Shays is interviewed in a charity facility. In the far background is U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman; in the middle is Curt Welling, president of the charity (AmeriCares).

Christopher H. Shays (born October 18, 1945), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1987, representing the 4th District of Connecticut (map), which includes 17 towns in Southwest Connecticut [1] Download high resolution version (561x841, 77 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (561x841, 77 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The United States Senate is the upper house of the U.S. Congress, smaller than the United States House of Representatives. ... Joseph Isadore Lieberman, (born February 24, 1942) is a Democratic U.S. senator from Connecticut, best known as Al Gores running mate on the Democratic ticket in 2000. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... Seal of the House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is, along with the United States Senate, one of the two houses of the Congress of the United States. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Official language(s) English Capital Hartford Largest city Bridgeport Area  Ranked 48th  - Total 5,549 sq. ...

Born in Stamford, Connecticut, Shays grew up in Darien, attended Principia College and received an MBA and MPA from New York University. He and his wife Betsi -- his high school sweetheart -- served in the Peace Corps in Fiji. Shays' home in the district is in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport. He was a seven-term member of the Connecticut House of Representatives before entering the U.S. House of Representatives. Now in his tenth term, he was first elected to the Congress in 1987 in a special election held to fill the vacant seat of the late Stewart McKinney. Nickname: The City that Works Location Location in Connecticut Coordinates , Government Counties Fairfield County Mayor Dannel Malloy (Dem) Geographical characteristics Area     City 52. ... Official language(s) English Capital Hartford Largest city Bridgeport Area  Ranked 48th  - Total 5,549 sq. ... Principia College is a four-year private co-educational liberal arts college in Elsah, Illinois. ... New York University (NYU) is a major research university in New York City. ... Peace Corps volunteers usually serve for two years. ... The Connecticut House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly of the U.S. state of Connecticut. ... Stewart McKinney (January 30, 1931-May 7, 1987) was an American politician who represented Connecticut in the House of Representatives from 1971 until his death. ...

In the 109th Congress, Shays serves as Vice-Chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform. He Chairs the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations. Shays is also a member of the Financial Services and Homeland Security Committees. This article needs to be wikified. ... Meeting of the House Financial Services Committee The House Committee on Financial Services oversees the entire financial services industry, including the securities, insurance, banking, and housing industries. ...

In 2006, Shays faces "the fight of his political life,"[2] facing a strong challenge for reelection from Westport selectwoman Diane Farrell, in one of the most closely watched election races of the year. "With money pouring in from the district and from national groups (Farrell expects to raise close to $3 million, Shays a bit less) and unregulated political interest groups targeting Shays with automated calls and negative telemarketing designed as polls, this one already has the odor of ugly."[3]

Prior to the Iraq war Shays was regarded as holding a safe seat. As a strong supporter of the war in Iraq. Shays has faced a political challenge in a district with many voters opposed to the current U.S. policy there. Shays told the Hartford Courant on June 11, 2006 that his position was a matter of principle and "he was not going to stop talking about it" [4] The Hartford Courant is Connecticuts largest daily newspaper, and the only morning newspaper for most of the state north of New Haven and east of Waterbury. ...

Political views

Shays is known by his supporters and the press as a "maverick" and "independent thinker", while conservative opponents regard him as a RINO ("Republican in name only"). Liberal opponents regard him as a false moderate who effects centrism through catch and release techniques.^{[citation needed]} RINO stands for Republican In Name Only, a disparaging term for a member of the United States Republican Party whose words and actions are thought to be too fiscally or socially moderate or liberal. ... Catch and release, named after the fishing term catch and release, is a term used to describe a political strategy by which members of the United States Congress can affect an appearance of political independence. ...

He has formed coalitions with liberals and moderates from both parties. Along with Representative Marty Meehan, a Massachusetts Democrat, he co-sponsored the Shays-Meehan bill, which was eventually signed into law as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. The American Civil Liberties Union "believes that key elements of Shays-Meehan violate the First Amendment right to free speech because the legislation contains provisions that would violate the constitutionally protected right of the people to express their opinions about issues through broadcast advertising if they mention the name of a candidate and restrict soft money contributions and uses of soft money for no constitutionally justifiable reason." However the Supreme Court has upheld the controversial new law (McConnell v. Federal Elections Commission). Marty Meehans official portrait Martin Thomas Meehan (born December 30, 1956) is an American attorney and politician from the state of Massachusetts. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  Ranked 44th  - Total 10,555 sq mi (27,360 km²)  - Width 183 miles (295 km)  - Length 113 miles (182 km)  - % water 13. ... The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) is U.S. Congressional legislation which regulates the financing of political campaigns. ...

In 2004, Shays defeated Democratic challenger Diane Farrell, a Westport Selectwoman, by a surpisingly narrow margin of less than 4 percentage points to win reelection[5]. In that race, Shays eschewed the use of negative television ads, despite pleas from some Republicans to do so. [6] In 2006, Farrell is again challenging Shays for the seat. As of June, 2006, the race was listed by various independent observers as among the most competitive in the nation.[7][8] The Seal of the Town of Wesport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. ...

