Robert Linlithgow Livingston Jr. (born April 30, 1943) is a Washington-based lobbyist, D.C. and former US Representative of Louisiana. He was Chairman of the Allocation Committee from 1995-1999, and he was elected as a substitute for Newt Gingrich as Chairman of the United States Representative Council at the end of 1998, but instead retired because of fears that his affair would be exposed and hampered his attempts to impeach. President Bill Clinton.
Video Bob Livingston
Family
Livingston was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is a descendant of the Livingston family in New York, whose members include Philip, the signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence; Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, coauthor of the Declaration and author of the Louisiana Purchase; his brother, Edward, Aide de Camp and then Secretary of State for President Andrew Jackson, and who earlier in his career occupied the same congress (La-1) as Bob Livingston. Livingston is a direct descendant of Henry Livingston, who was probably the then-anonymous poet, Pre Christmas Eve, and French Admiral FranÃÆ'§ois Joseph Paul de Grasse, who along with General George Washington cornered and defeated British Cornwallis General in the Siege of Yorktown, Virginia, ending the American Revolutionary War. Princess De Grasse, Sylvie, married Henry Walter Livingston, the ancestor of Congressman.
Livingston married in 1965 with former Bonnie Robichaux (also born 1943), who came from Raceland at Lafourche Parish. Bonnie's grandfather, Alcide Robichaux, served in the Louisiana State Senate, and his uncle, Philip Robichaux, was a coroner of Lafourche Parish for decades. Livingston's father, a Roman Catholic, and his mother, an Episcopal, were divorced when Livingston and his sister were very young. Raised first as a Roman Catholic and later as an Episcopalian, he returned to his Roman Catholic Catholicism in later years. The Livingston has three biological sons, Robert, Richard and David, and an adopted daughter, SuShan a/k/a Susie. They have nine (9) grandchildren. In July 2006, their son Richard was electrocuted with a live wire while pruning trees damaged by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
Maps Bob Livingston
Initial career
Graduated from Tulane University Law School in 1968, Livingston joined the practice of law David C. Treen, who will become the first Congressman and Governor in Louisiana since Reconstruction. Treen is a Republican who was active in a period when the party was virtually nonexistent in Louisiana, and this relationship enabled Livingston to make valuable contacts in GOP circles. He was a delegate to all Republican conventions between 1976 and 2000. Between 1970 and 1976 Livingston worked for US Attorneys for the Louisiana Eastern District Gerald J. Gallinghouse, Orleans Parish District Attorney Harry Connick Sr., and Louisiana District Attorney William J " Billy "Guste Jr.
Careers at Congress
Livingston resigned from his position as head of the attorney general's state attorney unit in 1976 when he won the Republican nomination for the 1st Congressional District in Louisiana, which covers about half of New Orleans and many surrounding areas. The chair, which has been a Republican for some time at the national level, was open when the 36-year-old Democratic president and former House Committee Armed Services Chairman F. Edward HÃÆ' Â © retired. Livingston was narrowly defeated by a state legislator named Richard Tonry. Livingston was denied victory when a third-party candidate, former Sixth District Congressman John Rarick, filed as independent in the final days of the race. Rarick, who had been one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress during his tenure, sucked up about 9% of votes cast, allowing Tonry to win by plurality.
The allegations, however, arose from the sound of "tombstones" for Tonry in both the primary and electoral elections. Tonry was forced to resign in May 1977 and ran again in a special election for his seat. However, he lost his Democratic nomination in August to Country Representative Ron Faucheux. While Faucheux may have been hindered by a split in the Democratic vote because Sanford Krasnoff, who ran as independent challenger from the left, Livingston won a majority, 51%, voted (56,121 votes for Faucheux 40,862 and Krasnoff 12,665), became the first Republican who represented most of New Orleans in Congress since the Reconstruction.
Livingston is assisted by a dedicated Republican volunteer cadre, including a newly installed National Committee member, Virginia Martinez from Kenner. In 1978, Livingston won a full term of 86 percent of the vote. He was re-elected eleven times, dropping below 80 percent of the vote just once, in 1992. He was completely unopposed in 1986, 1996 and 1998. His district became more Republican after the 1980 census, when most of New Orleans district was moved to the District 2nd. It was replaced with some heavy Republican territory in Jefferson Parish. After the 1990 census, the Livingston district gained conservative parishes of Washington and Tangipahoa from the 6th district, while releasing conservative Saint Bernard and the Plaquemines into the 3rd district.
Although famous in Louisiana, Livingston was a relatively low key congressman for the first eighteen years in Washington. However, early in his career, he had a place in the strong Allocation Committee. This, along with his conservative attitude on many issues, has made him popular among his constituents, most of whom have never been represented by a Republican.
Chair, House Allocation Committee
Livingston first became national attention in 1995, when he was appointed chair of the Allocation Committee after the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives. This instantly makes it one of the most powerful members of Congress. During one committee session, he swung a crocodile peel knife, a Bowie knife, and a machete to show his seriousness as a budget cutter.
