It was an experience, meeting Congressman John M. Ashbrook on the road in rural Ohio. Mr. Pinchpenny—as some conservative legislators used to jokingly call the 17th District Representative—had come to Washington Court House on a cool autumn day in 1981 to address supporters of a candidate for the state legislature. I had decided to make the two-hour trip from Hamilton to write a feature story on Ashbrook for The Cincinnati Enquirer. Never mind that I had to be in Washington Court House at 7:30 a.m. that day. I did not care. John Ashbrook was, after all, a man in whom I had always believed. I saw him as one of our nation's true statesmen, a compliment I can give to only a few of our officials. Ashbrook was just different: A congressman who was not afraid to say what he really thought. This conservative was not about to change his views to suit the times. On that we could depend.

After he had spoken, Ashbrook shook my hand and I presented him with a Butler County Ashbrook For President Committee card. I printed it in 1972, when I was in college, but I'm afraid it was a committee of one. Ashbrook looked at the card, listened to what I said, and roared. Then we walked to a country restaurant to eat breakfast and talk. Somehow that morning I managed to take notes as I ate pancakes.

Ashbrook always had a lot to say. He was articulate and intelligent; the kind of spokesman the conservative movement needed in the 1960s and '70s. During our pleasant breakfast I determined that, despite his two decades in the House, this man was still in love with politics. Although he had won only a few major battles in the earlier years, he still kept a special enthusiasm for life and his beloved principles. Perhaps the most important thing about Ashbrook, however, was his honesty. Liberals have since written that they appreciated his lack of vindictiveness in the face of defeat, but what I liked was that philosophical honesty.

Ashbrook's fascination with politics seemed almost genetic. John Milan Ashbrook was born September 21, 1928, in Johnstown, Ohio, the son of Congressman William A. Ashbrook. As a boy growing up in rural Licking County, Ashbrook was surrounded by all things public. The seed was planted deeply.

In 1946 he was graduated from Johnstown High School, and soon after he entered the Navy and took part in the Byrd Antarctic Expedition. In two years he returned home and decided to attend Harvard College, where he earned a degree with honors. The next few years were busy ones. Ashbrook married Jean Spencer of Newark, and the couple had three daughters: Barbara, Laura and Madeleine.

In 1953 Ashbrook was named publisher of the Johnstown Independent, a weekly newspaper, and a short time later he published three other weeklies in central Ohio. He told me he always had wanted to be a reporter, but somehow he always kept finding other interesting jobs. His interest in the law and politics led him to Ohio State University, where he received a law degree in 1955. He then served two years as a special counsel to the Ohio attorney general.

Somehow, he found the time to serve as chairman of the board of deacons of the Johnstown Baptist Church, join numerous other fraternal and civic groups, and write a history of his high school.

But the political life continued to fascinate him. He sought and won a seat in the 102nd Ohio General Assembly in 1956, and won a second term in 1958.

By 1960, he wanted a voice in national politics. He entered a Congressional race and won that, too, but his election came at a dark time for conservatives. Richard Nixon had just been defeated by John F. Kennedy, and a period of liberalism was about to settle over Washington.

Perhaps this was fortunate for Ashbrook because he quickly developed a reputation as a strong conservative leader. He did not duck, either. He assisted in founding the Draft Goldwater organization in 1963 and sat on the steering committee of the Committee of One Million Against the Admission of Red China to the United Nations. He even helped organize the American Conservative Union and the Young Americans for Freedom, a major youth group.

A poll taken in 1970 showed Ashbrook was one of the five most respected conservative leaders in America.

That respect no doubt came because Ashbrook was not tentative on the issues. He was not afraid to lead unpopular causes. He assumed the chairmanship of the American Conservative Union in 1966, the same year he survived a redistricting by defeating twenty-two-year veteran Congressman Bob Secrest.

Through the years, Ashbrook refused to compromise his beliefs. Liberals referred to him as a conservative guerrilla fighter, adding his own amendments to their important legislation and fighting a rear guard action. But his finest hour came later.

In 1972, conservatives seemed at a low point. Richard Nixon had served one Term—he had campaigned as a conservative, by the way—and ignored most of the promises he had made. Yet he was immensely popular with most Republicans, especially in Ohio.

Ashbrook felt he had to demonstrate his dissatisfaction with the President, so the congressman entered selected Republican primaries as Nixon's opponent. Conservatives rejoiced; the party people sneered. Ashbrook flew off around the nation, saying Nixon was weakening an already weakened national defense.

