Gary Bauer leads fight to save traditional marriage

By JON SINGER

Gary Bauer doesn't mind being in the middle of social heat. In fact, he seems to enjoy it. Not in a combative way, though; Bauer relies on a polite persistence.

But Bauer, 57, isn't a pushover, either. With his organization, Campaign for Working Families, he is a warrior for conservatives on many issues, including same-sex marriage. Bauer wants to keep the definition of marriage as that of one man to one woman.

But like President Bush, Bauer isn't against civil rights, like insurance, inheritance and hospital visitation.

"Our review of state laws show that those [rights] can already be taken care of under normal contract law," Bauer says. "You can make your bus driver, if you want, the inheritor of your assets. And by simply writing a notarized letter, you can guarantee anybody you want can visit you in the hospital."

Bauer just wants to give power to the people, not judges or lobbyists.

"The definition of marriage is fundamental and has been for thousands of years," Bauer says. "And there's no state in the union where American voters, when given the chance, have ever voted to change that definition."

But some left-wingers today believe the tradition was flawed, and that people years ago were unenlightened, or just plain ignorant.

Bauer says that opinion is far from the majority. Even in liberal states like California where same-sex marriage has been voted on, Bauer says people overwhelmingly vote that a marriage should stay between a man and woman only.

He also argues that, if marriage is defined as a man and woman, it legally has to be anything and everything.

"We couldn't, under our constitution, say, 'we're going to change it so that two people of the same sex can get married,' and in the same breath say to a man that wanted to marry three women that he can't," Bauer says.

"I just don't believe there's any culture in the world that wants to go down this road. And I certainly don't think that in the United States there's any kind of significant demand for this kind of radical change," Bauer says.

ACTIVIST JUDGES
"One really unhealthy thing," Bauer says, "Would be to have judges force something so fundamental on an electorate that does not want it."

Neither side of the issue can argue with that. If a debate in this country is imminent, no one wants an unelected judge squelching their voice.

"There's a chance this could become a much more publicly debated issue," Bauer says. "Because not only has the Massachusetts ruling surprised a lot of average voters, but there's a 50/50 chance this summer that the Supreme Court may say the Pledge of Allegiance can't be said with the words 'under God' in it. I think the combination of those two could end up making judicial activism a real big issue in this year's Presidential campaign."

BEGINNINGS
Bauer didn't start out with political interest. But one event during his junior year in high school changed that.

"I watched on television as Ronald Reagan gave a nationally televised speech in the '64 Presidential race," Bauer says. "I was just really taken by the things he was saying. I said to my father I thought that Reagan – who was just a movie actor – would be President someday. And if he was, I was hoping that I could work for him in the White House."

Bauer set out to do just that. He went into law, studying at Georgetown University Law School. In 1980, he left his job and joined Reagan's successful Presidential campaign.

"I wrote an essay defending Reagan's foreign policy views that was published in what was then Washington's evening newspaper, 'The Washington Evening Star,'" Bauer says. "People in the campaign saw the article and called me and asked if I would have any interest in working in the campaign."

"It was unbelievable," Bauer says. "I had been trying to get into the campaign and couldn't get anybody's attention. But when the article appeared, they were calling me. So it was a nice lesson in the value of perseverance."

Bauer spent eight years as Domestic Policy advisor to Reagan. In 2000, he ran against Bush, Sen. John McCain and others in the 2000 Republican race.

"It was an incredible experience," Bauer says of his bid for President. "My father was a janitor, so the fact that I could get into a race for a major party's nomination for President and last to the last five candidates reaffirmed to me that it's a great country, and there's a tremendous opportunity for anybody that has an ambition to go further than anybody in their family had gone before."

Bauer says he enjoyed the Presidential debates, and that the experience has given him more opportunity to influence the national debate on many issues.
Bauer was raised as a Baptist, but now attends a non-denominational Bible church in northern Virginia. He is a born-again Christian.

He has three children, one of which whom is Press Secretary for the House Agriculture Committee. "They're like all kids growing up," Bauer says. "On one hand, they found it exciting that they would see their dad's mug on TV occasionally. But there are always strains because of travel and unpleasant things said against your father. But we've tried to keep these things in perspective and keep a normal family life as much as possible."

CONTROVERSY
Bauer hasn't escaped fiery personal accusations. Most notably, he was accused of having an affair with a 26-year-old staff member in 1999. Bauer denied the rumor.

"Any time there's a false charge made about you, that's hard to deal with, Bauer says. "Reputation is a precious possession"

"But, when you look across the scene at people in politics, there's virtually no one that escapes this sort of thing. It's what the system has become. You can't be thin-skinned or faint-of-heart."

STANDING STRONG
Bauer is blunt with his statements. He believes what he says and will tell his opinion to anyone. But he doesn't see Republicans in Congress being so bold.

"There is, within the Republican Party, a lack of confidence or a political hesitancy to get involved in these cultural issues, even though cultural issues are one of the main dividing lines between the voters in the two parties" Bauer says.

Bauer points at lack of a cultural debate as evidence. The public and media are talking, but Congress is not.

"The interesting thing is when these issue actually come up for a vote, the vote is overwhelmingly on the traditional side," Bauer says. "The Defense of Marriage Act passed a few years ago, and Bill Clinton signed it, and even a majority of the Democrats voted for it."

He says if there was a vote about keeping 'Under God' in the pledge you'd get as close to unanimous as you can in Congress, even though no politicians are talking much about the issue.

Bauer says fear of media rebuke is one of the motivators to keeping quiet.
If you speak out, Bauer says, "You may look intolerant, or not be able to explain yourself in a 30-second sound bite, which is increasingly what you have to do these days."

THE FUTURE
Bauer is now helping Republicans, including President Bush, raise money for the upcoming elections.

Bauer was candid about his thoughts on Bush. "I think before 9/11, President Bush didn't really have a vision of what his presidency was going to be dedicated to," Bauer says. "But when 9/11 happened, he did rise to the occasion, and has made some very tough decisions since on national security and what we have to do win this conflict."

"I think on domestic issues, he needs to be more sensitive to the runaway federal spending," Bauer says. "And some of the other domestic issues have somewhat taken a backburner because of 9/11, Al Qaeda, Iraq and all the rest of it."

Bauer says that although they disagree on a number of proposals, Bush is a good man and he will work for Bush's re-election without hesitating.

As for his own career, Bauer says he enjoys speaking, writing and being in the middle of issues for now.

"I think my wounds from the last time have just healed," he says about the 2000 race. If events open the door, though, Bauer says he's open to another run for public office.