Editorial: A reasonable voice that will be missed

Tuesday, Oct. 26, 1999 | 9:54 a.m.

Politicians naturally will have policy disagreements, but it was rare a decade ago that petty bickering alone could sidetrack important legislation. Partisan posturing dominates Washington today, which in recent years made Sen. John Chafee, R-R.I., an anachronism for his embrace of both political moderation and civility. The Senate, then, certainly will miss Chafee, who died of heart failure on Sunday at the age of 77.

One reason for Chafee's centrism is that he was part of a generation that understood the important role government plays in domestic and international affairs, including the defense of democracy against tyranny. During World War II, Chafee was in the Marine Corps, taking part in the invasion of Guadalcanal; he was recalled to active military duty in 1951 and commanded a rifle company in Korea.

After three terms as governor, Chafee was appointed secretary of the Navy in 1969, holding that post until 1972. After losing his bid in 1972 to win a U.S. Senate seat, Chafee did win election to the Senate in 1976. Chafee often broke ranks with his party over the years. He was an environmentalist, supporting the 1990 Clean Air Act and the treaty to curb global warming. Chafee also rebuffed the Republican leadership in other areas, supporting gun control, civil rights and health care reform. When he decided earlier this year not to seek a fifth term in 2000, Chafee noted that the residents of his state backed his efforts to find common ground on difficult issues: "They seek, as I do, bipartisan solutions to problems, rather than partisan gridlock."

Unfortunately partisan gridlock has created repeated stalemates between President Clinton and a Republican-controlled Congress. If more members of Congress took Chafee's philosophy to heart -- that he was a U.S. senator first and a member of his party second -- it would result in better legislation and go a long way in restoring the public's confidence that Washington can still get things done.