22 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • SEPTEMBER 2017 22 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • SEPTEMBER 2017 22 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • SEPTEMBER 201TUTU111
POV
Life after DC: Better pizza
STEVE ISRAEL
Growing up in Levittown, I had three
dreams: play for the Mets, write novels
and be a congressman. Two out of
three ain’t bad.
I’m now writing satirical novels on
politics (shameless plug: “The Global
War on Morris” was published in
2015 and “Big Guns” will be released
next April). I also had the extraordinary
honor of representing Long
Island in Congress for 16 years.
Since leaving, I spend time writing,
chairing the Global Institute at LIU
and appearing on CNN, among
other things. Almost everywhere I
go, I’m asked: “Do you miss Washington?”
Here’s what I don’t miss:
• Sitting on the tarmac at Reagan National
Airport as the pilot announces
a groundstop at LaGuardia, resulting
in long delays.
• Rush hour traffic at LaGuardia
when I finally land.
• Partisan bickering by members
of Congress who believe that their
views are absolute moral truths.
• Hypocrisy by members of Congress
who condemn an action by one
party only to defend the same action
by the other. Example: the same
Republicans who frothed at President
Obama’s vacation now fawn on
President Trump’s.
• Sitting in a cubicle for hours at a
time making fundraising calls and
eating soggy egg rolls at PAC cocktail
parties.
• Angry calls from specific areas
of the country I never represented.
During the frenzy on Obamacare, I
was tempted to record this message:
“Thank you for calling Congressman
Israel’s office. To call me a socialist,
press 1. To threaten my life, press 2.
For all other calls press 3. To repeat
this message in Spanish...”
Here’s what I do miss:
• Helping veterans. My proudest congressional
achievement was securing
nearly $9 million dollars in retroactive
payment for our community’s
veterans. I miss delivering those
checks and looking into their eyes
as they told me their faith in government
was restored.
• The quiet collegiality in Congress
that you don’t hear about. There’s an
exterior balcony right off the House
Floor where Democrats and Republicans
with different views speak
civilly and respectfully about their
lives. Congress often resembles an
ocean storm: frothy and turbulent on
the surface, but much more peaceful
the deeper you go.
• The magnificent history of the
Capitol. I never pretended to be
the smartest member of Congress
– though if you listened to some
of my colleagues, you’d know that
the competition wasn’t that stiff –
but I considered myself it’s most
passionate student of history. I was
often asked to lead VIP tours of the
Capitol.
My favorite included four players for
my beloved Mets, who were in town
against the Nationals. I’ve been in
the Oval Office with presidents, I’ve
met kings, queens and movie stars.
But walking around the Capitol
with Major League Baseball players
was one of the coolest things I’ve
ever done.
• Finally, I’ll miss visiting our troops
in dangerous places around the
world. In 16 years in Congress I visited
Iraq and Afghanistan 13 times.
I profoundly believed that if I’d vote
to send Americans into dangerous
places, I’d better be willing to check
on them in those same places.
At the end of long weeks in Washington,
I loved coming home to Long
Island for my family, the pizza (pizza
isn’t pizza in DC) and the people.
Now I’m home for good, but that
doesn’t mean that politics has completely
escaped me.
Believe it or not, the best advice that
I received as I contemplated leaving
Congress was from former Speaker
of the House Newt Gingrich. I don’t
agree with Newt on many issues – if
any – but we became friendly over
the years, bound mostly as fellow
writers. He told me: “The mistake
that guys like you and me often make
is thinking that you have to be elected
in order to make a difference. The
fact is that relieved of the burdens of
office, you can make an even bigger
difference.”
Now, I no longer need to leave
Long Island every week to continue
making a difference on the issues
that I care so deeply about. Now, I
can debate issues in the world’s most
deliberative democracy: the Long
Island diner.
Israel chairs the Global Institute at
LIU. His next book, “Big Guns,” will
be published in April and can be
ordered at www.repsteveisrael.com.
What I learned on my summer vacation
“Putting off vacation for the sake
of business is probably not the best
idea.” – Greg Demetriou, Lorraine
Gregory Communications
“I learned that if you drop your iPhone
in the beer cooler on the first
day, you can have the most peaceful,
uninterrupted vacation ever.”
– Brad Hemingway, Islip Foreign
Trade Zone
“In June I decided to sell my car
and commute exclusively by bus
and train. What I found is that the
LIRR may not be the real problem
for LI commuters.” – Judy Wieber,
tech entrepreneur
“Meditation is the key to keeping
sane when you’re starting a startup.”
– Aaron Foss, entrepreneur
“Constantly create new platforms
for yourself. The ones that become
fruitful, you grow; the others you
let go.” – David Pennetta, Cushman
& Wakefield
“I learned my business can run
without me being involved in all
things. You work hard to build a
business and bring the right people
in. Let them be, and you can truly
enjoy your time off.” – Jeff Weiner,
HKM Associates
“That I can learn more from
spending time with my kids than
I can reading business articles
and blogs.” David Calone, venture
capitalist
“Concluded an agreement that saw
the entire contents of a military
museum in Connecticut gifted to
the Museum of American Armor
on Long Island – all 10,000 artifacts,
from tanks to tidbits. The
deal has allowed me to discover the
cost of transporting an armor division
over the Throgs Neck.” – Gary
Lewi, historian and publicist who
secretly believes he’s Patton
“Total eclipses are totally awesome!”
– Becky Creavin, Wells
Fargo Private Bank
“This summer I learned again that
all the sappy, trite clichés regarding
life, love, family and friends are
accurate.” – Jim Morgo, serial doer
of good
