Wiston Papers

Senator Harkin retirement is good...if we're prepared to act wisely

Iowa Democrat Senator Tom Harkin announced January 26 that he would not seek reelection when his term expires next year.  

The announcement brings to three the number of U.S. Senators to declare plans to retire at the end of their current terms--Georgia Republican Saxby Chambliss (after 9 years in the upper chamber)  and West Virginia Democrat John D. Rockefeller IV (28 years in the Senate).

Already Iowa professional politicians are salivating over the prospect of succeeding Harkin--the 40-year liberal voice of the Hawkeye State.  Democrat Senate wannabes are lining up to toss their proverbial hats into the ring.  No less enthusiastic are Iowa’s Republicans who see what they perceive as a long-overdue opportunity to elect a fellow GOP representative to join Senator Chuck Grassley on Capitol Hill.

Still two years away from Harkin’s exit, Iowa’s senatorial aspirants are emerging like a swarm of bees stirred by a stick probing their hive.

Many of the hopefuls include persons--both Democrats and Republicans--who’ve failed to excite Iowa’s voters in earlier unsuccessful campaigns either for governor or Congress.  And there is little reason to believe that they have realistic chances of succeeding Harkin given their track records.  But they are giddy about the prospect of what--for all practical purposes--is a virtual lifetime job of power and prominence.

Even Mr. Harkin acknowledged the addictive nature of his job and why he’s remained in Washington for 40 years.  “To walk away from this position and this power is not an easy thing,” he confessed.  

That’s exactly the point and that’s why we need to overhaul Congress and reform how we choose our representatives.  It is about power and the position; it is not about what is in the public interest.

Let’s be honest.  Neither Democrat Harkin, Republican Chuck Grassley or any other Iowa member of Congress is truly a public servant.  They are professional politicians--driven by egos inflated by their delusion self-importance. Yes, they may go to Washington at first with hopes of making a difference, optimistic that their fresh ideas and energy will result in meaningful legislation for Iowans.  But once inside the Beltway (the freeway that encircles the nation’s capital), they soon are seduced by lobbyists flush with cash, flocks of media hanging on every pronouncement, and royal perquisites of their office.

Soon they forget their original purpose.  They exchange Congressional longevity for constituent commitment, they accept a lifestyle that is alien to average Americans, and they introduce bills and pass legislation to which they are not subject but affect the rest of us.  Obama care is the most recent example--a health program that touches no one in Congress, but the rest of America must endure.

Quite simply, Harkin, Grassley and the rest of Iowa’s legislative delegation stay too long, lose touch with the voters of the Hawkeye State, fail to introduce fresh ideas for the nation’s problems, and work solely to remain in office.

This is wrong and we Americans should not accept it.  Instead, we should demand that our representatives go to Washington for a limited number of years then return home.  We should refuse appeals by professional politicians for reelection if they fail to fight for our interests.  We should not be fooled by the false claims that the longer legislators remain in office, the greater their influence on our behalf.  The record of Messers Harkin, Grassley and other lifetime politicians does not support this contention.

I celebrate Senator Harkin’s decision to retire in 2014.  He has stayed too long.  And I hope that I can soon rejoice in the similar words from Sen. Grassley.

Make no mistake.  I have supported and voted for some members of Iowa’s congressional delegation.  But I stop after they have been Washington for more than six years (a single Senatorial term) or have failed to fulfill their initial campaign promises (often after two terms for member of the House of Representatives).

I believe that public service is a worthy calling.  Persons who are prepared to sacrifice their welfare for the public good are to be lauded and supported.  But when that commitment erodes, when their personal welfare supplants those of their constituents, they cease to be public servants and evolve into public leeches.

I wish Mr. Harkin well in his new life.  I hope that other professional politicians will join him soon.

Steve Coon

January 28, 2013