Bob Corker
United States Senator from Tennessee
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2007 Serving with Lamar Alexander
Preceded by	Bill Frist
71st Mayor of Chattanooga, Tennessee
In office 2001–2005
Preceded by	Jon Kinsey
Succeeded by	Ron Littlefield
Personal details
Born	Robert Phillips Corker, Jr. (1952-08-24) August 24, 1952 (age 59) Orangeburg, South Carolina
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth
Children	Julia, Emily
Residence	Chattanooga, Tennessee
Alma mater	University of Tennessee (B.S.)
Profession	Construction executive Real-estate magnate Mayor of Chattanooga
Religion	Presbyterian[1]
Website	corker.senate.gov

Robert Phillips "Bob" Corker, Jr.^[2] (born August 24, 1952) is the junior United States Senator from Tennessee. Before his election to the Senate in 2006, he served as mayor of Chattanooga, Tennessee from 2001 to 2005. Corker was a businessman prior to holding public office.

Early life and family[link]

Corker was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina,^[3] the son of Jean J. (née Hutto) and Robert Phillips "Phil" Corker. He moved to Tennessee at the age of 11.^[4] He graduated from Chattanooga High School in 1970. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1974. Corker is a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. He and his wife Elizabeth, whom he married on May 18, 1987, have two daughters. The family's permanent residence is at the Anne Haven mansion built by Coca-Cola Bottling Company heirs Anne Lupton and Frank Harrison.^[5]

After working four years as a construction superintendent, he started his own construction company, Bencor, which he sold in 1990. In 1999, he purchased the two largest real estate companies in Chattanooga, Osborne Building Corporation and the Stone Fort Land Company, making him the largest private land owner in Hamilton County, Tennessee. He sold most of these holdings in 2006 to Henry Luken. His business successes have made Corker a multimillionaire.^[6]

Corker's assets were estimated at $19.19 million in 2008.^[7]

1994 Senate campaign[link]

Corker first ran for the United States Senate in 1994, losing the Republican primary to eventual winner Bill Frist.^[6] During the primary, Frist’s campaign manager labeled Corker “pond scum” in a Corker attack, which made statewide headlines.^[8]

Mayor of Chattanooga[link]

From 1995 to 1996, Corker was appointed Commissioner of Finance and Administration for the State of Tennessee, working for Governor Don Sundquist.^[3]

Although Chattanooga's mayors are generally Democrats, as Republican mayor of the fourth-largest city in Tennessee from 2001 to 2005, Corker oversaw a $120 million renovation project, including an expansion of the Hunter Museum, a renovation of the Creative Discovery Museum, an expansion of Chattanooga's River Walk, and the addition of a new salt water building to the Tennessee Aquarium.

2006 Senate campaign[link]

In 2004, Corker announced that he would seek the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by incumbent Republican Senator Bill Frist, who had announced that he would not run for reelection. In the Republican primary election, he ran against two former congressmen, Ed Bryant and Van Hilleary. Both of his opponents ran as strong conservatives, denouncing Corker as a moderate and eventually labelling him a leftist.^[9] In the course of his primary campaign, Corker spent $4.2 million on television advertising, especially in the western portion of the state, where he was relatively unknown before the primary.^[6] In the August primary election, he won with 48% of the vote over Bryant's 34% and Hilleary's 17%.^[10]

For the general election campaign, his Democratic opponent, Harold Ford, Jr., challenged Corker to seven televised debates across the state. In response, Corker said he would debate Ford, though he did not agree to seven debates.^[11] The two candidates eventually participated in three televised debates: in Memphis on October 7,^[12] in Chattanooga on October 10,^[13] and in Nashville on October 28.^[14]

In October 2006, as polls indicated that Ford was maintaining a slight lead over Corker,^[15] - the Republican National Committee ran a television advertisement^[16] that would provoke a nationwide outcry. In the 30 second television advertisement, sound bites of numerous "people in the street" pronouncing Ford wrong for Tennessee were interspersed with two shots of a white woman animatedly recalling meeting Ford—who is African-American and who was unmarried at the time—at "the Playboy party". The ad concludes with this woman leeringly inviting Ford to phone her.^[17][18] The ad was denounced by many people, including former Republican Senator and Secretary of Defense under Bill Clinton, William Cohen, who called it “a very serious appeal to a racist sentiment.” Corker subsequently pulled ahead in the polls.^[19] Corker went on to win the election by less than three percentage points. He was the only new Republican Senator in the 110th Congress.^[20] Tennessee holds the distinction of being the only U.S. state to elect a new Republican to both houses of Congress in the 2006 mid-term elections.

