MOUNT IDA — John Boozman was wrapping up his speech about how the federal health-care legislation is bad and how the government should cut spending when he was confronted about Social Security and a proposed federal sales tax.
“Do you believe in the ‘fair tax’? Don’t we pay enough when we open our bills every month? Are you for privatizing Social Security?” demanded Kendall Fredrickson of nearby Sims in Montgomery County who walked up from the post office after noticing Boozman.
She kept asking questions at Boozman’s campaign gathering outside the Mount Ida Chamber of Commerce until Boozman said they could talk one-on-one after his speech.
Boozman told her they would just have to disagree on some things. He put his hand on her shoulder and said, “I’ll continue to listen to you [in the Senate]. I’ll be home every weekend.”
“If I’m not happy you’ll hear about it!” Fredrickson said.
“I understand, and I’ll be back here, so you can grab me by the throat ... if you want to,” he said, smiling.
Boozman’s response illustrates the “nice guy” image the Republican congressman from Northwest Arkansas maintains with supporters and opponents while he challenges U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark.
He calmly told Fredrickson he favored having a “national conversation” about the future of Social Security and that “over my dead body” would benefits be cut.
He didn’t share with her his position in favor of allowing workers to invest some of their Social Security contributions privately at some point in the future.
He said the ‘fair tax’ - a proposed federal sales tax of 23 percent - would tax the “underground economy” while eliminating the income tax, which he described as the “most regressive tax we have.”
Boozman, an optometrist, was elected to Congress in a special election in 2001 to replace Asa Hutchinson, who had taken a job in the administration of President George W. Bush.
The 3rd District is solidly Republican, and Boozman consistently supported Bush’s policies. He said that’s what district voters wanted.
Given the political leanings of Northwest Arkansas, Boozman could have remained in that office a long time.
But early this year he began to think about the Senate and joined the race in February.
He’s said his decision had nothing to do with the fact that his late brother, Fay, lost to Lincoln in the 1998 general election.
Boozman said it was his time to “step forward” and that as a congressman he was “uniquely qualified” over the other seven GOP candidates.
In the GOP party primary, he won without a runoff.
Well-known in Northwest Arkansas, a challenge for Boozman is boosting his name recognition in other parts of the state.
“You’re much better-looking in person!” an elderly woman told Boozman at the Republican headquarters in Hot Springs.
The slogan on the side of his campaign bus is “balance, cut, invest.”
He doesn’t get animated when he speaks to supporters. He doesn’t use hand gestures. His right hand holds the microphone and his left hand rests on his upper right arm. Sometimes, he leans backward as he makes a point.
He can be awkward at times. He walked to the wrong podium during one Senate debate in Hot Springs. He inverted words during a recent televised debate - Republicans put an “earmark on moratoriums,” he said, referring to the GOP’s desire to stop pork projects in congressional districts. He meant to say “moratorium on earmarks.”
“If that’s the dumbest thing I did during the last debate, then I did OK,” Boozman said in an interview. “I don’t think anybody speaks of me as [being] a public speaker. I’m just a guy trying my very best.”
During 10-minute speeches on his recent bus tour, he shared anecdotes from his past, including one from his playing days as an offensive lineman for the Arkansas Razorbacks. He recalled getting a front tooth knocked out in practice. He thought he’d be allowed to leave, but the coaches told him to keep practicing, so he put the tooth in his sock.
After practice, a dentist attached an artificial tooth.
Boozman said the experience taught him “I’m in the big leagues now,” playing major college football.
He said he told the story because people must realize that there are a lot of important issues in Washington that deserve hard work. They include, he said, whether America is going to become a “European-style socialist” state or whether the “free market” will prevail.
In September, a Boozman television ad included a photo from his Razorback playing days and a helmet with the Hogs logo. After the university complained about the use of its trademark, Boozman modified the ad, deleting the logo.
Boozman played two years. He was a backup his sophomore year and started the last half of the season his junior year in 1972. He didn’t return for his senior year, going instead to optometry school in Memphis.
“I was married and wanted to make a living,” he said. “I never claimed to be a great Razorback football player.”
Additionally, he said, numerous injuries - to his spleen, shoulder, clavicle and hamstring - had worn him down. He said he was also worried at the time that he might be drafted to fight in Vietnam. He said he thought about joining the Air Force but didn’t after the draft was discontinued.
He also talks about how a bank “took a chance” on him and his brother (Fay was an ophthalmologist), giving them a loan to start an eye clinic in Rogers even though they were broke. He said the bank was Farmers and Merchants Bank in Rogers. He said no one put up any collateral on their behalf.
“We had significant education abilities and we had a good plan,” Boozman said. “They were right. We did pretty well. We grew to having 85 employees.”
After being elected to Congress, Boozman sold his interest in the clinic.
Boozman said the point of the story is to illustrate how he thinks new federal banking regulations will make it harder for small businesses to get loans.
He also repeatedly says he’s tired of people “apologizing for America.”
Asked for examples, Boozman couldn’t cite any. He said it’s the “tone” from the Obama administration.
He also likes to tell the story of a manufacturer in Fort Smith who told him that the health-care legislation will cost his company $2 million to $3 million a year. He said because of that the company plans to “mechanize 50 jobs.”
He declined to identify the company, saying he didn’t want to alarm the workers.
Boozman said the goal of the federal governmentshould be to create “job, jobs, jobs” through corporate tax breaks and cutting government regulations which he calls “job killers.”
Lincoln has repeatedly cited federal funds going to projects of cities, counties and schools in areas Boozman has visited while campaigning. For the Mount Ida area, that included $461,000for schools, $72,000 for government housing, and $104,000 for a new firetruck.
What does he tell local officials about his opposition to those things? He said people don’t ask him about it.
“Republicans have put an earmark on moratoriums,” Boozman said in an interview, explaining later that he inverted the words again purposely as a joke.
“We’re trying to determine what’s appropriate. I never had anybody in the courseof town-hall meetings, never had anyone concerned that we’re not spending enough. It’s just the opposite. They want to know why the federal government is spending so much money.”
He tells people he makes no apologies when Democrats accuse him of opposing things.
“They call me the congressman of no,” Boozman said. “You bet I’ll vote no. On all the things that are bad for America, you bet I’ll vote no.”
Front Section, Pages 12 on 10/24/2010