The Life of Senator Paul Simon - Essay Example

The Life of Senator Paul Simon Paul Martin Simon was born in Eugene, Lane County, Oregon, November 29, 1928. He was a son of Lutheran minister who was a missionary to China. Shortly before his birth his parents were forced to return back to America due to development of change in Chinese beliefs. "… He was clearly influenced by the principled (and often unpopular) stands taken by his father, who thundered against the internment of Japanese-Americans after Pearl Harbor. . . . Simon did a little thundering himself as early as his undergraduate years, though he decided early on that the ministers life wasnt for him (Wright, 13). "He attended the University of Oregon and Dana College in Blair, Nebraska, but never graduated" (Paul Simon). "At Nepraskas then all-white Dana College, he led an effort to make the schools admissions policies color-blind" (Wright, 16). "In 1948, at the end of his junior year, with financial backing from local business people Simon pursued career as a newspaper editor and publisher in Troy, eventually building a chain of fourteen weeklies1, becoming the nations youngest editor-publisher of the renamed Troy Tribune" (Wright 18; Simon 4)). "That year his paper endorsed Thomas E. Dewey for president over Harry S. Truman" (Rosenbaum, 23). "His activism against gambling, prostitution, and government corruption while at the Troy Tribune forced the newly-elected governor, Adlai Stevenson, to take a stand on these issues, creating national exposure for Simon"(Paul Simon, 22). "He started small, with an editorial drive a municipal sewer system, and was promptly denounced as a socialist" (Wright, 20), and he "cultivated a reputation as an intellectual straight arrow"(Rosenbaum, 15). Rosenbaum reported that in 1951, an admiring reporter for another newspaper, The East St. Louis Journal, began an article about him this way: "You still can raise a lot of hell with a county printing press"(26). Simon served in the United States Army from 1951 to1953 during the Korean War, becoming an intelligence officer. Upon his discharge, he began his political career, "serving in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1953 to 1963" (Simon, 8), where "he ran his first race and began a 14-year tour in the Illinois Legislature. There he found a much higher order of inequities … and inequities. Unlike the usually more subtly corrupt he would later encounter in Washington, politicians in Illinois openly put their votes on the block. Simon the most awfulness, dashing off a piece for Harpers Magazine called "The Illinois Legislature: A Study in Corruption" (Wright, 28). "He gradually moved up the political ladder, by 1954 becoming a member of the Democratic Party, which was dominant in Southern Illinois" (Rosenbaum, 29) "As a state legislator, he worked to achieve fiscal responsibility and to expand public utilities in rural parts of the state that did not yet have them. He was also active in promoting Civil Rights, and once hosted an event attended by former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt" (Paul Simon, 28). Kostmayer stated that during his14 years in the General Assembly, he won the Independent Voters of Illinois, "Best Legislator Award" every session (34)." He came to national prominence in the 1960s, due in part to his well-researched book, Lincolns Preparation for Greatness: The Illinois Legislative Years. Despite being published 100 years after Abraham Lincolns death, it was the first book to exhaustively cite original source documents from Lincolns eight years in the General Assembly" (Paul Simon, 59). During the same year, 1960, "in Springfield he met and married Jeanne Hurley, a lawyer who was one of the few women in the legislature" (Rosenbaum, 31). "It was the first time in Illinois history that two sitting members of the General Assembly were married each other. After 40 years of marriage his wife died in 2000 due to brain cancer" (Paul Simon, 99). They had a daughter, Sheila, and a son, Martin. One year later, "Simon married Patricia Derge, the widow of former Southern Illinois University President David Derge" (Paul Simon, 100). Mr. Simon was elected Lieutenant Governor of Illinois in 1968 and served from 1969 to 1973. He served as a Democrat with the Republican Governor Richard B. Ogilvie. This administration was the only one in Illinois history in which the governor and lieutenant governor were from opposing political parties. Together they "produced the states first income tax and paved the way for states constitutional convention in 1969, which created Illinoiss fourth (and current) constitution" (Paul Simon, 43). The Lieutenant Governor of Illinois is the second highest executive of the State of Illinois. When the Governor of Illinois becomes unable to discharge the duties of that office, the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor. Historically, the lieutenant governor has been