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Gentlemen or Warriors?
By Doug Patton
June 18, 2001

"Politics is war conducted by other means."
-- David Horowitz, from The Art of Political War

Both my U.S. Senators disappointed me last week. Republican Chuck Hagel and Democrat Ben Nelson joined with the usual suspects -- Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer, et al -- in opposing the Helms Amendment to the Senate Education Bill.

Sponsored by Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC), it puts monetary teeth into last year's Supreme Court ruling acknowledging the right of the Boy Scouts of America to free association (the Scouts rightfully refuse to allow homosexual leaders in their organization). The amendment denies federal funding to any school district that refuses access to the Boy Scouts. Thanks to a few courageous Democrats, it passed the Senate 51-49.

One would think that Supreme Court rulings would be the final word on these issues, thereby making the Helms Amendment unnecessary. Indeed, that is part of Sen. Hagel's argument against it. But the left has mercilessly attacked the Boy Scouts for "discrimination." In a shameful demonstration at last summer's Democrat Convention, some delegates actually booed Scouts who were simply trying to lead them in the Pledge of Allegiance. Meanwhile, activist school boards around the country have banned the Scouts from using public school facilities.

It was this blatant attack on the Scouts that prompted Sen. Helms to offer his amendment, a straightforward, no-nonsense piece of legislation that told the radical left in this country that they would no longer be allowed to trample on the rights of free association.

Not many of us who have been around Nebraska politics and who know both Nelson and Hagel personally are particularly surprised at Nelson's vote. With Daschle and company back in the driver's seat, Nebraska's junior senator -- who has always billed himself as a moderate-to-conservative Democrat -- was bound to toe the liberal line on at least a few things.

It is Hagel who has created the greater disappointment. As a Republican who has amassed a reasonably conservative voting record in the Senate, his vote on this issue is particularly frustrating.

Hagel issued a written explanation of his vote. It read, in part: "The U.S. Senate is not a national school board. Local school boards have the responsibility for these issues, not the U.S. Senate."

One hardly knows where to begin to address such a naive statement. It is politically correct school boards, operating either out of arrogance or fear of federal action, that have caused this situation in the first place by encroaching on the rights of those who are simply acting out of conscience and faith.

And if the federal government is not a "national school board," then perhaps, Senator, it is time to cut off all education funding and get the federal government out of an area in which it has no business in the first place, the education of children on Main Street, USA.

Sen. Hagel's vote, and the public statement that accompanied it, are clear indications that he sees his role as a United States Senator simply as one of caretaker of fiscal matters and overseer of foreign affairs (an area the Constitution clearly gives authority to the executive branch, but that's another column).

In the life of every great nation, there are windows of opportunity for leadership on moral and cultural issues. America is no exception. We faced such a moral crisis 150 years ago, and attempts to sweep the burning issue of slavery under the rug left American soil soaked with our own blood.

Many of Sen. Hagel's colleagues believe we need to compromise with evil. In recent statements calling for "tolerance" and "inclusion" on such issues as abortion, the senator seems to agree with them. He has even said that he would not require that a judicial nominee respect life. He calls it a "litmus test." That is sad, because it tells me that he has no stomach for the political and cultural war that rages all around him. Indeed, it would seem that he is embarrassed by it. Like so many in Washington today and so many a century and a half ago, it seems he would prefer that the social issues would just go away.

As important as economic vitality and fiscal accountability are to the well being of our nation, the sewer in which we are drowning is not filled with red ink. It is filled with the moral and cultural rot that comes from ignoring the Biblical warning not to call good evil and evil good.

America is economically strong. Culturally and morally, we are on the ropes. We don't need more gentlemen bean counters. We need cultural warriors.

Doug Patton is a freelance columnist who has served as a speechwriter and policy advisor to federal, state and local candidates and elected officials. His work can be viewed weekly on GOPUSA.

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