Jay W. Dickey, Jr. is a former U.S. Representative from the Fourth Congressional District of Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

. He served in Congress from 1993 to 2000. The Dickey Amendment

Dickey Amendment

The Dickey Amendment is the name of an appropriation bill rider attached to a bill passed by United States Congress in 1995, and signed by former President Bill Clinton, which prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services from using appropriated funds for the creation of human embryos for...

, which prohibits federal funds to be spent on research that involves the destruction of a human embryo

Embryo

An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...

, is named for him.

Education and early career

Dickey, born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas

Pine Bluff, Arkansas

Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...

, graduated from Pine Bluff High School

Pine Bluff High School

Pine Bluff High School is a public high school in Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, Arkansas, USA. It is the largest public school in the city and county.-Mission:...

 in 1957; after attending Hendrix College

Hendrix College

Hendrix College is a private liberal arts college located in Conway, Arkansas. The student body averages around 1,400 and currently represents forty-three states and fourteen foreign countries. In US News and World Report's America's Best Colleges, Hendrix is ranked annually in the top tier of...

, he got his B.A. (1961) and his J.D.

University of Arkansas School of Law

The University of Arkansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a state university. It has around 445 students enrolled in its Juris Doctor and Master of Law programs and is home to the federally-funded National Agricultural Law Center and the...

 (1963) from the University of Arkansas

University of Arkansas

The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...

. He began his career in law in private practice

Practice of law

In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professional services of a lawyer or attorney at law, barrister,...

, and later served as city attorney

City attorney

A city attorney can be an elected or appointed position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the city or municipality....

 of Pine Bluff from 1968 to 1970.

In 1988 then-Governor 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...

 appointed Dickey as a special justice for a case before the Arkansas Supreme Court

Arkansas Supreme Court

The Arkansas Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Since 1925, it has consisted of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices, and at times Special Justices are called upon in the absence of a regular justice...

.

Political career

Dickey, beating a "scandal-plagued Democratic nominee", was elected United States Representative for the Fourth District of Arkansas—the first Republican

Republican Party of Arkansas

The Republican Party of Arkansas is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Arkansas.The party is led by state chairman Doyle Webb, who was re-elected to serve a second term in December 2010. Webb, an attorney, was once chief of staff for the late Lieutenant Governor Winthrop Paul...

 to be elected to the seat—on November 3, 1992. He was re-elected three times, and served on the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations

United States House Committee on Appropriations

The Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is in charge of setting the specific expenditures of money by the government of the United States...

, and five of its subcommittees: Agriculture, National Security

United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security

The House Subcommittee on Homeland Security is a standing subcommittee within the House Appropriations Committee.-Members, 112th Congress:-External links:**...

, Energy and Water

United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development

The House Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies is a standing subcommittee within the House Appropriations Committee.-Members, 112th Congress:-External links:* Official page...

, Transportation and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.

Dickey achieved notoriety when he insisted to media that there were no homosexuals in his district. He also responded to a question from Spy Magazine about "ethnic cleansing in Freedonia

Freedonia

Freedonian was probably first used by Americans immediately after the American Revolution in place of the demonym "American". The term Freedonia was later popularized by the 1933 Marx Brothers movie Duck Soup, as a fictional country. Over time, however, the word has come to have a more generic...

"—a fictional country—by blaming then-President Clinton.

The outspoken, controversial, and conservative Dickey saw his popularity decline in his overall moderate district. In 2000, he lost in his reelection campaign to the Democratic candidate Mike Ross in a close race. House Speaker Dennis Hastert

Dennis Hastert

John Dennis "Denny" Hastert was the 59th Speaker of the House serving from 1999 to 2007. He represented as a Republican for twenty years, 1987 to 2007.He is the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history...

 came into the district in a bid to save Dickey's seat.

Dickey opposed Ross in 2002 in an attempt to return to his seat, but he was defeated, 60-40 percent.

Subsequent career

After leaving office, Dickey operated JD Consulting, primarily a federal government lobbying firm, which represents clients' interest in children's health care, navigation and water, tax matters, homeland security, and roads.

Electoral history

The following are the electoral results from the for 1992–2002.
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"
!|Year
!
!|Democrat
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|Republican
!|Votes
!|Pct
|-
|1992
|
| |
| align="right" |102,918
| |48%
|
| |Jay Dickey
| align="right" |113,009
| |52%
|-
|1994
|
| |Jay Bradford
| align="right" |81,370
| |48%
|
| |Jay Dickey
| align="right" |87,469
| |52%
|-
|1996
|
| |
| align="right" |72,391
| |36%
|
| |Jay Dickey
| align="right" |125,956
| |64%
|-
|1998
|
| |Judy Smith
| align="right" |68,194
| |42%
|
| |Jay Dickey
| align="right" |92,346
| |58%
|-
|2000
|
| |Mike Ross
| align="right" |108,143
| |51%
|
| |Jay Dickey
| align="right" |104,017
| |49%
|-
|2002
|
| |Mike Ross
| align="right" |119,633
| |61%
|
| |Jay Dickey
| align="right" |77,904
| |39%