Riding Waxman Out of Town, On a Rail

WHEN A WORTHY OPPONENT lays down his weapons, and walks away quietly and proudly, the proper response involves the extension of the right hand, and a hale and hearty farewell, well done, you were a worthy opponent. But that aint likely to happen with Congressperson Henry Waxman of California, who rode in on the anti-Nixon tidal wave in 1974. Most of those people, the liberal class of '74, like our World War Two veterans, are gone now. Waxman ranks right along with Hubert Humphrey, Ted Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson in the lexicon of loquacious liberal lawmakers. One of the reasons he's retiring, at the tender age of seventy four, is that he is unwilling to continue the fight in an organization whose current members regard all opposition as a bitter enemy, rather than a potential partner in compromise. Graciousness, reason, and magnanimity be damned. Its never been worse in Congress, Waxman says. There'll be no gold watches and handshakes from the conservative side of the isle. Only jeering insults. And that's a shame. When Waxman was elected, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio were in diapers. They often behave as if they still were. In all honesty, the United States Congress has never been a place of kumbaya conciation, but up until about thirty years ago, it was at least civilized. How we miss the halcyon days of Tip O'Neil and Ronald Reagan, having a green beer together at the pub. Ironic that Reagan is the patron saint of the current crop of conservative republicans. Hell, these guys are no more like Reagan, they no more belong in Reagan's category, than a heifer in a horse pond. The Gipper, albeit lacking overt compassion, was a man who was willing to listen to his opponent's point of view, and to factor it into his own thinking. Reagan was a man of honor, and a man of peace, fundamentally. We can hope that the tea party doesn't entirely forget the civility of their chosen icon, as they ride Henry Waxman out of town, on a rail.