Posted on 08/27/2004 9:25:19 PM PDT by neverdem
One of the most thoughtful politicians in Washington doesn't believe in the theory of evolution. I thought I'd introduce him to you because over the next week we're going to hear a lot of stereotypes about Republicans and especially social conservatives. It might be useful to interrupt those prejudices with the more complicated reality.
Representative Mark Souder grew up in a small town near Fort Wayne, Ind. His father owned a general store and then a furniture store and was the beneficiary of what Souder calls small-town socialism. People would pay more to buy from local merchants to keep out the big chains.
Souder was a member of the Apostolic Christian Church, a fundamentalist church with a strong pacifist tradition. One of Souder's jobs as a boy was to cross out the word "devil's" on the Devil's Food Cakes, because his uncle said that nothing that good should have the word "devil" on its package. In accordance with his church's teaching, Souder has never smoked or danced. But the church does allow beer drinking (they're Germans), and he did own a 1966 Mustang as a young man.
Souder's parents offered to pay half the cost of any nonfiction book not having to do with sports. So while young, he developed the habit, which he's kept up, of reading almost one nonfiction book a week. In 1964, he heard Ronald Reagan speak on behalf of Barry Goldwater and fell in love with politics.
He subscribed to National Review, joined the Young Americans for Freedom and became part of the 1960's counter-counterculture. "We cut our hair like Bobby Kennedy, but acted like William F. Buckley," he recalls. He went into the furniture business but was very active helping two Congressmen from his district, Dan Quayle and Dan Coats.
Souder welcomed the rise of the religious right, but regarded Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell the way many conservatives did: "I was supportive but I believed they oversimplified problems."
Then in 1994, he ran for Congress himself, and in that great Republican year, won. He immediately behaved in ways that defy the stereotypes. He's worked with members of the Black Caucus to steer federal scholarship money to urban kids. He voted against three articles of Bill Clinton's impeachment - he thought Clinton's behavior was immoral but not impeachable. He was one of the House Republican leaders of an unsuccessful coup against Newt Gingrich.
Souder admires John McCain, especially his independence and fiscal hawkishness. (Souder once took on House members' office allowances, which didn't make him popular.) He greatly admires President Bush, though he says: "My main difference with Bush is over the environment. They're too close to our contributors."
Souder says his district is part of Robert Taft/Paul Harvey America. It has a high Army enlistment rate, but it also has a long tradition of isolationism. "The idea is, you build a fortress and go after them if you have to."
Souder opposed U.S. intervention in Bosnia, but says: "Sept. 11 was an eye-opener for areas like mine and for me. You can't escape your international interests. At some level we have to be the policeman of the world. We have an ethical responsibility."
When Souder talks about the early fights of his activist youth, he talks about doctrinal feuds - between evangelicals and libertarians etc. But when he talks about the G.O.P. now - in power and after Sept. 11 - he's much less ideologically predictable.
The fact is, the Republican Party is less riven into ideological camps than it used to be, and the issues that used to divide it, like abortion, are less salient. Now fundamentalists, moderates, libertarians and old-fashioned Main Street types all express the same sort of concerns: about the need to win the war and anxiety that we're not fighting it properly; about the need to restore fiscal discipline and the anxiety about egregious Republican pork-barrel spending. Across the party, there is a great deal of admiration for Bush's core instincts, but a belief that his administration has not performed that well.
In short, ideological disputes have been replaced by problems of governance. Old coalitions are breaking down. New ones have not yet formed. We media types love to report about rifts in Republican ranks. But most of those clichés are obsolete.
As Mark Souder's career illustrates, this is a party committed to some key principles, but open to radical new directions, if President Bush is bold enough to propose them.
He voted against three articles of Bill Clinton's impeachment - he thought Clinton's behavior was immoral but not impeachable.
But there were four articles of impeachment, and Souder voted for Article III, which covered obstruction of justice, IIRC.
As Mark Souder's career illustrates, this is a party committed to some key principles, but open to radical new directions, if President Bush is bold enough to propose them.
Yeah, thats the problem. Bush has been too timid and not bold enough.
This administration has concentrated in some areas, such as the WOT and the military, and has done yoeman's work to make reforms that payoff decades hence. Even there, of course, you have a few spectacular SNAFUs - hard to imagine how it could be otherwise. Then politically, it has been skillful, but not nimble. And the administration has not moved fast enough to fix the CIA or State.
Thank you for this comment. It calls into question the virtually every other "fact" in the article. How many other slight twists of the truth are there I wonder.
for later
Now Souder did get flak from some voters about not voting for the other three articles of impeachment. But he did vote yes on one count, and it was one of the counts that passed.
I'm a girl, so Laura Ingraham does nothing for me. Sorry!
The Republican Party today is FUBAR. It is time for a 3rd and maybe a 4th party.
Small-town socialism used to include hiring the kids of Democrats during the summer because their parents needed the money for the upcoming winter.
I think the author needs to age some.
Is this article supposed to be in praise of Republicans, or is it simply an account of how shameful they've become? I'll go with the latter.
Well, all I can say is keep your ears peeled, because she's as fun to listen to as she is to look at....[growwwwwwllllll]
Kind of the polar opposite of Tad Lavine (sp?).
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