Shays has also been very vocal in attacks against the right-wing elements in his own party. In the debate surrounding the controversial Terri Schiavo case he said, "The Republican party of Lincoln has become the party of theocracy." [9] He argued that the GOP claimed to be in favor of states' rights "unless they don't like what states are doing". Terri Schiavo before her 1990 collapse. ... The term theocracy is commonly used to describe a form of government in which a religion or faith plays the dominant role. ...

The Congressman has long been for environmental regulations, and was endorsed in the past election by the League of Conservation Voters. The League of Conservation Voters is an American environmentalist lobby. ...

Shays is pro-choice on abortion and has voted against most restrictions on the procedure and also against Laci and Conner's Law. He voted against the ban on intact dilation and extraction numerous times, before finally voting in favor of the version passed in 2003 and signed into law by President Bush. He voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment and has co-sponsored a bill to overturn the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Shays was endorsed by the Brady Campaign for his support for gun control and was one of only a small handful of Republicans to vote against the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. He is also among the minority of Republicans to oppose the Flag Desecration Amendment. It has been suggested that Anti-abortion movement be merged into this article or section. ... Signing ceremony at the White House, April 1, 2004. ... Intact dilation and extraction (IDX or Intact D&X), is a surgical abortion procedure wherein an intact fetus is removed from the womb via the cervix. ... The Brady Campaign or The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence or The Brady Campaign united with the Million Mom March was founded in 1974 as The National Council to Control Handguns (NCCH) by Dr. Mark Borinsky, a victim of gun violence. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Gun politics. ...

While Shays has a liberal voting record in comparison to other House Republicans, his votes against the party leadership usually occur when his vote has no chance of changing the overall outcome. As an example, Shays has voted against the leadership on the subject of opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge when the vote outcome was never in doubt; he voted with the leadership for a provision in the same energy bill to exempt the makers of MTBE from lawsuits when the vote was going to be extremely close. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Map The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) covers 19,049,236 acres (79,318 km²) in northeastern Alaska, in the North Slope region. ... MTBE is highly flammable and is widely used as an oxygenate. ...

While a social liberal, Shays is a fiscal conservative. He has supported most tort reform and free trade measures and has advocated renewing the tax cuts passed since President Bush took office. He has spoken out against fiscal deficits and wasteful government spending and has been a leader in the House on issues of national defense. He was the first U.S. Congressman to visit Iraq after the outbreak of war in 2003 and has visited the country a total of 12 times, more than any other member of Congress. As of June 2006 he was planning a 13th visit the following August.[10]

In 2006 Shays broke with the Bush adminstration on another major issue, telling the Washington Post he did not support more lenient immigration laws favored by both Bush and Senate Democrats.

Shays's moderate Republican politics are quite similar to that of his predecessor, the late Stewart McKinney, based on such measures as party unity scores. While the 4th District has tended to support Democratic presidential candidates in recent elections, Representative Shays's views are not inconsistent with mainstream local opinion. Prior to the Iraq dominated 2004 election, Shays had won re-election by margins between 34,000 and 53,000 votes.[11] The 4th District has the highest number of registered Republicans of Connecticut's five districts and has not elected a Democrat to Congress since the 1966 election. Republicans have also traditionally done well electing legislators and local government officials in this district. Stewart McKinney (January 30, 1931-May 7, 1987) was an American politician who represented Connecticut in the House of Representatives from 1971 until his death. ...

View on Tom DeLay

In April of 2005, he broke with most of his party over House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's alleged ethics violations. This made Shays one of the first Republicans to criticize DeLay publicly. Shays stated that he should resign, saying, "Tom's conduct is hurting the Republican Party, is hurting this Republican majority and it is hurting any Republican who is up for re-election." Thomas Dale The Hammer DeLay (born April 8, 1947) is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Sugar Land, Texas, the former House Majority Leader, and a prominent member of the Republican Party. ...

While Shays has criticized DeLay for hurting the Republican party's electoral chances, he is very close to Speaker Dennis Hastert. In June of 2005 Dennis Hastert helped Shays raise $70,000 at a country club event. Dennis Hastert John Dennis Hastert, born January 2, 1942, is an American politician, and has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 1999 (he surpassed Joseph Gurney Cannon as the longest-serving Republican Speaker on June 1, 2006). ...

Shays is a member of various Liberal/Moderate Republican groups, such as The Republican Main Street Partnership, Republicans for Choice, The Republican Majority For Choice, Republicans For Environmental Protection and Its My Party Too. The Republican Main Street Partnership is a group of social liberals and moderates in the United States Republican Party. ... Republicans for Choice, an organization based in the Washington, DC area (Headquarters: 2760 Eisenhower Ave, Suite #260, Alexandria, Virginia 22314) is a political action commitee (PAC) composed of members of the Republican Party who support abortion rights for women. ...

Sources

• MSNBC.com article quoting Shays' criticism of DeLay

External links

• Official website
• Peace Corps biography of Chris Shays
• Website of the subcommittee Shays chairs
• 2004 campaign finance data
• http://www.aclu.org/FreeSpeech/FreeSpeech.cfm?ID=9470&c=20
• Voting record maintained by the Washington Post