Lessons From
The Coburn Affair

JAMES D. BESSER WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT

by a variety of factors, including gen-
uine revulsion over Mr. Coburn's com-
plaints, anger about the hurt he
caused and something more crude —
political self-interest.
The growing political presence of
American Jews, and the implied mes-
sage that support for Mr. Coburn
could be politically costly, was one fac-
tor in the swiftness and the power of
the reaction to the Oklahoma legisla-
tor.
But that political element does not

ing the case that the Holocaust needs
to be part of our national perspective;
even legislators who never came close
to a death camp could remember the
horrifying news reports as the nation
learned the true dimensions of the
Nazis' crimes.
Today, with most legislators born
during or after the war, the Holocaust
is a piece of historical trivia to many.
With other genocides fresher in the
minds of non-Jews — China, Cambo-
dia, Africa — it takes more energetic

PHOTO BY DAVI D JAMES

ecent weeks have been bad ones for
Rep. Tom Coburn., R-Okla., who took
his best shot at NBC for "polluting the
minds of our children," only to see it
blow up in his face.
The network's sin? Showing
Schindler's List on prime time televi-
sion, a film the legislator criticized for
its violence, foul language, nudity and
"irresponsible sexual activity."
Colleagues from both sides of the
aisle almost knocked each other over
running for microphones to denounce
Mr. Coburn's views; Jewish groups
produced a blizzard of indignant press
releases saying all the predictable
things.
Mr. Coburn, the chair of the infor-
mal Congressional Family Caucus,
became an instant poster boy for
know-nothing religious conservatism;
the idea that images of naked con-
centration camp inmates lining up for
extermination could be titillating sent
even leading conservatives scurrying
for cover.
By the end of the week, Mr. Coburn
had "clarified" his comments. Then,
he met with Jewish groups and gen-
erally appeared mortified at the im-
age he had drawn of himself.
Mr. Coburn, a doctor and success-
ful businessman whose career belies
the impression of backwoods igno-
rance he presented to the world, was
smart enough to understand he had
harmed his cause — putting pressure
on the television networks to shun pro-
gramming deemed corrosive of fami-
ly values — by choosing an absurdly
inappropriate target.
For the Jewish community, there
are several interesting lessons in the
Coburn affair.
The first is that Jewish sensitivi-
ties have become part of the fabric of
official Washington, thanks to vigi-
lant Jewish defense organizations and
the rise of Jewish political activism.
Jewish and non-Jewish political
leaders reacted with blinding speed
to Mr. Coburn's comments — a spon-
taneous outpouring that was not en-
gineered by Jewish activists here.
It would be nice to say that the re-
action was solely a function of genuine
sympathy for Jewish concerns. In fact,
the avalanche of criticism was driven

A scene from Schindler's List.

diminish the significance of that re-
action. As crusaders against anti-
Semitism have learned, motivation is
less important than outcomes; even
positive statements stemming from
political expedience help change the
climate for Jewish interests.
But the fact that Mr. Coburn, a suc-
cessful and intelligent man, could
equate Schindler's List with some ex-
ploitative made-for-TV movie points
to the fact that this educational
process needs to be accelerated, not
diminished.
Mr. Coburn, elected in the Repub-
lican upheaval of 1994, is 48 years old,
a member of a new generation of lead-
ers who have no personal connection
to World War II.
Ten years ago, Jewish leaders could
appeal to "collective memory" in mak-

and creative efforts to make the
lessons of the Holocaust part of the
thinking of a younger generation of
decision-makers.
The Coburn flap reflects the arrival
of this new generation to the centers
of power, even as the quick, negative
reaction to his comments points to the
effectiveness of past Jewish efforts at
sensitization.
At the same time, Mr. Coburn, who
once claimed Christians were being
kept from important public offices,
is part of a vehemently ideological con-
servative movement that sees every-
thing through the lens of its narrow
religious perspective. Every issue,
every event here and abroad, is rele-
vant to the religious right only if it ad-
dresses their highly parochial
concerns.

Mr. Coburn's initial reaction to

Schindler's List had nothing to do with

Jews or with the Holocaust; NBC's de-
cision to air the movie was simply one
more convenient hook for his narrow
"family values" agenda.
It apparently never occurred to the
legislator that the stark images in the
film could teach vital lessons about
good and evil; all that mattered were
the naked bodies, bad language and
brutal violence, eagerly embraced
talking points in an all-consuming de-
bate.
The new conservatives likewise
have little interest in history. Rep.
Walter Capps, D-Calif , a former reli-
gion professor who circulated a "dear
colleague" letter praising NBC, em-
phasized the need to be "vigilant
against congressional leaders who
take strong ideological stands with-
out broader historical context."
Penetrating that ideological armor
will be increasingly difficult for Jew-
ish groups that want to keep the
lessons of the Holocaust alive in the
hearts and minds of the nation's pol-
icymakers.
Another lesson of the Coburn affair
was the importance of going beyond
sound-bite denunciations of those who
offend Jewish interests. Although
some groups issued predictably in-
dignant statements, others tried to
use the incident to build bridges to this
new group of legislative leaders.
Anti-Defamation League officials
have since sat down with Mr. Coburn;
the results were positive, according to
the group's Washington representa-
tive, Jess Hordes.
"He was emotional, remorseful and
apologetic," Mr. Hordes said. "He was
genuinely contrite about what he
agreed was a terrible error."
Criticizing Mr. Coburn was impor-
tant, Mr. Hordes said. But even more
important was finding a way to use
the incident to make contact with an
emerging group of political leaders
who have had little exposure to Jews
or Jewish interests.
That process won't be easy. But as
the Coburn affair demonstrated, the ef-
fort will be a vital one for a Jewish com-
munity that continues to believe in the
impoktance of historical memory. ❑

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