[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 22, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3413-S3414]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  ``HUMMON'' TALMADGE HIGHWAY BEING DEDICATED TOMORROW IN HAMPTON, GA

  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, tomorrow, down in Hampton, GA, a highway 
will be dedicated to one of our former colleagues, the distinguished 
former Senator Herman Talmadge. It would be fun to be there tomorrow 
and see Herman's reaction when the honor is announced at a luncheon in 
the ballroom of the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
  Fewer than one-fourth (23) of today's Members of the Senate were here 
when Senator Talmadge was. Because of that, I have decided to include 
in the Record an extensive interview with former Senator Talmadge 
published by The Macon, GA, Telegraph. That newspaper's Randall Savage 
conducted the interview.
  Mr. Savage asked good questions and Herman Talmadge gave great 
answers. His assessment of many things about America reflect the fact 
that Herman Talmadge still has the good judgment that he possessed 
while in the Senate.
  Mr. President, accordingly, I ask unanimous consent that the February 
11, 1997, interview, headed ``Hummon'' be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the interview was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               [From the Macon Telegraph, Feb. 11, 1997]

                               ``Hummon''

                          (By Randall Savage)

       Hampton.--Former U.S. Sen. Herman E. Talmadge is 83 now.
       He doesn't dip, smoke or chew anymore, although he's not 
     above nibbling on a cigar now and then. A year ago, doctors 
     removed a cancerous tumor from his throat, and he underwent 
     25 radiation treatments.
       ``They can't find any trace of it now,'' he said.
       But Talmadge no longer runs two miles every day, as he did 
     for more than 20 years. He gave that up five years ago, 
     opting for brisk daily walks instead. Arthritis, however, had 
     ended even those. The condition hinders his mobility, and he 
     walks with a cane.
       ``I got to be an old man at 82. I was a young man until 
     then,'' Talmadge said.
       Nevertheless, Talmadge, one of Georgia's most powerful 
     politicians, is as politically astute today as he was when he 
     left the Senate 17 years ago. And he's still delighted to 
     share his views on politics and the world:
       Question. You held political office for more than 30 years 
     as a Democrat. What do you think of the Democratic Party?
       Answer. I think well of some of them and poorly of others. 
     I think they helped the Republican Party gain power by 
     continuing to push their liberal policies when the country 
     was becoming more conservative.
       Question. Do you still consider your self a Democrat?
       Answer. I guess you could classify me as an independent. I 
     vote for the man or woman. For a number of years, Democrats--
     the national Democrats in particular--have become more and 
     more liberal in their thinking and actions.
       Question. How so?
       Answer. Excessive taxes. Excessive spending. Excessive 
     regulations, Excessive government.
       Question. And you think the Democratic Party is involved 
     too heavily in that?
       Answer. Yes. The Republican takeover (of Congress) slowed 
     down the Democrats. They'd been reacting to popular thinking 
     instead of pursuing sound policies. They lean whichever way 
     the wind is blowing.
       Questions. What do you think of House Speaker Newt 
     Gingrich?
       Answer. I think you have to give Newt Gingrich credit with 
     leading the Republican revolution that resulted in the 
     Republicans taking over both houses of Congress. But I don't 
     know what I think of him. I listen to him talk and I find 
     myself agreeing with a lot of what he's saying. But he 
     irritates me. When he gets through speaking, I'm irritated 
     over what he said. I don't know why.
       Question. The Republican takeover of Congress--what do you 
     think of that?

[[Page S3414]]

