Edwin Meese

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Edwin Meese : biography

December 2, 1931 –

Iraq Study Group

In May 2006 Meese was named a member of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group by group co-chairmen James Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton, commissioned to assess and report on the contemporary status of the Iraq War. Meese co-authored the group’s final December 2006 report.

Writings

  • Judicial Tyranny: The New Kings of America? – contributing author (Amerisearch, 2005) ISBN 0-9753455-6-7
  • The Heritage Guide to the Constitution, ISBN 1-59698-001-X
  • With Reagan, 1992, Regnery Gateway, 0-89526-522-2

California governor’s office

Meese joined Ronald Reagan’s staff in 1967. He served as legal affairs secretary from 1967–1968 and as executive assistant and chief of staff to Governor Reagan from 1969 through 1974. Despite his later well-known fondness for Reagan, Meese was initially reluctant to accept the Reagan appointment because Meese saw himself as a non-partisan figure. "I was not particularly interested," Meese said. Nonetheless, Meese was known for his "unique ability" to explain complex ideas to Reagan in a way that often mirrored Reagan’s own speaking style and mannerisms. Because of this, Reagan biographer Lou Cannon referred to Meese as "Reagan’s geographer."

After being named Reagan’s chief of staff, Meese convinced his predecessor’s deputy, Mike Deaver, to stay on in the position, beginning a partnership that would last more than two decades. For his role in Reagan’s office, Meese earned reluctant praise from across the aisle. Former Democratic speaker of the Assembly Bob Moretti said, "Were I in the governor’s seat, I would want someone like [Ed Meese] on my side."

Berkeley riots

As Reagan’s chief of staff, Meese was instrumental in the decision to crack down on student protesters at People’s Park in Berkeley, California, on May 15, 1969. Meese was widely criticized for escalating official response to the People’s Park protest, during which law enforcement officers killed one student attacker and injured hundreds of protesters by an attempt to clear the street. Many students were simply bystanders and were caught in the police charge by the "Blue Meanies". Meese advised Reagan to declare a state of emergency in Berkeley, contrary to the recommendation of the Berkeley City Council, which led to a two-week occupation of People’s Park by National Guard troops.

The first governor to turn to Meese for advice on riot control was Democrat Edmund (Pat) Brown, who first telephoned Meese seeking advice on how to best handle the situation. "I told him," Meese said, "that the people in that building should be arrested and taken out of there. I told him that if they were allowed to stay, there would be another mob scene, even bigger, the next day." Meese and Deputy District Attorney Lowell Jensen later served as co-counsels in the trial of Berkeley demonstrators. Meese was recognized as one of five "Outstanding Young Men of California" by the California Junior Chamber of Commerce for his role in countering the Berkeley demonstrators. Meese’s role in quelling the riots at UC Berkeley have been identified by critics and supporters as an example of a conservative law-enforcement philosophy at work.