Rethinking Jim Traficant

Jim Traficant has been in the news lately as he will be returning home in September after his unfortunate incarceration. I read all sorts things about the man in the Vindicator. He certainly is unpopular with certain Vindicator columnists. The radio commentary seems to be mixed. And no one knows what the impact will be on the local political scene when he gets back. The Scrappers scrapped a Traficant Release Night. But the welcome home dinner seems to be close to sold out if not sold out entirely.

I only voted for Traficant once. I thought he was an embarrassment to the community. He certainly got this area some notoriety, lots of it bad, from his bad hair and television tirades. No one, including me, condones any illegal behavior while he was in office. As a lawyer, I certainly question his judgment on his decision to represent himself in his last legal entanglement that ended up with him in jail. Not a good thing!!!

But in light of what has been going on in Congress, I have been thinking about Traficant a lot, and wondering if we would be facing the problems we are now facing if he was still in Congress. At the end of the day, he was right about how Washington works. If he were still in Congress, I suspect that Queen Pelosi would not be running roughshod over a group of shaky blue dog Democrats.

He was probably one of the most effective congressmen this area has ever had. He may not have made it into the ranks of congressional mucky mucks during his stint in Washington, but the money he brought into this area was substantial. For all of the Democratic clout this area supposedly had under Mike Kirwin and his successors, it was Traficant that brought us the 7-11 connector, the Covelli Center, and two courthouses, among his many other contributions. He also tamed the IRS, providing a benefit to all Americans by shifting issues of burdens of proof in tax collection matters.

Locally, he went above and beyond his job description and mediated numerous contentious labor disputes. While Sheriff, he stood up for the regular guy during the home foreclosure chaos when the local economy went south in the 1980’s, and went to jail as a result. He instituted a highly effective drug program which people still talk about today.

Above all, he knew the score and what made this area tick. I always believed he was representative of the district that sent him to Washington. He was a survivor, just like all of us from this area.

Maybe the nature of the area has changed and we have become more genteel. Maybe we have become more integrated with the rest of the nation with instantaneous communication through the internet. Maybe our memories of our tumultuous past have faded. The changing of generations seems to have that effect, as well as the changing nature of our economy.

But the one time I voted for him was the last time he ran for office. I didn’t regret that vote. Would I vote for him again? Let’s just say I would give it thoughtful consideration. From what I have seen in Washington while he was away, Traficant was a babe in the woods. I think Congress could use someone like him now.