On Saturday night at the Buck Dinner, an annual fundraiser for lefty causes that has been going on for 74 years now, U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, showed that he could always earn a living as a stand-up comedian if this politics thing doesn’t work out. Suave and cool on the stage with his tuxedo and iridescent red bow tie — and catching some ribbing for the formal dress at an event where flannel shirts are the de rigueur attire — the congressman had his timing down pat and his barbs well sharpened. He pointed out, for example, that while the blue-and-white “No War” buttons that were all the rage among dinner attendees may reflect the opinion of most Americans, other points on the political spectrum deserve buttons of their own.
Many of his colleagues in Congress should be wearing “War Now” buttons, Conyers suggested. And then there are a lot of people who should be walking around with the laminated word “Unsure” pinned to their lapels. For them, Conyers suggested, it is time to search heart and mind and decide on a position. As for those who’ve already come down on the side of peace, he urged them to make their voices heard and write their congressional rep, because a lot of his colleagues are “chickenshits” with so few real convictions they just may be swayed by what Conyers referred to as the “power of one.”
Send comments to [email protected]
