Jim Sasser
Encyclopedia
James Ralph "Jim" Sasser (born September 30, 1936) is an American politician
and attorney
. A Democrat
, Sasser served three terms as a United States Senator from Tennessee
(1977–1995) and was Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee
. From 1995 to 1999, during the Clinton Administration, he was the United States Ambassador to China
.
on September 30, 1936. He attended public schools in Nashville
. Sasser attended the University of Tennessee
from 1954 to 1955, where he joined the Lambda Chapter of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. He earned his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University
in 1958; followed by his law degree from Vanderbilt Law School in 1961. He was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 1961 and began practicing law in Nashville.
From 1957 to 1963, Sasser served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves.
Originally from Memphis, Tennessee
, Jim Sasser was a long time Democratic activist, manager of Albert Gore, Sr.
's unsuccessful 1970 reelection campaign. A lawyer
by trade, Sasser sought election in his own right and won his party's 1976 nomination for the Senate. He defeated, among others, Nashville
entrepreneur
and attorney John Jay Hooker
, then still considered to be a serious candidate due to his strong personality, his (intermittent) wealth, and his connections with the Nashville Tennessean
's controlling Seigenthaler family. His son Gray Sasser, also a lawyer, is the past chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party.
, heir to a Chattanooga candy
fortune. Sasser emphasized Brock's connections to former President
Richard M. Nixon and his use of income tax
code provisions that had, despite his great wealth and considerable income, resulted in his paying less than $2,000 in income tax the previous year. Sasser was able to capitalize on the tax issue by pointing out that Brock had paid less than many Tennesseans of considerably more modest means.
Sasser's campaign was also greatly aided by the efforts of ex-Senator Gore. Brock had defeated the elder Gore for the Senate in 1970 largely upon the basis of Gore's support for civil rights
, his friendship with the Kennedy political family, and his opposition to the Vietnam War
. Sasser won rather handily over Brock, and went on to serve three Senate terms.
Robin Beard
very handily in 1982. That showing was so impressive that his 1988 Republican
opponent was a virtual political unknown named Bill Andersen, whose underfunded, essentially token campaign never stood a chance.
in 1989, Sasser became Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. In that role, he served as a key ally of Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell
of Maine
. Sasser helped negotiate the 1990 budget summit agreement with President George H. W. Bush
. And in 1993, he engineered passage of President Bill Clinton
's first budget, which reduced the deficit by $500 billion dollars over 10 years but passed without any Republican votes.
With this success under his belt, began to work his way upward in the party leadership. When Leader Mitchell announced his intention to retire, it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that upon his re-election in 1994 Sasser would be the new majority leader.
. The other was the somewhat unexpected nomination of Nashville
heart transplant surgeon Bill Frist
for the seat by the Republicans.
Frist was a political unknown and a total novice (who never voted until he was 36) at campaigning, but was from one of Nashville's most prominent and wealthiest medical families, which gave him name recognition (in the Nashville area, at least), and resources adequate to match the campaign war chest built up by a typical three-term incumbent, a challenge most "insurgent" candidates find to be impossible. A further factor working to Frist's advantage was a simultaneous Republican campaign by actor
and attorney Fred Thompson for the other Tennessee Senate seat, which came open when Al Gore
had resigned to become Vice President of the United States
. To an extent, Frist was able to bask in the reflected glory of this formidable stage presence, and additionally developed some campaigning skills, which were almost totally absent in the early stages of his campaign. Another factor in Frist's favor was that Sasser was never seen as possessing much charisma of his own. During the campaign Nashville radio stations were derisive towards Sasser to the point of stating that he could only win "a Kermit The Frog lookalike contest." In one of the largest upset
s in a night of political upsets in the November 1994 U.S. general elections, Frist defeated the 16 years older incumbent Sasser by approximately 14 percentage points.
to China
during the period of alleged nuclear spying
and the campaign finance controversy
that involved possible efforts by China to influence domestic U.S. politics during the Clinton Administration. Sasser again gained media attention when the U.S. Embassy in Beijing
was besieged after U.S. warplanes mistakenly bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade
during the U.S. intervention in the Kosovo War
. Shortly after the siege of the embassy was lifted, Ambassador Sasser retired (he was slated to do so before the siege, so his retirement was not a direct result) and returned to the United States, where he presently divides his time between Tennessee and Washington, D.C.
, as a consultant
.
