One Man's Lonely Opinions

A Good Man

Senator Philip A. Hart. No doubt most folks are unaware of Phil Hart whether they are Michigan natives or not. Today, December 10, is his birthday. I’ve written about him before, but good people deserve constant recognition.

Philip A. Hart served Michigan in the US Senate for almost three full terms, dying in office in 1976. There have been, since 1789, almost 12,000 members of the US Senate and House. There are seven Congressional office buildings, each named after a member of Congress. One of the seven is The Senator Philip A. Hart Senate Office Building. There is a reason for this.

I have written before about "character," more specifically to be clear, how good character matters. I recognize my view is likely a “lonely” one, that many people don't agree with me (or say they do, but really don’t). I stand by my belief. And when I think of good character, the best character, I am often reminded of the late Senator Phil Hart.

Hart was a Democrat. I am sure I didn't and wouldn't today agree with all his political stances. Others didn't also. But that is the point. Others could disagree with Hart, yet at the time greatly respect him. He was that kind of guy. It was columnist Colman McCarthy who wrote of Hart, "It was not an accident that he was the most trusted man in American politics."

In the Second World War, Hart stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. He was wounded, a piece of shrapnel severing the major artery in his right arm, severely enough that he was to be sent back to the States. Nope. He refused to leave his comrades behind, sneaked away in the middle of a night, and rejoined his unit. Six months later he fought in the key Battle of the Bulge.

After the war, he returned to Michigan, holding a variety of political offices on the state level. He was elected to the US Senate in 1958. He was an unabashed liberal, one of the most liberal members of the Senate at the time. He was a major factor in the passage of the Civil Rights Acts of '64 and '68 as well as the Voting Rights Act of '65, serving as Senate floor manager of the bill.

In Congress, he rarely belittled or even criticized his opponents or their beliefs. In fact, it was generally accepted that, in debating the merits of a bill, Hart would present his opponents' arguments more clearly than they did! He believed in open, transparent governance. Here's their view and here's mine. Now choose.

Somewhat incongruously I think, Hart was a good friend of James Eastland, a segregationist Senator from Mississippi. Despite Eastland's racism and anti-Semitism, neither of which he hid, Hart maintained a social friendship. Yet, when Eastland, due to his seniority, was in line to become President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Hart rose to oppose that--he rose alone! Hart believed Eastland's racism and anti-Semitism disqualified him from being so close to the White House, in the line of succession to the Presidency (VP, Speaker, Pres Pro Tem). And he stated that--friend or not. Conscience and good character mattered.

Toward the end of his third term, Hart announced he would not seek re-election although he would have been a sure-fire winner. This was in line with his belief that younger men and women (!) with greater energy and idealism should hold Senate seats. And this was before he was diagnosed with melanoma that would claim his life a few short weeks before his term ended. At his funeral at St. Matthew's Cathedral in DC, well over 1,000 people attended. It wasn't just the number, but who they were. According to a reporter in attendance, "The rich and the powerful were there, dressed in tailored suits and fine furs. So were the poor and the powerless, dressed in jeans and parkas."

Hart was known as "The Conscience of the Senate." That other Senators undeservedly were given the same title besmirches the legacy of Phil Hart. At the time, he was the most trusted man in US politics, a man of conviction and integrity even if they potentially clashed with his own political interests. He was still a sitting US Senator when the office building was named after him, the first time a still-serving Senator was so honored.

Upon his death, President Gerald Ford asked Hart’s wife, Jane, if there was anything he could do. She remarked that Senator Hart wanted the Vietnam-era draft-dodgers, those who went to Canada and other countries, to be given amnesty. Ford, who may or may not have been seriously considering such an executive action, assured her he would think about it. He not only thought about it, but also issued the amnesty. I’d like to think this was in honor of his fellow Michigander.

BTW, the Senator’s wife Jane Briggs Hart was quite a woman, too. She was the daughter of Walter O. Briggs, onetime owner of the Detroit Tigers (Briggs Stadium before Tiger Stadium). She was a licensed pilot and became the first woman to hold a helicopter pilot license in Michigan. An avid sailor, she crewed on more than a dozen of the famed Port Huron to Mackinac races. Later, she skippered the first all-female crew and sailed across the Atlantic from Europe to the Caribbean with her sister.

At the age of 40, she passed the NASA physical exam, the same one the male astronauts took. She was one of the co-founders of NOW, the National Organization of Women, and an opponent of the Vietnam War, even being arrested in one of her protests. Although some of her views and actions might have embarrassed her husband, Senator Hart always supported his wife's right to her beliefs.

I hope the next time there is mention of "The Senator Philip A. Hart Senate Office Building" people remember why it bears that name.