Steve Symms, senator who was voice of conservative ire, dies at 86 [View all]
Source: Washington Post
Steve Symms, senator who was voice of conservative ire, dies at 86
In 1988, the Idaho lawmaker upended the presidential campaign with false claims that the wife of Democrat Michael Dukakis had once burned an American flag.
From left, Republican Sens. Steve Symms (Idaho), Malcolm Wallop (Wyo.), Charles Percy (Ill.) and Chuck Grassley (Iowa) on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 30, 1981. (John Duricka/Associated Press)
By Brian Murphy
August 10, 2024 at 7:35 p.m. EDT
Steve Symms, a former Republican lawmaker from Idaho who made staunch conservative views his political brand and rattled the 1988 presidential campaign by falsely claiming that the wife of Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis once burned an American flag, died Aug. 8 at his home in Leesburg, Va. He was 86. … The death was announced by the office of Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R). No other details were given.
Mr. Symms came to Congress in 1973 as a House member and soon established himself as a loyalist — and something of a showman — among GOP factions that found federal agencies a favorite target of scorn.
His campaign slogans riffed off his background as an apple farmer: “Take a bite out of big government!” In a stunt to support privatization of the Postal Service, he once sent two letters to Harpers Ferry, W.Va., about 60 miles from Washington. One letter was carried by a rider on horseback; the other was dropped in a mailbox. The outcome was preordained: the horse got there first.
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By Brian Murphy
Brian Murphy joined The Washington Post after more than 20 years as a foreign correspondent and bureau chief for the Associated Press in Europe and the Middle East. Murphy has reported from more than 50 countries and has written four books. Twitter
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/08/10/steve-symms-senate-dukakis-dies/
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