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
. A Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, Sasser served three terms as a United States Senator from Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
(1977–1995) and was Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee
United States Senate Committee on the Budget
The United States Senate Committee on Budget was established by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. It is responsible for drafting Congress's annual budget plan and monitoring action on the budget for the Federal Government. The committee has jurisdiction over the...
. From 1995 to 1999, during the Clinton Administration, he was the United States Ambassador to China
United States Ambassador to China
The United States Ambassador to China is the chief American diplomat to People's Republic of China . The United States has sent diplomatic representatives to China since 1844, when Caleb Cushing, as Commissioner, negotiated the Treaty of Wanghia. Commissioners represented the United States in...
.
Early life and career
James Ralph Sasser was born in Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
on September 30, 1936. He attended public schools in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. Sasser attended the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
from 1954 to 1955, where he joined the Lambda Chapter of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. He earned his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
in 1958; followed by his law degree from Vanderbilt Law School in 1961. He was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 1961 and began practicing law in Nashville.
From 1957 to 1963, Sasser served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves.
Originally from Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Jim Sasser was a long time Democratic activist, manager of Albert Gore, Sr.
Albert Gore, Sr.
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Sr. was an American politician, serving as a U.S. Representative and a U.S. Senator for the Democratic Party from Tennessee....
's unsuccessful 1970 reelection campaign. A lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
by trade, Sasser sought election in his own right and won his party's 1976 nomination for the Senate. He defeated, among others, Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and attorney John Jay Hooker
John Jay Hooker
John Jay Hooker, Jr. is a Nashville, Tennessee attorney, entrepreneur, perennial candidate and political gadfly.- Early life :John Jay Hooker was born to relative wealth and privilege in one of the Nashville area's more prominent families...
, then still considered to be a serious candidate due to his strong personality, his (intermittent) wealth, and his connections with the Nashville Tennessean
The Tennessean
The Tennessean is the principal daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky....
's controlling Seigenthaler family. His son Gray Sasser, also a lawyer, is the past chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party.
1976 Election
Upon winning his party's Senate nomination, Sasser set out to attack the record of one-term incumbent Sen. Bill BrockBill Brock
William Emerson "Bill" Brock III is a former Republican United States senator from Tennessee, having served from 1971 to 1977. He is the grandson of William Emerson Brock I, who was a Democratic U.S. senator from Tennessee from 1929 to 1931.-Early life and career:Brock was a native of Chattanooga,...
, heir to a Chattanooga candy
Candy
Candy, specifically sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added...
fortune. Sasser emphasized Brock's connections to former President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Richard M. Nixon and his use of income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
code provisions that had, despite his great wealth and considerable income, resulted in his paying less than $2,000 in income tax the previous year. Sasser was able to capitalize on the tax issue by pointing out that Brock had paid less than many Tennesseans of considerably more modest means.
Sasser's campaign was also greatly aided by the efforts of ex-Senator Gore. Brock had defeated the elder Gore for the Senate in 1970 largely upon the basis of Gore's support for civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
, his friendship with the Kennedy political family, and his opposition to the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. Sasser won rather handily over Brock, and went on to serve three Senate terms.
Re-election, 1982 and 1988
He turned back a serious effort against him by five-term United States RepresentativeUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Robin Beard
Robin Beard
Robin Leo Beard, Jr. was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee who served from 1973 to 1983.-Early life:...
very handily in 1982. That showing was so impressive that his 1988 Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
opponent was a virtual political unknown named Bill Andersen, whose underfunded, essentially token campaign never stood a chance.
Senate accomplishments
With the retirement of Senator Lawton ChilesLawton Chiles
Lawton Mainor Chiles, Jr. was an American politician from the US state of Florida. In a career spanning four decades, Chiles, a Democrat who never lost an election, served in the Florida House of Representatives , the Florida State Senate , the United States Senate , and as the 41st Governor of...
in 1989, Sasser became Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. In that role, he served as a key ally of Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell
George J. Mitchell
George John Mitchell, Jr., is the former U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace under the Obama administration. A Democrat, Mitchell was a United States Senator who served as the Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995...
of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. Sasser helped negotiate the 1990 budget summit agreement with President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
. And in 1993, he engineered passage of President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
's first budget, which reduced the deficit by $500 billion dollars over 10 years but passed without any Republican votes.
With this success under his belt, began to work his way upward in the party leadership. When Leader Mitchell announced his intention to retire, it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that upon his re-election in 1994 Sasser would be the new majority leader.
