Op-ed: The congressmen and the counselor

  • By Cal Thomas
  • Saturday, April 1, 2017 8:46pm
  • Opinion

Tony Hall served in Congress for nearly 24 years, representing Ohio’s 3rd District. The Democrat left in 2002 to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, appointed by President George W. Bush.

Hall laments how corrosive contemporary politics has become and tells me he couldn’t get elected in today’s environment. Partially, he says, it is because he is pro-life and a supporter of traditional marriage, but mainly there are at least two things that have changed for the worse since he was in Congress: “One is that congressmen don’t live (in Washington) anymore. We were told probably 15 years ago not to bring our families here, but to leave them at home. That was a mistake.”

Hall says that suggestion came from Speaker Newt Gingrich and the Democrats followed “and they shouldn’t have.”

The reasoning behind that, he says, is that members felt getting elected was the most important thing, “so they come in Monday night, or Tuesday morning, and leave Thursday. They don’t know each other and then run against Washington. They don’t build relationships, wives don’t know each other; the men don’t know each other.” Their families suffer, he says, because they aren’t spending enough time with them and the country suffers because they don’t spend much time with each other.

The second change is members of Congress no longer travel overseas as much as they once did. They fear their trips might be labeled “junkets,” which some were, so they don’t acquire the necessary knowledge of other countries, nor do they get to know each other from spending time together.

Then there’s the extravagant amounts of money that must be raised to win re-election. This requires that members of Congress take time to “dial for dollars” by going to their respective party headquarters and spending two or more hours a day asking for donations.

Hall and former Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) have developed a rare friendship that began when they served in Congress together and which continues today. Hall says the key to their relationship has been their common Christian faith: “When you pray together it’s pretty difficult to go out on the House floor and denounce the other person.” They didn’t talk politics in their meetings and meals for the first two years “because that would have divided us.”

What difference does this make when it comes to legislation one party supports and the other opposes?

“Over a period of time,” Hall says, “you begin to trust one another and when you trust one another you find you do have common ground.” In addition to pro-life and traditional marriage, he lists hunger issues and gambling as subjects about which they have similar views. This led, he says, to his contributing to Wolf’s re-election campaigns, which angered some of his Democratic colleagues. Asked if Wolf reciprocated, Hall laughs and says, “I don’t think so, but he had tougher races than I did.”

Dr. Phil McGraw, a psychologist and host of the syndicated TV show “Dr. Phil,” echoed Hall in an essay he wrote for Variety in January. McGraw offered this advice to Congress: “Stop fighting with and trying to trip up the other side. Start doing only those things that help people. Stop the games, the obstruction, the chest pounding and the ‘my party is better than your party’ stuff. Stop treating voters like idiots and start doing your job: Working for us. From our point of view, there is only one side.

Maybe the answer to the dysfunction in Washington is mandatory therapy from Dr. Phil and testimonies from Tony Hall and Frank Wolf on what the results can look like. Nothing else seems to be working.

Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com.

More in Opinion

A silver salmon is weighed at Three Bears in Kenai, Alaska. Evelyn McCoy, customer service PIC at Three Bears, looks on. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Will coho salmon be the next to disappear in the Kenai River?

Did we not learn anything from the disappearance of the kings from the Kenai River?

Jonathan Flora is a lifelong commercial fisherman and dockworker from Homer, Alaska.
Point of View: Not fishing for favors — Alaskans need basic health care access

We ask our elected officials to oppose this bill that puts our health and livelihoods in danger.

Alex Koplin. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: Public schools do much more than just teach the three Rs

Isn’t it worth spending the money to provide a quality education for each student that enters our schools?

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter to the Editor: Law enforcement officers helped ensure smooth, secure energy conference

Their visible commitment to public safety allowed attendees to focus fully on collaboration, learning, and the important conversations shaping our path forward.

Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo
The present-day KTOO public broadcasting building, built in 1959 for the U.S. Army’s Alaska Communications System Signal Corps, is located on filled tidelands near Juneau’s subport. Today vehicles on Egan Drive pass by the concrete structure with satellite dishes on the roof that receive signals from NPR, PBS and other sources.
My Turn: Stand for the community radio, not culture war optics

Alaskans are different and we pride ourselves on that. If my vehicle… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) delivers his annual speech to the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Sullivan, Trump and the rule of lawlessness

In September 2023, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan established his own Alaska Federal… Continue reading

UAA Provost Denise Runge photographed outside the Administration and Humanities Building at the University of Alaskas Anchorage. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: UAA’s College of Health — Empowering Alaska’s future, one nurse at a time

At the University of Alaska Anchorage, we understand the health of our… Continue reading

U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, R-Alaska, address a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: A noncongressman for Alaska?

It’s right to ask whether Nick Begich is a noncongressman for Alaska.… Continue reading

Boats return to the Homer Harbor at the end of the fishing period for the 30th annual Winter King Salmon Tournament on Saturday, March 23, 2024 in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Opinion: Funding sustainable fisheries

Spring is always a busy season for Alaska’s fishermen and fishing communities.… Continue reading

Gov. Mike Dunleavy holds a press conference on Monday, May 19, 2025, to discuss his decision to veto an education bill. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: On fiscal policy, Dunleavy is a governor in name only

His fiscal credibility is so close to zero that lawmakers have no reason to take him seriously.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks in support overriding Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of House Bill 69 at the Alaska Capitol in Juneau, Alaska, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)
Capitol Corner: Finishing a session that will make a lasting impact

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman reports back from Juneau.