Jim Talent

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Jim Talent
United States Senator from Missouri
In office November 25, 2002 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Jean Carnahan
Succeeded by	Claire McCaskill
Born	October 18, 1956 (age 50) Des Peres, Missouri
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Brenda Talent
Religion	Presbyterian (PCA)[1]

James Matthes "Jim" Talent (born October 18, 1956) is an American politician and former Senator from Missouri. He is a Republican and resided in the St. Louis area while serving in elected office. He identifies with the conservative wing of the Republican party, being particularly outspoken on judicial appointments, abortion and flag burning. After serving for eight years in the U.S. House of Representatives and then working as a lobbyist, he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002, narrowly defeating Democrat Jean Carnahan in a special election, to complete the term of Mel Carnahan [4]. In November of 2006, Talent lost his re-election bid to Claire McCaskill. The former Senator is now a senior advisor to Mitt Romney's Presidential campaign [5].

Contents 1 Personal life 2 Political career 2.1 House of Representatives 2.2 Race for governor 2.3 Lobbyist 2.4 Election to the Senate 3 Political views 3.1 Flag Desecration Amendment 3.2 Energy 3.3 Health care 3.4 Predatory lending 3.5 Stem cell research 3.6 Minimum wage 3.7 Methamphetamine 3.8 War in Iraq 3.9 Abortion 4 2006 re-election campaign 5 Electoral history 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Personal life

Jim grew up in a middle-class family in Des Peres, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis^{[citation needed]}. His father, Milton O. Talent, was the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. Jim's father was the first in his family to go to college, graduating from Harvard Law School.^[2] Jim's mother, Marie F. Matthes, was an independent court reporter who had been raised on a small farm near DeSoto, Missouri. Her ancestors had come from Germany in the 1830's to homestead this farm. Jim graduated from Kirkwood High School in 1973. He earned his A.B. in political science, from Washington University in St. Louis graduating with the Arnold J. Lien Prize as the most outstanding undergraduate in political science. Jim graduated Order of the Coif from the University of Chicago Law School, receiving his J.D. in 1981. Following law school, he served as a law clerk to Judge Richard A. Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Before winning political office Talent served as an adjunct professor at the Washington University Law school. He married Brenda Lee Lyons in 1984. The Talents have two daughters, Kate and Chrissy, and a son, Michael who attends Westminster Christian Academy. Jim is a member of the Presbyterian Church in America^{[citation needed]}. He was reportedly inspired to become a Christian while listening one of James Dobson's radio broadcasts. [6]

[edit] Political career

Talent began his political career in 1984 when he was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives. He served four terms there, the last two as minority leader.

[edit] House of Representatives

In 1992, Talent defeated Bert Walker, the cousin of then-president George H.W. Bush and won the Republican nomination for the state's 2nd Congressional District, based in St. Louis's western suburbs. He went on to defeat Democratic incumbent Joan Kelly Horn in the general election.

The district had been heavily altered after the 1990 census to preserve large Democratic majorities in the neighboring 1st District of Bill Clay and 3rd District of Dick Gephardt. Horn had appealed for a new map, even asking for a share of St. Louis, but was rebuffed by Clay and Gephardt.

Although Talent won narrowly in 1992, he never had another close race in what rapidly became a solidly Republican district. The only serious challenge he faced came in 1996, when Horn sought a rematch. Even though popular Democratic Governor Mel Carnahan was running for reelection, Talent dispatched Horn fairly easily, winning 61% of the vote^[3].

As a freshmen in the congress Talent authored and introduced the Welfare Reform Act of 1994, which was the precursor to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996. Talent served as chairman of the Small Business Committee from 1997 to 2001.

[edit] Race for governor

Talent did not seek re-election to Congress in 2000, instead running for governor. He was narrowly defeated by Democratic state treasurer Bob Holden, 49.1% to 48.2%.^[4]

[edit] Lobbyist

For ten months in 2001, Talent worked for Washington lobbying firm, Arent Fox^[5], earning $230,000. During this time Talent was not allowed to directly lobby Congress, and he was not licensed to practice law in Washington, leading some Democratic opponents to accuse the lobbying firm of using his appointment as an illegal conduit to donate toward his upcoming Senate race.^[6] Arent Fox said the idea that Talent was not paid for genuine work was "absurd", but that "Talent's Republican ties did play a role in his hiring." ^[7]

[edit] Election to the Senate

In the November 2000 elections, Mel Carnahan, who had died in a plane crash three weeks before, remained on the ballot for election to the Senate. Carnahan received more votes than his Republican opponent, John Ashcroft, who did not legally contest being defeated by a dead candidate. Lieutenant Governor Roger Wilson, as he had promised before the election, appointed Carnahan's widow, Jean, in her husband's place.

