Guy Vander Jagt
Encyclopedia
Guy Adrian Vander Jagt was a Republican
politician from Michigan
. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives
and Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee
.
Vander Jagt was described by President Nixon
as "the best public speaker in America," a sentiment echoed by the producer of the Homebuilder's Convention: "I've been doing this for 26 years and have worked with Colin Powell
, Margaret Thatcher
and George Bush
and many other greats and Vander Jagt was by far the best speaker we ever had." Ronald Reagan
was quoted as saying "some call me the great communicator but if there was one thing I dreaded during my eight years in Washington it was having to follow Guy Vander Jagt to the podium."
, to Marie and Harry Vander Jagt, a Dutch immigrant. Harry was a rancher, and as a youth, Guy worked on the family's 120 acre (0.4856232 km²) farm near Cadillac. His talent for public speaking emerged as he began preaching at the Tustin
Presbyterian Church
while still a student at Cadillac High School. He graduated from Hope College
in Holland
in 1953. While a student at Hope College, he was the state debate champion of Michigan for three years and won the National Oratorical Championship during his senior year. He was also the student body president during his senior year and worked as a radio disc jockey at WHTC
.
Vander Jagt went on to attend Yale Divinity School
, graduating in 1955 with a B.D.
. In 1956, he received a Rotary Foundation Fellowship to study for a year at the University of Bonn
, Germany
.
When he returned to West Michigan, Vander Jagt served as an interim pastor of the Cadillac Congregational Church for a short time, before working at the WWTV
television station as a newscaster and news director. He reportedly memorized the text of each broadcast.
Vander Jagt next went back to school to study law at Georgetown University
in Washington, D.C.
, but soon transferred to the University of Michigan Law School
, where he received his J.D.
in 1960. He began practicing law in Grand Rapids
.
Following the death of U.S. Senator
Patrick V. McNamara
in April 1966, Vander Jagt, along with fellow Republicans Robert P. Griffin
and Leroy Augenstein, was a leading contender for appointment to the vacant U.S. Senate seat. Michigan Governor George Romney
set guidelines for determining a consensus candidate, and when it became clear that none would meet the 65% support level that Romney demanded, Vander Jagt withdrew and threw his support behind Griffin, who was appointed to the Senate in May. In turn, Vander Jagt was elected in November simultaneously to fill the remainder of Griffin's term in the U.S. House and to a full term.
He was reelected 12 times, never facing truly serious opposition in a district widely considered to be the most Republican district in Michigan.
. On the Conservation and National Resources Subcommittee, he worked to establish Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
near his home, although he later had cause to note that park mismanagement illustrated "one of the most reprehensible aspects of the land acquisition process." As a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, President Richard Nixon
sent him on trade missions to Africa and Asia. Vander Jagt was appointed to the Ways and Means Committee in 1974 where he served on the Trade and Select Revenue Measures Subcommittees. He continued to serve on this committee throughout his House career. He also served on the Joint Tax Committee of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.
to deliver the keynote address at the Republican National Convention
in Detroit
. He delivered the address without notes, relying entirely on memory. He was being considered as a potential Vice Presidential
candidate. Using momentum from the convention speech, Vander Jagt ran for House Minority Leader after John J. Rhodes
of Arizona
decided not to run for the post again, but lost to Bob Michel of Illinois
. Vander Jagt served as Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee
from 1975 until he left the House. Vander Jagt made a young Newt Gingrich
the chairman of a Republican long-range planning committee before Gingrich was even sworn in, catapulting him ahead of sitting committee members.
, which limits a President to serve two terms. "Ronald Reagan is one of the greatest American Presidents of all time, and I want to keep him on the job," he explained in 1986, in a fundraising letter to raise funds for such a campaign. In 1986, and again in 1987, 1989, and 1991, he sponsored such an amendment in the House.
. He went back into private law practice with the Cleveland, Ohio-based law firm Baker & Hostetler, LLP.
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...
politician from Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives
United 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...
and Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee
National Republican Congressional Committee
The National Republican Congressional Committee is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives....
.
Vander Jagt was described by President Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
as "the best public speaker in America," a sentiment echoed by the producer of the Homebuilder's Convention: "I've been doing this for 26 years and have worked with Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
, Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
and George 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 many other greats and Vander Jagt was by far the best speaker we ever had." Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
was quoted as saying "some call me the great communicator but if there was one thing I dreaded during my eight years in Washington it was having to follow Guy Vander Jagt to the podium."
Early life and education
Vander Jagt was born in Cadillac, MichiganCadillac, Michigan
Cadillac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is the county seat of Wexford County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 10,000. The city is situated at the junction of US 131, M-55 and M-115...
, to Marie and Harry Vander Jagt, a Dutch immigrant. Harry was a rancher, and as a youth, Guy worked on the family's 120 acre (0.4856232 km²) farm near Cadillac. His talent for public speaking emerged as he began preaching at the Tustin
Tustin, Michigan
Tustin is a village in Osceola County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 237. The village is within Burdell Township.-Geography:...
Presbyterian Church
Presbyterian Church (USA)
The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...
while still a student at Cadillac High School. He graduated from Hope College
Hope College
Hope College is a medium-sized , private, residential liberal arts college located in downtown Holland, Michigan, a few miles from Lake Michigan. It was opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled...
in Holland
Holland, Michigan
Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River ....
in 1953. While a student at Hope College, he was the state debate champion of Michigan for three years and won the National Oratorical Championship during his senior year. He was also the student body president during his senior year and worked as a radio disc jockey at WHTC
WHTC
WHTC is a news/talk AM radio station broadcasting at 1450 kHz in Holland, Michigan.The station signed on July 31, 1948 at 6pm and originally was owned by six Holland-area businessmen: I.H Marsilje, Nelson Bosman , W.A. Butler , Millard Westrate, Willard Wichers and P.T. Chef...