1994 campaign
There were two unforeseen events that negated this scenario. One was the large scale of discontent that the American people seemed to have toward the first two years of the Clinton administration, especially the proposal for a national health-care system largely put together and advocated by Clinton's wife, Hillary Rodham ClintonHillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
. The other was the somewhat unexpected nomination of Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
heart transplant surgeon Bill Frist
Bill Frist
William Harrison "Bill" Frist, Sr. is an American physician, businessman, and politician. He began his career as an heir and major stockholder to the for-profit hospital chain of Hospital Corporation of America. Frist later served two terms as a Republican United States Senator representing...
for the seat by the Republicans.
Frist was a political unknown and a total novice (who never voted until he was 36) at campaigning, but was from one of Nashville's most prominent and wealthiest medical families, which gave him name recognition (in the Nashville area, at least), and resources adequate to match the campaign war chest built up by a typical three-term incumbent, a challenge most "insurgent" candidates find to be impossible. A further factor working to Frist's advantage was a simultaneous Republican campaign by actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and attorney Fred Thompson for the other Tennessee Senate seat, which came open when Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
had resigned to become Vice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
. To an extent, Frist was able to bask in the reflected glory of this formidable stage presence, and additionally developed some campaigning skills, which were almost totally absent in the early stages of his campaign. Another factor in Frist's favor was that Sasser was never seen as possessing much charisma of his own. During the campaign Nashville radio stations were derisive towards Sasser to the point of stating that he could only win "a Kermit The Frog lookalike contest." In one of the largest upset
Upset
An upset occurs in a competition, frequently in electoral politics or sports, when the party popularly expected to win , is defeated by an underdog whom the majority expects to lose, defying the conventional wisdom...
s in a night of political upsets in the November 1994 U.S. general elections, Frist defeated the 16 years older incumbent Sasser by approximately 14 percentage points.
Ambassador to China
Sasser went on to serve as ambassadorAmbassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
during the period of alleged nuclear spying
Cox Report
The Report of the Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China, commonly known as the Cox Report after Representative Christopher Cox, is a classified U.S...
and the campaign finance controversy
1996 United States campaign finance controversy
The 1996 United States campaign finance controversy, also known as Chinagate, was an alleged effort by the People's Republic of China to influence domestic American politics during the 1996 federal elections....
that involved possible efforts by China to influence domestic U.S. politics during the Clinton Administration. Sasser again gained media attention when the U.S. Embassy in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
was besieged after U.S. warplanes mistakenly bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
during the U.S. intervention in the Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
. Shortly after the siege of the embassy was lifted, Ambassador Sasser retired (he was slated to do so before the siege, so his retirement was not a direct result) and returned to the United States, where he presently divides his time between Tennessee and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, as a consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
.
Electoral history
- 1976 Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate (TN)
- Jim Sasser, 44%
- John Jay HookerJohn Jay HookerJohn Jay Hooker, Jr. is a Nashville, Tennessee attorney, entrepreneur, perennial candidate and political gadfly.- Early life :John Jay Hooker was born to relative wealth and privilege in one of the Nashville area's more prominent families...
, 31% - Harry Sadler, 10%
- David Bolin, 8%
- 1976 General Election for U.S. Senate (TN)
- Jim Sasser (D), 52%
- Bill BrockBill BrockWilliam Emerson "Bill" Brock III is a former Republican United States senator from Tennessee, having served from 1971 to 1977. He is the grandson of William Emerson Brock I, who was a Democratic U.S. senator from Tennessee from 1929 to 1931.-Early life and career:Brock was a native of Chattanooga,...
(R) (inc.), 47%
- 1982 General Election for U.S. Senate (TN)
- Jim Sasser (D) (inc.), 62%
- Robin BeardRobin BeardRobin Leo Beard, Jr. was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee who served from 1973 to 1983.-Early life:...
(R), 38%
- 1988 General Election for U.S. Senate (TN)
- Jim Sasser (D) (inc.), 65%
- Bill Andersen (R), 35%
- 1994 General Election for U.S. Senate (TN)
- Bill FristBill FristWilliam Harrison "Bill" Frist, Sr. is an American physician, businessman, and politician. He began his career as an heir and major stockholder to the for-profit hospital chain of Hospital Corporation of America. Frist later served two terms as a Republican United States Senator representing...
(R), 56% - Jim Sasser (D) (inc.), 42%
- Bill Frist