The Seventeenth Amendment requires that appointments to the Senate last only until a special election is held. Talent, who received the Republican nomination, narrowly defeated Jean Carnahan in the November 2002 election, 50% to 49%. He was sworn in later that month to fill out the balance of Mel Carnahan's term ^[8]. ^[9]

Jack Abramoff contributed $2,000 to Talent's 2002 senatorial campaign [7] and Preston Gates & Ellis, a former Abramoff employer, had also contributed $1,000 to Talent's campaign. [8] Talent later returned both contributions [9].

Talent has been criticized for not returning the money received from Americans for a Republican Majority (ARMPAC), a PAC formed by Tom DeLay. DeLay is facing charges of money laundering and violation of campaign finance laws. A spokesman for Talent has stated that Talent has not yet made a decision about whether or not to return the ARMPAC contribution, stating "Senator Talent is not ready to presume guilt or innocence and wants to give the judicial process a chance to move forward." [10] During his tenure, Talent served on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Special Committee on Aging, Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, and Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

[edit] Political views

Senator Talent is widely regarded by political analyst as a reliable conservative, receiving a life score of 93 out of 100 from the American Conservative Union. The National Right to Life Committee gave Talent a 100% rating.^[10] In 2005, Talent was tied for the third-highest rating among all senators and representatives as determined by the Republican Liberty Caucus which promotes "liberty-minded, limited-government individuals to office." [11] [12]

[edit] Flag Desecration Amendment

Talent is a co-sponsor of the Flag Desecration Amendment, which would make it constitutional to criminalize flag burning. He argues that this does not conflict with freedom of speech by suggesting that flag burning is not speech. His office has said, "...burning the flag is not speech; it is an act with expressive overtones." [13] Since the constitution clearly protects speech, this distinction is extremely important from a legal standpoint.

[edit] Energy

Sen. Talent supports the new Renewable Fuel Standard, which would add 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuels to the national supply by 2012, including a measure to include tax credits for businesses offering soybean-based fuels. [14] In addition to renewable fuels, Sen. Talent supports drilling in the Arctic as a step in the direction of energy independence, which he sees as critical to national security. [15]

[edit] Health care

Senator Talent supported the Medicare prescription drug benefit called Medicare Part D, the purpose of which is to reduce the amount seniors pay for their prescription drugs. [16] Talent called for waiving a one percent penalty for senior citizens who missed the deadline to sign up for the program. [17]

Senator Talent has voted against an amendment allowing Medicare to negotiate a bulk purchase discount for prescription drugs. [18]

Sen. Talent has supported limiting awards in medical liability lawsuits. [19] He believes that 'Medical liability relief will cut costs because physicians won’t have to practice “defensive medicine".' Talent has said that 'awards are paid and then passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices and fewer jobs.' [20]

Sen. Talent supports and has proposed legislation to allow trade organizations to sponsor health insurance plans, which he believes would provide uninsured workers the opportunity for more affordable health care. [21]

[edit] Predatory lending

Talent supports and has sponsored legislation to cap the annual percentage interest rate for payday loans to military service personnel from an average of around 390% to 36%. [22]

[edit] Stem cell research

Since joining the Senate in 2002, Talent had supported federal legislation that would ban embryonic stem cell research or federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. This included co-sponsoring a bill (S.658) [23] sponsored by Senator Sam Brownback which would ban all forms of human cloning including embryonic therapeutic cloning techniques that are seen as crucial to stem cell research. Many felt this law was unneeded since President Bill Clinton outlawed Human Cloning in 1998.

On February 10, 2006, Talent withdrew his support for the bill,^[11] citing the need to balance research and protection against human cloning. This move followed criticism by Talent's opponent in the 2006 election, Claire McCaskill, as well as pressure from Missouri business interests that oppose restrictions on stem cell research. Though this reversal was widely criticized as being politically motivated,^[12] Talent told the Associated Press, "The technology is changing all the time and so I'm always considering whether there is a better way to strike the balance."^[13] Talent suggested that moral concerns might be put to rest through a possible future scientific breakthrough - replicating embryonic stem cells without the use of cloned embryos.

