Joe Scarborough

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Charles Joseph Scarborough
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 1st district
In office 1995-2001
Preceded by	Earl Hutto
Succeeded by	Jeff Miller
Born	April 9, 1963 Atlanta, GA
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Melanie Hinton (divorced), Susan
Profession	attorney, currently television host
Religion	Baptist

Charles Joseph Scarborough (born April 9, 1963) is the host of the program Scarborough Country on MSNBC and served in the United States House of Representatives, from 1995 to 2001, as a Republican from Florida.

Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Congressional career 2.1 Committee memberships 3 Post-congressional career 3.1 Recent controversies 4 Family 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Early life and education

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Scarborough graduated from Pensacola Catholic High School in Pensacola, Florida (although he is not a Roman Catholic). He received a B.A. from the University of Alabama in 1985 and a J.D. from the University of Florida law school in 1990.^[1] He was admitted to the Florida State bar in 1991.^[1] Scarborough taught high school and practiced law in Pensacola.^[2]

His most high-profile case was that of Michael F. Griffin, later convicted of killing abortion doctor David Gunn. At the request of Griffin's family, Scarborough (who is also against abortion) initially represented Griffin, though the judge refused his request to defend Griffin during the criminal trial, citing the inexperience of Scarborough, a civil lawyer, regarding criminal law. Scarborough assisted Griffin in obtaining a trial attorney.^[3] Scarborough's first major foray into politics was assisting with a petition drive in late 1993 opposing a 65% increase in city property taxes. During the drive he made numerous contacts that would prove valuable in his upcoming Congressional race.^[2]

[edit] Congressional career

In 1994 Scarborough won the Republican nomination for Florida's 1st congressional district, which came open after 16-year incumbent Democrat Earl Hutto did not run for reelection. He was elected with 61% of the vote, becoming the first Republican to represent the 1st District since its formation after the 1900 Census (it was the 3rd District from 1903 to 1963). He was reelected three times with no serious opposition, even running unopposed in 1998 and 2000. The 1st, located in the Panhandle, had turned into one of the most conservative regions of the state — in fact, it has not supported a Democrat for president since 1960.

Scarborough, who signed the Contract with America, was part of the 1994 Republican takeover of the House, led by Newt Gingrich. Scarborough served on the Armed Services, Judiciary, Government Reform, and Education committees. In 1998, he was named Chairman of the Civil Service Committee.

Scarborough was one of a group of about 40 GOP freshmen legislators who dubbed themselves the "New Federalists" after the Federalist Papers. Scarborough was elected Political Director of the incoming legislators. The New Federalists called for sweeping cuts in the U.S. government, including plans to "privatize, localize, consolidate, [or] eliminate"^[4] the Departments of Commerce, Education, Energy and Housing and Urban Development, but were largely unsuccessful in their goals. Gingrich tapped Scarborough to head a Republican task force on education, and Scarborough declared "Our goal is to get as much money, power and authority out of Washington and get as much money, power and authority into the classroom as possible."^[2]

Scarborough sponsored a bill to force the U.S. to withdraw from the United Nations after a four year transition^[4] and voted to make the Corporation for Public Broadcasting "self-sufficient"^[5] by eliminating federal funding for the CPB. He also voted for the "Medicare Preservation act of 1995",^[6] which cut the projected growth Medicare by $270 billion over ten years, and against the "Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996"^[7] which raised the minimum wage to $5.15. Scarborough had a conservative voting record on economic, social, and foreign policy issues but was seen as moderate on environmental issues and human rights causes.^[2]

While in Congress, Scarborough received numerous awards, including: the "Friend of the Taxpayer Award" from Americans for Tax Reform; the "Guardian of Small Business Award" from the National Federation of Independent Business; the "Spirit of Enterprise Award" from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; the "Taxpayer's Hero Award" from the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste and the "Guardian of Seniors' Rights Award" from the 60 Plus Association.^[8]

On July 20, 2001, one of Scarborough's aides died after hitting her head on a desk when she fainted while alone in Scarborough's Fort Walton Beach, Florida, office.^[9] According to Scarborough, soon after her death allegations "spread all over the Internet" that he had been involved,^[10] although there was no evidence of foul play. In 2003, he joked about the incident with Don Imus on Imus' radio program^[11] and, in 2004, it was the subject of a public spat between Scarborough and filmmaker Michael Moore.^[12] Michael Moore accused Scarborough of wrong doing, even though he was in his Washington, DC office at the time of his aide's death.