During the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Livingston was one of many Republicans who demanded the resignation of President Bill Clinton, and then impeachment, for perjury. After Newt Gingrich resigned as Chairman in part due to Republican defeat in the 1998 election, the majority of Dick Armey's leaders and the majority whip Tom DeLay chose not to contest the Speaker chairman. Livingston then announced that he not only ran for Speaker, but had prepared enough support to win. He was nominated as a Republican candidate for an unopposed Chairman. Because the GOP has maintained a slim majority in the House, it effectively makes it an elected Speaker. Although the Speakers are formally elected by all Parliament, in practice the majority party candidates are all sure to win the vote.
Resignation
During the debate on Bill Clinton impeachment on December 19, 1998, Hustler Publishing Publishers Larry Flynt offered a million dollars for any unflattering sexual tales about Republican congressmen. After one such story was published about him by Flynt, Livingston acknowledged that he had an affair and withdrew his candidacy to the Speaker. He challenged President Bill Clinton to resign too. Livingston later announced that he would vacate the Council's seat in May 1999. The offices came despite the support of Minority Leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri that the Democrats can work with Livingston and not make the Livingston issue sustainable. Livingston said that if he became Chairman, it would be more difficult for Republicans to impeach and the Clinton court. Thus, he removed himself from the fighting.
Livingston was succeeded by David Vitter - who later became America's first popular elected senator from Louisiana and later claimed to be involved in a prostitution ring run by Deborah Jeane Palfrey. The First District is currently represented by Republican Steve Scalise of Metairie, Louisiana, who faces controversy in 2014 for delivering a speech to the United European-American Organization of Unity and Fame (UNI).
In 1985, Livingston had called for the resignation of Governor Edwin Edwards, who faces charges and trials over alleged extortion and fraud. "He should not continue to drag the image of our country with his legal problems," Livingston said of Edwards. Two years later Livingston failed to challenge Edwards for reelection, when the governor's victory went to US Rep. Buddy Roemer.
The governor's race, 1987
In 1987, Livingston ran for governor, declaring, "You can put our problems in the hands of politicians." He questioned the country's poor performance regarding dropout, unemployment, and credit ratings. He even noted that Louisiana has a large number of cancer patients, a factor often associated with environmental hazards. Livingston continues:
I am ready to clean the house.... The rest of the nation has the impression that Louisiana does not want to work... that Louisiana will tolerate corruption... that Louisiana does not seriously improve the quality of his life....
Although opinion polls generally show that Livingston will face incumbent governor Edwin Edwards in the second round of voting, Livingston occupies the third position of nine candidates. Due to last week's surge to another US representative, Buddy Roemer from Louisiana's fourth congress district, Livingston dropped ten points from the berth. Roemer is scheduled to be the official runoff electoral election of Louisiana. Two other major candidates finished behind Livingston: then Democrat, then Republican, Representative Billy Tauzin from Louisiana's 3rd congressional district and State Secretary James H. "Jim" Brown.
After the prime minister, Livingston quickly supported his home colleague Roemer, then a Democrat, but the election round was canceled because Edwards admitted the race to Roemer. It is said that Edwards wanted to face Livingston in an election, and once that scenario develops, he will stay for the second vote. Instead Edwards withdrew from a second round of voting to prevent Roemer consolidating majority support.
Although he appeared in the gubernatorial election, Livingston remained popular in his district and then won an easy re-election as he climbed to the ladder of leadership in the House.
Next career
Livingston Group
Soon after retiring from public life he founded The Livingston Group, a lobby group in Washington DC. Some of the achievements they noted included the approval of the Congress of the Free Trade Agreement of Morocco-USA and the normalization of Congressional ties between the US and Libya following Libya's resignation of nuclear technology and claims settlement by family members to the person killed in Pan Am Flight 103 and other violent incidents in 1980 -an.
Client
The Livingston Group's clients include Citigroup, the United States Chamber of Commerce, and Verizon Communications. Another important client is the Republic of Turkey, whose name the Group lobbied until March 2008. Critics argue that this lobbying is a form of denial of genocide, as Turkey does not recognize the slaughter of up to 1.5 million Armenians as genocide, and does not want the American Government to acknowledge the events -these events as genocide.
The Livingston Group has also represented the Egyptian government until March 2012. Acting as a lobbyist for Egypt Livingston "helped stop the Senate Bill asking Egypt to restrict human rights violations" in 2010. The ruling he stated was to improve relations between the United States. and the Republic of Egypt, which he considered critical of the resolution of tensions in the Middle East.
Other Jobs
Livingston, considered a formidable lobbyist, was reported by Bloomberg Politics in March 2016 as a supporter of Donald Trump, comparing it to Ronald Reagan.
In 2003, Livingston was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and the Hall of Fame at Winnfield.
Livingston testified during a 2009 Mose Jefferson trial, found guilty of four counts related to bribery.
From 2011 to 2014, Livingston became Treasurer of the Louisiana Republican Party. "Livingston said taking on fundraising for GOP Louisiana would not underestimate the work of The Livingston Group."
Livingston is also a board member of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, a nonprofit organization involved in international elections, and he is a Knight of the Sovereign Order of the Maltese Military.
See also
- List of federal political sex scandals in the United States
Note
References
- Biography at Directory of Biographies of the United States Congress Retrieved on June 17, 2010
- Livingston Legacy Revisions
External links
- The New York Times article
- Appearance in C-SPAN
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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