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→Thirty years in Congress
Passman was first elected to the 80th United States Congress in 1946, when he unseated two-term incumbent Charles Edgar McKenzie (1896-1956) in the Democratic primary. In the nationally Republican year, numerous returning veterans, including [[John F. Kennedy]] in [[Massachusetts]] and [[Richard M. Nixon]] in [[California]], were chosen for congressional duty. Passman held his 5th congressional district seat with minimal or no opposition for thirty years.
Passman was first elected to the 80th United States Congress in 1946, when he unseated two-term incumbent Charles Edgar McKenzie (1896-1956) in the Democratic primary. In the nationally Republican year, numerous returning veterans, including [[John F. Kennedy]] in [[Massachusetts]] and [[Richard M. Nixon]] in [[California]], were chosen for congressional duty. Passman held his 5th congressional district seat with minimal or no opposition for thirty years.
In 1956, District Attorney Ragan Dupree Madden (1910-1990) of Lincoln and Union parishes filed candidacy papers to oppose Passman.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/2367392/|title=Madden to run for Congress|publisher=''The Ruston Daily Leader''|date=May 17, 1956|page=9|accessdate=January 8, 2020}}</ref> Not once did a Republican candidate oppose Passman in his fifteen terms in office; the [[Republican Party|GOP]] at the time was a mostly moribund institution in Louisiana.<ref>''Louisiana History,'' p. 335.</ref>
In 1956, District Attorney [[Ragan Madden]] of Lincoln and Union parishes filed candidacy papers to oppose Passman.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/2367392/|title=Madden to run for Congress|publisher=''The Ruston Daily Leader''|date=May 17, 1956|page=9|accessdate=January 8, 2020}}</ref> Not once did a Republican candidate oppose Passman in his fifteen terms in office; the [[Republican Party|GOP]] at the time was a mostly moribund institution in Louisiana.<ref>''Louisiana History,'' p. 335.</ref>
As a representative, Passman concentrated on national defense and veterans' issues as well as his scrutiny of foreign aid programs. He supported the American military in the [[Vietnam War]] under both Presidents [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] and Richard Nixon as essential to defeating [[Communism|communist]] aggression during the overall [[Cold War]].<ref>''Louisiana History,'' p. 335.</ref> He took the "My country, right or wrong" mantra first voiced in the Barbary pirates war by [[Stephen Decatur]].
As a representative, Passman concentrated on national defense and veterans' issues as well as his scrutiny of foreign aid programs. He supported the American military in the [[Vietnam War]] under both Presidents [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] and Richard Nixon as essential to defeating [[Communism|communist]] aggression during the overall [[Cold War]].<ref>''Louisiana History,'' p. 335.</ref> He took the "My country, right or wrong" mantra first voiced in the Barbary pirates war by [[Stephen Decatur]].