Souter and Kemp: True to Self, True Vision

May has rolled in fast. Soon the kids will be out of school, the Phoenix heat will turn blistering, and some of us will tuck indoors, with little money for vacations. The end of days for some. 

It is also the end of a career  for Supreme Court Justice David Souter, that lonely, lean, shy legal mind from New Hampshire who never totally adjusted to the life Washington has to offer. A friend of his in the Washington Post says that Souter "never unpacked" his things for the 19 years he was there, leaving them in boxes.

It reminds me of my time here in Phoenix after arriving from the East Coast. While happy to get out of New Jersey, coming to the Arizona desert was not my ideal choice. I loved places like Minneapolis (with its clear lakes and friendly folks) , Tennessee and Virginia or perhaps New England. You go to the desert to die, or because you like the sun, but have enough money to maintain a more comfortable residence in another cooler (and cooler) state when the Arizona sun turns blazing and falls into kill mode.

I can see Souter wanting to return to some ideal place that made him feel comfortable. At the time he was appointed by George Bush senior, I thought he was sufficiently conservative and most of all, he reminded me of a version of myself.  Souter was the man with a small group of friends, and with a solitary life filled with books in beautiful New Hampshire.  As it turned out, he was not consistently conservative at all, and more his own man, and while I am probably disappointed in some of his judicial opinions, there is something about him that I admire in his quiet loyalty to his own way.

We learn that he keeps a diary, that he is the wealthiest justice via good investments and frugal living, and that he eats an apple and yogurt each day. 

When he departs this summer in his Volkswagen sedan -- he dislikes flying and always drives himself to and from Washington, leaving at odd hours to game the traffic -- Souter will cross the Piscataquog River, drive past country stands selling maple syrup and fresh eggs, and turn down a narrow, unmarked dirt road.

(The Wasington Post)

Souter was picked for the high court out of an attempt by Republicans to place a conservative strict constructionist on the bench, but one without a paper trail that could be sabotaged by liberals, as happened with Judge Bork. Two sides of the political spectrum getting tricky with each other. Turns out even the people who thought they knew Souter's judicial heart had it wrong, and he was not the guy Republicans had hoped he would be. 

Which brings me to another thought. The Republicans are scrambling hard to recast themselves, and debating whether to become more hardcore and singular in their vision, or more open and fuzzy. The hardcores--those who view the current president as a socialist seducer of the stupid--are also the loudest voices, so one cannot be certain that the Republicans will get this right any time soon.

But if they need a reminder of the direction to go, they need only look at former congressman Jack Kemp, whose death from cancer this weekend added a note of sadness to a fast fading spring season. He was George HW Bush's housing secretary, among other things, and an advocate for tax reform, growth, and urban outreach. 

Through his political life, Kemp's positions spanned the social spectrum: He opposed abortion and supported school prayer, yet appealed to liberals with his outreach toward minorities and compassion for the poor. He pushed for immigration reform to include a guest-worker program and status for the illegal immigrants already here.

(AP)

If Republicans and conservatives are looking for how to regroup, taking a look at the life and ideas of Kemp would be a good start. They also need to examine how they ended up with Souter in an attempt to game the appointment process (in response to liberal shenanigans). 

Conservatives have to stick with a consistent vision of what they are about, and not hope to be all things to everyone or replicate the Democratic Party. But, they also need to jetison any preconceived notions and ideology that do not fit with reality of the world we live in. The language and tactics have to be changed.  

Here then with Souter and Kemp we have men who have been true to themselves and have offered singular vision.