Paul Broun

Paul Broun, Jr.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 10th district
Incumbent
Assumed office July 17, 2007
Preceded by	Charlie Norwood
Personal details
Born	May 14, 1946 (1946-05-14) Atlanta, Georgia
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Niki Broun
Residence	Athens, Georgia
Alma mater	University of Georgia
Occupation	physician
Religion	Baptist

Paul Collins Broun, Jr. (born May 14, 1946) is the U.S. Representative for Georgia's 10th congressional district, serving since 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party and the Tea Party Caucus.

Early life, education and career

Broun was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Democratic Georgia state senator Paul Broun, Sr. (1916–2005), who represented Athens and the surrounding area from 1963 to 2001. The younger Broun is a graduate of the University of Georgia at Athens and earned his Doctor of Medicine from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. He is known for maintaining a medical practice based solely on house calls.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

• Committee on Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security
  • Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence (Vice Chair)
• Committee on Science and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Environment
  • Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight (Chairman)

• Republican Study Committee

Political campaigns

Broun grew up as a Democrat, but became a Republican sometime in the 1980s. He was previously a candidate for the U.S. House in 1990, losing to Democratic incumbent Richard Ray, and for the U.S. Senate in 1996, losing the Republican primary.

Broun was one of the top two vote-getters in a June 2007 special congressional election to fill the seat vacated by the late Charlie Norwood. The first place finisher, State Senator Jim Whitehead, more than doubled Broun's vote total, and Broun had only 198 votes more than the third-place finisher.

In the runoff campaign, Whitehead angered some voters by failing to appear at a debate held in Athens and then by referring to his alma mater, the University of Georgia, as a "liberal bastion" that should be eliminated, save for the football team. In the runoff election held on July 17, 2007, Broun upset Whitehead by 0.8 percent, fewer than 400 votes. After the votes were certified, Whitehead declined to ask for a recount despite the narrow margin. On July 25, 2007, Broun was sworn in by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

In 2010, Dr. Christopher Cates, an Atlanta cardiologist, filed his intent to challenge Broun in the Republican primary in the 10th district. On election day, Broun was returned to office with about 67% of the vote.

Upcoming 2012 campaign for United States House of Representative

Mac Collins, who represented much of Middle Georgia about a decade ago, is reportedly considering another run for Congress. Collins has stated that he is likely to challenge U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, a fellow Republican in the redrawn 10th Congressional District, according to a report in the Athens Banner-Herald. The two have faced each other before: Collins defeated Broun with about 55 percent of the vote in a 1992 primary.

Political views

Broun is a political conservative; his fundamentalist religious views inform his politics. In May 2009, Broun proposed failed legislation that would have proclaimed 2010 "The Year Of The Bible". He also introduced a bill to ban the sale or rental of sexually explicit materials on U.S military installations.

Broun is also a climate change skeptic. He called the entire concept of man-made global warming a conspiracy perpetuated by certain members of the scientific community when he explained his reasons for voting against climate change legislation in June 2010.

Broun in September 2008 voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 which created the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or "TARP".

Controversies

Comparisons of Barack Obama to Hitler and Marxists

On November 10, 2008, one week after the 2008 presidential election, Broun drew national attention when he criticized President-elect Barack Obama's call for a civilian national service corps, suggesting that Obama might use it to establish a Marxist dictatorship.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Broun said, "That's exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it's exactly what the Soviet Union did. When he's proposing to have a national security force that's answering to him, that is as strong as the U.S. military, he's showing me signs of being Marxist." Broun later clarified his statement by saying, "We can't be lulled into complacency. You have to remember that Adolf Hitler was elected in a democratic Germany. I'm not comparing him to Adolf Hitler. What I'm saying is there is the potential of going down that road."

Broun cited a July 2008 speech by Obama in which the then-Democratic presidential candidate had said, "We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." A spokesman for Obama indicated that he had been referring to a civilian reserve corps intended to handle postwar reconstruction efforts in foreign locations, such as rebuilding infrastructure. The Bush administration had endorsed that idea, and a Civilian Response Corps, described as similar to the one proposed by Obama, was formed in 2006 by the Bush Administration after a bipartisan Congressional vote.

Further statements

The following day, November 11, Broun seemingly backed away from his statements, saying on WGAC radio, "I regret putting it that way," and "I apologize to anyone who has taken offense at that." Broun nevertheless asserted that Obama "is extremely liberal" and "has promoted a lot of socialistic ideas, and it just makes me concerned."

