OPINION: Franco and other profiles in courage

Dec. 26—Franco Harris is famous for swooping to make the Immaculate Reception and starring on four Super Bowl championship teams.

Harris, who died suddenly last week at age 72, is lesser known for his rare combination of gentleness and courage in politics. There are many examples of his efforts, but one story stands out.

The starting point was Harris' enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. He chose his Pittsburgh Steelers teammate Lynn Swann as his presenter. They had been roommates and remained friends after their playing careers ended.

By sharing the spotlight, Harris could promote Swann's own candidacy for induction to the hall of fame. Years rolled by. Swann, a swift and acrobatic wide receiver, finally was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2001, 19 years after he retired from the Steelers.

Another election was on Swann's horizon. He became the Republican nominee for governor of Pennsylvania in 2006, a campaign I helped cover for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

As a celebrity candidate, Swann knew he would be strong in the western region of the commonwealth, heart of Steelers country.

Harris valued his friendship with Swann but not the Republican candidate's politics. Harris did what he believed was best: He campaigned for Swann's opponent, Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell, a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles.

"Lynn is a great person," Harris said during the campaign. "He was a great football player. He's running in the wrong direction."

Rendell trounced Swann. What followed seems almost impossible when viewed from today's poisonous political climate: Swann and Harris remained friends. None of their disagreements over politics broke the bond they forged in their 20s.

"Franco was a guy about action," Swann told the NFL Network after Harris died only three days before the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception. "He gave of himself. He gave everything he had to the causes that he believed in."

While juggling charitable endeavors this year, Harris campaigned for candidates in Pennsylvania. He backed two high-profile Democrats, John Fetterman and Josh Shapiro, for the U.S. Senate and governor, respectively. Fetterman and Shapiro defeated candidates endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

Political courage seems especially rare when it comes to answering Trump's outbursts. He is still falsely claiming the 2020 election was stolen from him. "A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution," Trump recently wrote.

The correct response from Republicans would have been to condemn Trump. That was too gutsy, too dangerous, for most of them. Prominent GOP officeholders ducked for cover, afraid of being called a RINO — Republican in name only — and disowned by a Trump's shriveling political base.

It's rare, but profiles in courage still occur. Sometimes it happens close to home.

Freshman state Rep. Brian Baca, R-Los Lunas, broke from his caucus leaders last winter by voting to outlaw 175 percent annual interest rates charged by storefront lenders. Baca sided with seven other Republicans and 43 Democrats to pass a bill reducing the maximum interest rate to 36 percent.

Baca had been appointed to the House of Representatives, a chamber where most Republicans wanted to leave the oppressive interest rate in place. They said the lending market would correct itself, if need be.

There was plenty of need. Oppressive interest rates dragged on for decades while legislators ignored the harm. Baca took his stand against predatory lenders after only six weeks in office.

Rep. Cathrynn Brown, R-Carlsbad, also was gutsy enough to split from her caucus leaders by voting to cut the interest rates. Often labeled a Republican hardliner, Brown joined with most Democrats to end legalized loansharking. She also forged a working relationship with the rival party to eliminate most state taxes on Social Security income.

On the Democratic side, freshman Sen. Harold Pope of Albuquerque separated himself from two of the most powerful members of his caucus during a pressure-packed personnel debate.

Sens. Bill Soules of Las Cruces and Mimi Stewart of Albuquerque wanted to retain a legislative executive on education policy who'd made disparaging comments about Native Americans. Pope remained steadfast in voting to oust the employee, Rachel Gudgel. Pope's stand helped force Gudgel to resign from office, though with a hefty severance check.

Other attempts at political courage in the last decade have gone nowhere. Many state lawmakers going back to the late Lucky Varela, D-Santa Fe, tried to eliminate tax credits that amount to personal or corporate giveaways. Influential legislators decided to study the problem some more. Studies gather dust while the tax code remains a mess.

One day the sacred cows might be corralled, but I doubt it. Harris would be more optimistic. He fought hard against his enemies and his friends, all without a snarl or a hiss.

Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at msimonich@sfnewmexican.com or 505-986-3080.