from either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. "In 1972, Mr. Simon ran for governor as the favored of the states Democratic boss, Mayor Richard J. Daley of Chicago, but lost in the primary to Daniel Walker, a corporate lawyer" (Rosenbaum, 34). After his loss, "he taught for a couple of years then Sangamon State University, when he founded the Public Affairs Reporting Program. The program is now nationally recognized as a first-rate masters program that trains journalists about how to cover government, particularly Illinois state government. He was one of three co-founders of Illinois Issues magazine, which was first published in 1975" (Death of P. Simon, 18) After teaching for two years, "he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1974, the year of a national Democratic landslide that followed the Watergate scandal. He was not particularly popular with his colleagues in the House. Seeking more influence, he ran to be chairman of the Budget Committee and finished a distant third" (Rosenbaum, 38). In the House, "Simon played a lead role in drafting and enhancing major legislation on wide range of issues, particularly education, disability policy, and foreign affairs. Known to be an effective legislator, Time magazine noted that Simon passed more amendments in 1983 than any other member of the House of Representatives" (Kostmayer, 45) In 1984, he challenged a three-term Republican senator, Charles H. Percy, and won a narrow victory. "Trailing in the polls until Election Day, Simon started a career in the Senate marked, as his House years were, by foursquare support for a balanced budget and for programs to improve the lot of the poor and the undereducated" (Wright, 46). He was reelected in 1996 and served from January 3, 1985 to January 3, 1997. Rosenbaum stated that barely two years into his senate term Simon (the bow-tie-wearing) began campaigning for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination. In his announcement, he said he would not abandon Democratic principles. "Im glad there is a Republican Party," he declared, "but one Republican Party is enough." His campaign slogan was "Isnt time to believe again?" (40). Simon suspended his campaign in April 1988 after having won only his home states primary. "I leave the field of active campaigning with no regrets for having made the race," he said, "because it has been an exhilarating experience to get to know our nation better" (Former Sen. P. Simon dies, 23)." He later wrote a book about campaign, "Winners and Losers". As a senator, "he overhauled the college student loan program to allow students and their families to borrow directly from the federal government, thus giving money by not using private banks to disperse the loans" (Dodd). "He fiercely took a stand against obscenity and violence in the media in 1990s. His efforts against media violence partly led to the adoption of V-chip" (Eggerton). "Simon opposed the Contract with America and Clintonian welfare reforms, and was one of 21 senators who voted against the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act" (Senate Roll Record). Throughout his distinguished Congressional career, Senator Simon was committed champion for Asian Pacific American (APA) issues. He was leader in fighting for the Voting Rights Act extension of 1992 which protected the right to vote for citizens without English fluency; saving the fourth immigration preference, the visa most used by Asian Americans to be reunited with close family members. With the proceeds from a 1996 APA community tribute to Senator Simon, Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL) has established Simon Scholarship to enable promising young APA students reach their full potential as leaders serving their community2. "Simon, while in the U.S. Senate, co-chaired the Task Force of Illinois Campaign Finance Project from 1994 to 1997. The project was based at University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS), and directed by Illinois Issues and the Institute for public Affairs at UIS, now the Center for State Policy and Leadership" (Death of P. Simon, 28). Regarding the foreign affairs Senator Simon had significant stands. In 1992, "he and Senator Kassenbaum, as members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, sponsored resolutions demanding urgent action during the presidency of George H. W. Bush" (Lofland, p56). Simon was "an outspoken critic of President Bill Clintons response to the Rwandan genocide. He believed America should have acted faster, and Clinton later said his belated response was the biggest mistake of his presidency"(Norton, p192). "He is, together with Jim Jeffords, credited by Canadian Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire, Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda from 1993 to 1994, for actively lobbying the U.S. administration into mounting a humanitarian mission to Rwanda during the