His remarks in the radio interview were at first interpreted in the press as an apology. However, Broun's office later said he was "not taking back anything he said" and a spokeswoman said, "We have not issued any official apology” for the remarks. The spokeswoman said Broun stood by a written statement he had issued in which he criticized Obama for having "socialist views" and raised what the Atlanta Journal Constitution described as "ominous concerns" about the civilian force. The news release read in part, "I firmly believe that we must not fall victim to the 'it can't happen here' mentality. I adhere to the adage 'eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.'" Broun also said that his comments had been sensationalized by the media.

Reactions

Some of Broun's fellow lawmakers criticized his remarks. Republican U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss both expressed disagreement with his comments, while state Democratic Party spokesman Martin Matheny accused Broun of "playing to the extremes" at a time “when Americans are coming together to celebrate history and renew America's promise." and that "Broun's neo-McCarthyism has no place in today's political environment."

Accusations against CAIR

On October 14, 2009, Broun joined with three fellow Representatives in calling for the investigation of CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations) over allegations of trying to plant "spies," based on a CAIR memo indicating that they "will develop national initiatives such as Lobby Day, and placing Muslim interns in Congressional offices." Broun further implied CAIR had involvement with terrorism, stating, "If an organization that is connected to or supports terrorists is running influence operations or planting spies in key national security-related congressional offices, I think this needs to be made known." The request came in the wake of the publication of a book, Muslim Mafia, the foreword of which had been penned by Congresswoman Sue Myrick, that portrayed CAIR as a subversive organization allied with international terrorists.

CAIR has countered that accusations against them are "unfounded" and that such initiatives are extensively used by all advocacy groups. A CAIR representative has accused Broun and his colleagues of being "hate-filled" and of seeking to intimidate American Muslims who "take part in the political process and exercise their rights."

Comments regarding fruits and vegetables

In September 2010, The Rachel Maddow Show played a clip of Broun at a public meeting where he cited a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control that claimed Americans were not eating enough fruits and vegetables. He stated "Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta said people in America are not eating enough fruits and vegetables. They want all the power of the federal government to force you to eat more fruits and vegetables. This is what the federal CDC – They (sic) going to be calling people and finding out how many fruits and vegetables you eat (sic) today. This is socialism of the highest order!"

Further incidents concerning Barack Obama

2010 radio interview

In an interview with Sirius XM radio host Pete Dominick, Broun said "I don't know" when asked if President Obama was a US citizen or a Christian. He also said that he did know Obama was a socialist, and said “America has to stand up and decide if we want to be a socialist nation or if we’re going to be a free nation." During President Obama's 2011 State of the Union address, Broun tweeted that "Mr. President, you don't believe in the Constitution. You believe in socialism."

2011 town hall incident

In a town hall meeting on 22 February 2011, Broun was asked by an unidentified elderly man, "Who is going to shoot Obama?" The disconcerting question was apparently met with laughter. Broun did not directly address the question, but instead responded with, "The thing is, I know there's a lot of frustration with this president. We're going to have an election next year. Hopefully, we'll elect somebody that's going to be a conservative, limited-government president ... who will sign a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare."

Broun, who later that week condemned the question, contested the quoted response originally reported by the Athens Banner-Herald. According to his press secretary, Broun immediately moved on to the next question.

The incident prompted a brief investigation by the Secret Service, who days later confirmed that the constituent did not pose a threat and had "acted in poor taste," concluding that the incident was a "closed matter."

President Obama's 2012 State of Union Speech

During President Obama's State of the Union Speech, the Congressman tweeted "Mr. President, you don't believe in the Constitution. You believe in socialism." While the act may not have been a breech in etiquette comparable to Congressman Joe Wilson screaming "You lie!" at the President in 2010's annual address, congress watchers consider such behavior very poor taste, at best.

TSA and political correctness

On Fox News 29 in May 2011, Paul Broun said, "Well, Shannon, what happened at the airport is, uh, an elderly lady walked -- ah, followed me behind in the [TSA] screening process, and she was patted down. A little kid was patted down. And this guy in Arabian attire just walks right through." He argued that lives and money could be saved by "intelligence" and less "political correctness".

Personal life

Broun and his wife, the former Nikki Wilkes, have two daughters, a son, and two grandchildren.

External links

• U.S. House website
• Paul Broun, M.D. for Congress campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Profile at SourceWatch

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Charlie Norwood	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 10th congressional district July 25, 2007 – present	Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by John Yarmuth D-Kentucky	United States Representatives by seniority 290th	Succeeded by Laura Richardson D-California