Kudos to Bill Milliken

During the past election campaign, candidates were asked to name a leader of the opposite party that we admired. Bill Milliken’s name sprang immediately to my mind. A gentleman of civility and bipartisanship that accomplished so much for Michigan, he deserves to be remembered by Democrats and Republicans alike, although it’s doubtful he would be allowed in today’s GOP.

Jack Lessenberry writes in the Traverse City Record-Eagle, Nov. 23, 2008:

'Remember the 1970s, when Michigan was a prosperous state, our public schools were widely praised and there was a fair amount of bipartisanship in government?
'Those years are sometimes known as the Milliken era, and last Tuesday night, dozens of former officeholders, journalists and admirers packed Laurel Manor in Livonia to pay tribute to William Milliken, a Republican who was the longest-serving governor in Michigan history. The event was sponsored by the Michigan Political History Society. Among those who spoke was Democrat Frank Kelley, who was the longest-serving state attorney general in U.S. history.
'When it was his turn to speak, Milliken, now 86, sounded the themes that had marked his administration, including returning civility and common decency to politics. Quoting one of his heroes, Judge Learned Hand, he also said that "term limits have been a disaster" for government in Michigan, a view widely shared.'

We can hope that the 21st Century will bring us again the civility and bipartisanship of Bill Milliken. Perhaps it is audacious to hope that Barack Obama will lead the way to a new kind of politics and Congressional and Michigan politics will follow but I am feeling very audacious.