Joe Scarborough
Charles Joseph Scarborough (born April 9, 1963) is the host of the program Scarborough Country on MSNBC and has served in the United States House of Representatives, from 1995 to 2001, as a Republican from Florida.
Early life and education
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Scarborough graduated from Pensacola Catholic High School in Pensacola, Florida. He graduated from the University of Alabama in 1985 and from the University of Florida law school in 1990.
Congressional career
After working as a lawyer in Pensacola, in 1994 he was elected to the US House of Representatives. Scarborough, who signed the Contract with America, was part of the 1994 Republican takeover of the House, led by Newt Gingrich. Scarborough served on the Armed Services Committee, the Judiciary Committee, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, and the Education Committee. In 1998, he was named Chairman of the Civil Service Committee. Scarborough sponsored bills to abolish the Department of Education and withdraw from the United Nations. He voted to eliminated federal funding of Corporation for Public Broadcasting, cut Medicare by $270 billion, and against raising the minimum wage to $5.15. [1]
He practiced law with the firm of Fred Levin, for whom the UF law school is named, and was appointed to the President's Council on the 21st Century Workforce.
In late May, 2001, Scarborough announced his resignation from Congress citing family and professional reasons.
Career shift to journalism
Scarborough is the author of the book Rome Wasn't Burnt in a Day (ISBN 0060749849), published in 2004. In the book, Scarborough reflects on his experiences as a young congressman attempting to reduce government spending during the cooperative Clinton administration years. Scarborough criticizes both political parties for irresponsible spending and giving in to special interests.
Scarborough is a contributing right-wing blogger at The Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington's group weblog. He also hosts a weekday radio show on Westwood One.
Family
In 1986, Scarborough married Melanie Hinton. They divorced in 1999 after having two children, Joey and Andrew. While interviewing Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in June, 2005, Scarborough expressed concerns about the possibilty one of his sons may have suffered vaccine damage, perhaps attributable to the sharp increase during the 1980s in the amount of thimerosal injected into infants, "My son, born in 1991, has a slight form of autism called Asperger`s. When I was practicing law and also when I was in Congress, parents would constantly come to me and they would bring me videotapes of their children, and they were all around the age of my son or younger. So, something happened in 1989."
Scarborough married his current wife, Susan, in October, 2001. They live in Pensacola with their daughter Kate and his two sons from his previous marriage.
A Possible Return to Politics?
In August 2005, Scarborough confirmed reports that he had been asked to consider a challenge to U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris for the Republican nomination to challenge Senator Nelson's re-election bid. He announced later that month that he would be renewing his contract with NBC. [2]
External links
- RegularJoe.Org - 'Regular Joe: From the Pub' (Joe Scarborough's official site)
- JoeBlog.msnbc - 'Congressman Joe' (Joe Scarborough's MSNBC Weblog)
- RegularJoe.Org - 'Regular Joe: Daily Grind' (Joe Scarborough's daily articles)
- MSNBC.msn.com - 'Scarborough Country', MSNBC
- MSNBC.msn.com - 'A coverup for a cause of Autism? RFK Jr. explans how ingredient in vaccines may have contributed to spread' (transcript of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. interview by Joe Scarborough), MSNBC (June 22, 2005)