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'''Joseph David Waggonner, Jr.''', known as '''Joe Waggonner''' (September 7, 1918 – October 7, 2007), was a [[Democratic]] member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] from [[Louisiana]]'s Fourth Congressional District, who served from 1961 to 1979. He was active in what was later known as the [[Conservative Democrat|Boll Weevil Democrats]], who sometimes supported [[Republican]] positions on fiscal and foreign policies.
'''Joseph David Waggonner, Jr.''', known as '''Joe Waggonner''' (September 7, 1918 – October 7, 2007), was a [[Democratic]] member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] from [[Louisiana]]'s Fourth Congressional District, who served from 1961 to 1979. He was active in what was later known as the [[Conservative Democrat|Boll Weevil Democrats]], who sometimes supported [[Republican]] positions on fiscal and foreign policies.
A businessman originally from Plain Dealing in Bossier Parish in northwestern Louisiana, Waggonner had an exemplary record in [[World War II]] and graduated from [[Louisiana Tech University]] in [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]]. He was long active in Louisiana Tech alumni affairs. In the 1950s, he was a member of the Bossier Parish School Board. In 1961, he served on the elected Louisiana State Board of Education. In 1959, Waggonner was an unsuccessful primary candidate for the since disbanded position of Louisiana state comptroller, having run on the strongly [[segregation]]ist intraparty ticket headed by State Senator [[William Rainach]] of Claiborne Parish. Victory in the race went to another Democrat, [[Roy Theriot]].
==Background==
A businessman originally from Plain Dealing in Bossier Parish in northwestern Louisiana, Waggonner had an exemplary record in [[World War II]] and graduated from [[Louisiana Tech University]] in [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]]. He was long active in Louisiana Tech alumni affairs. In the 1950s, he was a member of the Bossier Parish School Board. In 1961, he served on the elected Louisiana State Board of Education. In 1959, Waggonner was an unsuccessful primary candidate for the since disbanded position of Louisiana state comptroller, having run on the strongly [[segregation]]ist intra-party ticket headed by state Senator [[William Rainach]] of Claiborne Parish. Victory in the race went to another Democrat, [[Roy Theriot]].
Waggonner was initially elected to Congress in a special election held in December 1961 to succeed Democrat Thomas Overton Brooks, who died in office. He defeated the Republican choice, [[Charlton Lyons]], an oilman from [[Shreveport]] but like Waggonner's former intra-party opponent a native of Abbeville in Vermilion Parish. Waggonner carried the backing of the conservative ''[[Shreveport Journal]],'' edited at the time by [[George W. Shannon]]. Lyons subsequently ran for governor in 1964 against Democrat [[John J. McKeithen]], that time with Shannon's editorial support. Thereafter, Waggonner rarely had opposition. In 1968, he faced an [[African American]] challenger, fellow Democrat Leon Tarver of Shreveport, the brother of a current state Senator, Greg Tarver.
Waggonner was born in Plain Dealing to Joe David Waggonner, Sr. (June 11, 1873 – March 9, 1950), and the former Elizzibeth<!--(unusual but correct spelling from grave marker)--> Johnston (November 23, 1882 – December 24, 1957). He graduated from Plain Dealing High School and in 1941 from [[Louisiana Tech University]] in [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]] in Lincoln Parish, at which he was a member of Kappa Sigma. On December 14, 1942, he married the former Mary Ruth Carter (born February 1921) The couple resided in their later years in [[Benton, Louisiana|Benton]], the [[County seat|seat of government]] of Bossier Parish, and then in the more populous [[Bossier City, Louisiana|Bossier City]].
During [[World War II]] and the [[Korean War]], Waggonner served in the [[United States Navy]], having attained the rank of [[lieutenant commander]]. He remained thereafter in the Naval Reserve.
He was first elected to public office in 1954 to a seat on the Bossier Parish School Board, of which he was president from 1956 to 1957. In 1959, Waggonner ran in the Democratic primary for the position of Louisiana state comptroller, previously known as auditorand since abolished. He was defeated for the nomination by [[Roy R. Theriot]], the mayor of Abbeville in Vermilion Parish in south Louisiana. Waggonner ran on the intra-party ticket]headed by [[Segregation in the United States|segregationist]] Governor|gubernatorial]] candidate [[William Rainach]], a state senator from Claiborne Parish.<ref>''[[Minden Press-Herald]]'', November 13, 1959, p. 13.</ref>
Shortly thereafter on July 23, 1960, Waggonner was nominated in the Democratic primary to the Louisiana State Board of Education, now the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Waggonner won the seat for the Third Public Service Commission District, a configuration since disbanded that then included twenty-eight north Louisiana parishes. Waggonner unseated the incumbent, C. Raymond Heard, and was then unopposed in the November 8 general election, in which [[John F. Kennedy]] defeated [[Richard M. Nixon]]. In this campaign, Waggonner posed as a more determined segregationist than his opponent.<ref>''Minden Press,'' July 25, 1960, p. 1.</ref> One of his advertisements proclaimed: "For: Our Youth and Segregation; Against: Federal Aid to Education."<ref>Waggonner advertisement, ''Minden Press,'' July 18, 1960, p. 5.</ref>
As Kennedy defeated Nixon, Waggonner, along with [[David C. Treen]] and Leander Henry Perez, Sr., was among the ten presidential electors for an unpledged slate in Louisiana. Nixon won the Fourth Congressional District, but Kennedy took a strong plurality in the balloting statewide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/20955443/|title=GOP Eyes Louisiana Hot Congressional Election Tomorrow|publisher=''The News-Palladium|location=Benton Harbor, [[Michigan]]|page=2|date=December 18, 1961|accessdate=June 28, 2020}}</ref>
In 1961, Waggonner was chosen president of (1) the Louisiana School Boards Association and (2) the United Schools Committee of Louisiana. He had also been instrumental, along with William Rainach, in the founding of the White Citizens Council in the late 1950s.