Senate career[link]

Tenure[link]

Corker was sworn in as Senator on January 4, 2007. At the ceremony he was accompanied by “two former Senate majority leaders from Tennessee, Howard Baker and Bill Frist”.^[21]

Corker has voted against a cap-and-trade measure, but said he might accept a "rational" version of the legislation. Criticizing as “political stimulus” for electoral campaigns,^[22] Corker became one of the only sixteen Senators who opposed the tax rebate stimulus plan.^[23] Later, he had described the stimulus package that passed Congress as "silly".^[24]

Corker was one of the original members of the Gang of 10, now consisting of twenty members, which is a bipartisan coalition seeking comprehensive energy reform. The group is pushing for a bill that would encourage state-by-state decisions on offshore drilling and authorize billions of dollars for conservation and alternative energy.^[25]

In December 2008, Corker opposed a Democratic proposed federal bailout for the failing US automakers,^[26] and expressed doubt that the companies would be salvaged.^[27] Corker proposed that federal funds be provided for automakers only if accompanied by cuts in labor costs and other concessions from unions.^[28] Negotiations regarding Corker's proposal broke down on the evening of December 11, 2008. The United Auto Workers, which had previously accepted a series of cuts in its current contract, sought to put off any further cuts until 2011, while Corker requested that cuts go into effect in 2009.^[29] Republicans blamed the UAW for failure to reach an agreement, while the UAW claimed that Corker's proposal singled out "workers and retirees for different treatment and make[s] them shoulder the entire burden of restructuring."^[30] On December 13, 2008, Businessweek reported that Corker was "one of those responsible for winning the new Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant at a cost of $577 million in tax incentives" during his tenure as mayor of Chattanooga, raising questions about Corker's motivations during the bailout negotiations.^[31]

In September, 2009, Corker became a ranking member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, replacing former Sen. Mel Martinez.^[32] On September 30, 2009 Corker described Canada as being "parasitic" for siphoning U.S. dollars to that country with low prescription drug prices. He stated that "In essence, the Canadian government and its citizens are taking advantage of our citizens by virtue of setting prices that are lower than competitive prices."^[33]

Corker opposed President Barack Obama's health reform legislation; he voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in December 2009,^[34] and he voted against the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.^[35]

In late February 2010, Corker took a decidedly less bipartisan turn when he became the sole senator to back retiring Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky in filibustering a 30-day extension of expiring unemployment and COBRA benefits.^[36]

On May 20, 2010, despite his initial role as the key Republican negotiator on financial regulatory reform, Corker voted against the Senate Financial Regulations Bill that if passed would increase scrutiny of financial derivatives traded by major U.S. banks and financial institutions.^[37] Senator Corker does not believe that the government should regulate markets more carefully, but rather that they should be regulated by current laws already on the books. Senator Corker supports the view of many conservatives that the Glass Steagall Act should not be reimplemented.^[38] Senator Corker has been a vocal opponent of financial regulations passed by the Senate in 2010.^[37] He also opposes limits to credit card fees imposed by banks on merchant transactions.^[39] The main critique of financial reform offered by Corker on June 10, 2010 at the joint House and Senate conference on Financial Regulation was that it would hurt industry and jobs if passed. Corker offered no evidence for his contention that regulating derivatives would impose constraints on the financial recovery of the United States.^[40]

Senator Corker was one of three Republicans to support the New STrategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in September 2010.^[41]

Committee assignments[link]

• Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs^[42]
  • Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
  • Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment
  • Subcommittee on Security and International Trade and Finance (Ranking Member)
• Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Energy
  • Subcommittee on National Parks
  • Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests
• Committee on Foreign Relations
  • Subcommittee on African Affairs
  • Subcommittee on European Affairs
  • Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs,
    and International Environmental Protection (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs
• Special Committee on Aging (Ranking Member)

