In My Time - Dick Cheney [71]
Most of those convicted in Abscam lost their bids for reelection or resigned after their trials, but Ozzie Myers of Pennsylvania insisted on taking his case before the entire House and forcing a vote on the question of whether he should be expelled. In his case, there was no intervening election, as there had been for Diggs, and there was an absolutely damning videotape that showed him telling undercover agents, “Money talks in this business and bullshit walks.” I joined in the overwhelming vote in both the Ethics Committee and the House to expel him, but it was painful business for everyone, not because Congress should protect its own or its members should expect special treatment, but because the Constitution provides for the direct election of representatives by the people. The only qualifications are age, citizenship, and residence. At the time of Abscam, Myers was only the fourth member in history to be expelled. The previous three expulsions had been during the Civil War, and the grounds were treason.
One of the members caught up in Abscam was John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a former marine and the first Vietnam veteran to be elected to Congress. He made an appearance on one of the FBI’s undercover surveillance tapes that was embarrassing, but not, in my opinion, illegal. Still he was being tarred with the same brush as the others, which I didn’t think was fair, so one afternoon I talked to him on the House floor and told him I thought he was getting a bum rap. I said that if he needed any help on our side, he should let me know. He thanked me, and we never mentioned it again. In July 1981, the Ethics Committee cleared him.
DURING MY FIRST YEAR in the House, Republican leader John Rhodes of Arizona announced that he would not run for that position again after the next election. This immediately set off a major succession battle within the Republican caucus. One of the major contenders for the post was Guy Vander Jagt of Michigan, a charismatic individual and an impressive orator, who had worked closely with most of the new members in his capacity as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Many of them felt they owed their election to Guy, and he had a considerable following. The other contender was Bob Michel of Illinois, Leader Rhodes’s second in command as minority whip. He was widely liked and universally respected, though some of the younger members in the Vander Jagt camp criticized him for being too comfortable in the minority, too unwilling to take on the Democrats.
Only two members of the ’78 class, Tom Loeffler of Texas and I, supported Bob Michel. I liked both him and Guy Vander Jagt, but I had run my campaign without any help from the NRCC. I knew Bob Michel from my earlier work in the Nixon and Ford administrations—and I thought he would win the Leader’s job. I signed on early.
Shortly before the 1980 election I was approached by one of Bob’s key floor assistants, Walt Kennedy. There were certain people, Walt said, who thought I should run for a leadership position—in particular the chairmanship of the Republican Policy Committee, the fourth-ranking position behind the Leader, the whip, and the chairman of the House Republican Conference (or caucus). I responded cautiously, telling Kennedy I’d think it over. There were already two announced candidates for the post, Marjorie Holt of Maryland and Eldon Rudd of Arizona, both senior to me and holding commitments from a number of members.
I figured Bob Michel was behind Kennedy’s suggestion, but I couldn’t really talk with Bob about it. His contest with Guy Vander Jagt was close and hard-fought, and if word got out that he was actively recruiting me to run against more senior members for policy chairman, it might well cost him