By Heath Haussamen
“So, while it is appropriate to congratulate our legislators for the incremental work they do, let us keep it in perspective. It is the values and the productive activity of the participants in our enterprise system that fuels our society, and it is the compassion and good works of many individual citizens that is of far greater importance.” — Jim Kadlecek
Since learning on Monday of Jim Kadlecek’s death, I have reread most of his 32 columns that have been published on this site since January 2007 and found no better quote to sum up his view of politics. Jim sought a transparent and honest government ruled by citizens, not elected or administrative officials.
Jim believed that government can make a difference in people’s lives but real change is incremental and takes place at a grassroots level, through the hard work and passion of people who spend their lives serving others.
That’s how Jim lived. He served his time as a public official — spending eight years as a state senator in
He understood the importance of elected officials but also had the humility, though he had been one, to keep their work in perspective. He wrote about that in the April 9, 2007 column from which the above quote comes:
“Without intending to diminish the role of our elected legislators, most of whom deserve our respect and gratitude for the work they do (at no pay in
With that in mind, Kadlecek was a believer in the message of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Though a Democrat, Jim understood that our system of government mandates compromise because there are often two or more valid views on an issue. In an Oct. 23, 2007 column he wrote that disagreement “is usually a healthy sign in a democracy.”
Jim also wrote about the need to compromise and moderate policy stances in his last column, published on this site on July 8. He wrote that Obama and Republican presidential candidate John McCain were being unfairly criticized for moving to the middle. He wrote that a politician’s or candidate’s opinion must reflect public opinion, so it’s no surprise that candidates speak to their audience — to the “gutters” of their parties during the primary and to the middle during the general election.
“If they don’t moderate their public statements to gain the support of the majority of voters, they will lose, and then who will care what they think?” Jim wrote. “Like it or not, that’s the way the system of single-member plurality (the candidate who gets the most votes, wins) works. Public opinion, reflected by polls and resulting in voting choices, rules.”
I think Jim liked that reality. It forces politicians to pay attention to their constituents and gives power to the people. Consider this quote about Obama and McCain from Jim’s last column:
“Fortunately, in this election, we have two strong and intelligent candidates, both of whom appear to understand our system and the necessity for compromise and moderation,” he wrote.
Those are the words of a man who had strong opinions and the passion to work toward seeing his beliefs enacted, but also had the humility to understand that he had to compromise for society to advance.
Such wisdom is lacking today in our overly partisan political system.