1992.12.28: December 28, 1992: Headlines: Figures: Directors - Coverdelll: Directors: National Review: Charlton Heston writes: Marching through Georgia - victory of conservative Republican Paul Coverdell
Peace Corps Online:
Peace Corps News:
Directors of the Peace Corps:
Peace Corps Director Paul Coverdell (1989 - 1991):
Paul Coverdell:
1992.12.28: December 28, 1992: Headlines: Figures: Directors - Coverdelll: Directors: National Review: Charlton Heston writes: Marching through Georgia - victory of conservative Republican Paul Coverdell
Charlton Heston writes: Marching through Georgia - victory of conservative Republican Paul Coverdell
It was a deeply rewarding experience for me. When I got on the commercial jet for home that night, I thought, "By God, we did the best we could."A few days later, it was enough. Paul Coverdell was elected, only the second Republican Georgia has sent to the Senate since Reconstruction. We have a good man there, replacing a senator who served six years in disguise. Georgia and the U.S. Senate will surely be better off now. And I have the deep satisfaction, rare for a single citizen, of feeling that maybe I made a difference. Paul Coverdell was the 11th Director of the Peace Corps.
Charlton Heston writes: Marching through Georgia - victory of conservative Republican Paul Coverdell
Marching through Georgia - victory of conservative Republican Paul Coverdell over incumbent liberal Democrat Wyche Fowler in the Georgia senate race, November 1992
National Review,
Dec 28, 1992
by Charlton Heston
ATLANTA
AS REPUBLICANS roam the battlefield counting casualties and regrouping after November 3, few flags fly. One triumphant banner marks Paul Coverdell's runoff victory in Georgia for the junior seat in the U.S. Senate. His defeat of ultra-liberal incumbent Wyche Fowler confounded Democratic predictions of a four-seat gain in that chamber, preserving the status quo ante, and also discrediting media claims of a liberal sea-change in the electorate.
I was there. I think I know Georgia pretty well. As a boy, I used to hunt quail at my uncle's farm in Midland, near Columbus, where I also went to school in the fifth grade. I know about the strong industrial economy in the northern counties, the vigorous agricultural base in the south, and the extraordinary dynamism of Atlanta. You could argue that Georgia includes every kind of Southerner, and most kinds of American.
Wyche Fowler is an unlikely kind of candidate to be elected in Georgia, even on the Democratic ticket. Georgians, including Democrats, tend to be uncompromisingly patriotic, with strong views on defense, what remains of their wilderness and hunting rights, stable families, moderate taxation, and support for business and small farms. Most are religious; almost all respect those who are. Sam Nunn, the state's Democratic senior senator, is a good example. To a Beltway liberal, he looks a lot like a Republican.
Advertisement
Fowler, in contrast, is a full-blown tax-and-spend liberal, a Ted Kennedy clone. He was, however, astute enough to realize he could never win the Democratic nomination in Georgia, let alone the election, by flaunting his convictions. So he concealed them well enough to be elected with a modest margin in 1986.
Paul Coverdell, in sharp contrast, is a genuine Georgia conservative. In two decades of service in the State Senate, he became Minority Leader, earning respect as an able legislator and as a determined, if not stunningly charismatic, campaigner. He resigned to accept President Bush's offer to head the Peace Corps in 1989. He served there effectively, but it hardly seemed an ideal launching pad for national elective office.
Nevertheless, Coverdell perceived Fowler's vulnerabilities as a fake conservative nearly two years ago. Perhaps buoyed by President Bush's skyhigh ratings after Desert Storm, he prepared his challenge for Fowler's seat, filing for the Republican primary. He won a dogfight with four other candidates, extending to a runoff primary election. Although he gained the support of all four of his opponents and sharpened his campaign skills, the primary all but exhausted his funds.
Like most Democratic candidates, Fowler had an ample warchest, more than half of it supplied by out-of-state contributions and AFL-CIO funding (Georgia is a right-to-work state, anathema to Big Labor). As the Clinten people focused on the campaign, it caught my attention, too. I had met Paul Coverdell in New Orleans during the 1988 convention; he impressed me. As the President's campaign stumbled, Georgia and Coverdell's run there seemed increasingly important. It was a state where I had roots; Paul agreed I might be helpful. I scheduled a visit for the day before the election.
For me, campaigning is a lot like selling a movie or peddling a book; Lord knows I've done that long enough to learn how. We moved around the state, touching base in cities like Augusta and Savannah, doing the appropriate interviews and wringing as much exposure as possible out of my public face. It was a grey and drizzly day, but the crowds were responsive. That's always hard to read, though. Obviously, the people who turn out to see you are already committed. I thought Paul did a good job, deeply informed on the issues and responding to questions with more than a glib campaign sound bite. The question was: how effectively were we reaching the people who didn't show up at the rally, but would be there for the vote?
The morning after the election was a gloomy time, lightened only by the word from Georgia; neither Coverdell nor Fowler had won a majority (there had been a third-party candidate who snared 3 per cent of the vote), and so, under Georgia law, a runoff was required. I phoned Paul's headquarters; I was coming back.
Fowler, whose campaign in the regular election had been casual, was galvanized into action, most of it spent in harsh personal attacks on Coverdell, all of them invented. Several Georgia newspapers, including the Albany Herald, which had never before endorsed a Republican, came out for Coverdell in reaction to Fowler's odious fantasies. Paul also did well in several debates, in which Fowler stumbled.
Nevertheless, the Democrats were pouring money into Fowler's campaign. More important, major players were dispatched to save the day. First Gore, then Clinton, by then President-elect, came down to plead for votes (though Fowler had avoided Clinton in the primary).
