An interview with former Congressman J.C. Watts

As the first black Republican elected from the South since reconstruction (in 1994), J.C. Watts garnered significant attention and quickly rose through the ranks of the Republican House, earning Chairmanship of the House Republican Conference, the fourth highest position in the party. During this time, Mr. Watts refused to join the Congressional Black Caucus. Despite his rapid ascent, Watts resigned in 2002 after four terms in office, honoring a pledge he made in 1994 to only serve three. Prior to public service, Watts was deeply involved with his religious community and was a standout quarterback at the University of Oklahoma.

Currently Chairman of GOPAC, a prominent PAC founded by Newt Gingrich in the 1980s to help Republicans get elected, and Chairman of JC Watts Companies, Watts has maintained an active role in the realm of public service and politics.

While Mr. Watts’ grasp on the minutiae of policy was far from impressive, his words carried a strong and persistent conviction. Arguing that new government models are crucial, ones distinct from those that have failed to provide substantial progress during the past forty years, Mr. Watts endorsed applying the brilliance of American ingenuity to government. TDI sat down with Mr. Watts to discuss his career and his thoughts on the future of American government.

TDI*: How do you think the Republican Party has used race to expand their party base versus the way the Democrats have used it to expand theirs?

JC: I think race has been more of a tool – the use of race in a very raw way – for Democrats and I think Republicans haven’t actually known how to use it if you will and I don’t want to talk about this as an arrow in our quiver, that we take it out and shoot it whenever we have a chance. I just think Democrats are much more comfortable using race as a political tool than Republicans are. And I think that’s good and that’s bad. I think it’s good that Democrats will talk about race but I think it’s bad the way they use it – it is a political tool, because everything becomes a race issue to them. If you’re talking to me and you don’t hold your lips just right or your mannerisms aren’t just right, then I accuse you of being a racist. And that’s unfair because I think you cheat the nation of a much needed dialogue on the issue of race if I can’t allow you to be open and honest with me concerning the issue of race. America is not comfortable talking about the race issue. It’s not something that we’re very good at talking about. Republicans on the other hand, I think Republicans need to not use the race issue but I think they need to talk about race. We are not a colorblind society; I don’t think God ever meant for us to be a colorblind society. Colorblind – that word has no credibility with me because God made us red, yellow, brown, black and white. So Republicans, when we don’t talk about it is what gets us in trouble.

We talked earlier; one of the things that hurts Republicans is that when Republicans are talking about moral issues, we’re usually talking about the life issue and the marriage issue. But race is a moral issue. If I set up road blocks or hinder you as a white man, that’s a moral issue. If I say that I don’t like my sister because she’s a female, or my wife’s sister, or my black sister, or my red, yellow, brown sister, that’s a moral issue. People being able to eat and have a roof over their head and have clothes on their back, that’s a moral issue. Many black people agree with Republicans on the social issues of the day, but black people are concerned with more issues than just the life issue or the marriage issue. They’re also concerned about issues that every other community is concerned about: healthcare and retirement and good education for their kids. And that’s where the battle lines should be. That’s why I’m so optimistic as a Republican, because I really do believe we have the best solutions. But that debate needs to be had and that discussion needs to be had.

The people are intelligent enough to decide when it comes to issues: when it comes to taxes, most Americans are going to line up with Republicans. If you want to get in a short line in life, you get in that line of Americans who believe they are under taxed. It’s a very short line. You know, even in a state that pays no state taxes. When it comes to retirement security…President Bush, in terms of Social Security reform – people may not like his plan, but at least he has offered a plan. At some point in time, it’s not enough for J.C. to say, “Well, I’m against your plan.” Well what’s your plan – “I’m against his!” Well that’s not a plan. That’s kind of how the opposition is right now. Their plan is they are against the President’s plan.

