Senator Lugar is a moderate

May 21, 2012 — Your article [Senator Lugar a moderate? Not by a long shot.] completely ignored literally dozens of important votes taken by Senator Lugar that grew the size and scope of government. These include, but are not limited to, Senator Lugar’s repeated votes to raise social security and gas taxes, his vote for the 1990 Bush “Read My Lips” tax increase, his votes for Medicare Part D, SCHIP, TARP, the Auto Bailout, the 1977 NYC bailout, the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, ethanol subsidies, No Child Left Behind, and the pork-laden 2005 Highway Bill that included the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere”. Furthermore, the words “earmark” and “pork” are not mentioned in your article, even though Senator Lugar has repeatedly voted against conservative efforts to permanently abolish them.

Perhaps voting against President Obama’s agenda, in your eyes, makes Lugar a “conservative”. In our eyes, it’s voting against a free-market agenda as well that makes Lugar a “moderate.” You do your readers a disservice when you conflate the two.

— Barney Keller, District of Columbia

 The writer is Club for Growth’s communications director.

Editor’s note: Mr. Keller cites stands taken by Senator Lugar that did not concur with Club for Growth’s view of  the “conservative” position. But, as pointed out in the original article, Mr. Keller acknowledged that Senator Lugar did routinely vote for a host of positions that Club for Growth considered conservative — things “every conservative votes for.”  That Senator Lugar is viewed by some as inadequately conservative might make him less of a conservative than others, but it doesn’t make him a moderate, as the votes highlighted in the article demonstrate.