U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, wants a seat in the U.S. Senate.
Specifically, he wants the seat the late U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana, occupied with distinction for 36 years.
For much of this country’s history, the U.S. Senate has been called the world’s most exclusive club, the place where American leaders who aspired to exert statesmanship—to serve the nation’s long-term needs and ambitions—gathered. It historically has been the body of our government in which men and women of good faith and good will reasoned together and resolved differences in the service of the United States.
Few people merited membership in that club more than Lugar.
He was, without a doubt, one of the greatest senators in American history. He may be the greatest senator in Indiana history. His only real rival is the late U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh, D-Indiana.
The two men ran against each other in 1974, with Bayh prevailing in a Watergate-dominated election year that favored Democrats. They then served together in the Senate for four years when Lugar captured a seat by defeating Democrat Vance Hartke two years later.
The two giants died within weeks of each other in the spring of 2019.
I talked with Lugar by phone the morning Bayh died.
Lugar said complimentary things about his onetime rival’s service to his state, his nation and the world. Then he closed, almost wistfully, by saying:
“I can’t recall Birch and I ever exchanging a cross word with one another.”
That mattered to Lugar, one of the most civil men who ever lived.
It also was the secret of much of his success. Because he didn’t need to agree with people in order to respect them and treat them with courtesy, he was one of the most skilled peacemakers and negotiators the world has ever seen.
Lugar’s greatest accomplishment was working with one-time U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Georgia, to reduce Russia’s stockpile of weapons of mass destruction following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Lugar and Nunn reasoned that Russia on the edge of economic implosion would be tempted to start selling its nuclear arms to terrorist nations and groups to stave off mass starvation if the United States did not intervene.
Together, the two men pursued an aggressive and successful campaign for Russian nuclear disarmament—a campaign that should have earned both Nobel Peace Prizes. Together, they made this dangerous world a safer place.
In weighing the impact of their efforts, ponder what 9/11 might have been like if Osama bin Laden, who had plenty of cash at his disposal, had been able to purchase portable nuclear weapons from a desperate Russia.
“We dodged a lot of bullets,” Nunn told me once.
He was right.
Banks also likes to wade into troubled waters.
Just a few days ago, he sent a letter to the WNBA demanding to know what the league was going to do about the rough treatment Indiana Fever rookie sensation Caitlin Clark has received on the court.
Banks thought shaping the outcome of basketball games was worthy of a would-be senator. He also apparently thought Clark was incapable of defending her own interests and that the owners of the Fever, who are not without means or influence, would not be able to provide her with support.
It’s good to know the man’s priorities and get a sense of his judgment.
This is not to say that Dick Lugar never focused on domestic issues. He did, often with exceptional foresight.
Early in his Senate career, for example, he was an essential part of the successful effort to bail out New York City. Lugar reasoned that allowing what was and remains the financial and economic capital of not just America but also the world would have disastrous consequences for people everywhere.
By balancing interests—the essence of statesmanship—he achieved a solution that served the greater good.
At the end of May, Banks took to social media to proclaim:
“New York is a liberal s*** hole.”
Please take note of the civility in that statement.
Also, ponder the sheer statesmanship of the sentiment.
U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, wants a seat in the U.S. Senate.
Specifically, he wants the seat the late U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana, occupied with distinction for 36 years.
Shows just how far we’ve come as a state and a nation, doesn’t it?
John Krull is director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students. The views expressed are those of the author only and should not be attributed to Franklin College. Send comments to [email protected].