genocide. According to Dallaires book Shake Hands with the Devil, he "owe[s] a great debt of gratitude" to both senators"(Paul Simon, 81). In 1995, Simon and two other senators "convinced Bill Clinton to allow the private visit of then-Republic of China president Lee Teng-hui to visit United States. The three senators termed the decision "a victory of democracy" and lauded the progress Taiwan had made towards democratic principles and political pluralism as major reason for the breakthrough. Senator Simon also termed the old US policy of political isolating Taiwan "two decades old, stilted, rigid and unrealistic." He called for a new policy," … not on the basis of power, not on the basis of numbers, but on the basis of human rights," indicating that US policies towards Taiwan should not be dictated by another country (i.e. China)" (Lee Ten-hui now welcome to the USA). After his retirement from Senate, in 1997, he joined the faculty of the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where "he founded the Public Policy Institute. Simon said the goal of the institute was, "to find new ways of solving some very old problems." The institute developed a reputation for not only exploring important issues as the role of U.S. military and world hunger, but for proposing solutions" (Kostmayer, 58) Going on with his characteristic policy towards the foreign affairs, he presented in a conference held in Cuncun, 2002, and recommended three specific changes in U.S. policy towards Cuba: . Open trade "in everything except military equipment, and it has to be trade that goes both ways." . "Significant numbers of student and faculty exchanges between the U.S. and Cuba." . A lifting of restrictions for U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba, "Unless there is a safety factor, the right to travel is a basic right of U.S. citizens," asserted Simon, a member of the board of directors of the Cuba Policy Foundation, (…), which promotes normalization of U.S.-Cuba relations.(Lyne, 55) Simon added in the same conference "You and I change history, either by what we do positively, what we do negatively or through our indifference. I want you to change things. I want to see an improvement in relations between Cuba and U.S."(Lyne, 68) Long stated that Simon worried in [his last book: Our culture of] Pandering that political journalism is not as good as it was a couple of decade back. He attributed this, in part, to an increasing drive for profits by media owners. As a result, reporting staffs and "new holes" have been shrinking. Pressures for ratings and readers have been going up. And it has become easier for lazy editors and reporters to retail personality rather than assess policy. "Too often" he wrote, "the winning candidates are those who pander to the polls and to the big campaign contributors."(58) Until his death following heart surgery and beyond he influenced Illinois history. "He had endorsed Howard Deans 2004 presidential bid, in telephone conference call; he conducted from his hospital bed"(Awaiting surgery). He was also an early supporter of current Illinois Senator Barack Obama. His endorsement was used effectively and was considered a major reason for Obamas surprise victory in the Democratic primary (Obama). Upon his death in December 9, 2003 at St. Johns Hospital in Springfield, President George W. Bush stated: Laura and I were saddened to learn of the death of former Senator Paul Simon. Paul Simon contributed significantly to America as an Army special agent, newspaper publisher, member of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, and author and teacher. He will be missed by the many people in Illinois and throughout the country whose lives he touched and improved. Laura and I send our condolences to his family and many friends (Statement on Sen. P. Simon). There is no doubt that Senator Paul Simons death after 75 years full of activities, in favor of the goodness to the people of the United States, was a great loss not only for his nation but also for many other people whose lives became better due to his thoughts and ideas which can summarized as: . Fighting for citizen rights . Curbing television violence . Enhancing education and reorganizing the federal student loan system . Supporting federal balanced budget amendment . Responding to shortage of water supply . Supporting resolution for world hunger After his honored name many projects have been established or issued: . The U.S. Senator Paul Simon Museum, which contain many of his items . The U.S. Senator Paul Simon Youth Civics and Leadership program . NAFSA-Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization . NAFSA-Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act . Paul Simon Water for Poor Act Notes 1 Mr. Simon sold his chain in 1966 (Rosenbaum 27) 2 See Senator Paul Simon Scholarship Works Cited Death of Paul Simon.2003.University of Illinois at Springfield. December 14 2003 Read More