Healthcare, education reform – that’s how you’re going to help the masses of red, yellow, black, brown and white. Holding educational systems accountable to produce kids who can read, and write and do the arithmetic. That we have a healthcare system that works. That we have a tax system that we reform, a legal system that we reform. We reform our systems to the point that we can attract the right kind of jobs into this country. And then we don’t have to worry about outsourcing – we’re insourcing. And then those secondary jobs, wherever they go, fine. But we need to be concerned with having the right environment in America to attract investment capital. Understanding that capital is a… seventy percent of the American people are invested in the stock market. Where do they spend their money? They spend it where they think…in the funds that will not be hostile to their investment. So if you create an economic system that does not encourage people to save, we’re going to make it tougher for people to invest. We’ll have a regulatory environment that says its tougher [sic] to sell drugs than it is to go out and start a business because of all the hoops we have to jump through to start a business. So you have the underground market, the black market – they actually get rewarded more than the risk taker who is trying to create jobs and wealth the right way. It all ties into each other, but you ought to have the best regulatory policy, the best tax policy, and the best legal policy in the country to encourage investment and to encourage job creation. Then outsourcing will be removed from our lexicon.

TDI: How did you get involved in politics? What experiences motivated you to enter the realm of public service? In particular, what role did sports play? What are the similarities? You obviously devoted much of your time to athletic activities, and sports are one of the arenas where we have experienced rapid racial integration.

JC: I think that’s probably formed a lot of my thought processes on diversity, because we had guys on my football team that were 300 pounds. We also had guys that were 165 pounds. And the coach never said to the 165-pounder, “You’re too small to play on my team” and never said to the 300-pounder, “You’re too big to play on my team.” He took the God-given abilities that the 300-pounder had and the abilities that the 165-pounder had and he put them on the same field at the same time and he created a pretty good football team. And that’s what diversity is. You know, you take these God-given tools, these God-given traits and characteristics and you get them in motion for the good of the country, for the good of the team. But everything I have accomplished in my life has been due to just having a faith that somehow I can get it done.

It’s been to two or three people in my life – my mother and my father and my grandmother – who just never allowed me to use excuses and if anybody ever had a chance to quit or had a right to quit, it would have been any one of those three. I saw my father getting up and going to work everyday and not in a coat and tie, the way I’ve done all of my adult life – he went to work in overalls with a baseball cap on. And a grandmother that was just an old hard nosed lady who would never say quit. They taught me the work ethic. I learned sacrifice, commitment, hard work, and personal responsibility, which doesn’t mean that you’re perfect but it means that if I make a dumb choice, at some point in time I’ve got to look myself in the mirror and say JC, you have got to quit blaming others. You have got to look at that fellow in the mirror and say, “buddy, you blew it.” And it’s okay to do that. I was given a good base, a good foundation from my parents and my grandmother.

But, I think athletics encouraged and cultivated what I saw in my parents, what I saw in my grandmother, because athletics is sacrifice, commitment, hard work, and personal responsibility. It’s all those tools that you have to develop or you have to have – I don’t care if you’re in business, in politics, or if you’re a good journalist. I’m a journalism major so I’ve got some feel for if I would have ever chosen to pursue journalism as a career – or law, whatever. At some point in time I would have been sitting in some room somewhere and thinking: okay, now what do I have to do to be a good journalist, to reach the top of my field. I’m an attorney, what do I have to do. And it’s the same thing I learned in athletics – hard work, sacrifice, paying the price. And those characteristics are valuable – those traits and tools I gained in athletics have served me well in whatever realm I’ve been in.

TDI: A quick follow up on that: you mentioned personal responsibility and not passing the buck. But politics is not exactly known for honoring that principle, especially when it comes down to electoral politics and doing whatever is necessary to get into office. Despite being on track for higher leadership positions, you resigned because of a pledge to your constituents. How did this play out in the House? How prevalent was the tension between doing what’s right for the party, what’s right for America, and doing what’s needed to get re-elected?

