Interview with female politician; Steve Amen

She's an embarrassment. Who else is in the Senate? The table is starting to poke out here. Let's see what we can do. We can tuck that in down further. Here we go. I'll put my sweater. There. Thank you. All right. Were you rolling? You said that getting elected was the hardest thing as far as being a woman. Do you think that's changing today? Oh yes. It's changed a lot. Of course you see it's 20 years, 24 years since I was elected. And I see such changes in attitudes toward minorities, ethnic groups, and women as an ethnic group. Oh, there's been a great deal of change.

And so I think you run into prejudices, of course, against women. But I don't think it's nearly the handicap that it used to be. It's less of a handicap if you run for the Congress than for the Senate. The Senate's considered a little different. A very special club? Right. Right. And I did have a little trouble, which I was talking to Senator Mansfield about, about using my seniority to get on a committee I wanted to be on. Everything goes by seniority. And after I've been there long enough, there was a vacancy on the Commerce Committee, which I particularly wanted. And Senator Magneson was the chairman. And he'd been a good friend of Dicks and so on. Another Northwesterner? Yes. But I found out that he was kind of holding off. And I went to Senator Mansfield and said, look, if the seniority system means anything, I'm entitled to have that spot. Well, then I found out that the boys on that committee had been having a high old time.

And they were afraid that if I came on, it would grab their style. But it didn't. And we got along fine. And it was my favorite work, my favorite committee. The Commerce Committee. Yes. Your favorite. What piece of legislation are you most proud of? I am the author of the slogan on the cigarette package, which says that smoking may be dangerous to your health. And about the time I was, I worked a great deal on health and consumer projects. The Royal College of Surgeons in London came out with a very definitive report on the causal relationship between lung cancer and tobacco. And it was the first really good study, scientific study. And I said to myself, you know, that's a good idea that we should follow through in this country.

Well, there again, I ran into Senator Magnuson. He poo-pooed the idea because he has a great cigar smoker. I said, Warren, this isn't going to affect cigars. It's only going to affect cigarettes. So he let me go on, then, and handle it. But he'd have nothing to do with that legislation. My biggest asset or helpmate in getting a legislation passed was Robert Kennedy. And the day the legislation passed, just he and I were on the floor. A lot of the members left. You know, they were, you know, that's where I really ran into the lobby. The tobacco lobby. The tobacco lobby. And not only the southerners, Connecticut gross a great deal of tobacco. And I found that was really my first coming up to head on with a lobbyist. Who shook his finger in my face.

And what are you doing to put all these little tobacco farmers out of work? I said, people are still going to smoke. We're not saying no smoking. But they should be warned. And of course, I'm very proud of that. Do you think you had a special interest because your husband had had cancer? But he was a non-smoker. No. Well, he himself, of course, had a great deal of interest. In fact, just the other day, Dr. Laster up at the Health Sciences Center told me that Dr. Sullivan, who was head of NIH when we were there, is now living in Portland. And then Laster is going to range for us to get together because it was through him that we got, we went out to NIH. We saw the cancers, studies, and it was responsible for a great deal of legislation with appropriations. And of course, naturally, I was glad to continue that. Why did you decide not to run for a second term?

There's just one good reason. I didn't know how I was going to raise the money. When I ran for the Senate, I think my budget... 1960. Yeah. My expenditures were $90,000. A great deal of which was not raised in Oregon. It was raised by people in journalism and newspaper business because of Dicks' writing and friends that I had in other places. Very little money is raised in Oregon for these big campaigns. So you have to go to New York, you have to go to Beverly Hills, you go to Chicago, Adley Stevenson was a big help to me. But I began to see that it probably would take closer to a half million dollars in the coming election. And I just had to decide, do I want to run around the country begging people for money? And that's what it was going to amount to.

