Everything about Sam Johnson totally explained
Samuel Robert "Sam" Johnson (born
October 11,
1930) is an
American politician. He currently is a
Republican member of the
U.S. House of Representatives from the
3rd District of
Texas (
map
). The district includes much of northeastern
Dallas, as well as
Plano, where he lives.
Biography
Johnson grew up in Dallas and graduated from
Woodrow Wilson High School and
Southern Methodist University. He served a 29-year career in the
United States Air Force, where he served as director of the Air Force Fighter Weapons School and flew with the
Air Force Thunderbirds precision flying demonstration team.
He is a veteran of both the
Korean and
Vietnam Wars as a
fighter pilot. In the Korean War, he flew
F-86s in 62 combat missions. In the Vietnam War, Johnson flew
F-4s.
In
1966, while flying his 25th combat mission in
Vietnam, he was shot down over
North Vietnam. He was a
prisoner of war for seven years, including 42 months in solitary confinement. During this period, he was repeatedly
tortured.
Johnson recounted the details of his
POW experience in his
autobiography,
Captive Warriors.
A decorated war hero, Johnson was awarded two
Silver Stars, two
Legions of Merit, the
Distinguished Flying Cross, one
Bronze Star with Valor, two
Purple Hearts, four
Air Medals, and three
Outstanding Unit Awards. He walks with a noticeable limp, due to an old war injury.
After his military career, he established a homebuilding business and served in the
Texas State Legislature. On
May 8 1991, he was elected to the House in a special election caused by eight-year incumbent
Steve Bartlett's resignation to become
mayor of Dallas. He won a full term in
1992 and has been reelected seven times. He has never faced substantive opposition in what is arguably the most Republican district in the
Metroplex; the 3rd has been in Republican hands since
1968. In fact, the Democrats didn't even field a candidate in 1992, 1994, 1998 or 2004.
Johnson is married to the former Shirley L. Melton, of Dallas. They are parents of three children and ten grandchildren.
Political positions
In the House, Johnson is an ardent conservative. By some views, Johnson had the most conservative record in the House for three consecutive years, opposing
pork barrel projects of all kinds, voting for more
IRAs and against extending unemployment benefits. The pork barrel watchdog group
Citizens Against Government Waste has consistently rated as being friendly to taxpayers.
Johnson is a member of the conservative
Republican Study Committee, and was one of three Republicans who refounded it in
1994 after
Newt Gingrich yanked its funding.
On the Ways and Means Committee, he was an early advocate and, then, sponsor of the successful repeal in 2000 of the earnings limit for
Social Security recipients. He proposed the
Good Samaritan Tax Act to permit corporations to take a tax deduction for charitable giving of food. He chairs the
Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations, where he's encouraged small business owners to expand their
pensionand
(External Link) benefits for employees.
Johnson is a skeptic of calls for increased government regulation related to global warming whenever such government interference would, in his mind, restrict personal liberties or damage economic growth and American competitiveness in the market place. He also opposes calls for government intervention in the name of energy reform if such reform would hamper the market and or place undue burdens on individuals seeking to earn decent wages. He has expressed his belief that the Earth has untapped sources of fuel, and has called for allowing additional drilling for oil in Alaska.
2004 campaign
Johnson ran unopposed by the
Democratic Party in his district in the 2004 election.
Paul Jenkins, an independent, and James Vessels, a member of the
Libertarian Party ran against Johnson. Johnson won overwhelmingly in a highly Republican district. Johnson garnered 86% of the vote (178,099), while Jenkins earned 8% (16,850) and Vessels 6% (13,204).
2006 campaign
Johnson ran for re-election in 2006, defeating his Republican opponent
Robert Edward Johnson in the Republican
primary, 85% to 15%.
(External Link) (External Link)
In the general election, Johnson faced Democrat
Dan Dodd and Libertarian Christopher J. Claytor. Both Dodd and Claytor are
West Point graduates. Dodd served two tours of duty in Vietnam
(External Link) and Claytor served in
Operation Southern Watch in Kuwait in 1992.
(External Link) It was only the fourth time that Johnson had faced Democratic opposition.
Johnson retained his seat in a decisive victory, taking 62.5% of the vote, while Democrat Dodd received 34.9% and Libertarian Claytor received 2.6%. However, this was far less than in years past, when Johnson won by margins of 80 percent or more.
Controversies
WMDs
On
February 19,
2005 at a veterans' pancake breakfast at
Suncreek United Methodist Church in
Allen, Texas, Johnson relayed a conversation he'd with
President George W. Bush in which he claimed the
WMDs may still exist, that he expressed concerns that such weapons might be in
Syria. The decorated Vietnam combat pilot even joked that he'd personally volunteer to fly a jet over Syria and drop two
nuclear bombs.
(External Link)Further Information
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