Charles Mathias, the three term Maryland Senator and classic “party of Lincoln” Republican died this past Monday.

Noted for his “bold stances that were often at odds with the prevailing views of his party” and his unwillingness to participate in the Southern Strategy Senator Mathias practiced an honesty and belief that sometimes put him at odds with emerging modern Republican party philosophy. (Washington Post, Former U.S. Sen. Charles McC. Mathias Jr. of Maryland dies at 87)

“I’m not all that liberal,” he said in 1974, describing his political views. “In fact, in some respects, I’m conservative. A while ago, I introduced a bill preserving the guarantees of the Bill of Rights by prohibiting warrantless wiretaps. I suppose they’ll say it’s another liberal effort, but it’s as conservative as you can get. It’s conserving the Constitution.” (WP)

This kind of integrity and honesty is often missing in today’s public and political discourse.

Senator Mathias makes the blog today because I enjoyed meeting him as T-P student in the mid-1980′s on his return to campus. Senator Mathias spent a year, 1939-1940, at the then named Pawling School before entering Haverford College.

Robert Semple penned a glowing rememberance of Senator Mathias in Wednesday’s New York Times. Noting that Mathias signature issue was civil rights, Semple concludes with these paragraphs:

“…The lofty way to describe him would be to say that he voted his conscience. But as he saw it, he was simply voting for things that everyone of conscience ought to support: respect for constitutional rights, respect for the environment, respect for the balance of powers.

He once told The Times’s Tom Wicker that the senators he most admired were Democrats J. William Fulbright, Mike Mansfield and Philip Hart, and Republicans John Sherman Cooper, Jacob Javits, George Aiken and Clifford Case.

Why these? “Individual responsibility,” he answered. “Each one of these people would take an issue on his own responsibility. They wouldn’t have to have the cover of some ideology. They’d simply come to the conclusion that this was the right thing for the country.” That describes Mac Mathias.” (New York Times, A Responsible Man)