Military Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Lowell Weicker
Lweicker
85th Governor of Connecticut

In office
January 9, 1991 – January 4, 1995
Lieutenant Eunice Groark
Preceded by William O'Neill
Succeeded by John Rowland
United States Senator
from Connecticut

In office
January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1989
Preceded by Thomas J. Dodd
Succeeded by Joe Lieberman
Member of the United States House of Representatives
In office
January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1971
Preceded by Donald J. Irwin
Succeeded by Stewart McKinney
Personal details
Born Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr.
May 16, 1931(1931-05-16) (age 93)
Paris, France
Political party Independent (1995–present)
Other political
affiliations
A Connecticut Party (1990–95)
Republican (before 1990)
Spouse(s) Marie-Louise Godfrey (m. 1953–77)
Camille DiLorenzo Butler (m. 1977–84)
Claudia Testa Ingram (m. 1984)[1]
Alma mater
  • Yale University (BA)
    University of Virginia (JD)
Profession Politician
Signature Lowell P. Weicker signature
Military service
Allegiance United States
Service/branch Flag of the United States Army (1775) United States Army
Years of service 1953–1955
Rank US Army O2 shoulderboard rotated First Lieutenant

Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. (born May 16, 1931) is an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the 85th Governor of Connecticut. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for President in 1980. Though a member of the Republican Party during his time in Congress, he later left the Republican Party and became one of the few third party candidates to be elected to a state governorship in the United States in recent years, doing so on the ticket of A Connecticut Party. As of 2019, Weicker is the last person to have represented Connecticut in the U.S. Senate as a Republican.

Early life[]

Weicker was born in Paris, the son of American parents Mary Hastings (née Bickford) and Lowell Palmer Weicker.[2] His grandfather Theodore Weicker was a German immigrant who co-founded the E. R. Squibb corporation.[3][4] Weicker graduated from the Lawrenceville School (class of 1949), Yale University (1953), and the University of Virginia School of Law (1958).[5] He began his political career after serving in the United States Army between 1953 and 1955, reaching the rank of first lieutenant.[6]

Career in Congress[]

Ford A9158 NLGRF photo contact sheet (1976-04-08)(Gerald Ford Library) (cropped)

Weicker greeting Gerald Ford in 1976

Reagan Contact Sheet C47040 (cropped)

Weicker with Ronald Reagan in 1988

George H. W

Weicker campaigning with George H. W. Bush in 1988

Weicker served in the Connecticut State House of Representatives from 1962 to 1966 and as First Selectman of Greenwich, Connecticut before winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives, in 1968 as a Republican. Weicker only served one term in the House before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1970. Weicker benefited from a split in the Democratic Party in that election. Two-term incumbent Thomas Dodd ran as an independent after losing the Democratic nomination to Joseph Duffey. Ultimately, Weicker won with 41.7 percent of the vote. Dodd finished third, with 266,500 votes–far exceeding Weicker's 86,600-vote margin over Duffey.

Weicker served in the U.S. Senate for three terms, from 1971 to 1989. He gained national attention for his service on the Senate Watergate Committee, where he became the first Republican senator to call for Richard Nixon's resignation.[7] He recalled: "People in Connecticut were very much behind President Nixon, like the rest of the country. They thought he could do no wrong, and when I was in Connecticut, I would get flipped the bird all the time, whether it was on the streets or in the car, for the role that I was playing. After Watergate was over, then the needle goes all the way the other way, and I've got huge favorability ratings."[8] Proving this, Weicker was convincingly reelected in 1976.

In 1980, he made an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination for President.[9]

Weicker was a liberal voice in an increasingly conservative Republican Party. For instance, in 1986, Americans for Democratic Action rated Weicker as by far the most liberal Republican in the Senate, and gave him a higher rating than Connecticut's other Senator, Democrat Chris Dodd.[10] He was critical of the increasing influence of the Christian right on the party; he described the separation of church and state as "this country's greatest contribution to world civilization",[11] and the party in 2012 as "swung off so far to the right that no moderate could've survived a primary."[8]

Weicker was a strong advocate for the rights of the disabled during his time in Congress, although he ultimately lost his seat before the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 passed.[12] In later interviews, Weicker identified his work on the Americans with Disabilities Act, funding the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, increasing the funding for the National Institutes of Health, and funding research into AZT as his proudest achievements in the Senate.[8][13]

