I, and all of us at Center for Competitive Politics, were saddened to learn of the death of Bob Wilson over the holidays. Most obituaries focused on Bob’s substantial charitable contributions to environmental causes and to the Roman Catholic Church (for non-religous education- Bob was an atheist). But Bob was also an ardent champion of free speech, and that’s how I came to know him and will remember him.
Bob was one of the very first contributors to CCP, and remained a substantial donor until his death. Although his contributions to CCP were a very tiny fraction of what he donated to environmental organizations, they reflected his deeply held beliefs in free and open debate, and his powerful commitment to freedom of speech as a valuable end in itself. Routinely in my visits to Bob’s Central Park West apartment, he would scold me for having written something making an instrumental argument in favor of deregulating campaign finance. “That doesn’t matter,” he would tell me. “It’s the freedom of speech that matters, and the First Amendment protects it. That’s all you need to write.”
I could go on a bit: Bob grew up in a pleasant but non-ostentatious neighborhood in Detroit – he would refer to it as “lower upper middle income,” a convoluted formula that captures it quite well – a couple blocks from where, years later, I attended church as a boy. That neighborhood – at least the last time I passed by, some years ago – was choked with overgrown lots, prostitutes, and wild dog packs. We would sometimes discuss the sad collapse of Detroit. As befits a guy who turned his middle class background into a great fortune, Bob could see through doublespeak and BS in an instant. He was always clear, decisive, and forward looking. He wasn’t always right, but he was right a lot more often than not. I wish I had known him much earlier, because I always learned from our meetings. I will miss his counsel and dedication.
Robert W. Wilson, R.I.P.
