Monday, February 11, 2008

Tom Lantos


Hayward-San Mateo Bridge
on a warm afternoon last Saturday
Tom Lantos has died of cancer. Rep. Lantos has been the House member for the 12th district (San Mateo) since 1981 and chaired the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. A Hungarian Jew, he survived the Holocaust and came to the U.S. in 1947 and settled in San Mateo County in 1950. (The Chron’s bio is here.)

In a district where Democrats outnumber Republicans by 2 to 1, Tom Lantos’ seat was the very definition of safe. Perhaps that safety gave him the freedom to break with the anti-Israel extremists in his own party and speak out against human rights abuses by America’s adversaries as well as its friends.

I suppose Tom Lantos’ longevity is an argument for term limits, but he tended to stay out of partisan frays and I found his presence reassuring. His replacement, whoever he (or she—most likely former State Senator Jackie Speier) is, will do well to emulate his restraint.
© 2008 Stephen Yuen

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