John Shadegg keeps revolutionary spirit alive

To: Shadegg Insiders

From: Congressman John Shadegg

For my entire Congressional career I have advocated changing the way Washington works. Sadly, that message falls on deaf ears most of the time. A recent Politico (a Capitol Hill publication) profiles my ongoing efforts to reform the system.

What happened to the class of '94?

Politico

By: Linda Killian April 22, 2008 05:43 PM EST

When Arizona Republican John Shadegg announced earlier this year that he planned to leave Congress after seven terms, he was one of only 22 members of the majority-making GOP Class of 1994 who remained in the House of Representatives. Seventy-three new Republicans came to Congress that year in an election that was dubbed a revolution, as it upended 40 years of continuous Democratic control.

But the revolution never really materialized, and that's largely why Shadegg had decided it was time to go.

As for staying in Congress, Shadegg said he thought, "What's the point?"

The Republicans had become everything they had run against in 1994, only worse. They were raising more campaign cash, promising more favors, and padding the federal budget with programs and earmarks designed to pay off political debts and please voters back home. They were holding onto power "solely by raising money and bringing home pork," Shadegg contends.
And even worse, in 2006, two other members of the Class of '94 - Mark Foley (Fla.) and Bob Ney (Ohio) - became poster boys of GOP corruption, with Foley part of a scandal over inappropriate contact with House pages and Ney eventually imprisoned for illegal activities surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Those scandals were the last bit of evidence voters needed to convince them that the GOP had been in charge of Congress long enough and that they should give Democrats a chance.

It was something Shadegg seemed to anticipate when he wrote a column for The Wall Street Journal in January 2006, in which he criticized earmarks and the congressional budget process and said Republican leaders had lost sight of the principles of 1994 - chiefly, reining in federal spending and cleaning up Washington. "In recent years, we have fallen short on both counts," Shadegg wrote.

"We have permitted some of the same backroom
practices that flourished in the old Democrat-controlled House. Powerful members
of Congress are able to insert provisions giving away millions - even tens
of millions - of dollars in the dead of night. & Congress should base
decisions on what is good for America, not what is good for the lobbyist friends
of a few," Shadegg wrote.

At the time, he was mounting an unsuccessful campaign for the post of GOP majority leader, a contest ultimately won by John A. Boehner. His comments were not exactly a rousing endorsement of the Republican Congress and certainly did not endear him to many in his party, especially its leaders, and he came in a distant third in balloting.

After the Democrats won the 2006 election, Shadegg issued a statement that said the Republicans had won in 1994 because they stood for "smaller federal government, lower taxes, greater individual freedom and, above all, reform. Unfortunately, over time, Republicans stopped acting like Republicans, and we ceded our reform-minded principles in exchange for a seemingly tighter grip on power."

The Republicans in Congress had broken the bonds of trust with the voters and virtually all of the promises they had made in 1994, according to Shadegg. But it didn't take a loss of power for Shadegg to realize this. He had been speaking out about it for years. "I made it pretty clear I thought we were headed in the wrong direction," Shadegg said.

He said he doesn't think very many members of Congress, even those on his side of the aisle, are interested in serious reform. Still, when he announced he was leaving, it didn't take long for a number of his constituents, colleagues and various conservative organizations to let him know they didn't want him to go. Shadegg received a letter signed by 146 members of Congress asking him to reconsider his decision, which convinced him to run for reelection at least one more time. He's running, but he understands the pull for those who decide enough is enough. It's not as much fun to serve in the minority in Congress, especially when it's something you've never done before and when a less punishing lifestyle, with a far more lucrative salary and no more weekly thousand-mile commutes home, beckons on the outside.

About 30 of Shadegg's GOP House colleagues have decided to call it quits this year, including three other members of the Class of '94: Tom Davis of Virginia, Ray LaHood of Illinois and Barbara Cubin of Wyoming.

Over the years, 70 percent of the members of the Class of '94 have left the House - some were defeated, some sought higher office, and some entered the ranks of lobbyists and consultants. Seven have moved over to the Senate - most notably, Sen. John McCain's campaign buddy Lindsey Graham (S.C.).

Undoubtedly, there are some House Republicans who wouldn't mind seeing Shadegg go, as well. He's been a longtime thorn in the side of those who favor business as usual on Capitol Hill and in the GOP leadership. However, he was recently elected chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee.

He has decided to hang in there and use his office to attempt to influence Congress from the inside. Shadegg said he hopes to play a larger role in national conservative circles and to speak out more about issues such as taxes and spending.

Democrats would do well to pay attention to the lesson of John Shadegg and the Class of '94 and do a bit more listening to their own freshmen, who brought them the majority in 2006. Voters who were fed up with Republicans controlling Congress, and who gave the Democrats a chance to do better, may have limited patience with a lack of serious action on spending and ethics reform. The Democrats will ignore that message and what happened to the Republican Revolution at their own peril.

Linda Killian is a professor of journalism and the director of Boston University's Washington Center. She is working on a book on the Democratic Party and is currently a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

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