And the state organization was not going to... They just don't have that kind of money. And National Democratic Committee will raise his money and will give you some. But they don't give proportionately to a small state the way they do to a larger state. Most of my money came from... Well, then the other thing is, of course, you have lobby groups. And if you're conscientious, you won't take money from some of them. I could have had a lot more money than I had if I'd been willing to support certain legislation. Had it come up, I'd run into that and sail them. But I couldn't do that because I think he who pays the piper calls the tune. And if I took money from some organization that I was antithical to, I couldn't not vote for their legislation. I only took money from parent teachers, health groups, some from the lumber industry,

lots from environmental groups because I had been a proponent of setting up the wildlife areas and the Oregon dunes and all those things. And I didn't have any feeling of the gilder disturbance about accepting money from them. Once you made that decision not to run for another term, was there a period ever when you regretted it? Never. Also, I'd had about 25 years of public life. And I used to sit there and snowy cold old Washington and hot steamy old Washington and think how lovely it would be to be home in Oregon and go up to Mount Hood or go pick wild blackberries. You know, I'm really yearning for it because Dick and I had been great outdoors people and we'd gone to Alaska a lot and we'd love to hike and go out in the woods.

And I just hadn't had any of that for so long that I began to be nostalgic about it. And so I never did regret it. Let's talk about the current political scene. How do you feel about the present democratic race? Well, I for when I'm getting tired of it. And I'm more interested than a lot of people are in politics. So I think if I'm getting tired of it, what does the average person do? He's been going on so long. And I suppose the reason I cringe all the time is I know how much money it takes and how hard it is to get that money. And I keep thinking if they could have conserved their energies and their money in readiness for the big campaign in the fall, it would be better. And I have actually reached the point where they... I was interested in the New Hampshire debate.

I thought it was quite fascinating. And I listened the other night at the round table. But now when they come on, I think there's nothing new. Maybe I'm made up my mind too soon. Will you tell us who you are supporting? Well, I would support Mondale. Now you knew Mondale in the city. I served with him. And that isn't the only reason. Because I'm telling you at the San Diego Conference, Gary Hart was excellent. And so was Alan Cranston. We like both of them. But I'm interested in who can win in September and November. And I think Mondale has a better chance. Do you see Jesse Jackson as a spoiler? Not as a spoiler. But I see him as a factor to be considered in that he will ask for certain rights, certain planks in the platform. And I think that one thing I might say that all the controversy and the surprise of heart and the Jackson race is it has aroused interest in the campaign.

And that I think is good that a lot of people will have become aware of what it's like to select the president or the would-be president, the nominee. And so it's been good in that sense. I don't think of Jackson as a spoiler, but I think that he'll be in there to demand certain things. Is that healthy? I think it's healthy. You think opening up the convention? Would that be a good thing? I guess so. I've never attended a convention. Dick used to go. I've never even run for a delegate. I never wanted to because I didn't want to get in the melee. It bothers me when things are so disorganized. And there's only a yelling and shouting on the floor and they won't listen to the gavel going down. I don't like to see it run that way, but that seems to be the way we've established. I don't know.

I think when the chips are down that Mondale will come out ahead. But can Mondale defeat Ronald Reagan? Or for that matter, can anyone defeat Ronald Reagan? Well, of course, that's why I would support Mondale. I think he has the best chance. I don't know. The purpose of a campaign is to bring out the other guy's shortcomings. And I always think that the reason I went over almost when I ran for the Senate was I never let it be known. But that he fact that he had voted against the United Nations. You know, you just drill on that. And you bring out Pete out that sort of thing. And his votes in the legislature. Well, I thought it was invulnerable. And I listened to Reagan the other night. And I thought, oh my God, if I were running against him, I would just point out all the wishy-washy stuff and how he failed to answer some of the questions and so on and so on. That's what a campaign is for.

But he mesmerizes some of the people. I just don't know. That said, in an interview with Russell Lines, that in your lifetime you could not foresee a woman as president, or for that matter of woman on the ticket. Now, do you still feel that way? I think I do. My lifetime has moved forward quite a bit since I said that. And I don't think we're any nearer. I think, well, I have said that the position of being vice president has been so denigrated that I hate to see a capable woman wasted in that position. Unless the vice president were given some more recognition, power, maybe Reagan consults Bush more than I think he does. But I've heard Bush speak and I've been on a platform with him.