Weicker's tense relations with establishment Republicans may have roots in receiving strong support from Nixon in his 1970 Senate bid, support repaid in the eyes of his critics by a vehement attack on the White House while serving on the Watergate Committee. Later, his relations with the Bush family soured, and Prescott Bush Jr. (the brother of the then Vice President) made a short-lived bid against Weicker to gain the 1982 Republican Senate nomination.[14] His liberalism increasingly alienated Connecticut Republicans, particularly after an effort to prevent the nomination of conservatives to state office, which resulted in a poor showing during the 1986 local elections, and he was defeated in the 1988 Senate election by Joe Lieberman.[7][11] Lieberman benefited from the support of National Review publisher William F. Buckley Jr., and his brother, former New York Senator James Buckley; William Buckley ran columns in support of Lieberman and circulated bumper stickers with the slogan, "Does Lowell Weicker Make You Sick?".[11]

Governor[]

Weicker's political career appeared to be over after his 1988 defeat, and he became a professor at the George Washington University Law School. However, he entered the 1990 gubernatorial election as the candidate of A Connecticut Party, running as a good government candidate[15] and drawing on his coalition of liberal Republicans, moderate Democrats, and independent voters.[11] The early 1990s recession had hit Connecticut hard, worsened by the fall in revenues from traditional sources such as sales tax and corporation tax, and exacerbating the state's inequality and crime rates.[16] Connecticut politics had a tradition at the time of opposition to a state income tax — one had been implemented in 1971 but rescinded after six weeks under public pressure.[11][17] Weicker initially campaigned on a platform of solving Connecticut's fiscal crisis without implementing an income tax. He won in a three-way race with Republican John G. Rowland and Democrat Bruce Morrison, taking 40% of the vote against Rowland's 37% and Morrison's 20%. Weicker lost Fairfield and New Haven County counties to Rowland, but won eastern Connecticut, drawing especially strong support from the Hartford metro area, where he had been strongly endorsed by the Hartford Courant and by many state employee labor unions. The Los Angeles Times wrote that support from Democrats was credited for Weicker's victory, reflected in Morrison's third-place finish.[7]

After taking office, with a projected $2.4 billion deficit,[16][18] Weicker reversed himself and pushed for the adoption of an income tax, a move that was severely unpopular.[11][16] He stated, "My policy when I came in was no income tax, but that fell apart on the rocks of fiscal fact."[19] Weicker vetoed three budgets that did not contain an income tax, and forced a partial government shutdown, before the General Assembly narrowly passed it in 1991.[17] The 1991 budget set the income tax rate at 6%,[20] lowered the sales tax from 8% to 6% while expanding its base, reduced the corporate tax to 10.5% over two years, and eliminated taxes on capital gains, interest, and dividends.[17][18] It also included $1.2 billion in line-by-line budget cuts,[19] including the elimination of state aid to private and parochial schools, but held the line on social programs.[11] His drastic measures provoked controversy.[16] A huge protest rally in Hartford attracted some 40,000 participants, some of whom cursed at and spat at Governor Weicker.[11][15] The Assembly attempted to pass a measure repealing the broad-based income tax, which he vetoed, and the override of a veto fell one vote short.

Weicker earned lasting criticism for his implementation of the income tax; the conservative Yankee Institute claimed in August 2006 that after fifteen years the income tax had failed to achieve its stated goals.[21] However, he earned national attention for his leadership on the issue, receiving the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation's Profiles in Courage award for taking an unpopular stand, then holding firm.[22] Within two years, the state's budget was in surplus and he was well-regarded among voters.[11] In retirement, he commented, "You've had 19 years to repeal it, and all you've done is spend it."[8][13]

Weicker did not seek re-election as governor in 1994. His last year in office was marked by a controversy over the firing of the state commissioner of motor vehicles, Louis Goldberg.[15] In 2000, he endorsed Senator Bill Bradley (D-NJ) for President. In 2004, Weicker supported former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's (D-VT) presidential bid. He expressed sympathy for the budget struggles of Governor Dannel Malloy, drawing a parallel with his own efforts to remedy a fiscal crisis.[8][13]

In his book Independent Nation (2004), political analyst John Avlon describes Weicker as a radical centrist governor and thinker.[23]

2006 candidacy for U.S. Senator from Connecticut[]

Lowell Weicker and Matt Stoller (206884444) (cropped)

Weicker at a 2006 event for Ned Lamont in Greenwich, Connecticut

Lowell Weicker was said to be considering a rematch against Senator Joe Lieberman in the 2006 election cycle. He objected to Lieberman's support for the Iraq War and noted in a New York Times article published on December 6, 2005, "If he's out there scot-free and nobody will do it [run against Senator Lieberman], I'd have to give serious thought to doing it myself, and I don't want to do it."[24]

