Reflections On A Man Named Hatch

As I took our political sign down yesterday for a losing Maine gubernatorial candidate I couldn't help thinking back to the 70s when I lived in Massachusetts and served a few terms as a Representative in the Great and General Court (the Massachusetts term for its state legislature). In those days there was still such a thing as a moderate Republican. The Saltonstall and Lodge clan had served with distinction for years and in my day there was still a William Saltonstall in the State Senate, nephew of the legendary Leverett Saltonstall.


Back then there was a Republican think tank called the Rippon Society that worked hard at trying to set a socially moderate, fiscally responsible agenda for the party. Their ideas weren't always where I felt comfortable but Rippon articulated its positions well and was always worth listening to.


If you can believe it, there were occasions, more than once, when Democrats and Republicans would work together to form coalitions around issues such as progressive land use regulation, stronger environmental laws and health care reforms. These bi-partisan efforts on occasion were able to carry the day and good laws got passed by members of both parties working together. (Wow! Doesn't that sound odd?)


The leader of the Republicans in the Massachusetts House back then was a wonderful man named Frank Hatch. In the latter part of his life, long after he had retired from public service, Hatch resigned from the party he had served so long and so well and became a Democrat. He had totally had it with George W. Bush and Carl Rove. He just couldn't stand the ideological far right litmus tests that had become the norm for being a "true" Republican. He hated ugly adversarial "my way or the highway" legislating. In his years in the House, he had enjoyed forging meaningful bi-partisan consensus because he felt that out of that give and take came the best kind of public policy.


Those days of civility between the parties are now of course long gone and we are about to enter another 2 years of political pushing, shoving and sound bite rhetoric. I doubt much good will be accomplished. It's really too bad there are so few Frank Hatches left in public life these days. We need them so very badly.