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Jim Exon, a towering figure in Nebraska's political history, died Friday night at the age of 83. Exon served as governor or U.S. senator for 26 years, won five statewide elections from 1970 to 1990 and built Nebraska's modern Democratic Party into a dominant force during his years in power.
A spokesperson for Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital said Exon's family approved a statement that said the former senator died of natural causes. Exon died at 8:20 p.m. at Madonna, Lori Paulsen said.
During the Exon era, Democrats won most of the political prizes in Nebraska, piling up victory after victory in gubernatorial and Senate elections.
"He was a real giant in the political arena," Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel said upon learning of Exon's death.
Hagel said he "developed a genuine and close relationship" with Exon after he succeeded him in the Senate. Although they didn't always agree, Hagel said, "I always appreciated Jim Exon's directness. He was really quite a guy."
Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson said Exon will be remembered as "one of the greatest leaders this state has ever known."
"His fingerprints are all over the history of Nebraska," said Nelson, who described Exon as a mentor and friend, "a common man who dearly loved the state of Nebraska and that's why the people loved him."
Gov. Dave Heineman, a Republican, said Exon served Nebraskans with distinction and dignity.
"He was an outstanding public official and his contributions on a personal and political level will be missed," the governor said.
Heineman said he planned to order all U.S. and Nebraska flags be flown at half-staff until the time of Exon's funeral.
Fiscally conservative and physically commanding, Exon always seemed to have a sure grip on the pulse of Nebraska voters.
His drill-sergeant voice and distinctive laugh, which erupted explosively before tapering into a gleeful guttural sound, became familiar to Nebraskans all across the state.
Voters became accustomed to the firm grasp of Exon's large hands and the sight of his big ears, which he always said were super-sized so he could hear their concerns.
In 1970, Exon bounded from Lincoln business owner to the governorship with a conservative challenge to Republican Gov. Norbert Tiemann, who had presided over the advent of state sales and income taxes and ratcheted up state spending during a whirlwind four years in office.
In 1978, after completing a second four-year term, Exon became the only Nebraska governor ever directly elected to the Senate.
Exon's five successive statewide victories for high office is matched only by the legendary George W. Norris, who served in the Senate from 1913 to 1943.
As governor, Exon promoted "Nebraska, the Good Life" and wielded an active veto pen. He targeted state spending immediately upon assuming the governorship in 1971.
"Recognizing it takes more courage to say ‘no' than ‘yes,' we are approaching our new responsibilities with determination," he told the Legislature in his first inaugural address.
"We expect others to join us in cutting the costs of government," he challenged state senators.
Exon's 18 years in the Senate were marked by advocacy for agriculture, commitment to building a strong national defense and support for budget-balancing fiscal restraint.
Ethanol subsidies and protection of airline service were high on his Nebraska agenda. And he helped lead the way in gaining federal protection of the Niobrara River as a wild and scenic river.
As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he chaired the key subcommittee on strategic forces and nuclear deterrence, an assignment that put him in position to protect the mission and funding of Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha.
It also positioned Exon for the most surprising act of his Senate career.
In 1992, Exon helped lead Senate action mandating a moratorium on U.S. nuclear arms testing. A year later, in the midst of a raging debate over whether to lift the moratorium, he urged President Clinton not to resume testing.
"In this babble, Clinton finally heard a voice he wanted to hear more from," Washington columnist Mary McGrory wrote at the time. "It is that of J. James Exon, a bluff Democratic senator from Nebraska who unexpectedly played a key part in last year's agreement."
A strong supporter of the military buildup during the Reagan administration, Exon explained he was "still a hawk, but a thinking hawk," aware of the dangers of encouraging nuclear proliferation or triggering a new nuclear arms race.
As Exon prepared to retire from the Senate three years later, Clinton said: "Jim Exon always gave me such wonderful, sage advice. If I'd taken all of it, I'd be better off today."
In recent years, Exon played less of an active role as elder statesman of his party as he attended to his ailing wife, Pat, his mate of 61 years.
But he spoke at the party's annual Morrison-Exon fund-raising dinner in Lincoln 14 months ago, poignantly saluting his old pal, former Gov. Frank Morrison, who was close to death at a hospital in McCook.
Six days later, Exon robustly joined in singing Auld Lang Syne to Morrison at a memorial service in Lincoln.
Last June, Exon fired a broadside at President Bush in addressing the Lancaster County Democratic convention, charging that the president's "inept and irresponsible leadership" had placed the nation in harm's way.
Last July, at the urging of the party, Exon agreed to go to Boston as a Nebraska delegate to the Democratic national convention. He had attended his first national convention 40 years earlier.
If politics was his passion, baseball was his joy.
Exon was a St. Louis Cardinals fan, having bonded with the team during boyhood in Lake Andes, S.D., when he listened to games on the radio.
During World War II, when he was an Army Signal Corps sergeant, Exon once used a short-wave radio to pick up the broadcast of the World Series while he was at sea in the Pacific.
He meticulously charted all the games he attended, scribbling every hit and every out on a scorecard.
When former Sen. Bob Kerrey phoned Exon from Yankee Stadium two years ago during a Yankee-Cardinal game, he found just what he expected: Exon at home in Lincoln watching the game on TV.
Exon and Kerrey shared a fondness for one another and served in the Senate together for eight years. It was Exon who talked Kerrey into seeking a Senate seat in 1988, just as he convinced Morrison to make his first successful bid for governor in 1960 in exchange for managing his campaign.
Despite their party differences, Hagel earned Exon's respect for his independent nature and, in particular, his opposition to a precipitate U.S. military attack on Iraq without broad international support and careful planning for the aftermath.