Waggonner ran a wholesale [[petroleum]] products distribution agency that serviced northern Bossier Parish.
Waggonner was initially elected to Congress in a special election held in December 1961 to succeed Democrat Thomas Overton Brooks, who died in office. He defeated the Republican choice, [[Charlton Lyons]], an oilman from [[Shreveport]] but like Waggonner's former intra-party opponent for state comptroller was a native of Abbeville in Vermilion Parish. Waggonner carried the backing of the conservative ''[[Shreveport Journal]],'' edited at the time by [[George W. Shannon]]. Lyons subsequently ran for governor in 1964 against Democrat [[John J. McKeithen]], that time with Shannon's editorial support. Thereafter, Waggonner rarely had opposition. In 1968, he faced an [[African American]] challenger, fellow Democrat Leon Tarver of Shreveport, the brother of a current state Senator, Greg Tarver.
In 1968, Waggonner spoke against the legislation introduced by Republican U.S. Representative Robert McClory of [[Illinois]], which designates the third Monday of February as what has become "President's Day," rather than the traditional February 22 holiday in honor of the birth of [[George Washington]]. Waggonner told the sponsors of the bill: “You have further commercialized and made further meaningless something that has the respect of the people of this country.”<ref>{{cite web|url=https://amgreatness.com/2018/02/18/make-washingtons-birthday-great/|title=Make Washington’s Birthday Great Again|author=John Fonte|publisher=Amgreatness.com|date=February 18, 2018|accessdate=February 19, 2019}}</ref>
In 1968, Waggonner spoke against the legislation introduced by Republican U.S. Representative Robert McClory of [[Illinois]], which designates the third Monday of February as what has become "President's Day," rather than the traditional February 22 holiday in honor of the birth of [[George Washington]]. Waggonner told the sponsors of the bill: “You have further commercialized and made further meaningless something that has the respect of the people of this country.”<ref>{{cite web|url=https://amgreatness.com/2018/02/18/make-washingtons-birthday-great/|title=Make Washington’s Birthday Great Again|author=John Fonte|publisher=Amgreatness.com|date=February 18, 2018|accessdate=February 19, 2019}}</ref>
After 1969, Waggonner struck up a friendship with [[U.S. President]] [[Richard M. Nixon]] and served as a liaison between Nixon and the House Democratic majority. Through this relationship, Waggonner was able to procure public works projects for his Fourth District, including the attempt to establish year-round navigation of the Red River between Shreveport and [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]].
After 1969, Waggonner struck up a friendship with President Richard Nixon, who was elected the previous year over the Democrat [[Hubert Humphrey]] and the [[Independent voter|Independent]] [[George Wallace]]. He became a liaison between Nixon and the House Democratic majority. Through this relationship, Waggonner was able to procure public works projects for his 4th district, including the attempt to establish year-round navigation of the Red River between Shreveport and [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]].
In 1976, Waggonner was arrested for soliciting an undercover police decoy in [[Washington, D.C.]], for purposes of [[prostitution]]. He was released because at that time lawmakers enjoyed immunity from prosecution for [[misdemeanor]] offenses. After the Waggonner case, the law was changed to allow congressional members to face misdemeanor charges with the exception of parking violations.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ppIIbWkftv4C&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=Joe+D.+Waggonner+arrest&source=bl&ots=WgR2ondm8i&sig=bD9XbjT4DrFQF3ut8Yby-bzeNco&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y8VCT7aBNISq2QWg6qjdBg&sqi=2&ved=0CEcQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Joe%20D.%20Waggonner%20arrest&f=false|author=Jeffrey M. Eliot et al|title=The Congressional-Presidential Political Dictionary (1984), p. 194|publisher=|accessdate=September 21, 2012}}</ref>
In 1976, Waggonner was arrested for soliciting an undercover police decoy in [[Washington, D.C.]], for purposes of [[prostitution]]. He was released because at that time lawmakers enjoyed immunity from prosecution for [[misdemeanor]] offenses. After the Waggonner case, the law was changed to allow congressional members to face misdemeanor charges with the exception of parking violations.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ppIIbWkftv4C&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=Joe+D.+Waggonner+arrest&source=bl&ots=WgR2ondm8i&sig=bD9XbjT4DrFQF3ut8Yby-bzeNco&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y8VCT7aBNISq2QWg6qjdBg&sqi=2&ved=0CEcQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Joe%20D.%20Waggonner%20arrest&f=false|author=Jeffrey M. Eliot et al|title=The Congressional-Presidential Political Dictionary (1984), p. 194|publisher=|accessdate=September 21, 2012}}</ref>