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Feature
Guitar Man
Thaddeus McCotter steps out as an unlikely Republican leader.
Thaddeus McCotter is bored. His answers for what ails the Republican Party and the reasons he gives for why it came to its current minority status on Capitol Hill are thoughtful, even insightful. But this isn’t new territory for the four-term Michigan Republican. He responds to my questions with all the enthusiasm of someone who has been asked to repeat an old story for the hundredth time.
Until I ask him about his guitar. “George Harrison once told an interviewer that he picked up his first guitar and played it until his fingers bled,” McCotter says. “His mother asked him what he was doing and he said, ‘I’m learning how to play guitar.’” Does McCotter favor electric or acoustic? “Same six strings,” he replies matter-of-factly.
Most congressional offices are filled with mementos from the district and pictures of the congressman with important government officials. Republicans tend to favor photographs of Ronald Reagan and, until about 2005, George W. Bush. McCotter’s office has dark green walls and a picture of John Lennon hanging over his desk. There’s also a guitar, of course. It resembles a young rock fan’s bedroom as much as a quiet place to write constituent letters.
Thad McCotter is chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, a leadership position from which he will play a role in shaping the GOP congressional agenda. When the tall, lanky congressman isn’t jamming with the bipartisan rock band called the Second Amendments — he is known for being able to play Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” behind his back— he is being received like a rock star on a growing number of offbeat television and radio talk shows.
Dennis Miller is a McCotter fan — or likes “the cut of his jib,” as he puts it — and so is Greg Gutfeld, since the congressman’s dry sense of humor is a good fit for Red Eye, Gutfeld’s late-night show on Fox. Shortly after Barack Obama took office, Gutfeld asked McCotter the familiar question about whether the GOP was in “disarray.” His reply was typical McCotter, with carefully wielded pop culture references sending his co-panelists into guffaws as he dutifully pressed his party’s case.
“Well, when we were growing up we used to look at the Flock of Seagulls’ hair and we’d say that looks in disarray, but there was a whole lot of work that went into sculpting that — if not the music itself,” McCotter quipped. “It may appear to be disorderly, but we are going through a very intense period of reorganization, restructuring the Republican Party, we’re starting to see the unity come back, the message come back, the principles be expressed again, and we think you’re going to be very happy.”
McCOTTER IS A FUNNY GUY, but he’s also a serious man. The 44-year-old is as quick to quote Russell Kirk, Wilhelm Röpke, or even Hilaire Belloc as the Rolling Stones or the Beatles, an unusual combination of references, to put it mildly. “I think he is one of the few members of Congress who can quote philosophers, scholars, and theologians but still relate to blue-collar,working-class people,” says Congressman Peter King, a New York Republican friendly with McCotter. “He has a total sense of the ridiculous that allows him to laugh at himself, us, and the party but he takes his job very seriously.”
McCotter’s main job is representing Michigan’s 11th district, attending to the “all politics is local” adage he suggests too many Republicans forgot in the run-up to the 2006 and 2008 elections. It’s a heavily blue-collar district with its share of auto workers and union members. McCotter’s hometown, Livonia — his mother was the city clerk — is west of northwest Detroit. Barack Obama carried it with 54 percent of the vote in 2008; George W. Bush won it with 53 percent in 2004 and just 51 percent in 2000.
A graduate of Detroit’s Catholic Central High School, where he played football, McCotter went on to receive his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Detroit. He was elected to the Wayne County Commission in 1992 at just 27. There he led the charge to change the county’s charter to force a new tax to be approved by two-thirds of commissioners and 60 percent of the voters. Elected to the state senate in 1998, McCotter launched a political career based on appealing to traditional area Republicans and blue-collar conservatives.
“People forget that Ronald Reagan was a union worker,” says McCotter. “I showed a conservative friend a speech he delivered to a union as president and my friend was stunned at how well he could relate to that audience.” Despite the competitive nature of his district McCotter has compiled a strongly conservative voting record: pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, strong on defense, for tax cuts, and against the Obama administration’s $787 billion stimulus package — the last a popular Democratic talking point against him in an area of high unemployment.
But he does occasionally break with his party to represent his district’s needs, such as when he strongly supported aid to the embattled automotive industry. “He understands that not every part of the country is identical,” says King. “You can’t have absolute economic views, even though on 90 to 95 percent of issues he is as strong of an economic conservative as they come. He is more willing to give good, culturally conservative people a break so they can get back on their feet and feed their families.”