In his speech last year to county Democrats, Exon startled the partisan audience when he lavished praise on his successor: "Of all the Republicans, the one the country could best turn to" would be Hagel, he declared.
Traveling in New Hampshire a month ago on an exploratory mission far in advance of a possible 2008 presidential bid, Hagel spoke by telephone with Exon's daughter, Candace, to check on her father's condition after learning he was ill. Later, he spoke with Exon a number of times.
Nelson, who served as state insurance director when Exon was governor, said he will miss Exon's frequent calls to offer advice.
"All over Nebraska there are reminders of his legacy," Nelson declared.
John James Exon was born in Geddes, S.D., on Aug. 9, 1921, with a full supply of Democratic genes.
His grandfather, who emigrated from England, helped found the Democratic Party in South Dakota in the 1880s. His father served as the state party's national committeeman. Later, his mother became national committeewoman.
After growing up in Lake Andes, Exon went to college at the University of Omaha in 1939, majoring in political science and business administration.
During World War II, he was a master sergeant in the Signal Corps, serving in New Guinea, the Philippines and Japan.
Exon married Patricia Pros of Omaha in 1943. They have three children, Stephen, Pamela and Candace.
Moving into the business world after the war, Exon was branch manager of a finance company in Fremont before being transferred to the company's offices in Lincoln.
In 1954, Exon formed his own office supply company in Lincoln. He was owner and president of Exon's Inc., until his election as governor in 1970.
True to his bloodline, he had become Nebraska's Democratic national committeeman by that time.
Exon's election as governor became the launching pad for revitalization of the Democratic Party.
When Exon won the governorship in 1970, Republicans held all statewide offices and all five seats in the congressional delegation. By 1991, after Exon won re-election to his final Senate term, Democrats held both Senate seats, one House seat and the governorship.
Declared Exon with a touch of wonder at the end of his career: "Republican Nebraska put up with this unashamed, unabashed Democrat all these years."
Reach Don Walton at 473-7248 or at dwalton@journalstar.com.
Serving in the Senate
During his three U.S. Senate terms, Jim Exon was the second-ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee and chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee (as well as many subcommittees). He also was chairman of Strategic Nuclear Forces Subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee.
A few of Exon's accomplishments and positions:
- Blocked construction in 1990 on Two Forks Dam in Colorado to protect Nebraska water interests
- Voted in 1991 against a resolution giving George H.W. Bush authority to use force against Iraq (Persian Gulf War)
- Outspoken critic of military buildup in Saudi Arabia in 1991
- Introduced bill in 1991 to include a 76-mile stretch of Niobrara River in federal and scenic river system (putting it under federal protection).
- Toured Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Poland in 1991 with four other senators on fact-finding trip.
- Received a plaque in April 1991 from Nebraskans for Peace for efforts toward a peaceful resolution of Persian Gulf War
- Honored by National Farmers Union in 1991 for his "perfect record" on ag-related votes in Congress that past year
- Backer of B-2 stealth bomber
- Soviet Union trip in 1992 to search for ways to dismantle nuclear weapons
- Superdelegate to Democratic National Convention in 1992
- Retired from Senate in January 1996
Accomplishments:
- Author of the Communications Decency Act, which makes it illegal to send indecent material to a child online or display it in areas where kids can get to it online.
- Co-authored legislation in 1992 requiring a nuclear testing moratorium and an end to all nuclear testing by 1996.
- Authored a law that allowed direct flights from Omaha to Washington, D.C., to resume in 1994.
- Authored the Essential Air Service Law that ensures rural areas have commercial air service.
- Awarded honorary doctor of law degrees from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Creighton University and Doane College.
- Member of Coalition for a Democratic Majority Advisory Board, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Freemasonry, Shriners, Eagles Club, Benevolent & Protective Order of the Elks, Optimist Club, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.
- Received the Kiwanis Award for Distinguished Service.
- Honored by the National Guard Association of Nebraska, naming Camp Ashland's military educational complex after Exon and giving him a medal, recognizing "his outstanding service to the military forces of the United States while serving on the Senate Armed Services Committee."
Quotes (at time of Senate retirement):
- Sen. Howell Heflin of Alabama called Exon "a hero for the farmers."
- Bill Clinton: "Jim Exon always gave me such wonderful, sage advice. If I'd taken all of it, I'd be better off today."
- Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada called Exon "the moral compass for Democrats to toe the line on spending."
- Sen. Barbara Boxer of California called Exon "an exceptional human being, a fiscal conservative (who) has a big heart."
- Former Nebraska Gov. Frank Morrison: "Here's the guy who's walked the walk. I've never known a man I admire more than Jim Exon."
- Sen. Wendell Ford, D-Ky.: "Best 1-2 punch in U.S. Senate," said of Sens. Jim Exon and Bob Kerrey.
He never lost an election — and more Exon facts:
- Grandfather emigrated from England, helped found the Democratic Party in South Dakota in the 1880s and was county judge for 35 years.
- Father John J. Exon was state vice chairman and national committeeman of South Dakota Democratic Party.
- Mother Luella Johns Exon was South Dakota Democratic national committeewoman for eight years in the 1950s — partially responsible for giving Democratic Sen. George McGovern his start in politics when she supported him for executive secretary of party.
- Jim Exon never lost an election.
- Only Nebraskan besides George Norris to win five consecutive statewide elections.
- After retiring, Exon served on the Deutch Committee, created by Congress to study the threat of weapons of mass destruction.
- Called father of Nebraska's modern-day Democratic Party.
— Researched, compiled and written by Lincoln Journal Star librarians Casey Coleman and Mary Jo Bratton.
