A Harry Clor Congressman

A former Kenyon football star who went on to a legal and political career in his hometown of Dover, Ohio, Zack Space '81 won his House seat in 2006 after the long-time Republican incumbent, Bob Ney, got caught up in the Jack Abramoff scandal, resigned, and went to prison. He won re-election in 2008. Last fall, with Congress enmeshed in the health-care debate, Space took some time to share his thoughts on cable news, Plato, and today's football Lords.

Which of your accomplishments so far in the House makes you proudest? I was able to put together a very ambitious thirty-four-county plan called Connecting Appalachia, using funding from the stimulus program for broadband funding in underserved areas. (The funding approval is pending.)

What is the oddest procedural rule you've encountered so far? Today I think we dealt with three or four motions to adjourn. They don't really accomplish anything and it just holds things up, and it represents an expression of dissatisfaction with the majority party.

What Kenyon class best applies to working in the House? I was fortunate enough to learn classical Greek philosophy from Harry Clor, who taught me there is strength in moderation, as taught by Plato: the whole concept of a middle path. I think following that middle path can lead to success and real solutions.

What's the wildest untrue thing you've read about yourself? It'd take me a long time to run through the list, but in the last couple months this health-care debate has really taken things to a new level.

Do you have any thoughts on the role cable news plays in that? I think that the cable-news networks on both sides of the political spectrum are more concerned about selling advertisements than they are about projecting fair and balanced news. And since most people get their news from those cable programs, we face significant hurdles in clarifying the truth.

Where in Washington are you living now? [After sharing an apartment for two years with Mike Arcuri, a Democratic congressman from New York,] I decided to strike out on my own. I have a small one-bedroom apartment on Capitol Hill that's within walking distance of the Capitol. Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown lives right above me.

What's the longest work day you've had? We've had mark-ups in the Energy and Commerce Committee that have run for nearly twenty straight hours.

Do you ever get a chance to check on Kenyon football? I was back on campus in late summer. I got there about a half-hour early on purpose so I could check out the new stadium, and I watched them practice for a while. They seem a lot bigger and faster than when I was there.