V I T A L S T A T S

[Phil Gramm]

Phil Gramm

PARTY: Republican
AGE ON INAUGURATION DAY 1997: 54
BIRTH DATE: July 8, 1942
HOMETOWN: College Station, TX
FAMILY: Married to Wendy Lee Gramm; 2 children
RELIGION: Episcopalian
EDUCATION: University of Georgia, B.B.A. (1964); University of Georgia, Ph.D. (1967)
CURRENT JOB: U.S. Senator (elected 1985)
PREVIOUS JOBS: Representative, U.S. House of Representatives (1979-85); Partner, Gramm & Associates (1971-78); Professor of Economics, Texas A&M University (1967-78)
FAMILY: Married; two children
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY: Conservative
MAJOR FEAT: Co-authored Gramm-Rudman deficit-reduction law in 1985
PET ISSUE: Balancing the budget
BIGGEST PLUS: Best fundraiser on the planet
BIGGEST MINUS: Soporific Georgia drawl
ODDS OF WINNING ELECTION: 5 to 1
CAMPAIGN OFFICE:: 1000 16th Street, NW, Suite 200; Washington, DC 20036; (202) 467-8600
WORLD-WIDE WEB SITE
E-MAIL ADDRESS: info@mail.gramm96.org

Q U I C K T A K E

Phil Gramm is squarely in the mainstream of conservative Republican thought in the Newt Gingrich era. He is in favor of a balanced budget amendment and wants to radically reduce government, toughen welfare and penal codes, utterly remove "quotas, preferences and set-asides" from the workplace, cut taxes and return control of education to the state and local level. He is an opponent of gun control and a stalwart supporter of increased defense spending. Though he is anti-abortion, he has refused to make opposition to abortion a requirement in choosing his running mate. The core of Gramm's appeal in Texas, where he has averaged 62% of the vote in seven general elections for the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, is a potent form of middle class populism. A former economics professor, he is the opposite of the elitist Republican, which he demonstrates with his folksy, homespun sound bites. The welfare state becomes a farm metaphor. "We've taken more money than ever from the people who are pulling the wagon," he is fond of saying, "and given more money than ever to the people riding in the wagon." Gramm is driven, instinctive and fanatically goal-oriented; he is often insensitive to appearances and unwilling to listen to his peers, teeming with self-confidence and uncannily able to get what he wants.

H O W H E D I D

The third GOP candidate to drop out of the race, Senator Phil Gramm (R-Tex.) announced his withdrawal Feb. 14, two days after finishing fifth in the important Iowa caucus. Calling himself the one true social and economic conservative in the race, Gramm said he was "conservative before conservative was cool." Despite raising $20-plus million by the end of 1995 putting together a first-rate campaign organization, Gramm failed to arouse much interest much less passion for his candidacy among voters. That all went, seemingly, to Pat Buchanan who upset Gramm in a three-way contest in Louisiana's caucuses. About a week after ending his campaign, Gramm endorsed Sen. Robert Dolešs (R-Kan) candidacy and has campaigned vigorously on his behalf.

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