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Jones: 'I didn't come here to be a chairman'
By Bob Cusack

Wednesday July 20, 2005

He voted against the Republican budget. He publicly called for the ethics rules backed by Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) to be scrapped. He is wary of the president's Social Security reform plan.

While that profile fits many Democrats, Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) is no liberal.

The 62-year-old former state legislator is a conservative's conservative. He believes the Department of Education should be abolished, supports defining marriage as existing only between men and women and worries constantly about the growing size of the nation's debt.

Unlike others in Congress, Jones is not afraid to vote his conscience.

Jones voted no on the 2003 Medicare prescription-drug benefit, will reject the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and is critical of President Bush's immigration-reform plan.

But the move that attracted the most attention this year was when Jones spoke out in support of an exit plan for U.S. troops in Iraq, a turnabout that led ABC's "This Week" to book him on its Sunday talk show, a rarity for a House rank-and-file member.

His stance on Iraq attracted almost as much media attention as his effort to change the name of french fries to freedom fries in the House cafeteria after France declined to support the U.S. invasion of Iraq in early 2003.

Chuckling during an interview last week, Jones admitted that the controversy "got a little bit out of control."

Jones's recent criticism of the administration's handling of the Iraq war infuriated some Republicans in Washington and across the country.

Political commentator and author Christopher Hitchens called Jones "a moral and political cretin."

Despite the harsh criticism, Jones does not regret his decision.

"When I go home," Jones said, "a majority of people come up to me and express their support."
He does, however, regret all the confusion the resolution spurred. Jones's website's states, "Jones Does NOT Support Immediate Withdrawal from Iraq!"

Jones backed the Iraq measure after attending the emotional funeral of Marine Sgt. Michael Bitz. His wife and four children, including twins who were born after he was dispatched to Iraq, survived Bitz. The Bitz family lives in Jones's district.

Even though he has repeatedly voted against his leaders, Jones's generally earnest and congenial personality seems to have spared him their wrath. Washingtonian magazine recently named him the House's nicest lawmaker.

"I didn't come here to become a chairman," he said in an interview. "For me, it's a matter of conscience, of doing what you believe is right for your district. ... I like to help the leadership when it helps my district."

Despite his mild-mannered persona, Jones is not submissive. His tenacity was on display last year when he clashed with Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) after Thomas thwarted legislation that would have allowed religious leaders to endorse political candidates from the pulpit.

Jones has also exchanged salvos with the Rev. Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, another critic of his pulpit bill.

Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-Md.), who has joined Jones as a co-sponsor of the Iraq resolution, described Jones as relentless, adding, "He's got a lot of integrity."
Through its actions in January, the GOP House leadership demonstrated how much it values loyalty by yanking gavels away from ethics committee Chairman Joel Hefley (R-Colo.) and Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Chris Smith (R-N.J.).

Jones, who has more than 60,000 retired veterans living in his district, lamented Smith's removal as chairman.

"I was so disappointed," he said.

One of the stated reasons for bouncing Smith from the committee was his vigorous defense of increased funding for veterans programs.

"I don't know how, when you are sending young men and women overseas, you can even consider cutting the [veterans] budget," Jones said.

The lawmaker does not shy away from criticizing legislation championed by leadership, although he stresses that it should not be viewed as motivated by any personal animosity for any of the leaders. Indeed, Jones has even contributed to DeLay's legal defense fund.

Even so, in April, Jones co-sponsored legislation that sought to jettison the House's new rules for running the ethics committee. Republicans changed the rules after the ethics panel admonished DeLay three times in the last Congress.

House leaders subsequently reverted to the rules of the 108th Congress.

"It was simply the right thing to do," Jones said.

He added that he was not confronted by any of his colleagues on that decision and noted that "five or six" GOP members even told him they would have done the same thing if it weren't such a politically sensitive matter.

Jones, a devout Catholic, prays every morning.

"Prayer helps me come to a peace about my decisions," he said.

Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-Minn.), a close friend of Jones, said that Jones's strong religious beliefs play a major role in his independence.

"He firmly believes he answers to a higher authority," Gutknecht said. "I think Walter sleeps well at night."

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), head of the conservative Republican Study Committee, said of Jones: "Even when I strongly disagree with him, I never doubt his heart."

House GOP leaders, who have been known to criticize publicly members who irk them, refused to go negative on Jones when asked how they view him.

"Walter is a gentleman. He is an individual that is tenacious and fervent in his beliefs," said House Chief Deputy Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.).

Asked about Jones's tendency to buck the leadership lately, Cantor said, "We're a big-tent in the Republican Party."

A sixth-term House veteran, Jones represents the same district his father did. While the elder Jones was a centrist Democrat, his son came to Washington in 1994 as part of Newt Gingrich's Republican takeover of the House.

True to his roots, the younger Jones also spent time as a Democrat, but he changed his party affiliation 11 years ago, largely because of social issues.

When prodded, Jones says he believes the GOP has strayed off course.

"Our party has got to stay true to our principles," Jones said. "What's so ironic is that you've got the Democrats talking about the debt and the deficit. That's what we came here in 1994 and 1995 beating our chests about. ... We've lost that issue ... and that's what I hear back home."

The cost of Social Security reform is a major concern for Jones. He said he will not support private accounts if the program ends up costing trillions in transition costs.

Jones regularly cites the advice of his late father, who warned him many years ago about contracting "Potomac fever."

The lawmaker heeded the warning. Working in the nation's capital has not affected his thick southern drawl. And he boasts of not spending a weekend in Washington since Bush's first inauguration.

"My father told me years ago, 'If you ever go to Washington and forget the people who sent you there, they're going to bring you back real quick.'"

Patrick O'Connor contributed to this article.