Paul Tsongas

Paul Efthemios Tsongas
United States Senator from Massachusetts
In office January 3, 1979 – January 2, 1985
Preceded by	Edward Brooke
Succeeded by	John Kerry
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 5th district
In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1979
Preceded by	Paul W. Cronin
Succeeded by	James Shannon
Personal details
Resting place	Lowell Cemetery Lowell, Massachusetts
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Niki Tsongas
Alma mater	Dartmouth Yale Law School Kennedy School of Government (Harvard University)

Paul Efthemios Tsongas (Template:Pron-en; Template:Lang-el February 14, 1941– January 18, 1997) was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a one-time candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. Previously, he also served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts and held local political office as well.

Early life

Tsongas was born along with a twin sister, Thaleia (Schlesinger), to a working-class Greek father and native Massachusetts mother. He attended Dartmouth, graduating in 1962, Yale Law School and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard before settling in Lowell, Massachusetts.

He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia in 1962–1964, and as Peace Corps Country Director in the West Indies in 1967–1968.

Political career

Tsongas first entered politics as a city councillor, elected to the Lowell City Council in 1969 where he served two consecutive terms. Tsongas went on to serve as a county commissioner of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. In 1974, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives, defeating Republican incumbent Paul W. Cronin. He served two terms in the House, and, in 1978, he was elected to the Senate, defeating incumbent Edward Brooke.

In his early Senatorial career Tsongas appeared unprepared for an important Senate hearing. During the 1983 Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) hearings, Tsongas, representing the affirmative side, appeared so unprepared and unfamiliar with the amendment's legal ramifications, even supporters were disappointed by his poor presentation. According to journalist Ellen Goodman, “… Sen. Paul Tsongas (D-Mass.) showed up shamefully unprepared for the opening exchange with anti-ERA Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).”[1] His poor showing at the hearing has since given rise to the political term, ‘Tsongased’. As in, "I hope the Governor doesn't get 'Tsongased' if they bring up foreign investment in the debate tonight."

Later that year, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and in 1984 announced his retirement from the Senate. His seat went to fellow Democrat and 2004 presidential nominee John Kerry. After fighting the illness he returned to politics, and, in 1992, ran for his party's nomination for President. Until the 1992 campaign, he had never lost an election. He was the first former Peace Corps volunteer elected to the U.S. Senate (1978). (He and Christopher Dodd were, in 1974, the first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.)

Presidential campaign

Main article: United States presidential election, 1992

Primaries

The Tsongas campaign was banking heavily on early success in New Hampshire. Like many of the candidates, Tsongas ignored the 1992 contest in Iowa, which was expected to go overwhelmingly to Iowa's Senator Tom Harkin. Tsongas hoped that his New England independence and fiscal conservatism from neighboring Massachusetts would appeal to New Hampshirites. He achieved recognition for the bluntness and clarity of his plan, distributing a short book titled A Call to Economic Arms, which focused on such issues as the growing federal deficit. When asked why he didn't have a tax cut plan like the other candidates, Tsongas famously responded "I'm not Santa Claus." During the early weeks of 1992, things seemed to be going Tsongas's way when one of the potential major candidates, Bill Clinton, stumbled over issues involving marital infidelity and avoidance of the military draft during Vietnam. While Clinton was hurt by these issues, the damage seemed to bottom out several weeks before the New Hampshire primary. While Tsongas was the actual winner in terms of votes received and delegates won, Clinton advisor James Carville tagged Clinton with the label "the Comeback Kid", and claimed that Clinton's campaign was back on track. While ostensibly the front-runner, Tsongas was already considered by many to be behind Clinton after just one primary.

Following the New Hampshire primary, Tsongas was unable to match Clinton's fundraising. Clinton later went on to win most of the Super Tuesday primaries. Tsongas did go on to win delegate contests in Delaware, Maryland, Arizona, Washington, Utah, and Massachusetts, but his campaign never recovered from Clinton's comeback; Clinton won the primaries of most of the more populous and delegate-rich states.

