August 5, 2006
Thank You, Senator Javits Posted by Frederic D. Schwarz at 09:30 AM EST Sen. Jacob Javits’s third-party run for reelection in 1980 was not sad for anyone but left-wing Democrats. If Josh Zeitz’s analysis of the electoral dynamics is correct, Javits, a Republican, helped keep his seat in Republican hands and kept Elizabeth Holtzman, a wild-eyed fanatic, out of the Senate. Sounds like a good deal to me. Javits had known for years what a nut Holtzman was, and anyone who didn’t know could have told from the way she tried to get Richard Nixon impeached for war crimes. So instead of bowing out gracefully, Javits dragged his weary bones around the state one last time to save the country from having a 1960s-style radical in the Senate. Rather than being a case of giving in to pride, it was the last and perhaps most noble and selfless act of a distinguished career in public service.
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