2012 Senate campaign[link]

Corker may face tough race in 2012 GOP primary. On February 2011, at the Public Policy Polling, congresswoman Marsha Blackburn took 30 percentage points of the vote against Corker's 50 percent, but another indefinite conservative challenger took 43 percentage points of the vote against Corker's 38 percent.^[43] Blackburn's divisive partisan ideology has not enough support bases in “establishment-oriented” East Tennessee, the state's traditional Republican heartland.^[44] In 2006 GOP primary, Corker defeated her predecessor former congressman Ed Bryant by 14 percentage points.^[10] This promoted the candidacy of the different type's Republican challenger. On early 2012, five straw polls at Tea Party events in Middle and West Tennessee showed Tea party candidate Zach Poskevich beating Corker by 52 percentage points. On February 2012, at the Tennessee Republican Assembly convention, Poskevich took 87 percentage points of the vote against Corker's only 13 percent. Poskevich said, "As people become aware of Bob Corker's (voting) record they realize he's not a true conservative".^[45]　

Political positions[link]

In the 2006 Senate race, Corker positioned himself as a conservative on most social and economic issues through television advertisements, his campaign website, and in debates.

Corker scored 83% on American Conservative Union’s 2008 Ratings of Congress.^[46] According to National Journal’s 2009 Vote Ratings, he was ranked as the 34th conservative member among the 40 GOP senators.^[47]

111th Congress

• National Journal: 66% Conservative^[48]
  • Economic: 29% Liberal / 69% Conservative
  • Social issue: 29% Liberal / 70% Conservative
  • Foreign-policy: 41% Liberal / 56% Conservative
• Americans for Democratic Action: 10% (Liberal Score)^[49]
• National Taxpayers Union: 83% (Grade: B; Rank: 24)^[50]

Republican Main Street Partnership controversy[link]

On December 6, 2006, Roll Call reporter Nicole Duran reported that Senator-elect Corker and Dean Heller (Rep.-elect, NV) would be joining the moderate Republican Main Street Partnership, according to its executive director.^[51] This caused a stir in conservative circles, since Corker ran in Tennessee as a conservative, and several bloggers accused him of betraying his promises. By the end of the day, however, Corker's office responded to the report to say that not only was he was not joining the organization, but that he "only learned of the group’s existence when this story was reported today."^[52] Roll Call subsequently reported that the group's executive director stated she had been "misinformed", and only Heller would be joining the group.^[53]

Social policy[link]

Corker with U.S. Representatives Jim Cooper, Bart Gordon and Zach Wamp

In the 2006 primary campaign, Corker's opponents said that he has changed his view on abortion since his first Senate campaign in 1994.^[54] Corker responded that he "was wrong in 1994" when he said that the government should not interfere with an individual's right to an abortion, stating that he now believes that life begins at conception.^[54] Corker now says he opposes abortion rights except when the life of the mother is endangered or in cases of rape and incest.^[54] In the 2006 general election, Corker received the endorsement of the National Right to Life Committee, but the state branch of the group, Tennessee Right to Life, refused to endorse him, calling him a "pro-abortion" politician.^[55]

Corker supports broad Second Amendment rights and "appointing Federal judges who practice judicial restraint."

Fiscal policy[link]

He supports making the 2001 tax cut and the 2003 tax cut permanent.^[56] He has shown interest in replacing the federal progressive income tax with a flat tax.^[57]

Corker has expressed skepticism regarding the claims of human-caused global warming. He favors imposing a tax on carbon.^[58] Corker opposed John McCain's 2008 campaign proposal to suspend the 18-cents-per-gallon federal gasoline tax, calling it "pandering extraordinaire".^[59]

He chose to endorse the initial $350 billion (2008) of Wall Street bailout money,^[60] and opposed releasing additional $350 billion (2009) of it.^[61]

In 2011, Corker voted in favor of the Republican alternative budget proposed by Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), a proposal that would eliminate the health care provided through the Medicare program and instead give seniors subsidies for part of the cost of obtaining private medical insurance.^[62] Corker referred to such programs as Medicare and Social Security as "generational theft".^[63]

Foreign policy[link]

Corker has become a defender of the Iraqi war since taking his seat in the 110th Congress. Despite frustration by the public, any further reduction in U.S. forces in Iraq must be based on improved conditions in the country, Corker said. He urged ultimate success will be determined by the Iraqi government, over which the U.S. has limited control, and the withdrawal of some of the troops that were added in 2007 has created some pressure on the Iraqi government, but warned that further cuts now could destabilize the country.^[64]

Corker denied Democrat’s Afghan war strategy which boosts civilian efforts to rebuild the impoverished country and places nuclear-armed Pakistan at the center of the fight: "I have no idea what it is, other than sending additional troops. I hope we dig a lot deeper," said Corker.^[65] He expected that the United States is having to build the economic and governmental structure of Afghanistan after decades of war.^[66]

Controversies[link]

Sale of protected wetlands[link]

Corker speaks at the Brentwood Cool Springs Chamber of Commerce breakfast in 2010.

