Jim McDermott
- For the illustrator, see Jim McDermott.
| Jim McDermott | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1989 |
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| Preceded by | Mike Lowry |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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| Born | December 28 1936 Chicago, Illinois |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Therese Hansen |
| Profession | Psychiatrist |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
James Adelbert "Jim" McDermott (born December 28 1936 in Chicago, Illinois) is the current U.S. Representative for Washington's 7th congressional district. The 7th District includes most of Seattle and Vashon Island and portions of Shoreline, Tukwila, SeaTac, and Burien.
McDermott is a member of the Democratic Party. He serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and is a member of the House Progressive Caucus.
McDermott was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was the first member of his family to attend college; he graduated from Wheaton College, Illinois, and then went to medical school, getting an M.D. from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago in 1963. After completing an internship from 1963-1964 at Buffalo General Hospital in Buffalo, New York, a psychiatry residency from 1964-1966 at the University of Illinois Research and Educational Hospital (now called University of Illinois Hospital), and fellowship training in child psychiatry from 1966-1968 at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, he served in the United States Navy Medical Corps as a psychiatrist in California during the Vietnam War [1] [1].
He is married to Therese Hansen, an attorney, and has two grown children. [2]
Political career
In 1970, McDermott made his first run for public office and was elected to the state legislature as a state
representative from the 43rd district. In 1974, he ran for the state
senate, and subsequently was re-elected three times, to successive four-year terms. In 1980, whilst still a state senator,
McDermott defeated incumbent Dixy Lee Ray in the Democratic primary for
In 1987, McDermott left politics to become a Foreign Service medical officer based in Zaire, providing psychiatric services to [[United States Foreign Service|Foreign Service, USAID, and Peace Corps personnel in sub-Saharan Africa. In 1988, when the 7th congressional district seat became open, he returned from Africa to run for the seat. In 2006, he was elected to the 110th Congress winning slightly less than eighty percent of the vote, easily winning against challenger Steve Beren.
On August 22, 2007, McDermott was knighted by King Letsie III of Lesotho. This knighthood was given in recognition of McDermott's leadership on the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which helped improve Lesotho's economy.[2]
Political views
McDermott, who is regarded as one of the House's most liberal members, has recently gained a degree of national prominence in the wake of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. A vocal opponent of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, he appears in Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 discussing the aftermath of September 11. He endorses the Genocide Intervention Network. As a licensed physician, McDermott is particularly interested in health care issues. He has strongly advocated that the United States adopt a universal health care system. He has called for an investigation into the use of depleted uranium by the U.S. military. He is featured on Anti-Flag's 2006 album "For Blood And Empire" talking about the effects of depleted uranium on the song "Depleted Uranium Is a War Crime".
McDermott also praised Anti-Flag for encouraging young people to register and vote leading up to the 2004 presidential elections. [3]. McDermott is often strongly involved in Congressional debates on gay rights. He was one of only 67 congressmen to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act. He also serves as National President of the liberal Americans for Democratic Action (ADA)
McDermott, whose Congressional district is home to Boeing, has been cited by the New York Times as touring the Airbus plant. Airbus is Boeing's rival for the Air Force's Air Refueling Tanker contract.[4]
Controversies
Knighthood
On August 22, 2007 Rep. McDermott was knighted by the King of Lesotho http://www.house.gov/mcdermott/pr070907.shtml . Like the knighthood bestowed on General Colin Powell by Queen Elizabeth, the award was merely honorary and thus did not violate the constitutional prohibition against accepting foreign titles of nobility.
Recorded telephone conversations
In December of 2004, Rep. McDermott came under investigation by the House Ethics Committee when they had to determine whether he violated standards of conduct for leaking an illegally recorded telephone conversation during a committee investigation in 1997. At that time the committee was investigating the conduct of then-Speaker Newt Gingrich.
The illegal telephone conversation was recorded by a Florida couple, John and Alice Martin, who overheard a conversation between Rep. Gingrich and top Republicans, on their police scanner inside their car. After listening to the conversation for several minutes they decided to record it, at first for posterity's sake and after listening further decided that it might be important for the Ethics Committee to hear. [5]
It was at that time that they delivered the tape to McDermott, the senior Democrat on the committee at that time, and who was in town for a swearing-in ceremony.
Shortly afterward, Congressman McDermott leaked the tape to several media outlets, including the New York Times. Rep. John Boehner, who was part of the Gingrich conversation, sued McDermott for illegally leaking the tape; U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan concluded that McDermott was behind the leak and ordered him to pay Boehner for "willfull and knowing misconduct" that "rises to the level of malice".
