Everything about Steve Symms totally explained
Steven Douglas Symms (born
April 23,
1938 in
Nampa,
Idaho) was a four-term
congressman (1973–81) and two-term
U.S. senator (1981–93) from
Idaho. He was among the most
conservative members of the
Republican Party. He is currently a partner at Parry, Romani, DeConcini & Symms, a
lobbying firm in
Washington, D.C.
Symms attended public schools in
Canyon County and graduated from
Caldwell High School in
1956. He attended the
University of Idaho in
Moscow and graduated in
1960, with a
B.S. in
agriculture. After graduation, Symms served in the
Marines for three years, after which he worked as a private pilot and fruit rancher on his family's farm. From
1969–
72, he was editor of the
newspaper, the
Idaho Compass.
In 1972, Symms was elected to the
United States Congress, and he won re-election three times, serving until
1980, when he ran for the
U.S. Senate. He unseated four-term
incumbent Democrat Frank Church. Symms was re-elected in
1986, defeating Democratic
Governor John V. Evans.
Symms was succeeded by the Republican mayor of
Boise,
Dirk Kempthorne, who was later a two-term Idaho governor and since 2005 is the
United States Secretary of Interior in the
Cabinet of President
George W. Bush.
After leaving the U.S. Senate, he founded Symms, Lehn Associates, Inc., a
consulting firm. In January 1999, he partnered with John Haddow and formed Symms & Haddow Associates, a
lobbying firm. In January 2001, Steve and John joined forces with Romano Romani and former Senator
Dennis DeConcini of Parry, Romani & DeConcini to form Parry, Romani, DeConcini & Symms.
Symms is a cousin of former
Oregon congressman
Denny Smith.
Controversy
During the 1988 U.S. presidential election, Symms claimed in a radio interview that a photograph existed from the
1960s showing
Kitty Dukakis, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate
Michael Dukakis, burning an American flag to protest the
Vietnam War. Kitty Dukakis angrily denied the accusation as "totally false and beneath contempt," and Symms later admitted that he couldn't substantiate it. Nevertheless, the claim became national news, as media outlets began searching for the photograph Symms said he'd "heard" about. The flag-burning story was one of several false rumors about Dukakis that circulated during the 1988 campaign. "Mr. Symms's comment was the third time in a few days that prominent Republicans have publicly aired allegations that the Democrats have swiftly rebutted," the
New York Times reported. "The allegations come at a time when Republicans are struggling to shift the campaign focus away from his Vice-Presidential running mate, Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana, and questions about his Vietnam era service in the National Guard."
The campaign of George H.W. Bush denied playing a role in spreading the rumors, but the stories helped erode Dukakis' 17-point lead in opinion polls, and Bush went on to win the election. In 1991, Bush campaign advisor
Lee Atwater, after being stricken with terminal
brain cancer, wrote a deathbed apology for his role in orchestrating unfair attacks on Dukakis.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Steve Symms'.
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