An interview with former Congressman Steve Rothman

Steve Rothman’s new autobiography, Congressman Steve Rothman: A Political History with Photographs, is a fascinating account of Rothman’s life in politics. Rothman represented New Jersey’s 9th congressional district from 1997 to 2013, where he distinguished himself as one of the most pro-Israel members of Congress on either side of the aisle. He was a leading advocate for funding Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, as well as David’s Sling, Arrow 2, and Arrow 3. Prior to serving in Congress, Rothman was Mayor of Englewood, New Jersey, and then the Bergen County Surrogate Court Judge.

Over the years, I’ve turned to Rothman for advice on various political issues, including those pertaining to Israel’s security. I took the occasion of his new book to ask some questions that you might be wondering about too. Below is a transcript of our discussion:

Sheffey: You had a somewhat hawkish reputation in Congress and yet you were among the first to publicly call for a withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq. What lessons from the Iraq War are applicable today?

Rothman: As I said in February 2006, “After September 11th, along with most members of Congress and the majority of the American people, I believed President Bush, Secretary of State Powell, Secretary of Defense  Rumsfeld, CIA Director Tenent, National Security Advisor Rice, and other administration officials when they told us, in many then-confidential briefings, that terrorist acts by Saddam Hussein’s agents were ‘imminent,’ would involve ‘weapons of mass destruction,’ and would take place ‘on American soil.’ I accepted their counsel that all of these terrible things would be prevented if we removed Saddam Hussein from power. Now we know that Saddam possessed no weapons of mass destruction and there was no such imminent threat. If I knew at the time of my vote what I know now, I would never have supported the President’s invasion of Iraq.” 

This tragic experience made me, rightfully, more cautious about accepting “expert” advice without an even more skeptical analysis, especially about waging war with US troops.

Did you see signs when you were in Congress that the Republican Party might devolve into what it has become today, or is that only obvious in hindsight? 

In January 1997 I went to Congress, shortly after the 1994 Newt Gingrich “Contract for America” had ended 40 years of a Democratic House majority. Overall, for 12 of my 16 years in Congress, I was in the political minority as a Democrat. In some understandable ways, the Republican majority acted with some personal and legislative arrogance after their 40 years in the minority. Among many other inexcusable actions during my time in Congress, the GOP impeached President Clinton for lying in a civil deposition about having sex with someone other than his wife, tried to privatize Social Security, they shut down the government twice, tried to prevent and then later defund and repeatedly kill the Affordable Care Act that benefitted tens of millions of Americans directly, and tens of millions indirectly, by allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26, eliminating lifetime limits on insurance coverage, requiring insurance plans to cover preventive services at no cost to the patient, and expanding Medicaid eligibility in states that chose to do so. 

The self-proclaimed revolutionary Republican Tea Party sought to overwhelm and steer the House GOP instead of the “less radical” Republican Study Group that had always advocated for very conservative policies. 

While many Tea Party members were radical, undisciplined, loud, boorish, and offensive in their day-to-day behavior, without the 24-7 news cycle and social media of today, their actions often didn’t make the national news and were only known “inside the beltway” among Congress members, staff, lobbyists, foreign leaders, and academics. Today’s 24-7 news cycle and widespread social media platforms have only amplified and shown video content of the extremism of the Freedom Caucus, which is the ideological successor to the Tea Party. While there were personal, rhetorical attacks before, as well as some physical altercations on the House floor that I witnessed, it does seem (some 12 years later, and without me being present there) that the level and frequency of personal venom is worse than it was during my time.

Was there any meaningful opposition in Congress to the missile defense systems that you advocated for when you were in Congress?

The opposition was mostly financial, though not entirely. After we established a more regional distribution of the companies that would produce these items and take part in the research and development, objections concerning finances were considerably reduced.

What is your response to Jewish voters concerned about Israel’s safety and security who think that Donald Trump would be better than Kamala Harris?  

Harris is infinitely better and more trustworthy on Israel’s safety and security than Trump. It is not even a close question. For all the details, I would encourage them to read what my brilliant friend Steve Sheffey has written.

What advice would you have for Kamala Harris on politics and policy?

Use your best policy and political judgment, after consultation with a wide group of smart and proven people. Then, be bold.

Similarly, Jewish voters see the protests on college campuses last year, the incidents where Jewish-owned businesses have been protested, and they conflate these protesters with the Democratic Party and lump Kamala Harris in with that group, consciously or subconsciously. What is your response to those voters?

The main danger to Jews in America is not from the Democratic Party or even the relatively tiny number of radical progressives at the fringe of the Democratic Party. Just look at the votes in Congress, Democrats vs. Republicans. The main danger is from today’s mainstream Republican Party, and its antisemitic, white supremacist wing, which have voted repeatedly to withhold aid to Israel and have repeatedly described the US as a “Christian nation.”

I did not know until I read your book that you were the lead singer in a folk-rock group prior to embarking on your political career. What were your musical influences?

There is not enough time to answer this fully, but here is a general answer: I was always a big fan of ANY music where the melody was good, the singing (if any) was great, the tune had a nice “hook,” and the harmonies, and hopefully horn sections, were on point. That means that I was a fan of most types of music and a wide group of musical artists of the 1920s to the middle of the 1980s, and thereafter.  

Among my favorites that I can now recall were The Beatles, Temptations, Four Tops, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, all the Motown artists, the British Invasion of the 1960s and 1970s, early American blues, later blues, R&B, pop crooners, California rock, Southern rock, country, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Carole King, James Brown, The Everly Brothers, Simon & Garfunkel, The Bee Gees, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Chicago, Sly &  The Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young,  Santana, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, the Doobie Brothers, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Harry Nielsen, Top 40, one-hit wonders, classical, choral, and all the great songs of the day.

After retiring from politics, you were a member of The Palisades, doing classic rock covers. Why did you record under the name Steve Roy? 

I had been a singer since forever, singing with my very talented twin brother, choirs, madrigals, pick up groups of old and new friends, and more formal and informal bands. After my time in Congress, I was a bit despondent. A friend suggested that I get back to music. I wrote some songs and recorded them in my apartment with a very talented friend who was a very gifted musician, who had recording experience. We produced and recorded my seven-song CD in about six months, at my desk in my apartment, using all the musical and recording tools available on the internet.  

I didn’t want to be known as another singing politician (or ex-politician) so I chose the name Steve Roy and the Roamers.  

After a while, when I played with my then-girlfriend in New Jersey, New York, Florida, Canada, Mexico, Israel, and other places, we wanted a name that would call to mind where we came from in New Jersey (10 minutes from the Palisades).  Coincidentally, we were living at the time on Palisade Avenue in my hometown of Englewood, New Jersey.

I’m now learning to play guitar? Did you play guitar? Do you have any advice on guitar playing? 

No. I  played the saxophone, clarinet, and bass guitar (for about three years), but have sung with many guitar players over during the course of my life.

Take lessons. Practice privately. And play out with other musicians as often as possible! And enjoy every minute of the privilege of making music with others.

What is your favorite pro-Israel weekly newsletter?

That’s easy. The best one is yours! Steve Sheffey’s Pro-Israel Political Update.

The second best one of many, is The Daily Alert. In addition, I still look through between 60 and 70 periodicals a day, from all ends of the political spectrum, as well as check in with great YouTube sites, daily.

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