It started with a phone call from a political campaign worker named Seth the summer of 2015. He was calling on behalf of presidential candidate Martin O’Malley, Governor of Maryland. Could I meet with him? Sure… but I was leaving the next day on a trip abroad. Call again in several weeks and we’ll see about setting something up.
After our return, Seth called back. I gamely attempted to sidestep a meeting. “But you said…” responded Seth, a blend of plaintiveness and assertiveness. He was tracking on such matters; I wasn’t. Okay, okay; we met several days later. Seth was smart, organized, and engaging. Still is. I told him I’d be helpful but would remain stubbornly neutral in the pre-caucus presidential race, meaning I’d also assist Clinton and Sanders campaigns if they asked, and they did.
Seth and I have stayed in contact these nine years. Three years ago, he called seeking a favor. His friend Wellesley was moving to the Twin Cities to oversee the reelection campaign for Congresswoman Angie Craig. Could she stay at our Twin Cities townhome (the “Urban Cabin”) for several weeks until she found a place of her own? Sure.
From our first meeting on, we liked Wellesley, although our interactions were relatively few. We were in and out, mostly out, and she often worked late. We were happy to help with her short-term housing needs. Five months later (now, two-plus years ago) Wellesley called. Might we host a “campaign fellow,” a ten-week commitment? A tentative yes, dependent on meeting this campaign volunteer.
Several days later, Lou arrived. As I’ve written before, Lou, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, is now a second-year student at Harvard. I’m hard pressed to think of a more impressive “campaign kid,” however, this ramble isn’t about Lou but rather our connection with his former boss, Angie Craig.
Congresswoman Craig is articulate, hard-working, and bipartisan. She greatly appreciated Lou, making him her campaign driver. She’s stayed in contact with him, and also with us. Accordingly, we were invited to attend a campaign event on Sunday, September 8, to support her reelection, a Minneapolis gathering hosted by Ambassador Sam Kaplan (Morocco, 2009 - 2013) and his wife Sylvia. Craig’s special guest, her friend, Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin.
Congressman Raskin is among our favorites. (Without an Iowa Democrat in Washington, we feel free to “adopt” representation from elsewhere, like Craig and Raskin.) Raskin led efforts to impeach former President Trump the second time, days after his son died of suicide. My 2021 column praising his courage appeared in the Congressional Record.* Yes, we’ll attend.
At this gathering, we learned about Raskin’s Midwestern connections. In the 1930s, his grandfather, Samuel Bellman, a Minneapolis attorney, a Farmer-Labor Party member, served in the Minnesota Legislature, then the youngest person in the Minnesota House. As children, the Raskin siblings spent summers with their Minneapolis grandparents. Raskin’s great uncle once served as a Wisconsin judge. (Worth noting, Raskin’s current campaign manager is the Kaplans’ granddaughter.)
Two quick stories, first about Raskin’s grandfather. Samuel Bellman’s law practice was built on his willingness to help anyone in need. For example, in the late 1950s, he represented a man charged with first-degree murder who had no money and couldn’t pay him, years before the Supreme Court ruled that indigent defendants were entitled to counsel, even if they couldn’t afford it. I salute Bellman’s display of character.
Second story, about Raskin. In 2006, when he was a Maryland State Senator, Raskin testified at a hearing on a proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit gay marriage. A colleague claimed the Bible reserved marriage for a man and a woman. Raskin responded, “Senator, when you took your oath of office, you placed your hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. You didn’t put your hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible.” I salute Raskin’s display of wisdom.
I’m pleased and mightily relieved that individuals of character and wisdom, people like Representatives Craig and Raskin, serve our country in Washington. We should hope all elected officials possess and demonstrate similar qualities.
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* - www.congress.gov/117/crec/2021/04/13/167/63/CREC-2021-04-13-pt1-PgE377-4.pdf
I aplaude bipartisian appreciation for character in legislators! No one party can get it right everytime, especially when they are the majority party! People of character don't easily reduce themselves to name calling, intentionally mis-representing the facts or straight up lying. These are characteristics of people like Hitler and his henchmen who believed if you tell a lie often enough it becomes the "truth", no one of charcter would stoop to such a tactic. The example given of the bible and the Constitution was probably the best example of a response that so succinctly and correctly outlined the difficulty in understanding the qualities of a Constitutionally ordained government. It isn't a which came first chicken or egg delemia!