In 2003, Corker's real estate company sold protected wetlands near South Chickamauga Creek in Chattanooga to Wal-Mart for $4.6 million while he was mayor of Chattanooga.^[67] According to Joe Prochaska, an attorney representing the Tennessee Environmental Council, "What they did was outrageous. They just ran roughshod over this public property for private gain."^[67] Environmental educator Sandy Kurtz filed suit in 2003 to stop the land deal, but the lawsuit was dismissed.^[67]

New allegations, however, surfaced in August 2006, and a suit was filed by Kurtz and the Tennessee Environmental Council accusing Wal-Mart of encroaching onto an adjacent protected nature area that is also held by a company owned by Corker.^[67] The suit alleges that Corker did not fully disclose his interest in the property where the Wal-Mart was built or in the adjacent nature area at the time the deal was made.^[67] The Corker campaign has countered that Corker's company filed papers to develop the wetlands in 2000, before Corker became mayor, and that it was widely known that Corker had an interest in the property.^[67]

On September 18, 2006, a Memphis, Tennessee newspaper, The Commercial Appeal, reported that Corker's attorneys acquired city authorization to cut a road through the protected property owned by Corker in July 2003 while Corker was mayor.^[68] City records show that Corker's attorneys won concessions from the city as details of the deal were worked out, much of which was done in private.^[68]

Corker's campaign manager has said that a blind trust kept Corker from the details of the project.^[68]

On October 13, 2006, lawyers involved in the case announced a settlement agreement. Details of the settlement were not announced, but court records indicate that a portion of the settlement involved a 45-day option for the Tennessee Environmental Council to purchase over 13 acres (53,000 m²) of the land in dispute that the Council hopes to dedicate for public use.^[69]

Missing papers[link]

On September 9, 2006, The Commercial Appeal reported that official records from both Corker's 2001 to 2005 service as mayor and his 1996 service as state finance commissioner are missing.^[70] The missing records include letters written and received by Corker during a six month period in 1996 and e-mails written and received by Corker in his official capacity as mayor between 2001 and 2005.^[70]

Some of the e-mails were discovered on his former assistant's computer by The Commercial Appeal in October 2006.^[71]

Blind trust[link]

On October 11, 2006, The Commercial Appeal reported that the blind trust that Corker set up to run his businesses to avoid conflicts of interest while he was mayor "may not have been all that blind".^[71] According to e-mails discovered by the Appeal (some of which had previously presumed to be lost):

"Corker met often with employees from his private companies while mayor from 2001 to 2005, and he shared business tips with others. Corker also got help organizing his 2001 mayoral campaign from City Hall, where a government secretary passed on voting lists and set up meetings for the millionaire commercial real estate developer."^[71]

The e-mails show that Corker often met with officials from his private company, the Corker Group, which was part of the blind trust, while he was mayor.^[71] When asked about these e-mails by the Appeal, Corker said that he thought the blind trust had "worked very well" and that he had sold most of his business holdings so that he could avoid the appearance of conflicts of interest in the Senate.^[71]

Electoral history[link]

See also[link]

conservatism portal

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bob Corker

• Senator Bob Corker official U.S. Senate site
• Bob Corker for Senate official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• C-SPAN Q&A interview with Corker, December 21, 2008
• 2001-2005 Mayor Bob Corker official Chattanooga government site

v t e United States Senators from Tennessee Class 1 Cocke A. Jackson Smith J. Anderson Campbell Eaton Grundy Foster Grundy Nicholson Foster Turney Jones Johnson Patterson Brownlow Johnson Key Bailey H. Jackson Whitthorne Bate Frazier Lea McKellar Gore, Sr. Brock III Sasser Frist Corker Class 2 Blount J. Anderson Cocke Smith Whiteside Campbell Wharton Williams A. Jackson White A. Anderson Jarnagin Bell Nicholson Fowler Cooper Harris Turley Carmack Taylor Sanders Webb Shields Tyson Brock I Hull Bachman Berry Stewart Kefauver Walters Bass Baker Gore, Jr. Mathews Thompson Alexander