JC: Well, I would advise any elected official – if they want to have a career – that they never forget who butters their bread. And I represented a district that was 68% Democrat and at the end of the day I wasn’t concerned about what the President of the United States thought. At the end of the day, my loyalty was to the people who elected me. And I think Abraham Lincoln said it best when he said “We serve our party best, by serving our country first.” You know, I served my party best by serving my constituents first. Believe it or not, in the 8 years I served in Congress, I never, I can honestly say, that nobody ever gave me anything to vote a certain way – something like, we need a vote here, and if you vote, we’ll give you this project. That was never my cup of tea. But again, the folks back in Oklahoma gave me a tremendous opportunity to serve, and I just never forgot who gave me that opportunity – it wasn’t the Republican Party, it was people, Republicans and Democrats that literally worked on my behalf to give me that opportunity. And as I said last night on Hannity and Colmes, being a member of Congress can be complicated. And if you’re in leadership, it can be extremely complicated. And there are things, and I think from time to time you vote on just for the good of the order, but you do it understanding that there are no straight lines to solutions in Washington. You go from here to here to here to back here and then you get to where you’re going. So there are some things you commit yourself to never voting for. But for the most part, you can work it within the realm of reason to get to where you’re trying to go, to where the team is trying to go.

TDI*: Do you have any plans to run for office again? Have you been pressured to consider such options?

JC: I honestly have no plans to do it. My athletic background taught me to never say never…and I can’t tell you that some time in the next six to eight years that I may not be in public service again, or running for something. But I can also honestly say to you that it’s not on my top five things to do before I die list. I kind of enjoy what I’m doing – parent-teacher conferences, my son’s getting ready to start basketball. I saw most of his football game last season. I’m going to get to see most of his basketball games. And let me tell you, you only get one time in life to be a parent and see those special things in your kid’s life, and once is enough if you do it right. And for eight years, I literally…Congress was such a beast, that every week you were literally faced with the responsibility of Congressional responsibilities and family responsibilities, and about 85% percent of the time, family loses – and that’s just the nature of the beast. Whether you’re a Republican, a Democrat, whether you’re from NH or OK, that’s just the nature of the beast. And after 8 years, I said it’s time for me to get off this political treadmill and go and add real wealth to my life – and you do that with friendships and family relationships and a lot of stuff you probably take for granted. But I don’t plan to – I mean, it’s not on my top five things to do before I die list, but I suspect I’ll keep that option open and see what happens…

TDI: So we probably wont be seeing you in 2008 campaigning here in New Hampshire for President?

JC: Well, it’s beautiful here in the fall of year…so I cant tell you that you wont see me here in the fall of the 2008, back in New Hampshire. But I’ve been here several times with Sununu and Jeb Bradley and Charlie Bass. Charlie was a classmate – we were both elected in 1995 and Charlie was very helpful to me when I ran for leadership. He was one of my lieutenants; he was counting votes for me so I’ve got a pretty special bond with him. If they could appoint me President, I’d probably do it [chuckles]. But I’m not sure I want to run for President.

TDI: One last question: what do you feel has been your greatest accomplishment or achievement or favorite moment while you were serving in Congress?

JC: Oh…I’m pretty fortunate that I’ve got many. I don’t know if I could choose one. I think the Congressional Medal of Honor for Rosa Parks was just a real personal, gratifying thing. And I’ve got a picture on my office wall – I’m at the podium and behind me are President Clinton, Minority Leader Gephardt, Mrs. Parks, and Speaker Hastert. And there I am standing on the platform. And I had lunch yesterday with MLK III and of course his dad’s picture was hanging in my office – the “I have a dream speech.” But I was telling him; I’ll probably have to put those two pictures in my will because those are two artifacts that my kids and grandkids will probably fight over. You know, when your grandkids are studying American history and they get to the civil rights era and they see this lady named Rosa Parks who on Cleveland Avenue in downtown Montgomery, Alabama in 1965 refused to give up her seat and she was considered to be the mother of the civil rights movement…and they’ll say I saw my granddad in a picture with her…and then it registers….money! [Laughs] That’s going to be worth something, isn’t it? So I’ll have to write it in my will who it should go to. But anyway, that was gratifying.

I think being asked by my teammates to give the response to President Clinton’s State of the Union Address in 1997 was special and I think the fact that the most comprehensive piece of poverty legislation, or anti-poverty legislation, that passed Congress in the last 30 years has my name on it. You know, I have been pretty fortunate to be associated with several of those type of efforts that I think could impact the culture of the country and one about community renewal, you know…. was a pretty significant piece of legislation.

