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Date: 3/2/2022
WEST SPRINGFIELD — In an era when the “toxic environment” of Washington dominates public discussion, Linda Melconian argues it’s important to study the work of the late U.S. House Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill Jr., the Boston legislator who famously said, “All politics is local.”
Melconian, the former state senator for Agawam and West Springfield and before that a member of O’Neill’s staff, recently published the book “Lay it on the Table: A Change Agent in Action: When Tip O’Neill led the House of Representatives to end the Vietnam War.” She will discuss her book and sign copies from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on March 8 at the West Springfield Public Library, 200 Park St.
Before her service as a Springfield-based Democratic state senator from 1983 to 2004, Melconian was assistant counsel to O’Neill, who served in the U.S. House from 1953 to 1987, becoming one of the nation’s most prominent politicians.
Although her book was published in January, Melconian began working on the story years ago.
“It was my master thesis at George Washington University,” said Melconian. Years later, she decided the time was right to expand it into a full book.
Melconian said she is “frustrated with Washington’s culture today.” Her book, she said, can “showcase a point in time when Tip O’Neill was a leader, where everyone saw common ground,” and got results.
“I always wanted to write a book about him ending the Vietnam War,” said Melconian.
She said a lot has been written about O’Neill and former President Ronald Reagan. “They were miles apart” in their political views, Melconian said, but they were able to work together and make compromises on issues like Social Security.
He also played a key role in ending the Vietnam War in the early 1970s, she said. Melconian said O’Neill came to the conclusion that the war was “unwinnable” and worked to end it.
It’s a lesson that America still needs to learn, Melconian added. She said she wrote the epilogue to her book in August 2021, as U.S. troops were finally being pulled out of Afghanistan after a 20-year conflict.
“Maybe if we followed O’Neill’s advice, we wouldn’t hemorrhage tax costs and American lives,” Melconian stated.
While the bulk of her book is about O’Neill’s initiative and leadership to bring about an end to the Vietnam War, she made a point to recognize the opportunities he created for women and people of color. As House majority whip before he became speaker, he reformed the chamber from the inside, Melconian said.
“He changed committee and subcommittee structure [in Congress] that opened doors for women,” Melconian stated.
When Melconian was working for O’Neill, she said, only 13 U.S. representatives were women. Now, there are 125 in the House, many in leadership positions.
“O’Neill helped bring this about,” she said.
Melconian has a groundbreaking legislative record of her own. She was elected as a state senator in a Springfield-centered district, which also included Agawam and West Springfield, in 1982, serving continuously until she opted not to run for re-election in 2004. She rose through the ranks to the chamber’s second-highest office.
“I was the first woman majority leader of the Massachusetts Senate,” said Melconian. She was honored as “majority leader emerita” for her passion and hard work.
Outside of her work as an author, Melconian teaches public policy, nonprofit and business law courses at Suffolk University in Boston. She has been teaching for 15 years, ever since leaving the senate.
She said she’s heard positive responses to writings book about O’Neill. She has several upcoming speaking engagements, along with a guest opinion column that was posted in The Boston Globe. So far, Melconian said, all of the book reviews have been good.
Her talk in West Springfield is free to attend, but the library is asking attendees to register in advance because of limited space. For more information, or to register, visit the Adult Services desk or call 736-4561, ext. 3. This event is sponsored by the Friends of the West Springfield Public Library.
Following the discussion of her book, Melconian said she will sign copies and open the floor for questions. Copies of her book will be sold during the event. She will donate any money raised through sales to the library. She said she plans to do this with all library speaking engagements in the future, as well.
Melconian’s book can be found on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and at libraries.