moderation & principle

reflecting on what we said we wanted

James Albert Smith Leach passed away last week.

Who? Why should I care, you’re likely asking.

Jim Leach chose principle over partisanship or blind loyalty much of his career while behaving with civility and moderation. In another galaxy far, far away (before roughly the middle of the last decade, probably), most voters sought Jim Leaches according to what they reported to pollsters. Not that people don’t lie to pollsters or that the work in that field is perfect (it is definitely not) but many of us claimed to desire principled politicians who would work across the aisle with their counterparts to govern. Governing, you might recall, is the process of passing laws for advancing the interests of the country.

Yes, I acknowledge it was a galaxy far, far away. Washington, particularly today, doesn’t function nor engage in compromise, negotiation, or principle. It’s hardly a place where we see synonyms for principle: honor, rectitude, probity, and integrity.

I met him only once, when a colleague and I facilitated a war game at NDU in which he and a couple of other Congressmen participated along with some national security folks. I was excited he was participating as I had heard him on McNeill Lehrer many times (I am, after all, a wonk) but I certainly did not know him personally. Turned out he was in the other cell but, as ever, Leach’s “adult” explanations as we reconvened the full group were the most sage words spoken. Leach’s perspicacity was awe-inspiring, so distant from the vacuous voices one associates with politicians obsessed with self-aggrandizement and power.

Jim Leach passed away at 82 year old. He had been an Iowa moderate Republican in the House of Representatives between 1977 and 2007. Known for his role in pondering China and Taiwan as foreign policy challenges, he brought a fairly distinct history to the Congress. Leach served as a junior Foreign Service Officer in Russia where he engaged in foreign relations on behalf of this country rather than merely pontificating or studying the issues. When the 1973 “Saturday Night Massacre” led to President Nixon firing his Attorney General and other appointed officials who would not carry out actions they deemed illegitimate, Leach recognized what the best of our public servants confront: we all serve at the will of the Chief Executive rather than as some permanent cadre of the government. Leach, according to his obituary, chose to resign from the State Department because he realized he could not in good conscience work for that same Chief Executive who fired appointees who would not do his bidding for personal, partisan reasons.

Leach often worked across party lines on issues such as environmental issues, abortion rights, arms control and disarmament (during the 1980s revival of the Cold War, of course), and women’s rights; it is virtually impossible to conjure up a Republican willing to work with the Democrats on those positions today. His integrity, however, proved sufficient for his district to support him strongly in each of his election quests until the damning 2006 election when voters penalized Republicans in general for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

My memories of Jim Leach were a man who spoke his mind gently but forcefully. He criticized, as a member of the House Banking Committee, the Clintons for their remarkably poor judgment on the Madison Savings and Loan/Whitewater saga of Arkansas. This followed noted disapproval of his own party’s president, Ronald Reagan, for initiating the Iran-Contra debacle a decade earlier. Leach was never afraid to buck trends merely because it could hurt his re-election chances.

Upon his 2006 defeat, Leach did not go quietly into the night as if he had no voice in politics. I was unaware until reading his obituary that though a Republican, he endorsed Barack Obama instead of John McCain. Leach even addressed the former the Democrats’ convention. A Biden supporter in 2020, Leach switched formally to the Democratic Party in 2022, stating he did not see his erstwhile party as “operat[ing} in a way that both parties can participate”.

Nor did Jim Leach follow the well-trod path of cashing in as a lobbyist, instead becoming ever more involved in education in various forms. Leach headed the National Endowment for Humanities for several years under Obama; he also taught at the University of Iowa, Harvard, and Princeton. Towards the end of his long career, Leach also served as interim chairman of the University of Iowa’s art museum as a tribute to his rectitude and calming affect during a period of transition.

Of course Leach had failings as each and every one of us does. But, evidence supports his commitment to defend the Constitution, to serve for the sake of the nation in conjunction with those with quite different views, and to take positions aligned with his long-held views on morality, ethics, and principle.

What most fascinates me about Jim Leach is he actually embodied what so many Americans claimed to yearn for in their elected officials, sentiment repeated in polling interviews for years across the country. He tried to maintain his willingness to work with all, gracefully (best I can tell). He surrendered leadership when in his party became the minority, but worked to advance the nation’s rather than his personal agenda. Leach then departed calmly when his constituents sought change via the ballot.

Few politicians seem willing to accept those consequences today, though Adam Kinzinger, Mitt Romney, and Liz Chaney certainly took stances which cost them their seats. I am sure there are others on both sides but it seems that the voters are no longer as concerned with the value of compromise than Jim Leach was. I hardly think of Kinzinger, Chaney or Romney as quite as willing to negotiate with others when in office as Leach appears to have been. I may well (admittedly) be wrong but the polarization, the bifurcation of every policy struggle into “will it or will it not screw the other party” seems unrelenting characteristic today.

Yet, Jim Leach did not operate in some perfect world isolated from voters. In that early 2000s war game, hard choices became clear by the end of the session. In the end, even though I had heard Leach comment on China and Taiwan several times on television, his remarks focused not on solely on the “right” or “wrong” thing but what his constituents would consider about the topic. That actually surprised me as politicians so rarely seem to “receive” from their voters, instead too busy “transmitting Congressional wisdom”. Leach definitely respected that Iowans deserved a voice in policy: he was determined to represent that, even in this off-the-record event. I found the entire evolution refreshing as a reminder of how I thought participatory, virtual representation worked in a political system.

Not too many men or women like Jim Leach appear on the horizon right now. If his measured, civil, and respectful approach is not what voters want, then we will get a different type of politician. I strongly suspect Leach accepted, if rued, that preference as I do as I fear it paralyzes rather than clarifies. I readily acknowledge hope we return to grasping that principle and compromise are the heart of this country’s history. Perhaps a son of Davenport understood that so well as he saw so much of the country flow up and down the mighty Mississippi as it passed Iowans on the banks. In any case, he represented the best in us whether it was on Capitol Hill, in Russia, or in between. He served us well indeed. May he rest in peace.

Do you have any memories of either Congressman Leach or the professed strong public preferences for electing officials willing to cross party lines? I welcome any thoughts, including from our readers overseas in different political systems. Please chime in as these are merely my memories and reflections, hardly a dialogue with a single voice.

Thank you for your time today or any day you read Actions Create Consequences. If you find the column valuable, please feel free to circulate it. I thank the subscribers for their financial support to make this possible.

It was another pretty morning, though the bad weather approaches. This was the Spa Creek flotilla on parade yesterday, sailing towards the dawn.

Be well and be safe. FIN

“Principle”, dictionary.com, 19 December 2024, retrieved at https://www.dictionary.com/browse/principle

Clay Risen, “Jim Leach, Iowa Republican who Extolled Moderation, Dead at 82“, NewYorkTimes.com, retrieved 17 December 2024, retrieved at https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/17/us/politics/jim-leach-dead.html?searchResultPosition=1