2007 OPINION-EDITORIAL

July 03, 2007

America’s Leaders: Then and Now

By Jonathan Bechtle

In April 1776, John Adams penned his “Thoughts on Government,” a treatise used in the formation of many state constitutions. In it, Adams called for annual elections for executive offices, arguing that yearly elections “will teach [elected officials] the great political virtues of humility, patience, and moderation, without which every man in power becomes a ravenous beast of prey.”

If America’s founding fathers came to visit on July 4th in the midst of our parades, fireworks and barbeques, would they enjoy our Independence Day celebrations? I think so. They wouldn’t see commercialized, pre-packaged gifts or baskets as at other holidays, just ordinary Americans celebrating the freedom we enjoy. The holiday is still about celebrating the liberty gained by their sacrifices.

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the other fathers of our country would be less pleased, however, with the quality of those who have taken their mantle as America’s leaders. Presidential hopefuls for the 2008 election are already crisscrossing the nation, promising “new leadership” for a government that seems mired in ethics scandals, useless debate, debt and war. Whether or not they can follow through on their promises to change this, the candidates are right about one thing. The kind of leaders Adams describes in his “Thoughts on Government,” those with humility, patience and moderation, are in short supply in our country.

Instead, we have leaders like William Jefferson, a U.S. congressman from Louisiana made famous two years ago when federal investigators found $90,000 in frozen cash in his freezer. Now he’s being charged with having used his position to obtain half a million dollars in bribes and to seek millions more, yet indicates that he has no plans to step down from his office unless forced. By his actions Congressman Jefferson shows a lack of personal integrity—a trait our founders saw as essential. George Washington called the “character of an honest man” the “most enviable of titles.”

Or we can look at the lack of moderation by Congress. The last ten years have seen an explosion in the growth of “earmarks,” or local pet projects, slipped into the federal budget to help congressional leaders gain favor back home. Despite the major impact this issue had on the change of power in the last election, both Congress and the White House are doing little to end the practice, with 32,000 earmark requests already submitted this year.

It’s hard not to conclude that these politicians care more about enhancing their own reputations and careers then they do about the good of the country. This is in marked contrast to founding fathers such as John Adams, who twice put aside momentous opportunities for personal advancement in order to strengthen the fledgling republic.

He nominated George Washington, a Virginian, as the commander of the rebel army gathered around Boston instead of proposing someone from his home state of Massachusetts. His selfless recommendation probably saved the Revolution.

He also insisted that Thomas Jefferson be the one to pen the Declaration of Independence, explaining, “I am obnoxious, suspected, and unpopular.” Disregarding the likelihood that writing the Declaration could have changed all that, he gave up the opportunity to author America’s founding document because he felt Jefferson’s writing would be better received.

The success of the founding fathers, however, went beyond just their personal integrity. They turned the world upside down because of their passionate dedication to liberty and the rule of law.

In contrast, our leaders too often show more passion for short-term gain. Susette Kelo can testify to that. Last month, on June 15, she was forced by the City of New London to vacate her home of ten years in order to give it to a private developer who would put it to “better use.” The city used its eminent domain power to seize several homes, including hers, a decision Kelo fought all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. America’s judicial leaders on the Court decided to ignore her property rights, ruling in the city’s favor.

James Madison would have been horrified by the decision. In 1792 he wrote an article for the National Gazette in which he proclaimed that “government is instituted to protect property of every sort,” and he defined a just government as one “which impartially secures to every man, whatever is his own….” We’ve come a long way, in the bad sense, from our founders’ ideals if private property can be seized merely to increase a city’s tax base.

In 1776, the United States faced internal and external crises just as perplexing and difficult as illegal immigration or war in the Middle East. They were faced with fighting the world’s greatest empire, plus a civil war, with a federal government that had little money and even less authority. But leaders like George Washington, John Adams and James Madison had the character and vision to see the issue through to a successful conclusion.

Can Mitt Romney, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, or the other presidential candidates provide the same kind of leadership? Will they face our current issues with personal humility, moderation and patience? Will they put the rule of law and personal liberty above short-term gain?

As I said before, I think the founding fathers would enjoy our Independence Day celebrations, but they might suggest adding a sobering note. In 1811, Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, lamented to John Adams that at Philadelphia’s Fourth of July celebration that year, “Scarcely a word was said of the solicitude and labors and fears and sorrows and sleepless nights of the men who proposed…and subscribed the Declaration of Independence.” Rush asked, “Do you recollect the pensive and awful silence which pervaded the house when we were called up…to subscribe what was believed by many at that time to be our death warrants?”

As you celebrate Independence Day with your family and friends, remember the men who signed that document, who had the courage to put their lives on the line for the liberty of their countrymen. And as you consider who America’s next president should be, ask yourself, “If this candidate had been with Benjamin Rush in that room, would he or she have signed?” If the answer is no, then they are not fit to lead the nation our founders entrusted to us.

Jonathan Bechtle is legal counsel for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. Previously he served as Director of EFF’s Citizenship and Governance Center. He also represents EFF on the board of the Washington Coalition for Open Government. Prior to joining EFF he was the senior legal assistant for a non-profit legal advocacy firm in the Washington, D.C. area, and has worked as an aide to state senators in Georgia and Indiana, and as a medical analyst for the Indiana Attorney General. Jonathan earned a juris doctorate from Oak Brook College of Law in Fresno, California, and is a member of the California and Washington Bars.

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