The Lieberman campaign released an ad that borrowed from one aired during the 1988 Senate race, which depicted Weicker as a hibernating bear ignoring his Senate duties except at election time. In the 2006 ad, Weicker reappeared as a wounded bear while Lieberman's Democratic challenger, Ned Lamont, was depicted as a bear cub sent and directed by Weicker. On June 18, 2006, Weicker held a fundraiser for Lamont and described himself as an "anti-war activist." (Lamont won the primary, but Lieberman, running as an independent with heavy Republican support, maintained his seat in the general election.)[25]

Other activities[]

In 1996, Weicker joined the Board of Directors for Compuware[26] and still holds this position. In 1999, Weicker became a member of the Board of Directors for the World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE), and held this position until 2011.[27]

Weicker served from 2001–2011 as President of the Board of Directors of Trust for America's Health, a Washington, DC-based non-profit, non-partisan health policy research organization, and formerly a member of the Board of Directors of United States Tobacco. Since 2003, Weicker has served on the board of Medallion Financial Corp., a lender to purchasers of taxi medallions in leading cities across the U.S. He was named to the board through his personal and business relationship with Andrew M. Murstein, president of Medallion.[28]

During the 2016 Republican primaries, Weicker wrote an editorial in the Hartford Courant in which he criticized the repudiation of Rockefeller Republicans, the party's alienation of various population groups, and its obstructionist stance in Congress. He stated that the selection of Donald Trump as their presidential candidate "will complete their slow and steady descent into irrelevance."[29]

References[]