If you think about it, there are not many issues that our country is facing today that we don’t have some policy on the books to address it. I think the things that we need to be thinking about over the next 25 years, again, is how do we transform our government to where we are what the WWII generation passed on to us – the safest, freest, healthiest, most prosperous country in the world. And I think the issues…the question we have to ask is how do we transform ourselves? We have literally transformed the kitchen more than we have transformed the federal government. We’ve gone from wood stoves to microwaves, from boxes of ice to keep milk and butter cold, to refrigerators today that have TVs on them. You know, American ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit is a fascinating thing when you create competition in the private sector. If you give two people a market, and say this is the mousetrap that we need, one will build a mousetrap and the other will see what he’s doing and the profit that he’s making and the profit that there is for it and go create a better mousetrap. In 1995, when I went to Washington, blackberry was a fruit. [Laughs] Now you have email, data, and phone, everything on one device. That’s what happens when you say “we think we can build a better mousetrap – that we think technology can get us from A to Z.” Literally, we have transformed our kitchen more than we have transformed the federal government.

And transformation, I think, is going to be critical over the next 20 to 25 years – for retirement security, for economic development, healthcare. In terms of healthcare, we will pay, think about this, we will pay…one turns 65 and he goes on Medicare. A month later he needs quadruple bypass heart surgery. We pay $100,000 dollars for him to have that surgery – Medicare does. Just think about this. What if we told him, once he turns 30, every year that his cholesterol is under 200, we’ll give him a $400 yearly tax credit. Now, over 35 years, that’s $14,000 dollars. It would be a much better investment to pay him to keep his cholesterol low than it would be to pay $100,000 for open heart surgery once he turns 65 and gets on Medicare. We have literally saved the American taxpayer $86,000. But we don’t like thinking like that.

I do believe that it’s your generation that is going to pay the real price on all of these issues. That in a state like NH – I have to tell you, there’s a part of me that would love to be involved in a debate about 30 years down the road in this state because this state understands this very well – but in a state that pays no state taxes, think about a state that would have to pay 50, 70 percent of your income in federal taxes. How do you get the money to pay for all of this stuff? There’s only one or two, three ways for the government to get money. You tax on one’s personal income, you tax on one’s corporate income, or you put a government fee on something that they use. Or you can borrow it, but even if you borrow it, how do you have it back? You tax on one’s personal income, you tax on one’s corporate income, or you put a government fee on something that they use. Most Americans today pay 50-58 cents of every dollar they make in some government tax or fee. How do you ask a single mom who’s got two kids who’s’ working her legs off, who’s not on government assistance? How do you say to this mom, send more of your money to Washington? How do you say to the family in which mom and dad both are working…the family that has 3 kids, got house payments, got car payments, 2 cars – no family can get by with just 1 car these days – health insurance costs….how do you say to a family who’s paying 50-58 cents of every dollar they make to the government, how do you say send us more of your money? That’s where we are.

If we don’t transform our systems over the next 20 to 25 years, we’re going to pay a horrendous price to the point where we’re not going to be talking about how to reform Social Security – how do we fix Social Security by allowing personalized investment accounts. You know what we’re going to be talking about – we’re going to be saying, okay, there are only one of several ways you can fix Social Security: raise the retirement age, raise taxes, cut benefits, get more out of the current income pool than we’re currently getting, or all of the above. That’s literally where we are, and those are tough decisions and nobody likes making them…its human nature. You like to kick the can down the road…keep kicking the can down the road – kind of like firing somebody. You’ve got the VP and the HR in the office flipping coins about who’s going to tell him that he’s fired. I mean nobody likes to do that, so you keep putting it off. Nobody likes to face tough decisions – it’s not a pleasant thing to do. But we have managed so poorly over the last 40 years in our government, that we are literally in the crossroads of having to make some very, very difficult decisions and they’re going to be tough.

TDI: Well, thank you very much for your time Congressman.

JC: My pleasure.

*Denotes that questions were asked by The Dartmouth.