John Conyers: Hero of the Left, Scourge of the Right...

[marmar]

Michigan Democrat Is Hero of the Left, Scourge of the Right
BY Jonathan Tilove
c.2006 Newhouse News Service

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more stories by Jonathan Tilove




WASHINGTON _ For a 77-year-old congressman coasting to a 22nd term, John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., generates a lot of heat.

It was Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, who issued major reports suggesting President Bush committed impeachable offenses in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, and that Bush partisans may have stolen the 2004 presidential election in Ohio. In the process, Conyers became a hero to the left.

He is, in the words of Gore Vidal, ``one of the most useful _ currently the most useful _ member of the House of Representatives.''

But he is also the scourge who conservatives warn will assume the Judiciary Committee chairmanship if Democrats regain control of the House this fall _ plunging the nation into a rabbit hole of Michael Moore conspiracy theories and retro 1960s rabble-rousing.

As writer Joe Klein put it in Time magazine, ``The ugly truth is that Conyers is a twofer: in addition to being foolishly incendiary, he is an African-American of a certain age and ideology, easily stereotyped by Republicans.''

Or not.

Courtly and intellectual, Conyers speaks in a measured meter and even tone. His mellifluous voice fairly whispers, ``don't be afraid, what I'm saying shouldn't scare you to death,'' says his longtime friend and ally Marcus Raskin of the Institute for Policy Studies. ``He's a cannon, but he's not loose.''

The complete article is at: http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/tilove100406.html

[babylonsister]

1. Rep. Conyers is one of my heroes, and sadly, there aren't many. nt

[marmar]

2. "sadly, there aren't many."

You can say that again. Makes JC all the more remarkable.

[bonito]

3. kick

[MannyGoldstein]

4. Scourge of the Battlin' Congressional Dems, Too!!!

That man just does not know how to keep his powder dry!

[marmar]

5. Teehee

:)

[readmoreoften]

6. He's too busy using his powder. Funny, he always seems to have

enough powder leftover.

[JeffR]

7. It has bugger-all to do with Left or Right

Conyers is a patriot, a great American, and a public servant without peer.

End of story.

[hootinholler]

9. I think he's less partisan than most ont he hill. n.t

[UrbScotty]

8. Proud of my fellow Michigander! (nt)

[antigop]

10. ahem -- Conyers voted for the Pension "Protection" Act

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll422.xml

I don't think he's a hero.

[marmar]

11. Ahem, compared to just about everyone else's voting record, I'd say he is.

:think: