Schaefer always a worthy political adversary

Instead, Schaefer chose to use her political clout to try and legislate morality, wanting others to live the way she lived, to believe the way she believed.

For me, religion has always been a personal thing. It’s always been a core part of my being that a man’s (or woman’s) home is his castle. You don’t tell an adult what to do in his or her home as long as it does not violate someone else’s right. I also don’t believe in condemning someone just because they may be different than me. I just couldn’t buy Schaefer’s arguments on most personal and civil liberty issues.

Schaefer and I were far apart on these areas and I criticized her— quite often — during the time she was a state senator representing Banks County and the surrounding area. However, I have to say I was as shocked as anyone when I learned Friday night of her death. The shock continued as more details emerged over the weekend that showed her long-time husband and No. 1 supporter, Bruce, may have killed her and then himself. Reports indicated he was suffering from cancer.

I won’t try to make sense of how the life of Nancy Schaefer ended. Rather, I will remember her for always being the worthy adversary she was. I will also say I believe she was sincere in her beliefs. Unlike the congressman for this area, who uses rhetoric as a way to gain national fame, Schaefer, I always thought, didn’t say anything she truly didn’t believe in her heart.

It was years ago I became familiar with Schaefer, probably before most in this area had even heard of her. She ran for mayor of Atlanta and to say she had a legitimate chance in that race would be to say I had a legitimate chance at getting a date with Paris Hilton.
In 1994, she was the Republican nominee for Lt. Governor. This was in the time just before the Republican Party broke through in a big time way in Georgia. She later ran for Governor in 1998 and I actually had a chance to meet her during that campaign.

While working for a now defunct paper in Barrow County, I remember going to the local airport as she and Bruce were flying in for a campaign stop. She spoke to a small group who had gathered to meet her and then answered a couple of questions I asked. My first impression was she was out of place. When I say that, I mean she seemed to me to be decades behind in her thinking.

Still it was interesting to meet her. I’ve always had a fascination with those on the political extremes. Whether it be George Wallace, Lester Maddox or even Cynthia McKinney, those on far ends of the spectrum make for fascinating viewing on the political screen. Schaefer was no different.

On this day in the summer of 1998, I also had the chance to talk with her husband who was busy blasting the statewide media for not treating his wife’s candidacy fair, in his opinion. Schaefer would lose the primary that year but would continue on with her crusade which eventually led to a state senate seat.

Through hard work, she had actually become a national name as her death was mentioned on Fox News as early as Friday night.

On a final note, during her bid for re-election in 2008, I covered a forum in Banks County in which she attended. Did she even know who I was? Had she ever read what I had written about her? I soon had my answer. She came up to me and said hello, calling me by name. With our hands shaking and her other arm on my shoulder she said, “I know you don’t agree with me on most issues, but you know what’s great about that is that we are in a country where we can disagree.”

“Absolutely,” I said. “Absolutely.”

How about that, I thought. There’s something else Nancy Schaefer and I agreed on.

Chris Bridges is an editor with MainStreet Newspapers. You can reach him at chris@mainstreetnews.com.