to have butterflies in the belly, Lugar has thought about running for President since he first jested about the idea when he was mayor of Indianapolis.
The question is, in a presidential campaign where two of the candidates (as well as President Clinton) have aired negative commercials six months before the first primary, can sense and civility be heard above the din? To compete, Lugar is distributing a warm-and-fuzzy video and warming up audiences with a campaign song based on the Aretha Franklin tune Respect: "R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Leader of the G.O.P." The campaign is hoping that the respect Lugar engenders will translate into votes and not just good-natured foot tapping.