Ernest Istook

Ernest James "Ernie" Istook Jr. (born February 11, 1950) is a retired American lawyer and politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 5th congressional district.

He held his congressional seat for 14 years, completing seven terms in the House.

Currently, Istook is a Distinguished Fellow at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., and also a talk radio host.

He graduated from Castleberry High School in Fort Worth, Texas in 1967 and received a bachelor of arts degree from Baylor University in Waco, Texas in 1971.

He eventually moved to Warr Acres, a suburb of Oklahoma City.

He worked full-time as a radio news reporter first at KOMA (now KOKC) and then at WKY in Oklahoma City while attending law school, receiving a law degree from Oklahoma City University School of Law in 1976.

He was also a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity.

After graduation, he established his own law firm, and practiced law for 15 years.

Istook also was director of the Oklahoma State Alcoholic and Beverage Control Board (1977–1978), was legal counsel to popular Oklahoma Governor David L. Boren (1978), and was a member of the board of the Metropolitan Library System (1982–1986), chairman of the Warr Acres city council (1982–1986), director of the Warr Acres Chamber of Commerce, and an Oklahoma state representative 1987–1993.

In the 1992 Republican primary, Istook challenged and defeated incumbent Deputy House Minority Whip Mickey Edwards in a three-way primary that also featured former federal prosecutor Bill Price.

Both Istook and Price used Edwards' involvement in the House banking scandal to chip away at his support.

Istook narrowly defeated his Democratic challenger, Laurie Williams, in November, winning by only six points.

He never faced another contest nearly that close, and was reelected six more times from what has long been considered the most Republican district in Oklahoma.

The Democrats didn't even put up a candidate against him in 1994.

Although Istook lives in Warr Acres, he was listed on the House roll as "R-Oklahoma City".

As a member of Congress, Istook focused on issues surrounding national defense and homeland security, transportation, education, labor, social services and religious liberty.

He is anti-abortion and supports the position that abortion should be prohibited except when the mother's life is in danger.

He does not support federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

Istook opposes gay marriage and the adoption of children into same-sex homes.

He has favored several constitutional amendments including an amendment banning same-sex marriage and an amendment to restrict burning the U.S. flag.

He introduced the Religious Freedom Amendment, a Constitutional Amendment to permit school prayer, in 1995 and (slightly modified) in 1997.

On June 4, 1998, the House voted 224–203, with 7 abstentions, in favor of it, but it failed as a Constitutional amendment, needing a 2/3 majority to pass.

He reintroduced it in 1999, and again with different text in 2001, renamed the Religious Speech Amendment, and in 2003.

The other efforts did not make it out of the House Subcommittee on the Constitution.

On economics, Istook opposed more federal funds for health coverage and supported welfare and Social Security reform, including the creation of personal accounts within Social Security.

He supported the Bush administration's tax cuts and wanted to make those permanent.

He wrote a bill to relieve the tax burden for married couples, which was passed in February 2000 as the Marriage Tax Penalty Relief Act of 2000.

He favors expansion of free trade; he voted in favor of CAFTA.

He wants the U.S. to withdraw from the World Trade Organization, wants the end of the estate tax, and supported Normal Trade Relations with the People's Republic of China to be made permanent.

In 2004 Istook travelled to Beijing to speak with Chinese leaders and expand trade between the U.S. and China.

In particular his visit focused on the opportunities for Oklahoma to trade in China.

Istook voted to make the USA PATRIOT Act permanent and supports intelligence gathering by the military.

Istook favors military recruiting on college campuses that receive federal aid.

Istook endorsed the Bush administration and its handling of the War in Iraq and supports higher Defense Department funding.

Istook does not support a U.S. ratification of the Kyoto Protocol nor heavy taxpayer subsidies for alternative fuel sources.

He was the Republican gubernatorial nominee in 2006, running against incumbent Democratic Governor Brad Henry.

Istook lost the gubernatorial race by a very wide margin, getting only 33.5% of the vote to Henry's 66.5%.

Istook's grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Hungary through Ellis Island and spoke Hungarian at home.

In 2010, Istook became a Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School leading a study on Propaganda in American Politics.

He was a member of the Appropriations and the Homeland Security committees.