Monday, August 8, 2011
Mark Hatfield, a True Politcal Maverick and a man who saw firsthand the worst war could bring to humanity and hated war for it, died after a long life filled with public service and being on the side of ordinary people far more often than one can expect from a powerful politician. Rest in Peace, Senator. http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/mark-hatfield-us-senator-for-three-decades-dies-at-89/2011/08/08/gIQAAkFW2I_story.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
THANKS
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Heidi.
ReplyDeleteGREAT VIDEO AND A GREAT MAN THEY DON'T MAKE MEN LIKE THIS ANYMORE
ReplyDeleteThey certainly don't make politicians who put their country before their party in the House or Senate.
ReplyDeleteMark Hatfield was the last true gentleman in Congress - he refused to run again in the early '90's because he wouldn't stoop to what the media-people told him was necessary - a campaign based not on issues, but on attacking his opponent.
ReplyDeleteHe and Wayne Morse were lions among mice.
Rest in peace, indeed....
Perfectly said!
ReplyDeleteSounds like one whom stood for, coupled with the five terms of which he served. There are not that many out there of the likes of this fine man Doug. The likes of these are those of which I have always considered true statesman as they were of a different cloth - much different to what more often than not we see within this era. As you mentioned they represented their constituents and were elected in for what they stood for and never faltered from that mandate which was for the people, not all self inclined.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think you described Hatfield's persona quite well. The political parties in the USA, especially the GOP, are much more nationalized and conformist than they used to be, Jack. MOst of the talk in Oregon in the media in the last few days is as to wether a guy like this could be elected or even nominated today.
ReplyDeleteOne would still hope that there are some out there but then you have to ask yourself whom would wish to run in politics within this day and age. Commo in New York I thought was a tremendous one as well. I have always believed within that statesman where the mission is of the likes as Hatfield's. Up here there is a rumor which has been going around that this Peter Mansbridge might consider to run for Prime Minister after Harper decides to step down. Yet there was a time where the thought was that things change and as you get older you tend not to be up with the times but within this case I beg to differ.
ReplyDeleteMario Coumo held a lot of promise, but he wasn't up to being President, which I always felt was a shame. By chance I met an aide to him at a hotel in California back in '88. He thought he was going to run in 1992, but it wasn't to be.
ReplyDeleteHe also turned down a chance to be on the Supreme Court. An odd figure.
Yeah he was right on the mark. I thought much of the man Doug.
ReplyDeleteAnti war campaigners whatever their political stripe are to be welcomed Doug, a man of that time when democracy was not seen as a completely ludicrous concept, a time long gone now...so adieu Mark Hatfield, your causes are probably as dead as you are today, but you made your mark, Mark - well done old boy.
ReplyDeleteAs did I Jack.
ReplyDeleteHatfield I think would have agreed with you, AA, that a localized approach to politics was the best route.
ReplyDeleteIn domestic matters, he was more concerned about the needs and opinions of the general Oregonian and if the rst of his party thought endless land war was a good idea, well let them go about their folly without him.
His amiable connection to average voters no comporomizse on true principles style explains why he drew suport from followers from both main parties and indepenants. He had a couple scandals too, but they were quick judgemental errors and not part of a pattern.
He's also the only GOP candidate my father ever voted for,which if you'd heard my dad talk or write about US Republicans and their little schemes in general you'd realize was a major exception.
That is interesting Doug that I should share those convictions with a Republican politician in the US, but I suspect our views would actually diverge when it came to definitions of globalism, because whilst I think it absolutely crucial to act locally, I also think that thinking globally is of paramount importance
ReplyDeleteHatfield's brand of liberal and localized Republicanism is long gone of course, AA. He was considered a relic and to some conservatives politicians a dangerous and unpatriotic figure because of his maverick voting records in Washington.
ReplyDeleteIt was odd, for instance, back in the early 1990's to hear a young and blustery "chicken hawk" Senator from Pennsylvania describe Hatfield, a WWII Marine captain who did his bit on a landing craft in the Pacific, as one who "votes against America" but the legacy of Reagan's America is full of nothing if not ironies.
I do find in the recent interviews of former Hatfield aides and those journalists who covered his tenures in the Senate, that he was opposed to conformity from any sides. Of course on many other matters beyond localism you might well take exception.