.
Vander Jagt went on to attend Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School is a professional school at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. preparing students for ordained or lay ministry, or for the academy...
, graduating in 1955 with a B.D.
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....
. In 1956, he received a Rotary Foundation Fellowship to study for a year at the University of Bonn
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
When he returned to West Michigan, Vander Jagt served as an interim pastor of the Cadillac Congregational Church for a short time, before working at the WWTV
WWTV
WWTV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the northern Lower and eastern Upper Peninsulas of Michigan. Licensed to Cadillac, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter at its studios on 130th Avenue, northeast of Tustin, in Osceola County. At 1,631...
television station as a newscaster and news director. He reportedly memorized the text of each broadcast.
Vander Jagt next went back to school to study law at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
in 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....
, but soon transferred to the University of Michigan Law School
University of Michigan Law School
The University of Michigan Law School is the law school of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Founded in 1859, the school has an enrollment of about 1,200 students, most of whom are seeking Juris Doctor or Master of Laws degrees, although the school also offers a Doctor of Juridical...
, where he received his J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
in 1960. He began practicing law in Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
.
State Senate
In 1964, he was elected to the Michigan State Senate.Following the death of U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Patrick V. McNamara
Patrick V. McNamara
Patrick Vincent McNamara was a Democratic United States Senator from the state of Michigan.McNamara was born in North Weymouth, Massachusetts and attended the public schools in nearby Weymouth and the Fore River Apprentice School in Quincy. He moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1921, and became active...
in April 1966, Vander Jagt, along with fellow Republicans Robert P. Griffin
Robert P. Griffin
Robert Paul Griffin was a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan and Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court....
and Leroy Augenstein, was a leading contender for appointment to the vacant U.S. Senate seat. Michigan Governor George Romney
George W. Romney
George Wilcken Romney was an American businessman and Republican Party politician. He was chairman and CEO of American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962, the 43rd Governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969, and the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1969 to 1973...
set guidelines for determining a consensus candidate, and when it became clear that none would meet the 65% support level that Romney demanded, Vander Jagt withdrew and threw his support behind Griffin, who was appointed to the Senate in May. In turn, Vander Jagt was elected in November simultaneously to fill the remainder of Griffin's term in the U.S. House and to a full term.
He was reelected 12 times, never facing truly serious opposition in a district widely considered to be the most Republican district in Michigan.
Committees
One of his earliest appointments was to the House Committee on Science and Astronautics during the development of the U.S. space program and leading to the moon landingMoon landing
A moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both manned and unmanned missions. The first human-made object to reach the surface of the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2 mission on 13 September 1959. The United States's Apollo 11 was the first manned...
. On the Conservation and National Resources Subcommittee, he worked to establish Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is a United States National Lakeshore located along the northwest coast of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan in Leelanau County and Benzie County....
near his home, although he later had cause to note that park mismanagement illustrated "one of the most reprehensible aspects of the land acquisition process." As a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
sent him on trade missions to Africa and Asia. Vander Jagt was appointed to the Ways and Means Committee in 1974 where he served on the Trade and Select Revenue Measures Subcommittees. He continued to serve on this committee throughout his House career. He also served on the Joint Tax Committee of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.
National leadership
In 1980, Vander Jagt was chosen by presidential nominee Ronald ReaganRonald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
to deliver the keynote address at the Republican National Convention
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. He delivered the address without notes, relying entirely on memory. He was being considered as a potential Vice Presidential
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...
candidate. Using momentum from the convention speech, Vander Jagt ran for House Minority Leader after John J. Rhodes
John Jacob Rhodes
John Jacob Rhodes, Jr. was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Rhodes was elected as a U.S. Representative from the state of Arizona. He was preceded in office by Democrat John Murdock, and succeeded by fellow Republican John McCain...
of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
decided not to run for the post again, but lost to Bob Michel of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Vander Jagt served as Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee
National Republican Congressional Committee
The National Republican Congressional Committee is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives....
from 1975 until he left the House. Vander Jagt made a young Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....
the chairman of a Republican long-range planning committee before Gingrich was even sworn in, catapulting him ahead of sitting committee members.
Repeal of the Twenty-Second Constitutional Amendment
In the late 1980s, Vander Jagt helped lead an effort to repeal the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States ConstitutionTwenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Twenty-second Amendment of the United States Constitution sets a term limit for the President of the United States. The Congress passed the amendment on March 21, 1947...
, which limits a President to serve two terms. "Ronald Reagan is one of the greatest American Presidents of all time, and I want to keep him on the job," he explained in 1986, in a fundraising letter to raise funds for such a campaign. In 1986, and again in 1987, 1989, and 1991, he sponsored such an amendment in the House.
Post-government career
In 1992, Vander Jagt lost the Republican primary to challenger and fellow Dutch-American Peter Hoekstra for Michigan's 2nd congressional districtMichigan's 2nd congressional district
Michigan's 2nd congressional district is a United States Congressional district in Western Michigan. It consists of the counties of Benzie, Manistee, Wexford, Mason, Lake, Oceana, Newaygo, Muskegon, Ottawa, and the northern portion of Allegan and the northwest portion of Kent. The 2nd district has...
. He went back into private law practice with the Cleveland, Ohio-based law firm Baker & Hostetler, LLP.
Quote
- You know, there is a difference between Republicans and Democrats. By and large Democrats really do believe in more spending so government can do more good things for people. Republicans really do believe in less spending so the taxpayer can keep more. – In an interview with the PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
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