Convention

Eventually, Tsongas pulled out of the race and endorsed Clinton. However, a number of the Tsongas delegates continued to support the former Senator, and voted for Tsongas at the convention. The roll call yielded 289 votes for Tsongas, placing him in third place, behind Clinton and former California governor Jerry Brown.

Political positions

Tsongas was viewed as a social liberal and economic moderate. He was especially known for his pro-business economic policies. In particular, he focused on the U.S. budget deficit, a cause he continued to champion after his primary campaign ended, by co-founding The Concord Coalition. Tsongas was often criticized by his opponents as a Reaganomics-style politician, who was closer to Republicans in this matter. In the mid-1980s he shocked many of the members of the Americans for Democratic Action by telling them that they should focus more on economic growth than wealth redistribution.

His most memorable quip might have been, "If anyone thinks the words government and efficiency belong in the same sentence, we have counseling available."

Post career

In late 1994, Tsongas briefly led an effort to establish a third party, led by someone with "national authority", suggesting General Colin Powell for that role.

A few years later, the cancer (non-Hodgkins lymphoma) returned. He died of pneumonia and liver failure on January 18, 1997, two days before his term as President would have ended had he been elected in 1992. He was buried at Lowell Cemetery on Knapp Street; his plot is set on Woodbine Path, overlooking the Concord River.

On January 27, 1998, the Tsongas Arena in Lowell was dedicated in his honor.

In a special election held on October 16, 2007, his widow Niki won the Massachusetts Congressional seat that Paul once held.

Electoral history

Massachusetts 5th district, 1974

• Paul Tsongas (D) - 99,518 (60.64%)
• Paul W. Cronin (R) (inc.) - 64,596 (39.36%)

Massachusetts 5th district, 1976

• Paul Tsongas (D) (inc.) - 144,217 (67.31%)
• Roger P. Durkin (D) - 70,036 (32.69%)

Democratic primary for the United States Senate from Massachusetts, 1978

• Paul Tsongas - 296,915 (35.55%)
• Paul Guzzi - 258,960 (31.01%)
• Kathleen Alioto - 161,036 (19.28%)
• Howard Phillips - 65,397 (7.83%)
• Elaine Noble - 52,464 (6.28%)
• Others - 379 (0.05%)

Massachusetts United States Senate election, 1978

• Paul Tsongas (D) - 1,093,283 (55.06%)
• Edward Brooke (R) (inc.) - 890,584 (44.85%)
• Others - 1,833 (0.09%)

United States presidential election, 1992 (Democratic primaries)

• Bill Clinton - 10,482,411 (52.01%)
• Jerry Brown - 4,071,232 (20.20%)
• Paul Tsongas - 3,656,010 (18.14%)
• Unpledged - 750,873 (3.73%)
• Bob Kerrey - 318,457 (1.58%)
• Tom Harkin - 280,304 (1.39%)
• Lyndon LaRouche - 154,599 (0.77%)
• Eugene McCarthy - 108,678 (0.54%)
• Charles Woods - 88,948 (0.44%)
• Larry Agran - 58,611 (0.29%)
• Ross Perot (write-in) - 54,755 (0.27%)
• Ralph Nader (write-in) - 35,935 (0.18%)
• Louis J. Stokes - 29,983 (0.15%)

See also

• Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 1992
• Atari Democrat

References

• Paul Tsongas. 1984. Heading Home. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0-394-54130-8.

External links

• Paul Tsongas Papers, Center for Lowell History, University of Massachusetts Lowell Libraries
• United States Congress. "Paul Tsongas (id: T000393)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Peace Corps bio. of Paul Tsongas
• Concord Coalition bio. of Paul Tsongas
• Tsongas's campaign TV ad
• Sen. Christopher Dodd's Tribute to Sen. Paul Tsongas (Senate — January 28, 1997)
• Ubben Lecture at DePauw University
• Burial site of Paul Tsongas at Find A Grave