       Answer. Well, it remains to be seen. They slowed the 
     expenditures of government. They made the Democrats pause and 
     look and listen. In fact, the only reason (President) Clinton 
     got elected the last time is because he foreclosed (GOP 
     presidential hopeful Bob) Dole on all his issues. He took his 
     issues away from him.
       Question. You mean he adopted Sen. Dole's platform and 
     turned it into his own? When we talked last week, you 
     mentioned that you think Bill Clinton is the cleverest 
     president since Franklin Roosevelt. Why do you say that?
       Answer. He can turn it around on a dime, and nobody ever 
     notices. I give that fellow (former presidential consultant 
     Dick) Morris credit for that. President Clinton was talking 
     about gays in the military and divisive things like that, and 
     (Morris) takes over his campaign and turns it around 180 
     degrees. He took Dole's issues away from him, and he got 
     elected on Dole's issues.
       Question. What do you think of President Clinton's 
     performance so far?
       Answer. I'd give him a plus on some things, like turning 
     away from his liberal policies and adopting basic 
     conservative policies and getting elected.
       Question. What are some minuses?
       Answer. Shifting around and not having any strong opinions 
     on anything.
       Questions. What do you think of U.S. Sen. Paul Coverdell, 
     the man who holds the seat you held so long?
       Answer. I don't know Coverdell well. I've had two or three 
     conversations with him. But I've been impressed with him. I 
     check his voting record every week in the Sunday paper. I 
     like the way he votes. Thus far, I think his voting record 
     has been good. I agree with him more than 90 percent of 
     the time. I think he's doing all right.
       Question. What concerns you most about government in 1997?
       Answer. Too much taxes. Too much regulation. Too much 
     expenditure. Basically, the government does for people what 
     they cannot do for themselves.
       Question. What about society? What do you think of society 
     in general?
       Answer. It reminds me of the latter days of the Roman 
     Empire. We have gotten away from faith and values, the things 
     that made this country great. It's a sad commentary. Crime is 
     rampant, and children are being born out of wedlock and 
     looking to their government for support. There's declining 
     morality and a lack of discipline all over the country.
       Question. What should be done to turn things around?
       Answer. We should have substitute fathers and mothers for 
     these (parentless and single-parent) people. They could teach 
     them values while they're young. The substitutes would be 
     role models for them. They would have role models besides 
     prostitutes and drug peddlers.
       Question. How would you hook up youngsters with the 
     substitutes?
       Answer. It would take an organized effort on the part of 
     all churches in the country, all of the governments in the 
     country, all of the civic clubs in the country. It would be 
     the most mammoth undertaking we've had in a long time. But it 
     could save the country. It would take a long time. But a good 
     start would be to save 50 children in Henry County (where 
     Talmadge lives).
       Question. You've had a few bouts with the news media. What 
     do you think of the media?
       Answer. They've adopted a new policy since World War II 
     when I first started out in politics. They used to want to 
     know why, who, where, what, when and how. Those were 
     fundamental virtues of journalism. The journalism teachers 
     instilled those fundamental virtues in their students. Now, 
     they're prosecutors of anybody holding public office. A 
     politician has to prove his innocence every day. (Media) 
     treats everyone as if they're crooks.
       Question. How is the world different today from what it was 
     before you retired?
       Answer. The collapse of communism has made it a different 
     world. Freedom is beginning to be brought to all countries 
     throughout the world, almost all of them. During my days in 
     the Senate, we wondered what was going to prevail, communism 
     or freedom.
       Question. What are you most proud of?
       Answer. My accomplishments as governor of the state of 
     Georgia. I think Georgia made its greatest progress when I 
     was governor. It became truly the Empire State of the South. 
     It's been making progress since that time in building 
     schools, protecting natural resources, building roads and 
     bridges--you name it. We paved 10,000 miles of roads. We gave 
     teachers a raise in salary of over 100 percent. We built new 
     buildings. We built health centers and hospitals throughout 
     the state. When I took office, the only hospitals we had in 
     Georgia were a few in the larger cities. If a person had an 
     accident in rural Georgia, they had to go to Macon or 
     Savannah or Jacksonville, Fla., to get treatment. Now they're 
     all over.
       Question. If you were running for office today, what would 
     your platform be?
       Answer. It would be what I've always run on--economical 
     government, service to the constituency and hard work.
       Question. What advice would you give to anyone who'd 
     listen?
       Answer. Work hard and stay out of trouble. Save your money 
     and make prudent investments. Take an Egyptian or Indian who 
     comes to this country. They don't speak the English language, 
     and they work for minimum wage. But they save half their 
     money. In a few years, they're wealthy. They save their money 
     and make prudent investments.
       Once an avid hunter, Talmadge no longer pursues that sport 
     because of his arthritic knees, but he spends many hours 
     fishing in one of the five lakes near his home in Hampton. 
     After he finished the interview, he sat down to rest in his 
     leather recliner sitting between a portrait of himself on the 
     rear wall and a portrait of his famous father, Gene Talmadge, 
     over the mantel.
       ``Come see me in two or three months,'' Talmadge smiled and 
     said. ``When the weather warms up, we'll go fishing.''

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