I've written here about how I grew up in a district so conservative that Donald Rumsfeld was my congressman. In fact, when he left office to work for the Nixon Administration, the new congressman who replaced him, Philip Crane, was so far-right wing that he made Rumsfeld look almost moderate. Happily, with redistricting that put Crane in another district, and with Watergate that crushed the Republican Party in the 1974 elections, an actual, truly-wonderful liberal sneaked in, Abner Mikva. He won by about a whopping 200 votes and got re-elected by about 300. So, when President Carter offered him a federal judgeship, he jumped at it. Though just a kid I was disappointed, but even I could understand why a lifetime judgeship was the right way to fly compared to trying to always run in so conservative a district.
(Fun fact: at the end of the movie Dave, when Ben Kingsley's character is sworn in as President by the Chief Justice on the White House lawn...that is Abner Mikva playing the Chief Justice.) And to make matters even worse, Donald Rumsfeld and I went to the same high school, albeit at different times -- New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois. I've also written on these pages about my childhood friend from growing up in Glencoe, another Don -- Don Friedman, who periodically drops a comment or two, and has gone on to be a wonderful entertainment lawyer. (If you watch the film that Bruce Springsteen made last year, Western Stars, and sit through the end credits, you'll see among the "Thank you's" one to Don. Oh, sure, as he points out, it comes after the catering and custodians, but I like to think of it as saving the best for last.) Anyway, a couple days ago, Don (the Friedman one) sent a note about how he was going through some old photos and came across one from a class trip we took to Washington, D.C. Both of us think this took place during junior high, though the box was marked Freshman Year in high school. But there I am -- with Don -- and also the other Don. You can see Don Rumsfeld standing with the teacher chaperones in the lower far-right (and how appropriate is that?!) . And you can see that he signed it on the Capitol steps. That's me, the short fellow in the top row, fourth gremlin from the left. Don Friedman is to my left, in the light sportcoat and dark sweater. I always knew that Rumsfeld was my congressman as a kid -- I never remembered that there was a photo with both of us in it. I’m trying to decide if it’s a good thing or bad that I have a picture with me and Don Rumsfeld together. However, I take great comfort knowing that the two of us are about as far apart as two can be in the photo, which is a lovely metaphor for life…
4 Comments
Don Friedman
7/3/2020 09:17:10 am
That could ruin your reputation (to be clear, the photographic association with Rumsfeld, not me). Actually, as I recall, Rumsfeld was condidered a "liberal" Republican back in the day and the district was considered a moderate-to-liberal Republican district. Maybe it wasn't as liberal as I recall, and Rumsfeld was elected in part because he was a local boy made good.
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Robert Elisberg
7/3/2020 10:26:18 pm
Happily, if my reputation is ever under scrutiny for the photo, I can point to being almost as far away from him as anyone in the picture...
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Don Friedman
7/4/2020 04:45:28 am
According to Wikipedia, Crane was first elected by prevailing by a small margin against 11 or 12 other candidates in the GOP primary in a special election to replace Rumsfeld. He was opposed by what Wikipedia describes as the Republican establishment in the district. Since Mikva replaced him soon after, he must have either switched to a different district or re-districting moved Glencoe out of Crane's district.
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Robert Elisberg
7/4/2020 10:21:13 am
As my article notes, there was redistricting. He may have also moved to a deeply conservative district, but I can't swear to that. But definitely redictricting. Leave a Reply. |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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