There is a ballot-initiative in Missouri in November 2006 to amend the state constitution and allow, in line with federal law, stem cell research and treatment.^[14] On May 1, 2006, Talent announced his opposition to the proposed ballot-initiative.^[15] Stem cell research and treatment is working up to be a divisive issue for many Republicans and is taking a particular prominence in Missouri.^[16]

In July 2006, he voted against expanding federal funds for embryonic stem cell research in cases where the embryos were donated by fertility clinics or were created for purposes of fertility treatment.[24] This bill passed the Senate 63-37, but was vetoed by President Bush, in a move that was said to have significant political implications for Talent. [25]

[edit] Minimum wage

Talent did take a position on the ballot-initiative in Missouri, called Proposition B, that would raise the minimum wage in the state to $6.50 per hour, or to the level of the federal minimum wage if that is higher, with subsequent adjustments for inflation.^[14] He said he believes it is a state issue, but has stated he supports minimum wage increases if they are coupled with tax breaks for small businesses.^[17] Talent believes that increasing the minimum wage could reduce the number of jobs by raising the cost of doing business.^[18].

[edit] Methamphetamine

Talent co-sponsored the Combat Meth Act with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). The legislation, which was attached to the re authorization of the USA Patriot Act, passed on March 2, 2006 and restricts the sale of products necessary to produce methamphetamines. President Bush signed the Act into law on March 9, 2006. As a result of the Act, certain cold medicines are only to be made available behind the counter and the amount of such medicines that can be purchased by one person is limited.^[19]

[edit] War in Iraq

Although Talent was not in Congress at the time of the 2002 vote authorizing the war in Iraq, he stated in October 2006 that he would have voted for the war knowing that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. Talent does not support a timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq until American troops are able to train up an Iraqi army capable of maintaining security within the country. He believes that the results of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan outweigh the costs. Talent addressed the growing criticism of the cost of the war by stating, "What we’ve spent in Iraq and Afghanistan in total is 1 percent of the GDP. Now in return for that we've already removed Saddam Hussein and the threat he represented. Iraq is not competing with Iran to sponsor terror in the region. They're not threatening Kuwait. We don't have to station troops in Saudi Arabia. They're not trying to restart the nuclear program. All that would be happening under Saddam."^[20]

[edit] Abortion

Talent supports a ban on abortions, with exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother. [26]

[edit] 2006 re-election campaign

Main article: Missouri U.S. Senate election, 2006

Talent sought re-election in 2006. His Democratic opponent was state auditor Claire McCaskill.

Talent held a significant fundraising advantage[27], due in part to support from the Bush administration; on October 11, 2005, Vice President Dick Cheney held a fundraiser for Talent[28].

Talent accepted $5,000 from the lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Talent subsequently refunded $3,000 in August 2005, and the remaining $2,000 in early 2006. [29]

Jim Talent received a number of endorsements for his re-election including from Missouri Farm Bureau[30], the St. Louis Police Officers' Association [31], the Missouri Pork Association [32], the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors[33], the Missouri Corn Growers Association[34] and the Veterans of Foreign Wars[35].

In 2006, the Washington DC newspaper Roll Call reported that DC lobbying interests had pledged to raise $1 million for Talent's re-election. ^[21] Talent stated that he does not give favors in exchange for donations, and that he “wouldn’t take five dollars from someone who expects something for it." ^[22]

McCaskill and Talent debated each other on Meet the Press on October 8, 2006. [36] McCaskill narrowly defeated Talent on November 7, 2006.

Having lost his bid for reelection, Talent is considered a possible candidate for Governor of Missouri in 2008 if incumbent Matt Blunt decides not to seek reelection. Talent was very nearly elected Governor in 2000, losing to Bob Holden by less than 1%.

[edit] Electoral history

• 2006 Race for U.S. Senate
  • Jim Talent (R), 47%
  • Claire McCaskill (D), 50%
  • Frank Gilmour (Libertarian), 2%

• 2002 Race for U.S. Senate
  • Jim Talent (R), 50%
  • Jean Carnahan (D), 49%

• 2000 Race for Missouri Governor
  • Bob Holden (D), 49.1%
  • Jim Talent (R), 48.2%

• 1996 Race for U.S. House of Representatives
  • Jim Talent (R), 61%
  • Joan Kelly Horn (D), 37%

• 1992 Race for U.S. House of Representatives
  • Jim Talent (R), 50.4%
  • Joan Kelly Horn (D), 47.6%
  • Jim Higgins (Libertarian), .2%
• 1992 Race for U.S. House of Representatives (Republican Primary)
  • Jim Talent (R), 58%
  • Bert Walker (R), 32%

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by the Washington Post
• House Clerk Office Election info
• Differences on the issues between Jim Talent and Claire McCaskill at whereIstand.com

Preceded by Joan Kelly Horn	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 2nd congressional district 1993-2001	Succeeded by Todd Akin
Preceded by Jean Carnahan	United States Senator (Class 1) from Missouri November 25, 2002 - January 4, 2007 Served alongside: Kit Bond	Succeeded by Claire McCaskill