Essay: Conyers and the Committee - 1/29/07

John Conyers is an interesting and sometimes baffling man, whom I have known for many years. There are times when he is completely focused and insightful. He is more responsible than anyone for making Martin Luther King’s birthday a national holiday. And there is no one in Congress more dedicated to jazz.

But John Conyers is also the only congressman in history to have served on two presidential impeachment committees.

He performed ably in both cases, arguing in favor of impeaching Richard Nixon and arguing against impeaching Bill Clinton.

Yet at other times, he has seemed what one might charitably call eccentric.  He is the only person I’ve ever met who couldn’t remember what they were doing on Sept. 11, 2001.

He ran a disastrous race for mayor of Detroit in 1989 and a worse one in 1993. At one point, he stood in the median strip of Livernois Boulevard without any shoes or socks and waved to passing cars.

More than ninety percent of the people who send Conyers to Congress voted against Conyers for mayor. A lifelong bachelor, he was in his sixties when he suddenly got married for the first time.

Six months later, he was a daddy. He and his wife Monica – who is now a Detroit city council member -- have two sons, and by all accounts, he is an extremely doting father.

But what kind of a judiciary chairman will he be? And will he pursue impeachment hearings. Two years ago, I called him on his cell phone. He answered playfully, “impeachment committee.”

He certainly holds President Bush in low regard. I went to see Conyers in his Detroit office one afternoon in early 2003, just before the start of the Iraq War. When I asked what the president was thinking he walked over to the window and pointed to a homeless man. “You might as well ask him. He knows just as much about it as Bush does.”  He made noises about impeachment.

But last year, the Democrats, hoping to win control of Congress, asked him to tone it down – and he did.

“Rather than seeking impeachment, I have chosen to propose comprehensive oversight,” Conyers said. He wants a select bipartisan committee to look into alleged abuses and report back to the Judiciary Committee. But he didn’t say what he would do if that didn’t happen.

And someone close to him told me “you know once John becomes chairman, he’s going to do what he wants to do.”    

However, Conyers recently has had to face some ethical questions of his own. He was charged with using staff members as babysitters and personal servants.

The matter was settled hastily last week when he “accepted responsibility” for “a lack of clarity” in staff assignments. In other words, he said he wasn’t doing that, and would stop doing it at once.

Some think this may indicate some prudence on the part of the Judiciary Chairman will follow. Or maybe not. I do know this: We’ll see.                                                                                                                                                                                                            

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Comments

[Anonymous]

I frequently disagree with Mr. Lessenberry, but there may be no journalist in the nation more qualified to report on the strange persona of Rep. John Conyers.
Mr. Lessenberry (or anyone else) may correct me if I am wrong about this, but in addition to the episode involving Conyers' standing barefooted and waving to cars on Livernois, there was another occasion when the Congressman was simply missing for a period of about two weeks. No one -- not his staff, nor his friends -- could tell the Detroit newspapers where he was, and it was apparent that no one really knew. The episode was never fully explained, if I recall correctly. Perhaps Mr. Lessenberry will recall the episode. I cannot recall whether it was linked to the Livernois episode or not.

[Jack Lessenberry]

Well, at least Conyers has never lacked the courage to sign his name to what he writes.

[Jack Lessenberry]

Well, at least Conyers has never lacked the courage to sign his name to what he writes.

[Al Anonymous]

Jack:

Drop the outrage over anonymous posts.

Any post criticizing John Conyers will be interpreted as a white racist rage. John has been a poor spokesman for Detroit and in particular his district. His district ranks with many third world contries with comparative economic, public health and education metrics. His district ranks second to a post Katrina New Orleans. His influence is heavily discounted and he is viewed as out of touch by his colleagues. There are so many other worthy candidates that would serve with vision, energy and dignity. Detroit deserves better.

[Äny Salyer]

Sheesh,

Jack, thanks for saying/noticing it makes a difference when you put your name on something.

[Jack Lessenberry]

Ms Salyer, I appreciate you.