McDermott challenged that ruling in a federal appeals court. But on March 29, 2006, the court ruled 2-1 that McDermott violated federal law when he turned over the illegally recorded tape to the New York Times and other media outlets. The court then ordered McDermott to pay for Boehner's legal costs (over $600,000) as well as $60K in damages. McDermott had argued that since he was not the one involved in the recording, "his actions were allowed under the First Amendment, and said a ruling against him would have "a huge chilling effect" on reporters and newsmakers alike. Lawyers for 18 news organizations — including ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, The Associated Press, The New York Times and The Washington Post — filed a brief backing McDermott. [6]
On June 26, 2006, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated the earlier judgement, and decided to re-hear the case with all nine judges in September. [7]
On December 11, 2006, a report released by the House Ethics committee concluded that McDermott "violated ethics rules by giving reporters access to an illegally taped telephone call involving Republican leaders a decade ago." [8]. The report stated, "Rep. McDermott's secretive disclosures to the news media ... risked undermining the ethics process regarding" former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the committee said. It said McDermott's actions "were not consistent with the spirit of the committee."[9]
On July 6, 2007, McDermott announced he will ask the Supreme Court to review an appeals court decision that went in favor of House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) in the long-running legal battle between the two lawmakers. [10]
Visit to Iraq in 2002
Rep. McDermott visited Iraq in 2002, prior to the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. He received sharp criticism from conservatives, both for his visit and for his prediction that President George W. Bush would "mislead the American public" to justify military action. During the run up to the Iraq war, McDermott insisted that no WMD would be found in Iraq.
After his visit to Iraq, Rep. McDermott received a $5,000 contribution to an unrelated legal defense fund from Shakir al Khafaji, an Iraqi-American businessman with alleged ties to the Oil for Food scandal. McDermott returned the contribution in 2004 after it was questioned in the media. Aides asserted that McDermott had no prior knowledge of Khafaji's alleged connections to Iraqi oil money.
McDermott's opponents frequently use the nickname "Baghdad Jim" to call attention to his controversial Iraq visit. His supporters point out that he correctly predicted that no WMD would be found in Iraq.
Pledge of Allegiance
After atheist Michael Newdow lost his case to have the phrase "Under God" dropped from the Pledge of Allegiance, Rep. McDermott, during his leading of the pledge on the floor of the House, left out the phrase. He later claimed that he had forgotten, as he was born in 1936, and the phrase not added until 1954 when he was 17.
See also
References
- ^ http://www.house.gov/mcdermott/biography.sthml Retrieved 2007-03-25
- ^ http://www.house.gov/mcdermott/biography.shtml Retrieved 2007-03-25
External links
- Congressman Jim McDermott — Washington's 7th Congressional District
- Jim McDermott at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- McDermott For Congress Website
- Interview with Congressman Jim McDermott
- Daily Kos: Rep. McDermott on the Common Good
- Why Jim McDermott is a Hero
- Rep. Jim McDermott Seeks to Protect Students From Military Recruiters
- Congressman Jim McDermott advocates a Canadian-style system as a simple, cost-effective, humane alternative for the US
- Huffington Post: Jim McDermott
- A War We Can Win by Rep. Jim McDermott
- Voting record maintained by the Washington Post
- The Baghdad Democrats: David Bonior and Jim McDermott have created a headache for their party, Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, October 14, 2002
- Aide says McDermott wasn't aware of Saddam link, Jim Brunner, Seattle Times, April 17, 2004
- McDermott defends his patriotism, Charles Pope, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 3, 2002
- Congressman suggests Bush hiding Osama, World Net Daily, July 3, 2004
Succession
| Preceded by Mike Lowry |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 7th congressional district 1989 – present |
Incumbent |
| Washington's current delegation to the United States Congress | |
|---|---|
| Senators | Patty Murray (D), Maria Cantwell (D) |
| Representative(s) | Jay Inslee (D), Rick Larsen (D), Brian Baird (D), Doc Hastings (R), Cathy McMorris (R), Norman Dicks (D), Jim McDermott (D), Dave Reichert (R), Adam Smith (D) |
| All delegations | Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming — American Samoa • District of Columbia • Guam • Puerto Rico • U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | McDermott, Jim |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | McDermott, James Adelbert |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | US Congressman |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 28, 1936 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Chicago, Illinois |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
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