Q&A: Lee Hamilton on checks and balances, Sept. 11

Photo by Chris Homel | Herald Times

Sarita Overton asked former Congressman Lee Hamilton what she should tell a 17-year-old son who might not take advantage of his first chance to vote next fall.

"He and his peers feel their votes won't really count for anything," she said.

Hamilton's response was blunt: "What I would say to him is, 'If you want to kill democracy, if you want to kill freedom, if you want to kill liberty, then don't vote.'"

That sort of theme permeated Hamilton's town hall-style meeting at Ivy Tech Community College's commons Tuesday morning.

Ivy Tech students and staff were joined by students from White River Valley schools and Bloomington's Aurora High School, and much of Hamilton's message addressed the young people in the packed audience.

"What I found especially interesting was not just what he said but how he said it - with such passion. He was so passionate about telling the young people to be involved," said Ivy Tech student Obie James of Hamilton.

Hamilton, who will turn 75 April 20, served 34 years as Indiana's 9th District congressman from 1965-1998, is staying involved.

Hamilton is on the advisory council of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, directs the Center on Congress at Indiana University and directs the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Hamilton co-chaired the Sept. 11 commission with former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean, and will now co-chair the 10-member Iraq Study Group with former Secretary of State Jim Baker.

Tuesday, after some prepared remarks, Hamilton conducted a question-and-answer session with the Ivy Tech audience.

Question: What would you say to anybody considering running for public office now?

Answer: Full speed ahead. I know many aspects of the political process can be disturbing, very rough and tumble, but don't get discouraged. Don't slip into cynicism. Cynicism is the deadly enemy of democracy. The cure for cynicism is engagement and involvement.

Q: Is our system of governmental checks and balances still working?

A: No - not to my satisfaction. There hasn't been enough accountability, which is a core requirement of representative democracy.

I don't trust absolute power in anybody. I always want a check. I've been worried for a long time that Congress has become too timid. Nobody can legitimately make the argument today that Congress is a co-equal branch of government.

The Constitution says it is Congress which has the right to wage war. The last time Congress actually declared war was in 1943, on Bulgaria. But we've been in a few tussles since then, haven't we?

Q: What do you think about the performance of our public education system, K-12, in preparing our kids for a more competitive and technology-driven future?

A: I'm not an expert on our educational system, but I am somewhat familiar with the competitive challenges, and we'd better get with it.

We need to bring everybody up, all students to higher standards, and focus more on engineering, math, science and technology.

Q: Is it effective to contact your congressman?

A: Yes, but I believe money has a disproportionate impact on that. Moneyed and special interest groups have too much impact on the process, and we need to empower individual citizens more.

Q: How can we do that?

A: Keep at it. Keep going back. Keep writing. Get friends who feel likewise to call. If your representative is in the area, go see them. It takes time and energy and commitment. But it's crucial.

If you vote, that's great, but don't think you've done your job simply with that. The day after the election, the special interests are already at work to influence policy. If you allow it, this system of representative government is going to be taken away from you.

The other day up in Indianapolis (at a fundraiser for Ind. Rep. Mike Sodrel), it cost $10,000 just to have your picture taken with the president. It was $1,000 just to be in the same room with him.

Congress is currently largely filled by millionaires, and that worries me.

The solution needs to be public financing of congressional campaigns, just as we've done with presidential campaigns."

Q: Thanks for your service on the 9/11 commission. How safe are we?

A: We are safer, but not safe enough. We know what the terrorists want to do - they've made it clear they want to kill as many Americans as possible. What we don't know is their capacity to do so.

We will always have some level of vulnerability because we are a free society with freedom of movement. But we should go around worrying about it. We ought not to panic. We ought not to radically change our lives, but rather be more alert to things.