Most candidates for the U.S. Senate are of a type: Congressmen
and governors, other leading officeholders, wealthy businessmen,
and noteworthy personalities. Alas, these are more qualifications
for campaigning than governing. Which helps explain the low quality
of decision-making in Washington today. Attempting to break the
conventional mold is Michigan’s Gerald Zandstra. Jerry is a
personal friend of mine, which alone sets him apart from every
sitting Senator. But he’s also an ordained minister, think tank
executive, and real estate entrepreneur. He’s the perfect candidate
for voters who want to live in a free society, but who also want
people to exercise their freedom responsibly.
Jerry’s target is Debbie Stabenow, a conventional liberal who
narrowly defeated Spencer Abraham in 2000. Stabenow is for
abortion, against tax cuts, for restricting campaign free speech,
and against energy development. Moreover, she has vilified
entrepreneurial processes — free trade and drug development, for
instance — which have delivered so much beneficial economic
innovation. Today she seems to be in a strong but not invincible
position, polling in the high 50s against most any Republican
opponent.
Republicans are attempting to recruit a name candidate. Former
Gov. John Engler isn’t interested; Abraham’s wife, Jane, is
considering the race, but doesn’t even live in the state. Also
thinking of running, with the primary set in August 2006, are
Secretary of State Terri Lynn and former Rep. Nick Smith.
Keith Butler, a former Detroit City Councilman and minister, has
announced. So have a county sheriff and industrial engineer. A
businessman, county prosecutor, and real estate developer, all
equally unknown, are talking about running. And there’s Jerry.
JERRY ZANDSTRA IS AN affable 41 year-old who is first a good
husband, father, and neighbor. He has been married for 19 years and
has three sons; his 98-year-old grandfather attended his campaign
announcement. His uncle, after whom he is named, has spent years
ministering in an evangelical church in Kuwait.
Jerry has been pastoring churches since 1989. He also has served
as chaplain for a fire department. He takes his personal
responsibilities seriously: I’ve seen him fly back early from
weekend Acton conferences to make family events or preach in a
Sunday service.
Although he is ordained by the Christian Reformed Church, Jerry
has long worked in an ecumenical environment. Acton was founded by
Roman Catholics; Acton conferences bring together a broad range of
faiths, from fundamentalist to Coptic. Moreover, Jerry greatly
admired Pope John Paul II. Before the latter’s death, Jerry lauded
the pontiff for promoting “the culture of life…which upholds the
dignity of life in the context of freedom.”
He will soon add a Ph.D. in Public Administration to a Doctor of
Ministry. He has taught at university and over the last five years
has been Director of Programs with the Acton Institute, which has a
unique mission of promoting a society that is both free and
virtuous. Although Acton has never been involved in partisan
politics, it has achieved a high national profile in the policy
world, addressing such issues as welfare reform, environmental
protection, open international markets, and business
regulation.
What sets Jerry apart from the other candidates for the GOP
Senate nomination — as well as from Sen. Stabenow — is that he
articulates a political vision that emphasizes private virtue. That
is, he speaks passionately of those who are disenfranchised and
denied justice. But he recognizes that they are most often
victimized by government policies advanced in their name. The best
way to help those with the least is to expand opportunity through a
vibrant civil society.
“This thing is not going to be driven by polls,” he said when he
announced in Grand Rapids in May. “It’s going to be driven by
ideals. It’s going to be driven by principles.” The three themes
that he articulated were economic competitiveness, moral culture,
and international engagement.
First, to be competitive in today’s global economy he pointed to
the need for tax reform, control of frivolous litigation, and
improved education. His message in these areas is eminently
practical. For instance, he noted that educational reform “isn’t
about teachers’ unions,” but “is about the choices parents have
available to them for the sake of the future of their children,
state, and nation.”
Second, he advocated “a culture that respects life and doesn’t
cheapen it, make it an inconvenience, or a commodity.” But Jerry
went further than the usual issues of abortion, euthanasia, and
stem cell research. He pointed to the need for people to live
virtuously, “upholding our responsibilities in our communities, our
neighborhoods, and our churches.”
Businessmen, too, need to act ethically rather than attempt to
simply skirt the line of legality. It is simply impossible to
“separate a moral and life-honoring culture from our ability to
compete economically,” he said.
