An American Patriot: Zell gave ‘em hell

George C. Landrith

The great hymn America the Beautiful defines patriots as those “who more than self their country love….” In battle, patriotism causes soldiers to place themselves in harm’s way to protect the liberty of those they love. In politics, patriotism causes men love their country more than their party – greater concern for the national interest than for personal ambitions. Speaking at the GOP Convention, Senator Zell Miller, a life-long Democrat, proved himself an American patriot for the ages.

Senator Zell Miller has before never cast a vote for a Republican presidential candidate. He spoke at Bill Clinton’s 1992 convention. He was Georgia’s wildly popular Democratic Governor and now Senator. Many politicians reflexively defend their party, its positions, and its leaders – no matter how obviously wrong they may be. Not Zell Miller. He asks what is good for America rather than what helps him politically. Zell Miller is an American patriot – a man who more than self his country loves.

At the convention, Miller said, “the next four years will determine what kind of world [our children and grandchildren] will grow up in …. I ask which leader is it today that has the vision, the willpower and, yes, the backbone to best protect my family? … For my family is more important than my party. There is but one man to whom I am willing to entrust their future and that man's name is George Bush.”

Miller will win no friends in his party for his candor and straight talk. When he encounters fellow Democrats next week in the Senate, it will be a lonely and cold experience. But Americans should hail Zell Miller as a true patriot who more than self his country loves.

Senator Miller rightly asked, “Where are the statesmen today?” He powerfully explained that protecting freedom was more important than attaining political office. He asked, “What has happened to the party I’ve spent my life working in?” His indictment followed – today’s Democratic leaders are “motivated more by partisan politics than by national security.”

A recent poll by the liberal Pew Center revealed that a majority of Democrats believe American foreign policy was partially responsible for the 9/11 attacks. This is an astonishing belief which folks like John Kerry, Howard Dean, and Ted Kennedy have made acceptable. I suppose these same Democrats believe that women who wear short skirts or tight sweaters are partially responsible for their rape.

While Miller did not specifically address these outrageous poll findings, he criticized today’s Democratic leadership because “they don't believe there is any real danger in the world except that which America brings upon itself through our clumsy and misguided foreign policy.”

Senator Miller, who served his nation as a Marine, expressed righteous indignation that “today’s Democratic leaders see America as an occupier, not as a liberator…. Never in the history of the world has any soldier sacrificed more for the freedom and liberty of total strangers than the American soldier. And, our soldiers don't just give freedom abroad; they preserve it for us here at home…. But don't waste your breath telling that to the leaders of my party today. In their warped way of thinking America is the problem, not the solution.”

Senator Miller concluded by telling America, “For more than 20 years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, John Kerry has been more wrong, more weak and more wobbly than any other national figure…. Right now the world just cannot afford an indecisive America. Fainthearted self-indulgence will put at risk all we care about in this world. In this hour of danger our President has had the courage to stand up. And this Democrat is proud to stand up with him.”

Tom Daschle, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry won’t stand with their fellow Democratic Senator Zell Miller. The truth he spoke in New York hits too close to home. They will dismiss and discount him. But America is fortunate, indeed, to have a fearless patriot like Zell Miller who more than self his country loves. America stands with Zell.

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Mr. Landrith is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was Business Editor of the Virginia Journal of Law and Politics. He had a successful law practice in business and litigation. In 1994 and 1996, Mr. Landrith was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's Fifth Congressional District. He served on the Albemarle County School Board. Mr. Landrith is an adjunct professor at the George Mason School of Law. He is recognized as an authority on constitutional law and jurisprudence, federalism, global warming, and property rights.

george@ff.org