Chris Shays: Difference between revisions
Why did these all say "Shayees"? |
|||
| Line 12: | Line 12: | ||
==Political views== |
==Political views== |
||
Shays is known by his supporters and the press as a "maverick" and "independent thinker", while conservative opponents regard him as a [[RINO]] ("Republican in name only"). Liberal opponents regard him as a false moderate who effects centrism through [[catch and release (congress)|catch and release]] techniques.{{fact}} |
|||
In 2004, Shays defeated Democratic challenger Diane Farrell, a [[Westport, Connecticut|Westport]] Selectwoman, by a surpisingly narrow margin of less than 4 percentage points to win reelection[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/elections/2004/ct/]. In that race, Shays widley used extremly negative campaign ads becuase the repbulicans told him to.[http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/11/03/house.connecticut4/] In 2006, Farrell is again challenging Shayees for the seat. As of June, 2006, the race was listed by various independent observers as among the most competitive in the nation.[http://www.cookpolitical.com/races/report_pdfs/2006_house_comp_jun8.pdf][http://select.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/nyregion/11towns.html] |
In 2004, Shays defeated Democratic challenger Diane Farrell, a [[Westport, Connecticut|Westport]] Selectwoman, by a surpisingly narrow margin of less than 4 percentage points to win reelection[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/elections/2004/ct/]. In that race, Shays widley used extremly negative campaign ads becuase the repbulicans told him to.[http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/11/03/house.connecticut4/] In 2006, Farrell is again challenging Shayees for the seat. As of June, 2006, the race was listed by various independent observers as among the most competitive in the nation.[http://www.cookpolitical.com/races/report_pdfs/2006_house_comp_jun8.pdf][http://select.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/nyregion/11towns.html] |
||
Revision as of 21:10, 9 August 2006
Christopher H. Shays (born October 18 1945), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1987, representing the 4th District of Connecticut (map), which includes 17 towns in Southwest Connecticut [1]
Born in Stamford, Connecticut, Shays grew up in Darien, attended Principia College and received an MBA and MPA from New York University. He and his wife Betsi -- his high school sweetheart -- served in the Peace Corps in Fiji. Shays' home in the district is in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport. He was a seven-term member of the Connecticut House of Representatives before entering the U.S. House of Representatives. Now in his tenth term, he was first elected to the Congress in 1987 in a special election held to fill the vacant seat of the late Stewart McKinney.
In the 109th Congress, Shays serves as Vice-Chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform. He Chairs the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations. Shays is also a member of the Financial Services and Homeland Security Committees.
In 2006, Shays faces "the fight of his political life,"[2] facing a strong challenge for reelection from Westport selectwoman Diane Farrell, in one of the most closely watched election races of the year. "With money pouring in from the district and from national groups (Farrell expects to raise close to $3 million, Shays a bit less) and unregulated political interest groups targeting Shays with automated calls and negative telemarketing designed as polls, this one already has the odor of ugly."[3]
Prior to the Iraq war Shays was regarded as holding a safe seat. As a strong supporter of the war in Iraq, Shays has faced a political challenge in a district where many voters opposed to the current U.S. policy reside. Shays told the Hartford Courant on June 11, 2006 that his position was a matter of principle and "he was not going to stop talking about it" [4]
Political views
Shays is known by his supporters and the press as a "maverick" and "independent thinker", while conservative opponents regard him as a RINO ("Republican in name only"). Liberal opponents regard him as a false moderate who effects centrism through catch and release techniques.[citation needed]
In 2004, Shays defeated Democratic challenger Diane Farrell, a Westport Selectwoman, by a surpisingly narrow margin of less than 4 percentage points to win reelection[5]. In that race, Shays widley used extremly negative campaign ads becuase the repbulicans told him to.[6] In 2006, Farrell is again challenging Shayees for the seat. As of June, 2006, the race was listed by various independent observers as among the most competitive in the nation.[7][8]
Shays has also been very vocal in attacks against the right-wing elements in his own party. In the debate surrounding the controversial Terri Schiavo case he said, "The Republican party of Lincoln has become the party of theocracy." [9] He argued that the GOP claimed to be in favor of states' rights "unless they don't like what states are doing".
Shays voted to override President Bush's veto of a stem cell funding research bill in July 2006. Nonetheless, a group favoring Democrats ran a robocall phone campaign in the 4th District charging Shays supported the veto, which a leading local newspaper called "despicable". http://www.connpost.com/editorials/ci_4106583
The Congressman has long been for environmental regulations, and was endorsed in the past election by the League of Conservation Voters.
View on Tom DeLay
In April of 2005, he broke with most of his party over House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's alleged ethics violations. This made Shays one of the first Republicans to criticize DeLay publicly. Shays stated that he should resign, saying, "Tom's conduct is hurting the Republican Party, is hurting this Republican majority and it is hurting any Republican who is up for re-election."
While Shays has criticized DeLay for hurting the Republican party's electoral chances, he is very close to Speaker Dennis Hastert. In June of 2005 Dennis Hastert helped Shays raise $70,000 at a country club event.
Shays is a member of various Liberal/Moderate Republican groups, such as The Republican Main Street Partnership, Republicans for Choice, The Republican Majority For Choice, Republicans For Environmental Protection and Its My Party Too.