Jim Leach mentored me, and Iowa

Jim Leach’s passing reminds us of a time when principled, smart, pragmatic Republican leadership mattered

Maybe I got the legislative assistant job in Jim Leach’s DC Congressional office because I was the only one who could keep the Gestetner mimeograph machine running, a tribute to my youth keeping machinery functioning on our family farm. With Sue Neely, I had been one of Jim’s initial summer interns after he was first elected in 1976 and the Gestetner had relied on me.

Jim was my political mentor. Raised in a traditional Republican household in his district, in Winfield, Jim’s pragmatic, fiscally conservative and socially moderate politics appealed to me.

He believed in good government, government that was both effective and efficient, and not bigger than it needed to be. He didn’t have much patience for either conservatives who wanted to burn it all down or liberals who thought government could do it all. Jim was a loyal Republican but also crossed the aisle to serve as the Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities under President Obama.

While better known for his banking and financial leadership, Jim was a natural on the Foreign Affairs Committee (then International Relations). At the time, Jim was the only former Foreign Service Officer in the House and several mid-career Foreign Service Officers did six-month fellowships in his office, which inspired me to later join the Foreign Service. Which enabled me to witness the Velvet Revolution and the fall of communism as a diplomat in Czechoslovakia in 1989. Richard Nixon was among the dignitaries who visited Prague in the following months. When I introduced myself I mentioned that I had worked for Jim. Nixon tapped his finger to his temple and said “smart, very smart.”

Three Leach alumni, Sally Narey, Ken Ruberg, and Gary Reed recently assembled a booklet featuring Leach’s staff and their memories from Jim’s 30 years in the House of Representatives. In it, we wrote about what Jim had meant in our lives. For example:

“I can’t overstate Jim’s integrity, intellect, insatiable curiosity, and commitment to political civility. His willingness to cross party lines and his record of public service are remarkable. But what’s uniquely Jim are his exuberant personality, wicked sense of humor, love of family, and unbridled devotion to his country, Iowa, and the Hawkeyes.” Sally Narey

“Jim’s legacy of honesty, integrity, intellectual curiosity and the importance of challenging convention is without equal in politics — and a legacy I am very proud and honored to be associated with.” Al Tank

“Jim Leach is a good man, a gifted writer, a student of history and deeply patriotic. He loved Iowa. He was kind to everyone, especially his staff. He’s the consummate listener. Discomforted by compliments. He campaigned through back pain without a complaint. For thirty years, he stayed true to himself as an independent-minded US Congressman. One of a kind.” Gary Reed

“Jim was so impressively intelligent and well read that it was hard to brief him on a topic because he was already up on it.” Sara Perkins Jenez

“Jim’s combination of warmth and wisdom gave us two things: The confidence that good people could be successful politicians and the confidence that a capable politician shared our views or that we shared his. Jim obviously did and said what he thought was right, a role model for fellow Republicans who were uncomfortable with the national party leadership. He made it okay, no, respectable to be a Republican.” Peggy Pinder Elliott

On these pages too, we recalled what we’d learned from Jim, including:

“I have long argued that the best and worst part of having started my professional career in Jim’s office is that I was trained to never see only one side of an issue. As a result, every policy I write reflects the complexities of the subject while being respectful of differing views. Although I am sometimes envious of those who view issues through a single lens, I am thankful for the rigors of thought I learned in Jim’s office.” Amy Butler

“I learned that it was possible to make policy with integrity, compromise is not a dirty word and listening to people with whom you disagree can actually produce better policy. I can’t tell you how many times I have had people tell me that they wish there were more people in DC like Jim.” Gary Grant

“In a democracy like ours, Jim would often say, it is ‘process’ that is our most important and most precious product.” Bill Tate

We were also huge fans of Deba, Jim’s wife, who made us all feel like family.

My memories also include wonderful esprit de corps in Jim’s office, playing shortstop on the national mall for Leach’s Peaches, our slow-pitch softball team in the Congressional office league, and group proof-readings of Jim’s sometimes-maybe-a-little-too-long weekly column for newspapers in the district.

Toward the end of Jim’s tenure, his campaign billboards featured a single word: Integrity. We could use a lot more of that these days. Thank you, Jim.