Fighting Bob la Follette: The Righteous Reformer Book

A very interesting biography of one of Wisconsin's favorite sons, the namesake of my high school and according to a special committee chaired by Senator John F. Kennedy, one of the Senate's five greatest members, along with senators Henry Clay, John Calhoun, Daniel Webster, and Robert A. Taft.

La Follette's philosophy towards life and public service is one I admire and find sadly missing in so many people and public servants alike. La Follete put it simply "We shall find our greatest happiness day by day in giving happiness to others. At the finish we shall find that we have best served ourselves by serving humanity."

Although controversial his entire political career, Fighting Bob always was working for the common man. Some of the key issues he was fighting; fair elections without undue influence of the wealthy, big business and special interests, the unequal distribution of wealth and pwoer, equal rights for women, racial minorities, and workers, and fair taxation. Sadly I suspect that Bob would be saddened to see that us common folks are still looking for action on those issues today. In fact one might say we've taken a few steps backwards in recent years.

La Follete was not perfect. He was self-righteous to the point compromise was not an option. However, history has judged him favorably as noted in this passage from the book "His self-righteousness, a quality honed since early childhood, led to a reluctance to cooperate even with those who shared his views. His refusal to compromise alienated many, repeatedly curtailing his effectiveness. And yet it was that same certainty in the justness of his positions that led one scholar looking at La Follette's lifetime of achievements to declare, "It is silly to call a man egotistical in a tone of reproof; what person who believes in himself and is willing to fight for the prevalence of his beliefs is not self-centered?" Fighting Bob relentlessly championed, according to his own lights, the rights of the many over those of the powerful few. Nearly seventy-five years after his death, he was hailed by Madison (Wisc.) Capital Times editorial page editor John Nichols as "the most courageous political leader this nation has ever produced."

Robert M. La Follette's legacy is summed up at the end of the book like this: "The true value of La Follette's political legacy may be yet to come if Martin Luther King Jr. was right, that "somehow righteousness is stronger than evil." "History is a long story of the fact," King insisted, "that goodness defeated is [ultimately] stronger that evil triumphant," for "evil is ultimately doomed by the powerful, insurgent forces of good." Proud, uncompromising, shrewd, resourceful, and inspired, the righteous reformer Robert La Follette was indeed one of the "dull tools" of "Almighty God."6

If you're like me, reading this book will have you yearning for a Robert M. La Follete for this day and age.