On Jan. 1, 1999, 89-year-old Doris “Granny D” Haddock packed a sleeping bag, five pounds of trail mix and a change of underpants and began marching behind the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, California.
Outraged by an editorial describing the last minute placement of a large subsidy package for American tobacco companies into a piece of federal legislation, she walked 10 miles a day across the continental United States to rally support for federal campaign finance reform crafted by U.S. Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Russ Feingold, D-Wis.
“I thought, if I am a reasonable person, a businesswoman, and didn’t understand about corruption, how many people in this country don’t know what is going on,” the 96-year-old said, peering from under a straw hat with rainbow colored bands and a button that reads “Go Granny Go!”
Granny D’s trek ended 3,200 miles and 14 months later in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 29, 2000, and on April 27, she visited the Arizona Legislature to distribute letters urging state representatives and senators to abandon efforts to repeal Arizona’s system of publicly funded elections.
“People in Arizona were very kind to me and what I heard what was happening (regarding moves to abolish publicly funded campaigns) I made an effort to be here,” she said.
Dropping off letters is easier than her previous journey, where she battled emphysema from 50 years of cigarette smoking, a blizzard in the Appalachian Range and a collapse from dehydration in the Mojave Desert of Arizona that landed her in a Wickenburg hospital for four days, she said.
“We had to support her or let her die in the desert,” said Dennis M. Burke, who then served as the Arizona director for Common Cause, a nonprofit citizens’ lobbying group that seeks open and fair government. He is also co-author of “Granny D: You’re Never to Old to Raise a Little Hell,” a book of the New Hampshire resident’s exploits.
Mr. Burke estimates that Ms. Haddock has been to two-thirds of the state capitols in the continental United States to speak with legislators and deliver speeches. He describes his friend as “indefatigable.”
The former shoe designer said walking across a desert at any age is dangerous, she but believes people should have a sense of duty to change matters they find important.
Ran for U.S. Senate in 2004
“Yes it was crazy,” said Ms. Haddock, who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2004. “It was also crazy to walk 3,200 miles, doing 10 miles a day for 14 months. Gandhi says if you have a big problem, you take on the responsibility. It’s your sacrifice that counts.”
Her trek has not only raised awareness of campaign finance reform, but also inspired other senior citizens who might otherwise feel a diminished sense of purpose, she said.
“I think I’ve helped people understand what campaign finance reform is, she said. “I think that people are conscious that corporations have taken over our White House, our Senate, our judges and our courts. They won’t do anything about it, so it has to be a grass-roots effort.”
Before supporting the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, (McCain-Feingold Act), which passed in 2002, Ms. Haddock’s only other political activity was protesting against underground nuclear weapons testing in Alaska during the 1960s. She helped to stop the testing and saved an Inuit fishing village from destruction. Years later, a deal was reached by President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to ban the practice, she said.
Legislation to repeal Arizona’s system of publicly funded elections has not gained momentum this session. HCR 2046, which would allow voters to determine the fate of the Clean Elections Act of 1998, was not heard in the House Judiciary Committee. It was principally sponsored by Rep. Rick Murphy, R-9, and co-sponsored by 20 current House and Senate legislators.
Another measure that would allow voters to remove the primary funding source for the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, which administers the public financing of campaigns, and remove many restrictions on campaign contributions was introduced earlier this month as a strike-everything amendment. It initially passed the House Appropriations Committee, but was withdrawn from the House Judiciary Committee on April 19.
Ms. Haddock has been officially recognized by the U.S. House of Representatives and personally thanked by Mr. McCain for her role in passing the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. She was called a “priceless figure in our history and a true national treasure” by Sen. James Jeffords, I-Vt.