Sunday, January 28, 2007
Former Iowa Congressman Jim Leach joins the Princeton faculty
As rare as they are, I always enjoy the intersection of Iowa and Princeton. Last week, Princeton University announced that former Iowa Republican Congressman Jim Leach will join the faculty of the Woodrow Wilson School in February for a three term appointment as "the John L. Weinberg/Goldman Sachs and Co. Visiting Professor of Public and International Affairs." This is great news for Princeton, and I hope that it is a satisfying experience for Jim Leach. Read the press release for his background, which is much richer than one would ordinarily expect for a Congressman, even from the Hawkeye State.
I have an ancient affection for Jim Leach. He does not know it, but he influenced me enormously when I was a teenager.
In September of 1976, I was a tenth grader at City High School in Iowa City. Our sitting Congressman, the legendary Edward Mezvinsky (who took a star turn on the House Judiciary Committee as a freshman in 1972, and who -- much later -- bilked investors out of millions of dollars and now languishes in jail) was being challenged for the second time by a very young Jim Leach. Leach had lost to Mezvinsky by a slim margin in the Democratic landslide of 1974, and was taking a second shot at it in 1976.
Early in the fall Congressman Mezvinsky came to City High to meet with students as part of what Democrats would now call a "listening" tour. Iowa City was a very liberal college town at a very liberal time, so Mezvinsky probably thought the day would be a cakewalk. Unfortunately for him, a number of conservative students in the room were very well prepared with sharp-edged questions that no reporter for 100 miles would have had the nerve to ask. Mezvinsky's answers were so lame that students started laughing openly, at which point he fled the room. It was my first exposure to guerrilla democracy.
The next day, a bunch of us went downtown to Leach's Johnson County headquarters and volunteered for his campaign. Fortunately, the local Republicans were both desperate enough and sufficiently visionary to realize that a dozen passionate tenth graders could be useful. I and several of my friends worked at least 20 hours a week during the fall campaign. We canvassed our precincts (voters will talk to kids when they won't talk to adults), knocked on doors all over town delivering campaign literature, handed out "Jim Leach for Congress" headbands (red and white paper with a red "Indian" feather sticking up from the back) during the University of Iowa's homecoming parade, stuffed envelopes, served coffee, ran errands, handed out bumper stickers and buttons, put up yard signs, and, totally unbeknownst to campaign officials, tore down Mezvinsky yard signs (only in retaliation for Democrat dirty tricks, mind you!). I learned an enormous amount about local political organizing working on the Leach campaign, and savored his victory as much as anybody who joined in the effort.
Of course, I met Jim Leach many times that fall, and to me and my friends he was a genuine role model. We were right in thinking this. Although Leach often disappointed partisan conservatives, he remained until his retirement one of the genuinely principled members of the House of Representatives. Now, Congress's loss is Princeton's gain.
When he gets here, I think I'm going to call him up and ask him out for a beer. He really should finally hear what happened to all those Mezvinsky yard signs.
3 Comments:
By 
, at
Sun Jan 28, 03:24:00 PM:
I'm surprised you don't mention in the post the Leach is an alum (I know it's in the press release, but still...)
By , at
Mon Jan 29, 10:04:00 PM:
Leach always gave out peanuts at Davenport Central homegames. That itself ensured my vote.
By , at
Wed Aug 27, 12:12:00 AM:
I played light-weight football with Jim Leach many years ago. I am proud of him now as I was then. Princeton is lucky, but I hope we will find him back in public service soon. His Denver convention speech was a gem of clear thinking.
