<\/a>Right-wing Republicans showed their muscle in the 2010 mid-term elections, and are effectively turning the phrase “moderate Republican” into an oxymoron. But, although it may be hard to believe, there once was a progressive presence in the the Republican party.<\/p>\n

Conservative leaders don\u2019t want you to know about their progressive predecessors, because their existence would reflect how extreme they are today, even in the context of being Republicans.<\/p>\n

Recently a network called Progressive Republicans<\/a> started a web site in an attempt to preserve the heritage of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and others who have worked from the GOP side of the aisle to promote social justice and economic fairness. Unfortunately, clicking on their link takes you to a dead website, further underscoring the demise of even a glimmer of moderation in the Republican realm.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t that long ago that liberal Republicans from the Northeast were in the vanguard of the civil rights movement.\u00a0 By all rights, Jacob Javits should have been a Democrat, but he wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 He grew up in New York, in a teeming Lower East Side tenement.\u00a0 His father was a janitor, and his mother sold dry goods from a cart.\u00a0 He worked hard, graduated from George Washington High School<\/a> in New York, and took night classes at Columbia University<\/a> while working a variety of jobs during the day.\u00a0 He later received a law degree from NYU<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In his youth Javits had watched his father work as a ward heeler for Tammany Hall<\/a> and experienced firsthand the corruption and graft associated with that notorious political machine. Tammany’s operations repulsed Javits so much that he forever rejected the city’s Democratic party, and in the early 1930s joined the Republican-Fusion party, which was supporting the mayoral campaigns of Fiorello H. La Guardia<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This was in an era when, if you were a person of compassion and found the local Democratic Party to be too corrupt for your taste, you had a choice.\u00a0 Not only could you join the <\/a>Republican Party; you were courted to do so.<\/p>\n

After serving terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and as Attorney-General of the state of New York, Jacob Javits ran for U.S. Senator in 1956.\u00a0 He won by nearly a half million votes and began a twenty-four year career as not only a progressive Republican but as one of the most liberal voices in the Senate.<\/p>\n

He was an early supporter of civil rights legislation, including Dwight Eisenhower\u2019s bill in 1957.\u00a0 It provided only limited voting protection for minorities, but it began an eleven year run of civil rights legislation that expanded rights for minorities in the areas of public accommodations, employment, voting, and housing.\u00a0 Perhaps most importantly, enforcement agencies were established to guarantee rights.\u00a0 Special attention was paid to ensuring voting rights in southern states.<\/p>\n

Like many liberal senators, Jacob Javits initially supported Lyndon Johnson\u2019s escalation of the Vietnam War; he voted for the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution<\/a> in 1964.\u00a0 However he was part of the rising tide of individuals and legislators who came to oppose the war in late 1967.\u00a0 He reversed himself by voting to repeal the Gulf of Tonkin resolution and voted against sending troops to Cambodia.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While he was not a major player in the Senate\u2019s efforts to unravel the Watergate fiasco, after winning election to his fourth (and final) term in 1974, he took an increasing role in foreign affairs.\u00a0 Working with Jimmy Carter, he journeyed to Israel and Egypt to facilitate discussions that led to the 1978 Camp David Agreement.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In 1979, both his health and his political fortunes declined.\u00a0 He was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease, but tried to run for a fifth term in 1980.\u00a0 He was defeated twice; once in the Republican primary and then in November while running on the Liberal party ticket.<\/p>\n

If we focus and Jacob Javits\u2019 first and last political acts, we can truly appreciate how unique he was and how distant today\u2019s Republicans are from his legacy.\u00a0 First he joined the Republican Party because he didn\u2019t want to get involved in the corruption of the Democratic Party.\u00a0 Obviously, Democratic corruption still exists, so avoiding that could be a motivator for other \u201cnatural Democrats\u201d to consider running as Republicans.\u00a0 Finally, he left the Republican Party when he was defeated in a primary by the very conservative Alfonse D\u2019Amato.\u00a0 He then joined a party that wanted him, the Liberal Party.<\/p>\n

Jacob Javits\u2019 legacy stands on its own and it can be a model for humanizing the Republican Party and repositioning its \u201ctent.\u201d\u00a0 First, it should be a home for honest and public-oriented Democrats who feel uncomfortable with their local Democratic Party.\u00a0 Second, the Republican should learn that the door swings both ways.\u00a0 If individual Republicans are stifled by near-totalitarian rule within the party (are you listening Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins?), they can bolt and join the Democrats.\u00a0 Anyway, it\u2019s a much more enjoyable \u201cclub.\u201d With whom would you rather have dinner, Al Franken or Mitch McConnell?\u00a0 Thank you, Mr. Javits.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> Considerable historical information in this article is from a well-documented article in Wikipedia<\/a>.\u00a0 The paragraphs that primarily include Wikipedia information are indented.<\/p>\n

[This article was first published in Occasional Planet in March 2010. After seeing the results of the November 2, 2010 elections, we thought it merited a second look.]<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jacob Javits\u2019 legacy stands on its own and it can be a model for humanizing the Republican Party and repositioning its \u201ctent.\u201d First, it should be a home for honest and public-oriented Democrats who feel uncomfortable with their local Democratic Party. Second, the Republican should learn that the door swings both ways. If individual Republicans are stifled by near-totalitarian rule within the party (are you listening Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins), they can bolt and join the Democrats. Anyway, it\u2019s a much more enjoyable \u201cclub;\u201d with whom would you rather have dinner, Al Franken or Mitch McConnell? Thank you, Mr. Javits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[255,128,16],"tags":[61,278,2492,277,2494],"yoast_head":"\n