  1. "Senator Weicker Weds Claudia Ingram". New York Times. December 22, 1984. https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/22/style/senator-weicker-weds-claudia-ingram.html. Retrieved February 21, 2019. 
  2. "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". Archived from the original on January 14, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090114071447/http://www.newenglandancestors.org/research/services/articles_gbr63.asp. Retrieved December 23, 2009. 
  3. Ravo, Nick (August 27, 1990). "Weicker Honeymoon Over as Governor's Race Heats Up". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/27/nyregion/weicker-honeymoon-over-as-governor-s-race-heats-up.html. Retrieved May 11, 2010. 
  4. http://www.scs.illinois.edu/~mainzv/HIST/bulletin_open_access/v25-1/v25-1%20p1-9.pdf
  5. Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr., Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed December 16, 2007.
  6. "Weicker Formally Enters Congress Race in Fourth". The Bridgeport Telegram. December 1, 1967. https://www.newspapers.com/image/32244545/?terms=%22weicker%22%2Band%2B%22lieutenant%22%2Band%2B%221953%22%2Band%2B%22army%22. 
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Mehren, Elizabeth (1991-07-01). "A Taxing Situation : Politics: Connecticut Gov. Lowell Weicker loves a challenge. He's facing his biggest one yet by proposing the state's first income tax to solve its budget mess." (in en-US). Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. http://articles.latimes.com/1991-07-01/news/vw-1250_1_personal-income-tax/2. 
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Bendici, Ray (1 August 2012). "Final Say: Lowell Weicker" (in en). Connecticut Magazine. http://www.connecticutmag.com/the-connecticut-story/final-say-lowell-weicker/article_ab8484fc-7415-5db3-960d-a0522442cab4.html. 
  9. Weicker Opens Presidential Campaign, March 13, 1979
  10. Kornacki, Steve (2011-01-19) The making (and unmaking) of Joe Lieberman Archived 2011-06-29 at the Wayback Machine., Salon
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.8 Avlon, John (2004-02-24) (in en). Independent Nation: How the Vital Center Is Changing American Politics. Crown/Archetype. ISBN 9781400080724. https://books.google.com/?id=tJF38sUwEQMC&pg=PT334&lpg=PT334&dq=lowell+weicker+governor#v=onepage&q=lowell%20weicker%20governor&f=false. 
  12. Disabilities, The Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental. "The ADA Legacy Project: Moments in Disability History 13: Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., Original "Father" of the Americans with Disabilities Act". http://mn.gov/mnddc/ada-legacy/ada-legacy-moment13.html. 
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 Vigdor, Neil (15 May 2011). "A Connecticut political maverick turns 80: Lowell Weicker Jr.". The Advocate. http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/A-Connecticut-political-maverick-turns-80-Lowell-1380692.php. 
  14. Times, Richard L. Madden and Special To the New York (1982-07-28). "BUSH ABANDONS CONNECTICUT BID FOR SENATE SEAT". https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/28/us/bush-abandons-connecticut-bid-for-senate-seat.html. 
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 Byron, Christopher (1994-01-10) (in en). Playing Favorites. New York. https://books.google.com/?id=VuMCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=lowell+weicker+governor#v=onepage&q=lowell%20weicker%20governor&f=false. 
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Mehren, Elizabeth (1991-07-01). "A Taxing Situation : Politics: Connecticut Gov. Lowell Weicker loves a challenge. He's facing his biggest one yet by proposing the state's first income tax to solve its budget mess." (in en-US). Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. http://articles.latimes.com/1991-07-01/news/vw-1250_1_personal-income-tax. 
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 Johnson, Kirk (1991-08-23). "Budget Is Passed for Connecticut With Income Tax" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/23/nyregion/budget-is-passed-for-connecticut-with-income-tax.html. 
  18. 18.0 18.1 Yankee Institute for Public Policy. "Budget Address by Governor Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. to a Joint Session of the Connecticut General Assembly, 13 February 1991" (in en-US). http://www.yankeeinstitute.org/2016/02/weicker-feel-good-speech-income-tax/. 
  19. 19.0 19.1 Ellis, David (1992-04-13). "The Gutsiest Governor In America: Lowell Weicker" (in en-US). Time. ISSN 0040-781X. http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,975293,00.html. 
  20. Mehren, Elizabeth (1991-07-01). "A Taxing Situation : Politics: Connecticut Gov. Lowell Weicker loves a challenge. He's facing his biggest one yet by proposing the state's first income tax to solve its budget mess." (in en-US). Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. http://articles.latimes.com/1991-07-01/news/vw-1250_1_personal-income-tax/3. 
  21. "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". Archived from the original on November 27, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071127043154/http://www.yankeeinstitute.org/files/pdf/68087%20text.pdf. Retrieved August 28, 2006. 
  22. Johnson, Kirk (31 May 1992). "MAY 24-30: Profile in Courage; Lowell Weicker Jr. Wants Washington To Take Note". https://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/31/weekinreview/may-24-30-profile-in-courage-lowell-weicker-jr-wants-washington-to-take-note.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%7B%221%22%3A%22RI%3A6%22%7D. Retrieved 6 October 2014. 
  23. Avlon, John (2004). Independent Nation: How the Vital Center Is Changing American Politics. Harmony Books / Random House, pp. 177-93 ("Radical Centrists"). ISBN 978-1-4000-5023-9.
  24. Yardley, William (2005-12-06). "Weicker May Return to Politics Over Lieberman's Support of War" (in en). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/06/nyregion/metrocampaigns/weicker-may-return-to-politics-over-liebermans.html. 
  25. "CNN.com - Elections 2006". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/states/CT/S/01/epolls.0.html. Retrieved May 27, 2010. 
  26. "COMPUWARE CORPORATION, Form DEF 14A, Filing Date Jul 22, 2002". secdatabase.com. http://edgar.secdatabase.com/523/95012402002402/filing-main.htm. Retrieved May 15, 2018. 
  27. "The breakup: Weicker to leave the board of WWE", GreenwichTime.com, April 18, 2011
  28. Medallion Financial Corp. annual report, 2010, p. 78
  29. Weicker, Jr., Lowell (14 May 2016). "Weicker: Trump Signals Sunset Of Republican Party" (in en-US). Hartford Courant. http://www.courant.com/opinion/op-ed/hc-op-weicker-republicans-self-destructed-0515-20160513-story.html. 

Further reading[]

  • Barone, Michael, et al. The Almanac of American Politics 1976: The Senators, the Representatives and the Governors: Their Records and Election Results, Their States and Districts (1975); new editions every 2 years through the 1996 editions cover his political career
  • Announcement of the State Income Tax by the Connecticut Department of Revenue Service
  • Lowell Weicker's papers are held at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia

External links[]

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Donald J. Irwin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Connecticut's 4th congressional district

1969–1971
Succeeded by
Stewart McKinney
United States Senate
Preceded by
Thomas J. Dodd
U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Connecticut
1971–1989
Served alongside: Abraham Ribicoff, Chris Dodd
Succeeded by
Joe Lieberman
Political offices
Preceded by
Gaylord Nelson
Wisconsin
Chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee
1981–1987
Succeeded by
Dale Bumpers
Arkansas
Preceded by
William A. O'Neill
Governor of Connecticut
1991–1995
Succeeded by
John G. Rowland
Party political offices
Preceded by
John Davis Lodge
Republican nominee for United States Senator from Connecticut
(Class 1)

1970, 1976, 1982, 1988
Succeeded by
Jerry Labriola
All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Lowell Weicker and the edit history here.
Advertisement