McCOTTER’S VISION EXTENDS FAR BEYOND his congressional district, however. He methodically walks through a five-point summary of the fundamental principles he says should guide the Republican Party: “Our liberty is from God not the government; our sovereignty rests in our souls not the soil; our security is through strength not surrender; our prosperity is from the private sector not the public sector; and our truths are self-evident, not relative.”
He has a similarly comprehensive view of the challenges facing the nation. “In their time, the Greatest Generation surmounted four transformational challenges: the social, economic, and political upheavals of industrialization; a global war against evil enemies; the Soviet Union’s strategic threat and rival model of governance; and whether the self-evident truths our nation is based on applied to everyone without regard to race,” McCotter says, without once saying “um” or pausing to collect his thoughts. “In our time, we must face and transcend four transformational challenges: the social, economic, and political upheavals of globalization; a global war against evil enemies; Communist China’s strategic threat and rival model of governance; whether we remain a nation based on self-evident truths or moral relativism.”
McCotter chastises “cosmopolitan conservatives” he says forget “we are a country, a people, not just an economy.” His is a conservatism informed by his Catholicism as much as the canons of free market capitalism. McCotter muses that some Republicans are too ideological about immigration and trade policy. Asked if this makes him a Kirkian traditionalist, he demurs: “I don’t get into all that. I’m a Republican.”
On immigration, McCotter defends the House Republicans’ enforcement-first position as a prerequisite for defending American sovereignty. But he acknowledges that the GOP needs to be more careful in how this viewpoint is expressed, so as not to alienate culturally conservative Hispanic voters. “I don’t think my Mexican wife thinks I’m a racist,” he says. “I don’t think my half-Mexican children think I’m a racist. My father-in-law gets this issue. It’s a mistake to treat Hispanics as a monolithic group, represented by La Raza.”
About the Author
W. James Antle, III, author of the new book Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?, is editor of the Daily Caller News Foundation and a senior editor of The American Spectator. You can follow him on Twitter @jimantle.
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Pingback| 12.8.09 @ 7:01AM
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Pingback| 12.8.09 @ 7:53AM
Guitar-Edge.com Blog » Blog Archive » Guitar Man links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Bram| 12.8.09 @ 10:05AM
Unlike many of the old, stiff, Republican dinosaurs, McCotter is knowledgable of current American culture, has a quick wit, and a great sense of humor.
His "Red-Eye" interviews are great. He gives great conservative analysis on the issues - then goes into a discussion of Canadian Power Trio's.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....r_embedded
Pingback| 12.8.09 @ 10:21AM
Twitter Trackbacks for The American Spectator : Guitar Man [spectator.org] on Topsy. links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Ken (Old Texican)| 12.8.09 @ 10:26AM
Bram,
Thank you.
I had only seen one short glimpse of him on video.
...Seems like a good man. Anybody here know him better?
Pingback| 12.8.09 @ 11:06AM
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William Fleming| 12.8.09 @ 11:07AM
McCotter is an intriguing fellow. I found him on his website, McCotterRocks.com, when I was looking for guitars. Since then, I've seen him on RedEye, been to a couple of his speeches - I must admit - being apolitical in the past - he has me politically hooked. The GOP should serve up a bit more of his ilk - a mix of hip and intelligent. It would serve us well.
Tom Rapp| 12.8.09 @ 11:13AM
Every name mentioned, McCotter, Miller, Gutfeld, are examples of the modern day conservative. There is much reason to optimistic about the future.
Martin| 12.8.09 @ 11:40AM
Great article on an extremely thoughtful and deliberative Member of Congress. He not only has an excellent understanding of his district, but he has one of the best policy and political minds in Washington. After only a few years in office, he was successful in being elected by his peers as Chairman of the House Policy Committee. Enough said! Definitely one to watch in the future of the Republican Party.
Pittsburgh Pete| 12.8.09 @ 11:42AM
The experiences of total freedom that come from the edge-of-the-bed gutiar playing cannot ever be completely articulated. It is no coincidence that McCotter is both a guitar lover and freedom lover.
Pingback| 12.8.09 @ 12:47PM
Learn Guitar » Blog Archive » The American Spectator : Guitar Man links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
albert constantine, jr.| 12.8.09 @ 1:36PM
The American Spectator truly represents diversity in viewpoints. An article praising Ronald Reagan and critical of McCotter's stated (and/or presumed ) viewpoint on how Republicans can achieve or return to power; posted alongside of the Antle article on McCotter, highlighting how his style can help Republicans achieve or return to power. Whoever says that conservative (or Republican) views are monolithic is not paying attention.
