[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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