John Tanner (Tennessee politician)
John Tanner | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 8th district | |
In office January 3, 1989 – January 3, 2011 | |
Preceded by | Ed Jones |
Succeeded by | Stephen Fincher |
President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly | |
In office November 18, 2008 – November 16, 2010 | |
Preceded by | José Lello |
Succeeded by | Karl A. Lamers |
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from the 77th district | |
In office January 4, 1977 – January 13, 1987 | |
Preceded by | Larry Bates |
Succeeded by | Phillip E. Pinion |
Personal details | |
Born | John Sumners Tanner September 22, 1944 Halls, Tennessee, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Betty Ann Tanner |
Children | 2 |
Education | University of Tennessee, Knoxville (BS, JD) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Navy United States Army |
Years of service | 1968–1972 (Active) 1974–2000 (Reserve) |
Rank | Colonel |
Unit | Army National Guard |
John Sumners Tanner (born September 22, 1944) is a former American politician who served as the
Early life, education, and early political career
Tanner was born in
Tanner received much of his knowledge of politics as a youth from his father E.B. "Buzz" Tanner who was successful in the financial and insurance business. He became a member of a highly political and influential law firm out of law school in his home town community and soon ran for office as a state legislator in the House of Representatives. He was also a relative of then House Speaker Ned McWherter, who later was elected governor twice and was an extremely powerful political force in the state, having friends on both sides of the political aisle.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
When Jones retired in 1988, Tanner won the Democratic nomination for the seat and handily defeated
Tanner announced on December 1, 2009, that he would not seek re-election in 2010 and would retire after 11 terms in Congress. State Senator Roy Herron gave up his gubernatorial bid and ran for Tanner's congressional seat.[2] However, he only tallied 39.8 percent of the vote against Republican farmer Stephen Fincher. Indeed, no Democrat running in the district has cracked the 40 percent mark since Tanner left office.
Tenure
As a Congressman, Tanner sponsored a bill to repeal the
Tanner favored balancing the federal budget and paying down the national debt. He was a strong opponent of the fiscal policies of President George W. Bush, voting against many of the tax cuts passed during his terms; yet, he was one of 43 Democrats to vote to repeal the estate tax in 2006. Tanner was one of the few Democrats in the House to vote in favor of CAFTA and has long distanced himself from the majority of his party on issues such as bankruptcy law and lawsuit reform.
He voted for the Federal Marriage Amendment, the ban on "partial-birth" abortions, limiting death penalty appeals, and has voted against most gun control measures. On other issues he had a more liberal voting record. He often voted with his party on separation of church and states issues, and consistently voted against the Flag Desecration Amendment. Tanner voted with the majority of his party to expand
In 2004, Congressman Tanner made a brief but unintended cameo appearance alongside Michael Moore in Fahrenheit 9/11, where Moore was trying to get Congressmen to have their children enlist in the Military to go to Iraq.
He drafted a bill that would require special bipartisan commissions rather than state legislatures to redraw congressional districts when necessary due to U.S. Census count changes. It is generally believed that this bill was a response to Republican-inspired mid-decade redistricting in Texas and recent similar efforts in Colorado and Georgia.
After both his district and state chose the former first lady,[4] Congressman Tanner endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in April 2008.[5]
Committee assignments
- Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Subcommittee on Europe
- Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
- Committee on Ways and Means
Post-congressional career
He currently works for Nashville law firm Miller & Martin and the Prime Policy Group, a lobbying firm.[6] He became chairman of the International Conservation Caucus Foundation, a non-profit group that advocates U.S. leadership in conservation programs globally, in fall of 2011.
Tanner is a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One.[7] He also serves on the board of directors of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.[8]
Personal life
He is married to Betty Ann Tanner and has two children.[9]
References
- ^ "RootsWeb.com Home Page". freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Archived from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
- ^ Baker, Jackson (December 1, 2009). "Rep. Tanner Makes Stunning Announcement: He Won't Run for Reelection". Memphis Flyer.
- ^ "Washingtonpost.com Special Report: The Starr Report". The Washington Post.
- ^ Welna, David (April 25, 2008). "Hundreds of Superdelegates Remain Undecided". NPR.
- Worcester Telegram.
- ^ NashvillePost.com (2011). Tanner joins Nashville law firm. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
- ^ "ReFormers Caucus". Issue One. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
- ^ "Board Members". Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
- ^ "John S. Tanner". justfacts.votesmart.org. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
External links
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Profile at SourceWatch
- Appearances on C-SPAN