DeWeese's Decadent Dialect   by Karla Vierthaler If you follow Pennsylvania politics at all, the name Bill DeWeese is likely to conjure various reactions. Representative DeWeese, the sixth most senior Democrat, has been gracing the floor of the state house for 25 years, and is currently the House Minority Leader. He’s a card-carrying member of the NAACP, the NRA, and the Pittsburgh Ballet. He previously served as the Majority Whip, House Majority Leader, and Speaker of the House. Politics aside, the representative’s reputation precedes him. DeWeese is known for his impressive manner of speaking. Some may call him long-winded and others may find his expansive vocabulary exhausting, but all recognize his command of the English language. Where did the man get such a sprawling vocabulary? What inspires him speak so elaborately? MODE caught up with Representative DeWeese and interviewed him on just those topics. Raised in rural Green County, DeWeese, 51, is an attractive man who abounds energy. His lips are more often then not curled into a smile, and he consistently appears to be in good spirits. It is apparent that he takes his responsibilities to the state of Pennsylvania and his constituents seriously, but he doesn’t sweat the small stuff. When he hears the focus of our line of questioning, he laughs and replies, “Sounds like an enticing tale to be told.” Verbal Diarrhea or Eloquent Elaboration? “I came to the conclusion many years ago, for innumerable reasons: money, geography, personality, that I would not be, in all probability, competing at a different level,” he explained. He decided then, he explains, “that I wanted to read as many books, as many poems, listen to as many songs, travel to as many countries, and then in the word of [William] Churchill, marshal the English language to do battle for a good cause.” As he speaks, his eyes light up. It is clear that this is a man who is in love with the art of expression. “It’s tactical, it’s strategic, it’s uplifting, it’s rewarding, it’s happy, it’s fun,” he says of the English vernacular. “There seems to be a process in politics today that is punctuated with platitudes and bromides of a very average nature, and I think that a rip-roaring good speech is still something that shouldn’t last more than six, seven, eight minutes, but should be brim full, at least at the commencement and the closing, and with maybe one or two punched into the middle of it, with metaphors, parables.” How does one accomplish these goals? “I think the trick — not a trick really — the essence of this is just to read. I think if one reads, then one can use the extra knowledge to compare and to contrast. Great teachers, since the Nazarene carpenter all the way to our own day, use metaphors. American politicians don’t.” Bill the Bookworm DeWeese is an avid connoisseur of the printed word, and says he tries to spend at least a half-hour a day reading. Each year, he devotes his time to the study of a historical event. DeWeese is currently immersed in World War I, having completed the American Revolution, Jewish history, Shakespeare, the American labor movement, the American Civil War, and African-American history. “I think my initial inspiration emanated from my secondary school years, when Charles Barryhill, my English teacher, inspired me through Shakespeare, innumerable American and English writers, poets, and dramatists. Although I was not a good student, I was immediately seduced by the language.” After receiving a History Degree from Wake Forest University, DeWeese enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps., and was sent to Okinawa. According to his press secretary, Michael Manzo, DeWeese spent all his available time reading, which was considerable since the Vietnam War had ended. “Every word he didn’t know, he would look up and commit to memory,” said Manzo. “I am essentially an autodidact, which is a wonderful term for self-taught. I read, I read and that is quintessentially the way that I have assaulted this challenge, this project,” DeWeese says. He is enamored with the eloquent authors of the past, but his heart belongs the spoken word of our political forefathers. “Let’s face it, I found some of my historical antecedents worthy of emulation. Whether it was John C. Calhoun or John F. Kennedy, I enjoyed our historical forbearers and their deployment of language in debate, and in carrying on national dialogues.” “The best we ever had, I’m sure, was Abraham Lincoln, and although the Gettysburg Address was not what you would call a polysyllabic extravaganza, just the term ‘with malice toward none.’ Malice is not a word that is in common parlance, but yet everyone knew wheat it meant.” “You could go on and look at the Gettysburg Address and there are several other poignant terms, and the address is more fruitful and has a stronger impact because of the words.” DeWeese says he is inspired by “the focus that our founding fathers used when they would deploy wonderfully embroidered phrases and metaphors.” He cites the debates and speeches of politicians such as Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun, and Henry Clay. “I enjoy the language as portrayed by the men and women of past generations from the gilded age to [Franklin Delano] Roosevelt,” he says. “’This is a day that will live in infamy…,’ just the word infamy resounds down through the long corridors of history because of the wonderfully sonorous gift that [Roosevelt] had and the way he shared it with us on that sad day, December 1941.” He concludes, “The American world of politics is sadly bereft of inspiring references and oratorical peaks.” On the Floor of the Statehouse: Inspirational or Argumentative? DeWeese is quick to point out that his verbal style does not overshadow his political prowess. He claims his longevity, voting record, and commitment to the job have allowed him to make such great strides in state leadership. “I don’t think I was elected to the Democratic leadership because of my speaking; I think I was elected to the Democratic leadership because I dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s on the basic maintenance of our caucus.” But he does say of his habitual ornate speaking style, “I have to tell you that my job is more alluring because of the fact that I do study, enjoy, and indeed savor the language, King’s English.” DeWeese is quite aware of the mixed reactions he receives from colleagues. “Some people find it confusing, some people find it fun, and some people, probably, it gives them great perturbation if not detestation. I’m certain that some people roll their eyes and say well here he goes again.” “I’m certain that for every 10 of 15 people that get a kick out of it, there are 10 to 15 people that don’t,” he says. “At the same time, there’s no doubt that’s it’s a different angle on public life to try to fortify and occasionally embellish one’s debate with some aggressive terminology.” Has he inspired other representatives to look to our forefathers for guidance on the statehouse floor? “Young Jim Wansack, brand new member from Scranton, and a handful of younger members I think do get a kick out of it, so five or 10 of the 99 might take it half seriously and might find it worth of emulation,” he says. Love him or hate him, DeWeese has been a definite character in Pennsylvania politics. “We have jobs to do, everyone has a different assignment in life, mine is as a public official at this juncture, and I think I would like to make it more satisfying and special for me, and hopefully it resonates with history.”