And he just mows the Reagan words. Well, don't you think Mr. Mondale mowed Mr. Carter's words? Sure. But I think he chafed under it that he had been in the Senate and he knew a lot about legislation. I don't know. I think I'm afraid we're still at the stage that if a woman were on the ticket it would be considered a token. And I would like to see there are some good women who are being considered. But I don't know. What women do you feel are qualified? Well, I think Pat Schroeder of Colorado is very impressive. I don't know the Congresswoman from New York whose name is mentioned a lot. Ferrarra, something like that. I've known Lindy Boggs for a long time because I knew her husband especially well. I think that they're certainly able women and where they in the office would comport themselves well. But whether they add to the ticket yet, I'm not sure.

Tell me about your life today. What does Senator Newberver do in 1984? Oh my goodness. I'm so busy. I play bridge in the winter once a week maybe. Did you do that in the Senate? Yes. Some very good bridge players. And I had a hideaway off the Senate floor. It's another thing your seniority gives you. I was reading in the paper this morning I think about somebody back being interviewed in their hideaway. I had a wonderful hideaway. It was right by the main steps going up to the Capitol. And on inauguration day my hideaway, which was a beautiful room, so kitchenette and everything was used for the president to put his coat in or where they gathered. But anyhow, once in a while I would take some of the Senate wives to come up when I knew it was going to be a slow day on the floor.

And we go back to my hideaway and play bridge. And then the bells ring there for boats. So maybe the bells would ring and a boat was on and I would leave and go to the floor. And one time a Center Mansfield's wife was there playing. Her name was also Maureen. And when he saw me come on he said, who's winning? But oh my friends love being invited up there to play bridge. Oh of course. But today. Well today I garden a great deal. I'm redoing my garden now, torn up the whole front area out here. Partly it's going to be sort of oriental in design. Partly to make it the maintenance easier. Because I do all my own gardening. I cut brush, I burn brush, I transplant, I do everything. I even climb on the roof and clean the gutters and everything, which everybody's crazy.

My neighbor across the street always says, don't you want me to come and hold the ladder. And that's the only time I get scared. I think I get up on the roof and I think, what does that ladder should go down? And then I think, well there's enough traffic by here. Somebody would see me so it hasn't done it yet. I travel a lot. I go to Washington. For a long time I was on several commissions and I went to Washington. Every two or three months, like consumer safety commission, arms control and disarmament. But now I don't serve, well I naturally wouldn't be appointed under this administration. And I served on the status of women commission. So I continued to keep my hand in. However now my politicking is mostly local. I interested in my represent even the legislature and who's going to run for governor.

And at that election time, I do do that. And I try to get out and on the stump for some of these people if I can be helpful. Occasionally I'm called to other states where a woman is running or one time I went to Montana where Senator Metcalf was running and he said, you know the women in my state are not very political. And I think if they saw you and you went campaigning with me that it would be of interest to them. So I do things like that. But I leave as much time free as I can to do my own fun. You really have the travel bug. You've traveled all over the world. Any upcoming plans for an exciting trip? Years ago I went to China. And some of these days I may go back but I went in 1940. That was really an exciting time to get a time.

It was for Pearl Harbor. Yes. And it was. It was fraught with certain travail too. But I did it. I think I've been everywhere, well I haven't been in some maybe few South American countries except Russia. You've not been to Russia? I don't know if I'll ever go. I've never been interested particularly. But now I'm going to go to Italy. And the last few years my travel with a friend. We discovered that we like to go somewhere and stay put. So we had a show in Switzerland for a month. And then we had a pass on the real road and we took trips around at what we wanted to do. Then we had a friend of mine as a house in London, a Washington friend. And she let us have it for a month so we lived there. And then we go out to York for a day or two or a bath. And so that's sort of what I'm going to do this summer.

I'm going to Florence, Italy, and stay for a month in a villa and travel around the country. And you don't miss the limelight of politics. Okay.