Departing senators decry rabid party bias
It’s tradition that U.S. senators mark the end of their tenures with “farewell” speeches, traditionally delivered standing at their desks on the Senate floor.
Released from the demands of politics, senators are more apt to be candid in this setting than they might otherwise be, or so one supposes.
With the caveat that not all eight departing senators, including Pennsylvania’s Bob Casey, have spoken, here in brief are the utterances of three who have:
Joe Manchin, at 77 and with 14 years in the Senate representing West Virginia, is retiring. A lifelong Democrat, Manchin switched to independent status earlier this year.
“I was not elected to take a side, but elected to represent all sides,” Manchin said this month on the Senate floor.
According to Manchin, it’s important that the government keep its promises, even ones that are decades old. Congress and President Harry Truman pledged to maintain coal miner pensions and health care benefits. In 2019, when those items were on the line, Democrats and Republicans “came together to make good,” Manchin said, on a promise that stretched back to 1946.
Manchin lamented the Senate’s loss of sociability and the rise of razor-sharp partisan divisions. In recent years, senators have whiffed on opportunities “because we let politics get in the way of doing our job.” He listed immigration reform, background checks for gun purchases, and reining in the national debt as chances lost.
The departing West Virginian promised to keep his houseboat tied at Washington Harbor, just in case it was needed for ice-breaking encounters. He recalled a discussion there one evening between GOP conservative Ted Cruz and Democratic liberal Tom Harkins. Harkins, eyeing Cruz already on board, told Manchin, “Joe, I don’t know if I can do this.”
Soon, however, the two senators were deep in conversation. Out of that encounter came a willingness to listen to one another.
“We need more of this in Washington,” Manchin insisted.
The senator said “a job is the greatest gift you can give a person. It’s not just about earning a paycheck, but about dignity, purpose, and hope…. The most effective government programs are the ones that put people to work” because a job equates to a better life now and the possibility of a more meaningful life in the future.
Debbie Stabenow of Michigan also called it quits this year. Like Manchin, Stabenow stressed the importance of keeping long-term commitments. She referenced a pledge made by President Kennedy to change the way the nation deals with the mentally ill.
The first of Kennedy’s pledges – to end the warehousing of mental patients – was kept. His second goal of offering community-based treatment faltered. Stabenow said it took her 10 years of legislative effort to secure passage of a measure that promises to secure Kennedy’s second pledge.
She said she worked “intensely” on the legislation with Sen. Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri. Therein lies a lesson, Stabenow said.
“To be effective, it’s not necessary to agree with someone on everything…. It’s only necessary to agree on one thing, and then agree on one way to address that one thing…. That’s how positive change happens.”
Stabenow, 74, recalled that her first “viral” moment in the Senate occurred in the debate over Obama care, when a GOP senator opposed including maternity care in the list of benefits. Arizona’s Jon Kyl said he didn’t need maternity care. True, Stabenow said, but his mom “probably did” at least once.
Utah senator Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee for president in 2012, is saying goodbye to Washington after a single term.
Romney recalled that he was “mostly alone” in the Senate until he was invited to a “takeout dinner” organized by Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Ten senators – 5 Democrats and 5 Republicans – were on hand. Because of Covid, the windows were open to the cold winter air and the lawmakers kept a healthy distance from one another.
However, the dinner was a success, Romney said, and led to a number of high-profile, bipartisan legislative victories.
Still, Romney, 77, was critical in his farewell remarks of “the scourge of partisan politics” in Washington. Leaving the Senate “with a sense of accomplishment,” he also noted that he departs with plenty that wasn’t done.
Richard Robbins lives in Uniontown. He can be reached at dick.l.robbins@gmail.com.