GOP stalwarts Dole, Gramm, Gingrich, and Kemp strode the hustings; Barbara Bush appeared as well. Dollars began to pour into Coverdell headquarters. I went back, days before the runoff, and stumped the state again with Paul. When he met me at the Atlanta airport before dawn, he apologized for the rigor of the schedule we faced. "I didn't fly two thousand miles for an easy day, pal," I said. "Let's do it."
So we did ... eight different venues in every part of the state. We took off for Rome as the sun was rising and watched it set as we flew back from Macon 12 hours later. We saw a lot of Georgia, and a lot of Georgians, in between.
It was a deeply rewarding experience for me. When I got on the commercial jet for home that night, I thought, "By God, we did the best we could."A few days later, it was enough. Paul Coverdell was elected, only the second Republican Georgia has sent to the Senate since Reconstruction. We have a good man there, replacing a senator who served six years in disguise. Georgia and the U.S. Senate will surely be better off now. And I have the deep satisfaction, rare for a single citizen, of feeling that maybe I made a difference.
It was the last campaign of the 1992 elections. Or perhaps the first campaign of 1996.
Mr. Heston is currently working on his autobiography, an excerpt from which appears on p. 38.
COPYRIGHT 1992 National Review, Inc.
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Peace Corps Annual Report: 1992; Paul Coverdell; Figures; Paul Coverdell (Director 1989 - 1991); Peace Corps Directors; Georgia
When this story was posted in September 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Senator Dodd's Peace Corps Hearings Read PCOL's executive summary of Senator Chris Dodd's hearings on July 25 on the Peace Corps Volunteer Empowerment Act and why Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter does not believe the bill would contribute to an improved Peace Corps while four other RPCV witnesses do. Highlights of the hearings included Dodd's questioning of Tschetter on political meetings at Peace Corps Headquarters and the Inspector General's testimony on the re-opening of the Walter Poirier III investigation. |
| Paul Theroux: Peace Corps Writer Paul Theroux began by writing about the life he knew in Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer. His first first three novels are set in Africa and two of his later novels recast his Peace Corps tour as fiction. Read about how Theroux involved himself with rebel politicians, was expelled from Malawi, and how the Peace Corps tried to ruin him financially in John Coyne's analysis and appreciation of one of the greatest American writers of his generation (who also happens to be an RPCV). |
| Dodd issues call for National Service Standing on the steps of the Nashua City Hall where JFK kicked off his campaign in 1960, Presidential Candidate Chris Dodd issued a call for National Service. "Like thousands of others, I heard President Kennedy's words and a short time later joined the Peace Corps." Dodd said his goal is to see 40 million people volunteering in some form or another by 2020. "We have an appetite for service. We like to be asked to roll up our sleeves and make a contribution," he said. "We haven't been asked in a long time." |
| Public diplomacy rests on sound public policy When President Kennedy spoke of "a long twilight struggle," and challenged the country to "ask not," he signaled that the Cold War was the challenge and framework defining US foreign policy. The current challenge is not a struggle against a totalitarian foe. It is not a battle against an enemy called "Islamofascism." From these false assumptions flow false choices, including the false choice between law enforcement and war. Instead, law enforcement and military force both must be essential instruments, along with diplomacy, including public diplomacy. But public diplomacy rests on policy, and to begin with, the policy must be sound. Read more. |
| Ambassador revokes clearance for PC Director A post made on PCOL from volunteers in Tanzania alleges that Ambassador Retzer has acted improperly in revoking the country clearance of Country Director Christine Djondo. A statement from Peace Corps' Press Office says that the Peace Corps strongly disagrees with the ambassador’s decision. On June 8 the White House announced that Retzer is being replaced as Ambassador. Latest: Senator Dodd has placed a hold on Mark Green's nomination to be Ambassador to Tanzania. |
| Peace Corps Funnies A PCV writing home? Our editor hard at work? Take a look at our Peace Corps Funnies and Peace Corps Cartoons and see why Peace Corps Volunteers say that sometimes a touch of levity can be one of the best ways of dealing with frustrations in the field. Read what RPCVs say about the lighter side of life in the Peace Corps and see why irreverent observations can often contain more than a grain of truth. We'll supply the photos. You supply the captions. |
| PCOL serves half million PCOL's readership for April exceeded 525,000 visitors - a 50% increase over last year. This year also saw the advent of a new web site: Peace Corps News that together with the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps serve 17,000 RPCVs, Staff, and Friends of the Peace Corps every day. Thanks for making PCOL your source of news for the Peace Corps community. Read more. |
| Suspect confesses in murder of PCV Search parties in the Philippines discovered the body of Peace Corps Volunteer Julia Campbell near Barangay Batad, Banaue town on April 17. Director Tschetter expressed his sorrow at learning the news. “Julia was a proud member of the Peace Corps family, and she contributed greatly to the lives of Filipino citizens in Donsol, Sorsogon, where she served,” he said. Latest: Suspect Juan Duntugan admits to killing Campbell. Leave your thoughts and condolences . |
| Warren Wiggins: Architect of the Peace Corps Warren Wiggins, who died at 84 on April 13, became one of the architects of the Peace Corps in 1961 when his paper, "A Towering Task," landed in the lap of Sargent Shriver, just as Shriver was trying to figure out how to turn the Peace Corps into a working federal department. Shriver was electrified by the treatise, which urged the agency to act boldly. Read Mr. Wiggins' obituary and biography, take an opportunity to read the original document that shaped the Peace Corps' mission, and read John Coyne's special issue commemorating "A Towering Task." |
| He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor. |
Read the stories and leave your comments.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
Story Source: National Review
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; Directors - Coverdelll; Directors
PCOL38756
66