February 9, 2010

NATIONAL JOURNAL MAGAZINE

CONGRESSIONAL CHRONICLE: Taking Terrorism On The Campaign Trail

by Richard E. Cohen

For Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., the holidays were hardly a relaxing time
with family and friends. In less than 72 hours, the ranking member on the
House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee took a round-trip to Yemen, a
new international trouble spot for terrorist activity. Accompanied by a
senior aide, he spent more than eight hours on New Year's Day gaining "a
significantly increased understanding of Yemen" from U.S. officials,
including the ambassador, at the embassy in Sana.

Not only that, Hoekstra made numerous television appearances -- on CBS, CNN,
Fox, and MSNBC -- immediately after the attempted Christmas Day terrorist
attack on a Detroit-bound airliner, criticizing the Obama administration for
not acting quickly enough to address recent threats.

During a telephone interview from Grand Rapids on January 4, Hoekstra
maintained that it's all part of doing his job for his party and his
constituents. "My colleagues on the Republican side expect me to lead on
national security and intelligence issues," he said. But Hoekstra's
activities are something of a twofer because they also boost his profile as
he campaigns this year for governor of Michigan, where Democratic Gov.
Jennifer Granholm is term-limited.

Typically, lawmakers' work in Washington on intelligence and national
security isn't prime fodder for the campaign trail, because bread-and-butter
domestic and local concerns usually dominate. For Hoekstra, however,
involvement on terrorism issues has provided opportunities to score points
with his constituents -- especially since the Christmas Day flight was bound
for their home state -- by showing his leadership and his ability to work
across the aisle.

During a joint interview on CNN on January 4, Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., a
former senior member of the Intelligence Committee, praised Hoekstra's
recent travels. For his part, he spotlighted the threat in Yemen and
emphasized his hope that "we find ways to work together and to get things
done and do it in a nonpartisan way."

Not all Democrats have had kind words for Hoekstra. After he criticized the
security breakdowns on the Northwest flight -- plus the November shootings
at Fort Hood, Texas, by a military doctor who had been active with suspect
Muslim groups -- the Democratic National Committee unleashed several
attacks, particularly in light of a Hoekstra fundraising letter that cited
his work on such issues. "It was shameful that Republicans like Mr. Hoekstra
would attempt to play politics with our national security at all, but
raising money off it is beyond the pale," a DNC spokesman said on December
29.

Hoekstra dismissed the Democratic criticism as validation that his points
had struck home. Although he concedes that foreign-policy expertise is not
the typical route to the governor's office, he talks up the problem-solving
skills that he has honed and that he would wield as chief executive of his
troubled state, which has a 15 percent unemployment rate, the nation's
highest. He said that his nine terms in Congress -- where he has also worked
on education and labor issues -- and his earlier experience as an executive
with a local furniture company "give me the best background to be governor."
He has never worked in state government, however.

Polling has shown Hoekstra to be a front-runner in the contest, where each
party has a wide-open field and the GOP appears to have a narrow edge. Lt.
Gov. John Cherry, who had led among the Democratic contenders, dropped out
of the race this week. Hoekstra should not be underestimated: He
unexpectedly won his House seat in 1992 by ousting GOP Rep. Guy Vander Jagt,
a 26-year veteran who had chaired the National Republican Congressional
Committee.

Still, Hoekstra's efforts to mix local politics with the complexities of
international terrorism pose a difficult balance, according to Andy Johnson,
who served five years as Democratic staff director of the Senate Select
Intelligence Committee and now is director of the national security program
for Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank. "Congress has a
responsibility to ask tough questions, especially with intelligence, where
so much is done on a classified basis. But it takes time to get all of the
information," Johnson said. "Representative Hoekstra's current criticisms
are premature, if not misguided. The infusion of politics can erode the
necessary discourse."

Hoekstra has contended that he is the victim of an attack strategy by
national Democrats and that he does not seek out press coverage but rather
responds to inquiries. And he seems comfortably confident that he can
exercise his congressional responsibilities while tending to his increased
political demands. But his bid to show that the route to Lansing goes
through Yemen offers novel insight into potentially groundbreaking political
shifts taking place across the nation.









Paid for by Pete Hoekstra for Governor P.O. Box 1287 Holland, MI 49422