Bob Dole is one of the most prominent Republicans of the past half-century. Representing Kansas, Dole was a member of the House of Representatives (1961-1969) and the Senate (1969-1996). During his time in the Senate, he served as both the minority and majority leader. In addition, he was the vice presidential nominee on the losing ticket with Gerald Ford in 1976. Two decades later, he was the Republican nominee for president and was defeated by then-incumbent Bill Clinton. His wife Elizabeth is a senator representing North Carolina, but she lost her reelection bid last month to Democratic challenger Kay Hagan. Dole is currently retired, although he works part-time for a law firm and is still engaged in political consulting.
Michael Bendetson: Over the course of your long career, which pieces of legislation are you most proud of writing and sponsoring?
Bob Dole: Well, there are a lot of pieces of [legislation] that I am proud of. However, the two that I am most proud of are the 1983 Social Security Amendment and the American[s] [with] Disabilities Act. These things made a major difference in many people's lives. I would also have to add the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday bill, even though few people remember it.
MB: In his book "What's The Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America," which was first published in 2004, Thomas Frank argues that social issues are the sole reason that the people of Kansas support Republicans. He adds that on most other issues, such as taxes and health care, people in the state are quite liberal. He cites the fact that Democratic Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius managed to win an easy election because of her liberal stance on all issues except those relating to cultural or social concerns. As a resident of the state for over 80 years and a former public servant for the state, what is your opinion regarding your state's political leanings?
BD: I have to disagree with the author because I think she is a big liberal Democrat. I consider myself, and the people of Kansas, mainstream Republicans. I think [the people of Kansas] like lower taxes and lower spending, in addition to having strong social values.
MB: Earlier in the year, you wrote a letter to Rush Limbaugh defending John McCain's conservative values. In response, Mitt Romney added, "Well, it's probably the last person I would have wanted to have write a letter for me. I think there are a lot of folks that tend to think that maybe John McCain's race is a bit like Bob Dole's race — that it's the guy who's the next in line; he's the inevitable choice and we'll give it to him, and then it won't work. I think that the right course for a winning campaign against someone like Barack Obama is going to have to be somebody who can speak with energy and passion about the future of America, not another senator who can say, ‘Well, here's what I did on bill H. 1234. Here's what I did on my committee assignment.'" Unfortunately, do you think Romney was right in this belief?
BD: No. You can go back in any campaign and it's always, "If you win, you are a genius, and if you lose, [you] are an idiot." For Democrats and Republicans, [the above] is true. In addition, I thought Gov. Romney was more qualified than McCain. I was not defending John McCain. In fact, I said in that letter that I disagreed with John McCain on a number of issues. Romney did call to apologize and admitted that he had not fully read what I wrote.
MB: In the 2008 election, the Republican Party received devastating losses in the White House and in Congress. What steps and actions do you feel the GOP needs to take in order to return to power?
BD: The Republicans need to wake up and get some ideas. I do not want to say the far right dominates, but they have too much influence. The party needs new ideas on the economy and national security, innovations that will appeal to the American people.
MB: For so long, the Republican Party has been the party of anti-government leanings with regards to the economy. From Reagan's "Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem" to Bush's almost laissez-faire approach to the economy, the Republicans have advocated very limited government intervention. Now that such massive government intervention is needed to save the U.S. economy, do you feel that the Republicans are suffering from an identity crisis?
BD: I think we have to be very careful. I am not so sure the federal bailout has worked yet. People are not able to borrow money and they are losing their homes. However, it is your generation we need to worry about, for you and your peers are going to have pay this massive bill.
MB: The Republican Party has struggled with regards to obtaining the votes of minorities, especially those of African Americans and Hispanics. What actions do you recommend to make the conservative platform appealing to these groups?
BD: When I was party chairman of the Republican National Committee, we made strong recruiting efforts towards African Americans. We need to continue to do so and recruit amongst Latinos. We need to open up the party to more people. We cannot say, "If you do not believe in this, you cannot be a Republican." For example, we cannot tell people that they cannot be a Republican if they are pro-choice. We are an open party and this is a big country; if we do not change, we will continue to lose.
MB: In this past election, the majority of independents supported Barack Obama. As a man who was widely considered to be a moderate Republican, do you feel that the current Republican Party has moved too far to the right?
BD: I am not so sure that it has moved. I am a mainstream Republican. I feel that you can still be a Republican and not agree with the party on every issue. No one group should dominate our party as organized labor dominates the Democratic Party. For example, now [labor leaders and Democrats] want to take away the secret ballot from workers. The Democrats have faults with their party and we have faults with ours. However, there is a group of former leaders – Sen. [Tom] Daschle, Sen. [Zell] Miller, Sen. [Howard] Baker and myself — who are Democrats and Republicans. We are trying to bring about stability and more progress on issues in a bipartisan manner.
MB: As a minority leader in 1994, you stated, "Our country has health-care problems, but no health-care crisis." Would you say that in the current situation, with 47 million people uninsured and far more who are inadequately insured, that we are in a health-care crisis?
BD: Where do you get the number 47 million? When you watch CBS, they may tell you that number. However, 11 million of that total are illegal immigrants. Ten million more are people who can buy their own insurance. Finally, another 10 million are people your own age who think they are never going to get sick or hurt and are not vulnerable. However, we do have a lot of people that need insurance, and we need to take care of it. I am working now with the same group I mentioned above to have a bipartisan solution to health care. The plan needs to be as universal as possible, and affordable. In addition, it has to be available. We need a way of solving this, without the government doing it all.
MB: Part of the reason for your popularity in the Senate during your tenure was based on your ability to cross the aisle and work with people of different parties and beliefs. In an age of such government partisanship, what would you recommend to bring both Democrats and Republicans together to create the positive change the country so desperately needs?
BD: We need honesty. You need to keep your word. All you have in politics and life is keeping your word to your friends and peers. Particularly in politics and in the Senate, if I made a promise to a Democrat or a Republican and I reneged, my credibility would have been shot and I would not have been a leader anymore; so I have always tried to follow that principle. As a result, I have managed to count almost every Democrat and Republican that I have worked with as a friend.
MB: What do you feel that President-elect Barack Obama needs to set out and tackle in his first 100 days in office?
BD: He must deal with this economic crisis, and then I hope he moves to health care. He only has so many days — maybe 100 or 180 — where he can accomplish what he wants on these issues before division will emerge among Democrats, interest groups and voters as a whole. I recommend that he focus on the issues that the country really needs to deal with, which I believe [are] this economic mess and health care. Hopefully, he will have time in the early months to focus on energy. However, I will warn him that you cannot do everything at once.
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Michael Bendetson is a freshman who has not yet declared a major.
