Rep Boosts Bid of Patrick '78

Representative Jim McGovern, D-Mass., visited Harvard Friday afternoon to draw support for gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick ’78 and to express his opposition to the war in Iraq.

McGovern, who first backed Patrick’s bid last June, was one of the first in a series of high-profile figures to endorse Patrick, a former Dunster House resident. Senator Barack Obama, D-Ill., and two former Clinton administration labor secretaries, Robert Reich and Alexis Herman, have also backed Patrick’s candidacy. Patrick served as the top civil rights enforcement official in the Clinton Justice Department.

According to the latest Boston Globe poll, Patrick is gaining ground but still faces an uphill battle against Democratic frontrunner Thomas Reilly, the state attorney general, who holds a 13-point lead.

“If he can get elected, he will set a high standard for public service,” McGovern said of Patrick. “Other good people will want to be a part of it.”

McGovern said that he was especially impressed with the honesty that he has seen from Patrick, citing the candidate’s recent trip to a local church where he openly discussed his support for gay marriage in Massachusetts.

“I find him to be inspirational; I find him to be truthful, which is a rare quality,” McGovern said.

McGovern also spent a substantial portion of his talk slamming President Bush’s handling of the war on terror.

“If you want to fight terrorism, I think you need friends,” McGovern said. “It is statistically impossible to be hated any more” in the Muslim world, he said.

One of the most outspoken members of the House, McGovern was the first to put forward a bill proposing to block tax money from funding the war in Iraq.

McGovern also spoke at length about his frustration with the duplicity of politicians in Washington.

“My definition of patriotism is to say what you believe,” McGovern said. “To be silent is not patriotism, but moral cowardice.”

Student reaction to McGovern was generally positive, and he earned some laughs after a few jokes and criticisms of the Bush administration and the war in Iraq. However, it was Patrick’s message that McGovern wanted those in attendance to remember.

“Deval is going to win. He will transform politics,” McGovern said.