Third, Michigan, and the U.S., cannot escape the world.
Competition is tougher than ever before, but protectionism and
isolationism would fail and wouldn’t “address the real issues,” he
said. It’s a brave stand to take in Michigan, where foreign imports
are routinely vilified. But, notes Jerry, the issue “is more than
economics.” There is so much to learn from others. We all will
benefit culturally as well as economically.
THE MIX OF MORAL AND economic creates a satisfying brew for anyone
who values both liberty and virtue. Jerry’s intellectual integrity
is evident from the articles offered on his website. One
headline runs: “The Moral Case for Free Trade.” In it he asserts
that trade “has encouraged our citizens to exercise God’s gift of
creativity and to develop new products and services that succeed in
the global market while improving the quality of life.” Indeed,
freer markets advance international peace as well as
prosperity.
In another article he warns churches against being coopted by
radical environmentalists. Christians should not be “silent about
God’s wonderful gift of creation,” but “economic growth is the
engine that has and will drive environmentally friendly goods and
services.” In short, environmental protection is a matter of
balance.
Poverty, he explains, is a complex and dynamic phenomenon. We
have important moral oligations to those around us. Writes Jerry:
“Working people who are not earning enough to provide for their
basic needs are an appropriate target for concern.”
But concern for the poor does not translate into regulatory
micromanagement and big spending by government, whether at the
state or federal level. To the contrary, he argues, measures like
the minimum wage are counterproductive, an example where
policymakers and clerics often “lead with their hearts and ignore
what their heads ought to be telling them.”
Jerry obviously is an unusual candidate, consistently speaking
truth to the public as well as to those in power. Poverty results
from a combination of bad decisions and unjust structures; both
must be addressed. He terms the frequent call by liberal clergy for
new welfare programs as “using a kind of soft socialism combined
with moral language and biblical quotations” to promote the sort of
statist “solutions that have failed the poor the world over.” In
contrast, he points to mechanisms to increase private solutions,
such as tax incentives to encourage volunteering by
professionals.
He applies the same lessons overseas. When rich musicians were
pushing politicians to tax poor people to fund more foreign aid,
Jerry put out a blunt statement entitled: “Why Your Tax Dollars
Won’t Fix African Poverty.” Indeed, international poverty has
become a particular passion of his, as he has visited not only
Latin America but also Africa numerous times.
He has repeatedly pointed out that such factors as defensible
property rights, control of corruption, competitive markets, and
international investment are necessary for prosperity. He
explicitly defends the role of multinational corporations
throughout the Third World. In contrast, he writes, too often
“government-to-government aid only results in more
destruction.”
But as important the role that business plays in society, which
Jerry believes to be both moral and essential, he emphasizes that
entrepreneurs and managers must help form a society that is
virtuous as well as free. Federal regulation “might prevent some
unethical acts, but it will not be able to morally shape people.”
But shape them we must, and that “is a matter of the development of
our culture and society.” Business must not be anything goes.
OF COURSE, FINE CHARACTER and policy smarts usually aren’t enough
to catapult someone into the U.S. Senate. And Jerry understands the
task ahead of him: he figures it will cost $3 to $5 million to win
the primary and $20 million for the general contest. But through
his duties at Acton he has worked with political and business as
well as religious leaders, developing a personal network that
extends far beyond Michigan. There is scarcely a conservative
intellectual who doesn’t know of the Institute — and Jerry. This
network may help him raise the money necessary to make a winning
Senate run.
Much is at stake in the 2006 election. To most Washington
politicos, the Michigan Senate race is important primarily through
its impact on the body’s overall partisan balance. The Democrats
will have to hold this seat to have any chance of regaining Senate
control.
But Jerry’s candidacy adds another dimension to the contest. He
is the complete candidate, someone who recognizes that freedom is
essential to what we are as human beings, while virtue is necessary
to inform us how to use that freedom.
He actually gives people someone to vote for rather than
against. If he bests his long-shot status and takes office in
January 2007, Jerry will have an opportunity to play a genuine
statesmen.
After all, no one can deny the importance of the issues at
stake. As he said when he announced: “This campaign is going to
come down to what we believe about human beings — about ourselves
— about the kind of society we want to live in — about the kind
of state and nation we want to be.”
