Running on Moderation in Immoderate Times

Mr. Lugar himself had reminded the room about the Rolodex of international leaders he had accumulated in 34 years in the United States Senate (a hint of his clout), about his 604-acre family farm in Marion County (his local roots) and about his ability to speak, without notes, of the intricacies of the federal budget (lest anyone think that at age 79, he no longer had the legislative chops for the seventh term he was seeking).

Still, facing his first primary challenge since 1976, here was another constituent with a question reminding him how difficult it was to be a Republican like Richard Lugar right now.

“About a third of our federal debt is borrowed,” Judy Proctor, 64, began. “That is insane.

“China doesn’t want to lend us money, Canada doesn’t want to lend, we’re obviously irresponsible,” she continued, her voice rising and almost breaking. “Then we have Senator Lugar saying: ‘Well, maybe we can make it a little better next year. Maybe after that we can make it a little more better.’ It’s not enough. We have to stop. A third of our budget is borrowed! If we don’t do something dramatic, and soon, we’re done.”

Loud applause.

Mr. Lugar is trying to run on moderation in an immoderate time. He is betting that the Tea Party call of alarm and partisanship is drowning out a majority that prefers Republicans who specialize in reason and reaching across the aisle.

Whether he is right will reveal something about the strength of the Tea Party. The fact that he is even struggling says a lot about the identity crisis in the Republican Party.

“I take very seriously the point you are making,” Mr. Lugar began, his voice even as ever. At the same time, he continued, the government cannot simply tear up its credit cards. Even under the most optimistic scenarios, it would take five to seven years to get the budget deficit to zero.

“I understand the anguish that was just expressed,” he said finally, “that there are many citizens of our country who are angry and anguished, who really don’t know how to move on this particular situation and wish that somebody would cure it much more rapidly than I am suggesting. So I hear that. But nonetheless, we will try to move along the path I suggested, with your great help and counsel, and I think we can make it.”

Running in 2006, Mr. Lugar was considered so unbeatable that Democrats did not challenge him. But with national and local Tea Party groups naming him a top target, he began his campaign for 2012 a month before the 2010 elections, sending two senior staff members from Washington to Indiana to manage his re-election efforts.

With the primary still a year away, he is already attending twice as many events statewide as he did in his last competitive race. He is holding fund-raising events across the country and has already raised more money than he has ever spent in previous races.

His primary opponent, Richard Mourdock, the state treasurer, has won some local straw polls and the support of Tea Party groups. Mr. Mourdock’s slogan is “It’s time” — a swipe, Lugar aides complain, at their boss’s age.

Mr. Lugar does sometimes seem like a Republican from a different era. He is a centrist on foreign policy. He eschews labels — campaign aides dole out stickers calling him an “effective conservative,” but Mr. Lugar rarely if ever describes himself that way. He does not refer to liberals or socialism the way so many in his party do.

“People are representing what they believe is the anger of their constituents, who want angry people, who want angry statements, who want outrageous statements,” Mr. Lugar said in an interview. “I understand, and I understand the predicament of everybody involved in this, but I also understand, after 35 years of service, that at least a few people need to make sure that the country continues onward and upward.”

A Rhodes scholar and a former Navy officer, Mr. Lugar has spent almost all his life in public service. As mayor of Indianapolis, he was credited with saving the city’s tax base, and therefore the city, by merging it with nearby suburbs. In the Senate, he is most proud of his work with Sam Nunn, Democrat of Georgia, to initiate a program of disarmament in the former Soviet Union.