Pingback| 12.8.09 @ 1:37PM
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Alan Brooks| 12.8.09 @ 1:45PM
But it is becoming predictable, in a dreary way. A GOP Speaker of the House will preside in '11, then fizzle out a couple years later.
Another Dole-McCain will run in '12, be defeated by Obama. Then Jeb wins in '16, followed by eight years of anti-conservatism. Welcome to the 21st century.
Michael Tomlinson| 12.8.09 @ 9:50PM
This is the type of logic that gave us Obama. Need to go back and discover the real Reagan and not the faux Reagan being trotted out by conservative pundits to push agendas he'd despise.
Alan Brooks| 12.8.09 @ 1:47PM
Let's make one thing perfectly clear: optimism is no longer justified.
Ken (Old Texican)| 12.8.09 @ 5:13PM
Ah a true sunny day patriot.
go sit in the corner and play quietly.
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philfl63| 12.8.09 @ 2:13PM
Please, enough already with the quirky politicians who might lead a resurgence of the Republican party. We have Huckabee and his bass. That is nauseatingly enough. The congressman is entitled to his opinions, but his state is dying and he is quoting Kierkegard. This guy is a RINO, for all his "artistic and philsophical sensitivities", and thus he is of no use to the conservative movement. He has been in office eight years to go along to get along.
Michael Tomlinson| 12.8.09 @ 9:47PM
Not sure he's a RINO, but what we really need is solid candidates like McDonnell in Virginia and not former beauty queens, pastors without pulpits and quirky rock star wannabes. Isn't Obama's ego enough.
Pingback| 12.8.09 @ 2:29PM
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Carpenter| 12.8.09 @ 2:42PM
This kind of giddiness from the other guys got us stuck with Obama.
My personal take is that anybody that can play blues on a Telecaster can't be all bad, but in Congress? Hmmmm...
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Alan Brooks| 12.8.09 @ 5:01PM
At least he's no Jimmy Hendrix.
Oh, but wait, today that is a racist jest. Today if you say "the sky looks dark", the NAACP chides you.
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Northern Rebel| 12.8.09 @ 7:17PM
THADDEUS!
Funny, brilliant, articulate, The king of dead-pan humor, My favorite RED EYE guest that doesn't sit in the leg chair!
And he plays guitar too?
Give this man a Presidential seal!
Old Tex:
This is a good man, and a true conservative. DVR Red Eye. It's one of my guilty pleasures!
wjn| 12.8.09 @ 8:34PM
This article tends to suggest McCotter is a conservative. I'm not sure I agree. His support for the liberal Dede Scozzafava in NY23 suggests otherwise. As a member of the Republican House Leadership wouldn't McCotter have been responsible for channeling campaign funds to Scozzafava? I would need further evidence before I conclude that McCotter represents mainstream America's desire for limited government.
Michael Tomlinson| 12.8.09 @ 9:44PM
How amazing a politician voting for "pork" in his district. One man's pork is another man's bacon. That's why all the punish Republicans who gave us Obama need to be careful what they ask for when voting. Oh well it really doesn't matter the blue lapdogs will "save America."
DNC| 12.8.09 @ 9:50PM
Off subject but relevant - what in the h_ll is this "Pingback" comment that one has to deal with to read the real comments? Take 'em off!
somnolence| 12.8.09 @ 10:08PM
Glad he's in the GOP camp but he needs to listen to Kenny Burrell, Grant Green or Chet Atkins more.
Alan Brooks| 12.8.09 @ 11:13PM
John McLaughlin.
And no, not the guy who did the McLaughlin report.
Holdsworth, anyone?
Yosemeti Sam| 12.8.09 @ 11:23PM
Like, ah - lose the guitar, man.
What - a Spruce Strumsteen in the making
whom voters will stampede towards for
the answers blowing in the wind; er, strings.
poptoy| 12.9.09 @ 12:22AM
Rep. McCotter is one of the finest people in our U.S. Congress. I have been following this gentleman for some time now. I pray for the day this man becomes President. I am from Louisiana and I just wish we had the likes of him down here. However I have Dr. Charles Boustany as my Congressman and he is every bit the man Rep. McCotter can be. I thank GOD everyday they are Republicans. Both of them are good men. We need more of them.
Barrett Root | 12.9.09 @ 12:23AM
Has anyone heard him play? I hope he's better than (Bill) Clinton was on the saxophone.
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GringoBob | 12.9.09 @ 7:37AM
this guy does NOT have very impressive record as conservative - not even quite moderate - check his rating at National Taxpayers Union or American Conservative Union - not so good !!
don't know about his guitar ability and don't much care
http://Group912.org
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