I was reminded today that there have been many leaders who were great and represented the American ideals of “We the People”.  Several of them are from my own state, Wisconsin.  And my favorite is Fightin’ Bob LaFollette.

I thought that I would take a moment and recount the words of Fightin’ Bob.

When discussing WWI, LaFollette stood his ground against the war, and America entering it.  He refused to bend to political pressure and, while standing on the Senate floor, “We should not seek [to] inflame the mind of our people by half-truths into the frenzy of war.”

Again, his words in an 1897 speech at the University of Chicago, “Go back to the first principle of democracy. Go back to the people.”

Here’s to you, Fightin’ Bob.

More information on Fightin’ Bob and the progressivism he stood for, go to www.fightingbob.com, or perhaps take a trip to Fighting Bob Fest.  Wouldn’t it be great to put up a statue of Fightin’ Bob right up in the heart of Bay View?

Great American leaders are home made, right here, in the heartland of America.