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| After 20+ years in Congress, Tanner calling it quits |
By: John Brannon Messenger Staff Reporter
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Posted: Wednesday, December 2, 2009 9:32 pm
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By JOHN BRANNON Messenger Staff Reporter Shocking and sudden — sort of like a late-night earthquake on the New Madrid fault — came news Tuesday evening of Congressman John Tanner’s decision to retire in November 2010. And his news undoubtedly shakes up the political scene. Meanwhile, the news that his days in office are numbered is still sinking in. John Tanner not a congressman? Unthinkable. A familiar figure on Tennessee and Washington political landscapes is this man from Union City. A Democrat, he’s represented Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District in the House of Rep-resentatives since 1988. He’s been consistently re-elected each election cycle and is now in his 10th term. A successor will be chosen by the voters in the Nov. 2, 2010, general election. State Sen. Roy Herron of Dresden has already announced his intentions to seek the office, giving up his bid to become Tennessee’s governor, and former state Rep. Phillip Pinion of Union City has also been mentioned as a possible congressional candidate. Press release In a formal press release to news media late Tuesday, Tanner addressed his decision. “Other than wearing the military uniform of our country, I can think of no higher privilege than serving in public office with the consent of free men and women. Betty Ann and I have been honored and humbled by the support granted us through the years,” he states. Tanner is a veteran of four years’ service in the Navy as a lieutenant and 26 years in the Tennessee National Guard. He retired from the Guard with rank of colonel. Tanner said he and his wife had considered retiring in 2007 at the end of the 110th Congress and would have done so had it not been for the fact that an opportunity developed for an American to be elected president of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Parliamentary Assembly. That was an important opportunity because of the critical nature of the war in Afghanistan. “We believed we owed it to our country to stay and fulfill this term of office as NATO PA president,” he said. “This mandate expires in November 2010; therefore, we have made the decision not to seek re-election to Congress.” He gives much credit and praise to his staff in Washington as well as in branch offices throughout the district. “No one could have asked for a more dedicated staff to help countless thousands of our constituents. Long hours, nights and weekends are not uncommon in our offices,” he continued. “We look forward to continuing this service to the 8th District next year through the end of the 111th Congress.” All in all, Tanner said, the nation faces many severe and unrelenting problems. He intends to stay active in the matters and continue efforts with the conservative coalition of House members known as the Blue Dogs. And he gives much credit to his family for their support. “No road in public life is traveled alone. Betty Ann and our children have sacrificed much over the years, and for them and for me, we say a simple and heartfelt ‘Thank you.’ It has truly been our friends and supporters who have made this journey possible.” Timing Tanner said the heat he took during the national debates about health care reform earlier this year had no bearing on his decision to retire from Congress. He said he knew people’s emotions were high, and still are. With good reason, too. Many heavy and weighty issues bombarded John Q. Public — the financial crisis centering around banks, the housing credit crisis. He said it extends as far back as the terrorist attacks on this country on Sept. 11, 2001. “Look at 9-11. It shook our faith in the invincibility of the deterrence that our military might had shown during the Cold War,” he said. “We realized that military might was no longer a deterrence to people willing to kill themselves and to kill us, too. We are now engaged in a seemingly endless war against a nameless, faceless foe. No country to defeat, no real army to whip. “That is part of the level of anxiety. It is maybe not evident every day because we haven’t asked people who are not in the military to sacrifice anything in this war effort. In a way, the country’s not at war, the military is. “Then came the credit problems, the housing problems, Wall Street problems. People don’t realize how close we were to collapse back in the December-January time frame. When the Secretary of the Treasury called me at home in Union City at 7:10 on a Monday morning, I knew something’s not exactly working out well. “Then came the stimulus package to try to respond to that threat. If we’d had a (financial) collapse, millions of innocent people would have lost virtually their life savings. So when we bailed out the financial institutions, we had to look behind that and realize the millions of innocent people who would have been severely and permanently impacted. “So we had the stimulus package and there was a lot of criticism (of it). But as much as anything, it was a stopgap that the market responded to positively. There are lots of problems with it, but it stopped what was developing into a very, very serious situation. “Then the health care situation was put on the table and that’s intensely personal. People either have good health insurance or health insurance that’s inadequate or they can’t get health insurance or they have no health insurance at all. But everybody has health issues. “So when this bill came up, it was very personal and it was a catalyst for people to vent their frustration. I voted against it. I also voted against Cap and Trade.” Longevity Tanner said he took note of what the late Congressman Ed Jones of Yorkville said about serving in Congress, that 20 years is just about enough, and then you pull out. “It takes three or four years to learn your way around and five or six to gain some seniority, then your last 10 or so are productive,” he said. “I think that after 20 you need some fresh ideas. That’s my perspective on it. Betty Ann and I are both happy with our careers here, what we’ve hopefully been able to accomplish for people.” But won’t his leaving mean an immediate loss of the seniority he’s built up in those 20 years? Won’t it mean that his successor will start as a freshman? “It would happen whether I were to leave in one year or 10,” he said. “It’s a natural progression.” NATO et al Tanner said he devotes a lot of his time to NATO and will continue to do so when he leaves office. NATO, he said, is critically important. President Obama’s Tuesday evening speech about sending an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan was a good thing, he added. Hopefully, our European allies will see Obama’s commitments as a gesture of the United States working with allies in fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. “We don’t have the human resources or the money to take on the whole world,” he said. “We have got to make this (NATO) alliance work. I hope the president’s speech changes the tone in Europe in terms of how they feel about us, that instead of barking orders to people around the world, we’re going to consult with them and be true allies. I use the football analogy. They (our allies) know we’re the quarterback, they just want to be in the huddle when the play is called. “I think we have a new start that we have to make work, because if left alone, (the Taliban) will plan another attack on this country. “NATO is probably the only truly international organization that can mount a military force to address a chaotic situation anywhere in that part of the world. The United Nations can’t do it. The UN is a good place to go and talk about it. But as far as having an international organization that has military capability, NATO is it.” Retirement Retirement-wise, what looms largest in his plans? “Having the opportunity to spend more time with my family — my wife (Betty Ann), our children and grandchildren,” he told The Messenger today. The Tanners’ daughter, Elizabeth Atkins, and her husband, Kyle, live in Jackson. They have a daughter, Abby, 12, and a son, Tanner, 9. The Tanners’ son, Portis, and his wife, Cindy, live in Union City. They have a son, Beck, 3, and a daughter, Edith Dorothy, age 6 months. Tanner said it will certainly be a departure from his life of “being tied to the voting machine up here (in Washington).” “I have had a very, very fortunate life and a good career,” he said. “People, many thousands of people, have extended kindnesses to us. Betty Ann and I will always cherish that.” Tanner leaves void U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said Tanner will be missed on Capitol Hill. “John Tanner has been a principled, independent voice in our state and federal governments for three decades,” the former Tennessee governor said. “Our country will miss his ability to work across party lines to get results and so will I.” The Associated Press also contributed to this report. Published in The Messenger 12.2.09
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