I remember the headlines: "Can't Pardon Draft Evaders—Ashbrook"; "Naïve To Place Faith In Soviets, Ashbrook Says"; "Arms Treaty Boosts Ashbrook Race." And finally, this one: "Ashbrook's Fall Leaves President With Tight Hold."

Ashbrook did not enter these primaries to gain anything politically for himself. In fact, he stood to lose, if anything. Many Republicans were outraged by his outspoken opinions of Nixon. They saw Ashbrook as an insolent ideologist. Of course, they misunderstood him entirely, for he was not an insolent man. Nor, was he a political pragmatist, like Nixon. Ashbrook simply believed in risking everything over a matter of principle.

And in seeking the Presidency, he was left to standalone. The big-name conservatives, including Senator Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, supported Nixon. Only a few hard-line conservatives in the house dared speak out for Ashbrook.

After the Republicans had again crowned Richard Nixon king at their convention in Miami Beach, I read a story that quoted Ashbrook as saying he would go ahead and vote for Nixon in the November election. I promptly wrote and told him this statement was inconsistent with the typical Ashbrook thinking.

"I do not know what you read," Ashbrook replied. "I have come not to pay much attention to news broadcasts at present time. At no time have I said I would endorse, work for or even vote for Richard Nixon—or any other candidate from that standpoint. On several occasions reporters have categorically made this assertion despite my statements to the contrary. I guess it is normally assumed that this is done, so they really don't bother to ask me. I could not support McGovern, and if it were ultimately Nixon, it would be very reluctantly."

I will not stop to contemplate history. Let us just say that the years came and went, but John Ashbrook still held on to that seat in the Congress. That feat alone was enough to surprise him. "When the tide is rolling," he explained, "it is very unpopular to stand up. Big government was in its prime in the '60s, and I decided to stand up against it, no matter what. And for me to throw the Nixon thing again too…well, I was swimming upstream. In retrospect, though, running against an incumbent isn't all that bad. I did get 10% of the vote in California, Nixon's home state. I spread my message. So I guess you do not have to be on the winning side to be victorious."

Ashbrook eventually saw himself go from beleaguered defender of the conservative cause to one of the leaders of the new Right during the Reagan victory of 1980. Ashbrook felt that his side had finally achieved some success, but he wanted one more political prize: a seat in the U.S. Senate. To get it, he worked long hours. His calendar looked like an old-fashioned train schedule. He drove all over Ohio in his van, stopping at every tea and reception he could find. He was determined to defeat liberal Senator Howard Metzenbaum in 1982, and, considering the mood of the nation and Ohio, nobody was laughing at him for trying.

But Ashbrook never got the chance to participate in what he called a classical political contest of liberalism versus conservatism. He died in his office in Johnstown in April, 1982.

Americans of every political opinion praised him for his service to his country. President Reagan said, "John Ashbrook was a man of courage and principle." Congressman Philip M. Crane of Illinois said, "As a man governed by a set of ideals and values that were consistent with personal liberty, free enterprise, limited constitutional government, and a strong national defense, John could always join battle with those who disagreed with him. But his arguments focused on the issues and he did not challenge opponents' sincerity and equal conviction that they were right. Thus, he was on friendly terms with even his most ardent political foes."

Now a new library at Ashland College in Ohio bears the name of the John M. Ashbrook Memorial Library and Center for Public Affairs. Ashbrook's desk, office furniture and books are displayed on the top floor of the beautiful building. The conservative research center will serve scholars interested in understanding the policies of Ashbrook.

In years to come, I hope they will understand this: John Ashbrook was real. He meant what he said, stuck to his conservative principles, and voted as he believed—even if it meant risking everything. After all, he said, he could lose nothing but a seat in the Congress. He could always go home to his newspaper.

The experts always seemed to miss the point about Ashbrook. They said they could find no greater record of political futility. They said his twenty-one-year career was a continuing triumph of idealism over practicality, of principle over effectiveness. But even the editors of The Almanac of American Politics didn't understand.

John M. Ashbrook had deep ideals. He didn't believe anybody should be guaranteed a public office for a lifetime. I believe he was a political success, despite the record. As he wrote on my Ashbrook for President membership card that autumn day in 1981: We were not losers! — Randy McNutt