Rep. Howard Coble retires from Congress this year after three decades of serving Alamance County and surrounding regions in Washington. He visited Elon University on Oct. 29, 2014, to offer reflections about his experience in the nation’s halls of power.
A legend of North Carolina politics visited campus Wednesday night for a conversation about his career in Washington and his views on the American political system.
Rep. Howard Coble, a Republican who has represented Alamance County and other parts of central North Carolina since his first congressional election in 1984, shared wit and wisdom with a Whitley Auditorium audience that included students, professors and community members.
Assistant Professor Carrie Eaves, a faculty member in the Department of Political Science and Policy Studies, led the hour conversation, which started with Coble’s observation that he won’t miss the airport in Washington. It’s a place he visits often in his frequent trips home for parades, civic ceremonies, school visits and more.
Coble said that voters keep track of their elected leaders. “Constituents know when you go home or not, believe me,” he said. “They expect to see their elected officials at the Christmas parade, at the Eagle Scout ceremonies. If you show up consistently – or not show up at those events – they will remember in November.”
Coble took exception to the idea that Congress is more dysfunctional today than at any point in recent history. He cited friendships with some Democrats on Capitol Hill, their political beliefs notwithstanding, and noted his dislike of some Republicans.
“We’re in a republic where there are two parties,” he said. “You’re going to expect problems, partisan problems, and that doesn’t come as a surprise to me. It’s not as bad as the media portrays it.”
The longtime congressman is known for his unwillingness to accept a congressional pension. For years he has maintained his opposition to receiving a government paycheck after retirement. “You all as taxpayers pay my salary,” he said. “You don’t owe me a congressional pension.”
Coble criticized President Barack Obama for a perceived lack of leadership, saying the president showed no “fire in the belly” when advocating his positions. He lamented the extremes to which gerrymandering has shaped the political landscape. Coble also recounted stories from Sept. 11, 2001, and the ways in which he learned of the attacks from then-Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
He then lauded the university for the quality of its education. “We have had a good record of hiring Elon grads,” he added.
Born in Greensboro, N.C., on March 18, 1931, Coble is a Coast Guard veteran, a law school graduate, and former state legislator. Elon University honored Coble in 2006 with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
Republican Mark Walker, a businessman and pastor from Greensboro, and Democrat Laura Fjeld, an attorney from Orange County, are vying for his open seat in the 2014 midterm elections.
What advice would Coble recommend to any new member of Congress?
“Constituents demand accessibility, folks. They have every right to demand it. They expect to see their elected official, and when you quit going home, they’ll send you to Washington permanently,” he said. “And don’t ever dismiss the productivity that would come from accessibility.”
The program on Oct. 29, 2014, was sponsored by the Department of Political Science and Policy Studies and the Council on Civic Engagement.
“We are privileged to have a living legend in North Carolina politics here with us tonight,” Assistant Professor Jason Husser, Elon University’s faculty fellow for civic engagement, said in his welcoming remarks.