A “strict Constitutionalist”

July 16th, 2008 at 05:30pm Linda Grist Cunningham

Years ago when I first met then-candidate, now Congressman Don Manzullo, I was pretty sure there’d be disagreements. Don’s a lot more conservative than I am on social issues, although we’ve been in sync over the decade-plus on many of the economic issues. And, then we started talking about the Constitution. Don made it clear then, and he has been consistent since that he’s going to defend the Constitution — and there are times when doing so makes him appear to be a rip-snorting leftwinger. I knew then that there’d be times when Don would vote his head and heart and not his politics. He did that this week when he broke with the Republicans and became one of a handful of GOPers to support Dennis Kucinich’s impeachment bill.

That’s Don Manzullo paying more attention to protecting the Constitution than playing politics. I admire him for that. He’s done it before, several times, but the one I believe is among his best moments is when he told the editorial board shortly after voting for the then-brand-new Patriot’s Act that he would never do so again because he feared what its implementation would do to the fundamental rights of the U.S. Constitution.

As this impeachment bill story plays out, there will be those who will talk the politics of Republicans supporting a bill that might have implications for the president and vice president. I have no doubt politics plays into it. But, I’m confident Don Manzullo was thinking less about politics and a lot more about protecting your rights, mine and his with a strong Constitution. Thanks, Don.

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