Because
the best way to describe the political service of the one-time member of Congress
from Chicago’s Far South Side is that the extent to which he cared about
anything was whether it impacted anyone within the boundaries of his district.
IT
WOULD BE accurate to say that Savage, who died during the weekend at age 90
after having been out of politics for nearly a quarter of a century, was all
about the people who sent him to Washington to represent them.
The
rest of the nation?
They
had their own members of Congress to look out for their needs. He was out to
protect the largely African-American population of the far southern end of
Chicago. He wasn’t interested in being a big-shot on the Capitol Hill scene.
He
was solely about looking out for his constituents. And if anybody else didn’t
like it, then tough! He wasn’t going to lose sleep over it.
I
HAVE NO doubt that those political observers old enough to remember the man who
served in Congress from 1981-93 (there probably are many people who think they’re
politically astute who said, “Gus who?!?”) are now sharing the story about how
he made sexual advances on the Peace Corps worker (supposedly in the back seat
of a limousine) or his Election Night rhetoric about how it was Jewish people
conspiring against him that got him dumped from Congress in the early 1990s.
Although
the reality was that the population shifts that caused 1990s reapportionment
meant the Far South Side was no longer its own Congressional district. It was
lumped in with the south suburbs.
Which
back then consisted of many people who fled their families out of the city to be
away from “those kind” of people. Who now dominate the south suburbs, causing whites to flee further out into Will County and Northwest Indiana.
It
was to that mentality that an aspiring black politician who had actually been a
Rhodes scholar seemed like an acceptable alternative -- even though I suspect many of those blue-collar types don't really have a clue what a Rhodes scholar is!
OF
COURSE NOW, we laugh that it meant the arrival in Congress of Mel Reynolds –
the politico who forevermore brings a chuckle to the idea of “peach panties”
and “win(ning) the Lotto.”
Savage
got dumped for being too black a person in spirit for a man who wound up doing
prison time for being involved with a teenage girl (along with other offenses,
but that is the one we want to eagerly remember).
I
remember reading political advisor James Carville’s book along with future
spouse Mary Matalin about the 1992 presidential campaign where he talked of how
close presidential hopeful Bill Clinton came to endorsing Reynolds publicly –
just to make a statement against anti-semitic thought at Savage’s expense.
Only
to express shock at the thought that many local political operatives that the
Clinton campaign wanted on their side also backed Savage.
BECAUSE
THEY ALSO sensed that Savage had his focus back on the home district – rather than
worrying about what might gain him a bit more seniority in Congress out of the
belief that THAT is what really would move his constituents forward.
Now
I’m not trying to praise Savage. Personally, I am a Far South Side Chicago
native who remembers the man as a congress member of little influence or
consequence.
I’m
just realistic enough to know that I’m sure Gus never lost any sleep over the
fact that some people were never going to be inclined to support him (keep
screaming “Farrakhan!”), particularly if they’re they kind of people inclined
to think that Ronald Reagan was a wonderful president.
Because
there were many others (enough to keep getting re-elected throughout the 1980s)
who were just fine with what he did – and probably think the problem with
politics today is that there aren’t more people as locally-focused as ‘ol Gus.
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment