There are other forward looking conservatives. Newt Ginrich is probably the biggest one today. Is he a Progessive? Yes, by the true definition, but NOT by today's accepted definition.
The Left has already called "shotgun" and has "DIBBS" on the word.
You and I agree on more than you might realize. It's just how do we get there that's in dispute.
Agree or disagree with his politics and stance on abortion, Henry Hyde was a great American and a great Statesman. I always enjoyed listening to him.
November 29, 2007
BY ABDON M. PALLASCH AND LYNN SWEET Staff Reporters
Former Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), an ardent abortion foe who wielded the gavel during President Clinton's impeachment, died Thursday in Chicago at age 83.
“I believe his heart just gave out,” following months of treatment for complications after open-heart surgery, his stepdaughter Sue Schiesser said.
The National Right-to-Life Committee eulogized him as “the father of the modern pro-life movement” for the Hyde Amendment, a measure passed in 1976 that banned federal spending on abortions.
Earlier this month, President Bush awarded Hyde the Medal of Freedom. Too ill to attend himself, Hyde sent his son Bob to pick up the honor at the White House. "Henry Hyde spoke of controversial matters with intellectual honesty and without rancor. He proved that a man can have firm convictions and be a favorite of Democrats and Republicans alike," Bush said.
Though Hyde was a central figure in two of the most divisive issues of our time — abortion and President Clinton’s impeachment — the reputation he earned in at least the early part of his 32-year career on Capitol Hill was as a gentleman and statesman who stayed above the fray of the partisan hostility that took hold there in the ’90s.
That reputation took a beating when Hyde led the impeachment hearings against Clinton, with some Democrats complaining that he was leading a partisan witch hunt. They unearthed a photo from an affair he had 30 years earlier, challenging his “family values” posture.
Hyde, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said he was leading the impeachment charge to protect “The Rule of Law.” That phrase became the butt of late-night television jokes.
But in the years following the impeachment, as chairman of the House International Relations Committee, Hyde sought to rebuild his image as a thoughtful elder statesman of the U.S. Congress who could work with members of both parties.
“He acted as a mentor and we became close friends despite our political and ideological differences,” said Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.). Jackson and Hyde formed a marriage of convenience to push for Jackson’s goal of an airport in the Far South suburbs and Hyde’s opposition to expansion of O’Hare Airport.
Former Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.) said Hyde harkened back to an earlier era of less partisan hostility on Capitol Hill.
“It was a different atmosphere — today in Washington they don’t do anything but hate each other,” said Rostenkowski, whose office was next door to Hyde’s for years. “He was an affable, outstanding legislator. I think his proudest achievement was the Hyde Amendment. He said he was proud of presiding over the impeachment proceedings, but I don’t believe it.”
Hyde was just a freshman congressman when a more senior member asked him to launch a “sneak attack” on federal funding of abortion, Hyde said in a recent interview.
Hyde grew up a Democrat in Rogers Park and attended St. George High School in Evanston. Following a stint in the U.S. Navy, he went to Georgetown University, then Loyola University’s School of Law in Chicago. He was elected to the state House of Representatives from the Northwest Side of Chicago. He rose to House majority leader.
U.S. District Court Judge Wayne Andersen was an aide to Hyde at the time. He remembers Hyde fighting partisanship in Springfield, where a closely divided House was voting down every bill at the end of a session.
“Hyde stood up and said, ‘I just voted against that bill out of anger at the other side. It was a mean-spirited vote and that’s not how we ought to vote. I move to reconsider that bill and the previous 30 we just voted down.’” Most of the bills then passed, said Andersen
A low-key but consistent critic of US support of Israel, and all the costs that policy imposes upon this country, Hyde's voice, lonely and ineffectual as it was, will indeed be missed in this quarter.
from other people, for the man that led the Clinton impeachment.
I guess I'm glad they didn't.
-- Modified on 12/2/2007 12:49:57 PM
I had plenty to say about the man when he was alive.
Clinton survived, is even more popular than he ever was as President (72% approval ratings last August), and both he and Hillary will thrive on the political scene for a number of years to come.
Hyde is dead. Rest in Peace. Condolences to his family. I hope he's replaced in Congress by a progressive Democrat.
That's not going to happen. His western chicago burb district is quite conservative. His senior aide has already succeeded him.
I can't think of ANYONE in the house today (on either side) that has the class that Hyde had. Hyde was the main reason, that Clinton's impeachment hearing didn't turn into a circus.
but I agree, it could have been worse.
BTW what's the difference between a "liberal" and a "progressive"? this is not the opening line for a joke, just an honest question. RWU, the question was directed at Doc, not you. I'm sure you don't have any better idea than I do
Progressive is simply the new word for it since the "L" word has been so demonized. Of course in their mind it's the Republican's fault. Acutally just another example of liberals not taking responsibility for reality.
My politics vis a vis Israel and the Middle East, my strong support of the Second Amendment, and my support for a Constitutional Convention certainly fall far outside the "liberal" circle.
Even within this forum, I am a left wing looney, and a right wing nutjob when its about Israel or gun control. Funny thing, Israel used to be the perview of the Democrats and the Left until Arab propaganda started to seep into the mainstream during the Carter administration. But thats for another thread.
Regarding terminology, I believe there IS a significant difference. I consider the term "liberal" to be representative of leaning to one side of the political schism, with "conservative" being its opposite. Progressives prefer to lean FORWARD rather than to one side. It is less about ideology, and more about advancing the levels of civilization.
A couple examples - Barry Goldwater was a quintessential conservative. Agreed? He was also very much a man with a vision for the future. A very PROGRESSIVE vision. I didn't necessarily agree with some of his politics, but I sure respected and admired many of his ideas.
Another more current example, after being vehemently against the recall in the first place, I must concede Governor Arnold Schwartzeneggar has done far better than I ever thought he would. Certainly, he has become a true politician in that he has sold out to special interests as we all knew he would. (They all do, I'm not taking sides here).
But I also can not deny he has learned his lessons, and is doing a better job of working across the aisle than anyone ever expected him to. I see him as someone who has BECOME more Progressive as his role has matured. Perhaps the in-laws have made a difference in some way after all.
Here's my idea of a Progressive ticket that would steer this country back to greatness. - Bill Richardson and Michael Bloomberg.
Let Richardson be the President and architect of America's foreign policy, and let Bloomberg as VP bring his acumen in business to the BUSINESS of running the Federal government. Don't want to get deep into it here... but for the moment, tell me, does THAT sound like liberal thinking to you?
There are other forward looking conservatives. Newt Ginrich is probably the biggest one today. Is he a Progessive? Yes, by the true definition, but NOT by today's accepted definition.
The Left has already called "shotgun" and has "DIBBS" on the word.
You and I agree on more than you might realize. It's just how do we get there that's in dispute.