Lugar bids farewell to Senate

• The Indiana senator called for better cooperation between the White House and Congress on national security matters

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Richard Lugar urged his colleagues Wednesday to avoid locking themselves into inflexible positions so they can address a host of pressing national and international problems.

In his official farewell speech delivered on the Senate floor with his family and staff on hand, Lugar particularly called for better cooperation between the White House and Congress on national security issues, saying that the current dialogue is "one of the least constructive that I have ever witnessed."

Before the country faces another 9/11, Lugar said, President Obama must be willing to call Republicans into the Oval Office to establish the basis for a working partnership on foreign policy.

"And Republicans must be willing to suspend reflexive opposition that serves no purpose but to limit their own role in strategic questions and render cooperation impossible," said Lugar, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "All parties should recognize the need for unity in the coming year when events in Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, North Korea and other locations may test American national security in extreme ways."

Lugar, the most senior Senate Republican and third most senior senator, was defeated in his bid for a sixth term in the GOP primary. One of the criticisms against Lugar was that he was that he is too willing to work with Democrats, including Obama.

Lugar said after his defeat that he knew he would be targeted by conservative groups for some of his votes -- including approval of an updated nuclear arms treaty with Russia -- but he believed they were the correct positions and he had no regrets about casting them.

Since his defeat, Lugar has continued to argue that lawmakers shouldn't sign pledges and need to work together if they want to actually govern, instead of just getting re-elected. He's one of only a handful of Republicans in Congress who have not signed a pledge to never raise taxes.

"Governance requires adaptation to shifting circumstances," Lugar said Wednesday. "It often requires finding common ground with Americans who have a different vision than your own. It requires leaders who believe . . . that their first responsibility to their constituents is to apply their best judgment."

Indiana Sen. Dan Coats said in a floor tribute to Lugar's work in the Senate and as mayor of Indianapolis that Lugar has a unique talent for forging coalitions and bringing people together to accomplish big things.

Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota said he could always count on Lugar for good, unbiased advice on complicated foreign policy issues.

"I know that your voice will continue to be heard on the important issues of our day," Conrad said.

Lugar will be a distinguished professor at the University of Indianapolis and is pursuing relationships with other universities. He's going to work for the German Marshall Fund on a project to improve foreign governments' understanding of and relationship with the United States government. And he will stay involved on two signature issues, weapons nonproliferation and world hunger.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., praised Lugar as someone who has excelled at everything he's done, without making enemies.

"He's earned the respect and admiration of everyone who ever crossed his path," McConnell said in a floor tribute to Lugar Tuesday. "I assure you: in the world of politics, that's nothing short of a miracle."

But Lugar, McConnell joked, is pressing his luck by moving into the one line of work where the rivalries are more vicious than in politics: academia.

McConnell called Lugar a "treasure to the Senate" and a "model of the public servant."

"I know whatever you turn to next, you'll be a great success," McConnell said. "And I look forward to hearing about it."