[edit] Committee memberships

• 104th Congress^[13]
  • Committee on Government Reform and Oversight
  • Committee on National Security
• 104th Congress^[14]
  • Committee on National Security
  • Committee on Government Reform and Oversight
  • Committee on Education and the Workforce
• 106th Congress^[15]
  • Committee on Armed Services
  • Committee on Government Reform
  • Committee on the Judiciary
• 107th Congress^[16]
  • Committee on Government Reform
  • Committee on the Judiciary

[edit] Post-congressional career

In late May, 2001, Scarborough announced his resignation from Congress on September 6 to spend more time with his children. In his announcement, Scarborough also speculated about possible future presidential appointments and legal and television work.^[17] He officially resigned on September 5, 2001.^[1] After leaving Congress, he joined the law firm of prominent Florida attorney Fred Levin. He currently practices law with the firm Beggs and Lane,^[18] the oldest firm in Florida. He was appointed to the President's Council on the 21st Century Workforce in 2002.^[19]

In April 2003, he embarked upon a television career with the launch of Scarborough Country on MSNBC, a current affairs show.

Scarborough also published a book, Rome Wasn't Burnt in a Day (2004) (ISBN 0-06-074984-9) in which he reflects on his experiences as a young Republican congressman dedicated to reducing government spending during the Clinton years. Scarborough criticizes both political parties for irresponsible spending and giving in to special interests.

In August 2005, Scarborough confirmed reports that he had been asked to consider a challenge to U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris for the Republican nomination to challenge Senator Nelson's re-election bid. However, he announced later that month that he was renewing his contract with NBC. He subsequently expressed his dissatisfaction with the Republican leadership and lack of commitment to Republican principles as of late, saying on MSNBC that he's "embarrassed ... to be a Republican ... because of the lack of leadership."^[20]

In July of 2006, former aides to the 2006 Senate campaign of Republican Congresswoman Katherine Harris claimed that when Harris learned that Scarborough was being courted to challenge her in the Republican primary, Harris called potential Scarborough supporters and raised the death of an aide in his home district office as a means to prevent his entry into the race.^[21] Scarborough, who had never intended to enter the race, initially considered suing Harris, but decided to let the incident pass. He later told incumbent Democratic Senator Bill Nelson that drawing Harris as an opponent in the race made him "the luckiest man in Washington".

[edit] Recent controversies

In 2006, lawyers for the NAACP, using freedom of information requests, discovered that Joe Scarborough was one of six Republican congressional leaders who requested an IRS investigation into the NAACP's tax-exempt status.^[22]

[edit] Family

In 1986, Scarborough married Melanie Hinton. They had two children^[23] and divorced in 1999. His younger child was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. While interviewing Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in June, 2005, Scarborough expressed concerns about the possibility one of his sons may have suffered vaccine damage, perhaps attributable to the sharp increase during the 1980s in the amount of thimerosal injected into infants, "My son, born in 1991, has a slight form of autism called Asperger's. When I was practicing law and also when I was in Congress, parents would constantly come to me and they would bring me videotapes of their children, and they were all around the age of my son or younger. So, something happened in 1989."^[24]

Scarborough married his current wife, Susan, in October, 2001. They live in Pensacola with their daughter Kate and his two sons, Joey and Andrew.^[25]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Site
• "Congressman Joe" - MSNBC weblog
• Scarborough Country - MSNBC
• "A coverup for a cause of Autism? RFK Jr. explans how ingredient in vaccines may have contributed to spread" - transcript of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. interview by Joe Scarborough, MSNBC (June 22, 2005)
• Scarbourgh VoteSmart 2000 Joe Scarborough 'Vote Smart' sheet for 2000 hosted at Free Republic
• Campaign contributions made by Joe Scarborough
• OnTheIssues page for Congressional terms

Preceded by Earl Hutto

Representative of the 1st Congressional District of Florida 1995—2001

Succeeded by Jeff Miller