Posted on 01/02/2007 8:51:56 PM PST by DogByte6RER
Statue of Reagan heads to Capitol as critics protest
Resolution passed in final hours of legislative session
By Robin Hindery
ASSOCIATED PRESS
January 2, 2007
SACRAMENTO – Under a joint resolution passed with little fanfare in the waning hours of California's 2006 legislative session, the statue of the man who helped preserve California's statehood during the Civil War will be uprooted from its home in the nation's Capitol.
The bronze likeness of Thomas Starr King, which has represented California in The National Statuary Hall Collection since 1931, will be replaced with one of a figure more recognizable to later generations: former President Reagan.
Critics say the measure was passed hastily Aug. 31, without allowing the public a chance to weigh in.
“This took place at the very end of the very last day of the session and there was no chance to have any public discussion about it,” said the Rev. David Sammons, acting president of the Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, a Unitarian seminary named after the influential minister.
King was born in 1824 in New York City. He came to California at age 36 to serve as minister of the First Unitarian Church in San Francisco. He was a fiery orator who spoke out strongly in favor of the Union during the Civil War and was credited by President Lincoln with saving California from becoming a separate republic.
King's statue sits alongside that of the state's other representative, the Rev. Junipero Serra, the Roman Catholic founder of nine California missions. Each state is allowed to display two statues of figures who served as leaders within the state or played a significant role in its history.
In 2000, Congress enacted a law allowing legislatures to replace their states' statues. So far, only Kansas has done so.
In California, one lawmaker voted against the decision to replace King's statute, Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Marina del Ray, who is Unitarian. Some lawmakers abstained from voting.
Bowen, the newly elected secretary of state, later wrote a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asking him to withdraw his support for the proposal. Joint resolutions do not require the governor's signature, but congressional rules mandate that a governor approve proposed changes in Statuary Hall.
On Sept. 15, Schwarzenegger gave his blessing to the resolution in a letter urging the Architect of the Capitol to carry out the statue switch.
“Californians certainly have the right to choose to honor someone else other than (King),” Bowen said in her letter to the governor. “But it's also their right to participate in the process to ensure that any decision that is made is an informed decision.”
The resolution's author, Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta, argues that lawmakers and others had ample time to speak up, but failed to do so. The resolution first was introduced in 2005 but lingered in various committees.
“Folks who have raised opposition have tried to make it sound like a last-minute thing,” Hollingsworth said. “But there were two years where the bill was able to be analyzed and scrutinized.”
Hollingsworth called Reagan “exceptionally worthy of national commemoration,” and said the former president “stands alone in California history.” Reagan was elected governor in 1967 and served two terms before pursuing the presidency.
Hollingsworth said when he came up with the idea to memorialize the “Great Communicator” in Statuary Hall, he had not heard of King. Transferring King's statue from Washington to the state Capitol in Sacramento will help acquaint other Californians with his legacy, he said.
“Now fourth-graders on school field trips will have the opportunity to get to know King better,” he said.
Sammons, of the Starr King school, said that isn't the point, and is an attempt to put a positive spin on a bad idea.
“Here's a figure extremely significant to the values and history of our state who will just get lost,” he said of King, who died of diphtheria in San Francisco at age 39.
Others object to the specific choice of King's replacement.
David Dodd, a Unitarian and a librarian in Petaluma, has tried to mobilize opposition to the resolution through Internet postings critical of Reagan. Dodd has written letters to his state and congressional representatives and encouraged others to do the same.
While King “kept California on the right side during the Civil War,” Reagan was a “ruthless governor” and an “actor posing as a statesman,” Dodd said in a Sept. 6 posting on his weblog, “Librarian in Tie-dye.”
Unlike King, Dodd said, “Reagan is not in danger of being forgotten.”
Criticism of the resolution hasn't stalled its progress. Instead, focus has shifted largely to calls for increased public involvement concerning the state's statuary representatives in the future.
Bowen in her letter to Schwarzenegger asked him to establish “a public process to ensure future decisions . . . are more carefully considered.”
Bowen has no specific plans to pursue the issue with the governor or other lawmakers in the 2007 session, her spokesman said.
The Washington, D.C.-based Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation will commission a sculptor and provide funding for the Reagan statue, expected to be placed sometime in this year, Hollingsworth said.
The foundation also will fund moving King's statue to Sacramento.
Another Confederate-apologist.
This just shows me that Unitarians are evil, hateful people.
the whiners whine, but RR's stature grows year by year as the impact of his legacy sinks in...
Yep. The Lefties back in California will never accept Ronald Reagan.
Yep. The righties all over the country will never accept Bill Clinton. I don't see a problem with either one. Why should the left accept Ronald Reagan. It does not make sense to me that you would even post that. Does it bother you? I hope not.
Well said.
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