Home | Search | FAQ

Displaying 1-4 of 4 messages in this thread.

Posted By	Discussion Topic: First Helms, Now Gramm
IkeaBoy P.L.F. Portugese Liberation Front- Liberating Status' everywhere from the Tyranny of Portugal I will die a traitor's death	posted on 09-04-2001 @ 3:49 PM
O&A Board Veteran Registered: Sep. 00	Phil Gramm Announces Final Term By SANDRA SOBIERAJ, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. Phil Gramm announced Tuesday he will not seek re-election next year. The Texas Republican said his decision followed ``a long and difficult period of soul searching.'' Gramm's retirement will conclude a career that spanned two political parties and a quarter-century of unflinching conservatism. ``Remarkably, the things I came to Washington to do are done,'' Gramm, 59, told a news conference, his voice breaking with emotion. He mentioned tax cuts passed under President Reagan and the current President Bush and a federal budget now in surplus. He predicted a Republican would be elected to replace him in increasingly Republican Texas. The former Democrat was first elected to the House in 1978 and to the Senate in 1984. Gramm is the third senior Senate Republican to announce he will not seek re-election. Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina announced last month he would retire and 98-year-old Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina said when he was re-elected in 1996 that this term would be his last. ``I feel comfortable with this decision,'' said Gramm, who lost his chairmanship of the Senate Banking Committee earlier this year when Democrats gained controlled of the Senate. He sidestepped a question about his future plans. Gramm has long been mentioned as a successor to the departing president at Texas A&M University, where Gramm once taught economics. ``When this career is over, I'll start thinking about a new one,'' he said. ``I love Texas A&M... Maybe it would be best if I weren't on their payroll. ... I've been in academics. Academic politics are a lot tougher than the politics I've been in,'' he said. Gramm said he had talked to Bush about his decision. ``The president obviously was not happy that I was leaving.'' Later, he added that Bush was supportive of his decision. Gramm told the news conference, held in the Russell Senate Office Building, that loss of the chairmanship had nothing to do with his decision to step down, nor had the Democratic takeover. ``Quite frankly, I think we have an excellent chance of taking the Senate back,'' he said. ``It's a luxury to not run,'' he added. But he said that had Vice President Al Gore won the presidential election, his decision likely would have been to seek another term. As to his future, Gramm said he could envision a third career in either the private or public sectors. ``If Coca-Cola called me up today and offered me $50 million to put the fizz back in Coke's stock, I might be tempted. But I've got no reason to think that they're going to do that.'' Asked about a presidential appointment, Gramm said, ``I'm not ever going to say ever.'' But, he added, ``I've had as close to a picture-perfect career in public service you could have.'' Gramm made up his mind over the weekend to retire but didn't begin telling associates until Tuesday morning, GOP officials said. He also told longtime friend and campaign everyman Dicky Flatt, a Mexia, Texas, printer. ``All good things got to come to an end,'' Flatt said. ``I hate to see him go.'' Republican political consultant Charles Black in Washington also heard from Gramm. ``It's really the end of an era with Thurmond and Helms and Gramm leaving. They all played a key role in the Reagan revolution and what Reagan was able to accomplish,'' said Black. Gramm's term expires in January 2003. Gramm's retirement is unlikely to cost Republicans a seat in a state that has become strongly Republican in recent years. Overall, Democrats hold a 50-49 majority, with one independent, and Republicans must defend 21 Senate seats next year. Democrats are defending 14, none of them open. Gramm was elected to Congress as a Democrat in 1978 but helped Republicans pass President Reagan's budget and tax cuts in 1981. After his 1982 re-election, Gramm left the Democratic Party and quit his seat, then won it back in a special election in 1983. He won his Senate seat the following year, and has set a conservative's course ever since. He is a close ally of Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott and an influential voice within the Senate's Republican leadership. In three Senate terms, Gramm rarely found a tax cut he didn't like. Last winter, he introduced a tax cut patterned on President Bush's campaign proposals even before the new chief executive could send his own blueprint to Congress. At the same time, he has been a critic of government spending. Last year, he and a few fellow conservatives held up work on a GOP budget blueprint, saying it overspent. Gramm had been denying rumors for more than a year that he won't seek a fourth term. He reportedly has been considered to succeed Ray Bowen as Texas A&M University president. His seat had formerly been held by Republican John Tower, and Bush, the former Texas governor, won the state handily in 2000. Gramm unsuccessfully sought the GOP's presidential nomination in 1996. The narrator in Fight Club is the man we will be, Patrick Bateman in American Psycho is the man we want to be Eliza Dushku- Hotter Than Brittney
Arpikarhu Harmless Teddy I wish Maynard was still posting here so I could implant my head up his ass. Needle dick, bear salesman. I think I'm a revolutionary. Actually, I'm a one trick pony. I enjoy C&BT	posted on 09-04-2001 @ 3:55 PM
O&A Board Regular Registered: Apr. 01	good, two corporate puppets masquerading as elected representatives gone. Arpi Karhu Kauppias Forever!!! AIM- Arpikarhu
IkeaBoy P.L.F. Portugese Liberation Front- Liberating Status' everywhere from the Tyranny of Portugal I will die a traitor's death	posted on 09-04-2001 @ 3:58 PM
O&A Board Veteran Registered: Sep. 00	Don't worry, they'll be replaced by two more corporate puppets The narrator in Fight Club is the man we will be, Patrick Bateman in American Psycho is the man we want to be Eliza Dushku- Hotter Than Brittney
FoundryMusicScott	posted on 09-04-2001 @ 9:39 PM
Psychopath Registered: Aug. 00	Ikeaboy, did you hear Senator Helms' speech on the floor today against S.149? As a Democrat, I respect the man. He is the last adherent to Adams' (and in turn the Roman and Greek) true interpretation of the classical theory of mixed government, which this country is founded upon and still applies today. They will leave the national spectrum, but we will lose them also. It is a sad day if men like Jeffords propogate the entire Senate to follow suit. That is not what the Senate was created for and what its importance still holds today. Please let me know if you need to know what the Classical Theory of Mixed Government is. And by the way, that is not an attack, but just a suggestion. This country was founded on the TOMG, and should be adhered to this day. "Glen honey, I have a question for you- what do you do for a living?" "Hey I have a question for you too- why are you still here?" Family Guy- Glen Quagmire, "Stewie's Addicted to Crack" episode.

Displaying 1-4 of 4 messages in this thread.