In 1999, I was interviewing Barry McCaffrey, the retired Army general who was serving as “drug czar” in the Clinton administration. He had been a hero in the Gulf War. He told me there was a young congressman from Ohio I had never heard of. (But I had. I knew my politics.) “I hope he’s president of the United States in another twelve years,” McCaffrey said. “He’s one of the finest public servants I’ve met in America.”
He was talking about Rob Portman, a Republican. Before being elected to the House, Portman was an aide to Bush 41 in the White House.
Jump ahead to 2004. At a reception, I observed an interesting scene between two congressmen: Portman and another Republican, about ten years older. The older congressman said something rather poignant, and true: “In the early stages of your career, you say, ‘I’m not going to be president.’ But you don’t necessarily mean it. You harbor the hope that you will. The years pass, and at some point it dawns on you: ‘Oh, my gosh, I’m really not going to be president!’”
The congressman then engaged in some comedy. He got down on one knee, clasped Portman’s hand, and said to him, “You’re my only hope. You could be president. Would you remember me for a cabinet position?”
Rob Portman went on to be U.S. trade representative, under Bush 43. Then he was the budget director, in the same White House. Then he was elected to the Senate. He is retiring in a few days, at the end of this congressional term. He represents a very different kind of Republican Party and a very different conservatism — different from the norms today.
In 2012, there was some talk that Portman might make a running mate for Mitt Romney, in that year’s presidential race. I wrote about this, here on the Corner. Let me paste a chunk:
Some people on the left believe you can’t be a true conservative unless you’re dumb, hateful, and cloddish. Some months ago, I was seated across from a liberal journalist at a lunch, and he was saying that Chris Christie was no conservative. Why was that? “For one thing, he doesn’t hate gays.” That’s the attitude — the lefty attitude — I’m talking about.
But there are righties, too, who are skeptical of politicians who are a little — cleaned up, let’s say. Have you ever met such conservatives? Rob Portman is smart, smooth, articulate, and polite. These are not disqualifying traits. Bombast and invective have their place. (No one who reads me can doubt my affection for bombast and invective.) But so does a more refined style.
What’s more, Portman is super-capable, famously capable — the kind of person you would appoint as president, if you could appoint a president.
Yes. In any event, the Republican Party and the conservative movement would soon transform, passing Portman by. Consider: He likes a free economy, limited government, international trade, U.S. leadership in the world — all that stuff. If I may indulge in some shorthand, he’s a Reagan-Bush-Thatcher guy in a Trump-Buchanan-Orbán world.
In recent days, I have been looking into the “information war,” as concerns Ukraine. What has the Kremlin been doing? What have the organs of the United States been doing? I wanted to re-familiarize myself with the origins of the Global Engagement Center, which is in the State Department. It grew out of a bill passed in 2016: the Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act. This bill was written by Portman and a Democratic senator, Chris Murphy, from Connecticut.
“Global Engagement Center.” How would that fly at CPAC today?
Not only are Portman’s views out of style, his style is, too. Think of Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida. When he wants to criticize Dr. Anthony Fauci, this is what he says: “Someone needs to grab that little elf and chuck him across the Potomac.” That’s what gets hearts racing. That’s what gets hands donating. It’s just not Rob Portman.
Could Portman have been renominated by the GOP in 2022? I don’t really know. The two chief candidates vying to succeed him were J. D. Vance and Josh Mandel. They could hardly be more different from Portman. Have a typical Mandel tweet: “General Flynn is a patriot, Adam Kinzinger is a traitor.” In the end, Vance won the nomination, and then the general election.
Portman is the Republican co-chairman of the Senate Ukraine Caucus. During the campaign, Vance said the following to Steve Bannon (naturally): “I gotta be honest with you, I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.”
The above-mentioned General McCaffrey slammed Vance on Twitter:
JD Vance is a shameful person unsuitable for public office. His comments are those of a stooge for Russian aggression.
Vance slammed back — employing a variety of populist tropes:
Your entire time in military leadership we won zero wars. You drank fine wine at bullshit security conferences while thousands of working class kids died on the battlefield. Oh, by the way, how much do you stand to gain financially from a war with Russia, Barry?
McCaffrey responded,
Well. Two of those kids who served were my children. Two more are now serving … grandsons. And…. I don’t drink wine.
What he did not say, others did: McCaffrey almost lost an arm in Vietnam. He received three Purple Hearts, two Silver Stars, and two Distinguished Service Crosses. As for “Your entire time in military leadership we won zero wars”: McCaffrey led the 24th Infantry Division in the Gulf War, delivering the famous “left hook.” I mean, everyone knew this. But Vance is very young (at least in comparison to some of us).
There is something else that is important to know — very important: Portman endorsed Vance, in this year’s Senate race. That is par for the course. I’m not necessarily crazy about the course. “Sometimes party loyalty asks too much,” said JFK. Did Portman vote for Vance? Hmmm. The secret ballot is a wondrous thing.
In any case, the replacement of Portman by Vance is a neat illustration of the trajectory of the GOP and the Right broadly. Portman is past, Vance is present. What about the future? “The future lies ahead of us,” as LBJ once said, provoking chortles from WFB and others. (Where else would it lie?) But I can tell you that I know some young conservatives who have more than a touch of Rob Portman, and Mitch Daniels, about them. The winds of politics blow in various directions, as season follows season.
Farewell, Portman. And if you’re not in the arena, I hope you’ll at least lurk on the periphery.