Quadsville

How Rep. Sen. Dirksen Paved the Way for Obama

With all of the news about Governor Rod Blagoyevich’s alleged corruption, it is tempting to state that the political system in Illinois seems corrupt beyond repair.  After all, 5 of the last 8 governors have faced criminal charges.

It helps, though, to remind ourselves that Illinois has also had exemplary politicians.  And, we need not go all the way back to Abraham Lincoln to find them.  My thoughts have turned to one that both my wife Suzanne and I remember well from our younger days.  He was someone known for being above corruption as well as for one making a positive difference in this world.

I’m recalling Everett McKinley Dirksen (1896-1969).  He had a long and productive political career within the Republican Party beginning on Pekin’s city council before serving as a Congressman from 1933 to 1947 and finally as a U.S. Senator from 1950 to his death from cancer in 1969.  Suzanne and I knew of him during his years in the Senate and admired him for his stance in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s.

His gravelly voice and tousled hair set him apart as an American original.  He and Congressman Charley Halleck and later Gerry Ford teamed together to represent the Republican Party to the public during the troubled 60’s.  And, they did well at it though Suzanne and I disagreed with their strong support for the Vietnam War at the time.

It is nice to know that there were (and are) politicians who do things simply because they are the right thing to do.  And, Senator Dirksen did that with his support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Open Housing Act of 1968.  As he put it:

"Victor Hugo wrote in his diary substantially this sentiment, 'Stronger than all the armies is an idea whose time has come.' The time has come for equality of opportunity in sharing of government, in education, and in employment. It must not be stayed or denied."

Much has been said, and rightly so, about the roles that Dr. Martin L. King Jr. and President LBJ played in enacting Civil Rights legislation.  But, Dirksen’s advocacy was perhaps just as important.  Why?  As Minority Leader, he could bring on Cloture and shut down filibusters in the Senate.  Had he not been willing to do so, it is hard to imagine that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would have passed.

And, without such legislation, it is difficult to see how otherwise the path would have been laid for the eventual election of Barack Obama.  So, while we could and arguably should deplore the antics of our current Governor, let’s remember that we have had fine public servants.

Art Pitz

The Professor’s House

www.professorshouse.net

“Know the History—Understand the Choices”