Sen. Jake Garn, R-Utah, says flying in space was thrilling but helping Utahns fight government - like when he helped an inmate transfer from one prison to another to earn a college degree - is even better.
"It was a small thing and doesn't affect the whole country. But having that boy transferred made a big difference in his life," Garn said, smiling with his blue eyes sparkling. "A highlight that actually ranks ahead of flying in space is helping people."Garn is in his final countdown in the Senate, which is expected to adjourn within days - all but ending his 18-year career there.
As he looks back, he takes pride in his work, has few regrets, revels in his reputation for blunt honesty, complains about too much party politics and wishes he could persuade more Utahns to participate in politics to keep them clean.
In his legislative work, Garn said he takes most pride in "helping shape NASA and aerospace. The highlight within the highlight, obviously, is flying in space."
It's obvious because he always wears a lapel pin with the insignia of his 1985 Space Shuttle Discovery mission. His office displays a 5-foot-tall model of the ship and even a tile replaced from it. He also has photos and flags from all NASA missions since he sat on committees overseeing NASA funding.
"The further in time I get away from the mission, the more I am amazed by it - that it ever happened," Garn said. "I marvel that only 250 people have flown in space, and I am one. . . . When I was a senior in college, not even Sputnik (the first satellite) had flown."
Garn notes that not all his work is legislative, and he takes even more pride in working to help Utahns in their struggles with government. A favorite story is about the prison inmate he helped.
"His mother called me and said she had two sons in prison. I thought, `Oh no, she's going to say they're innocent and want my help to free them,' " Garn said. "But she said, `They are guilty and deserve to be in jail. . . . But they are good boys and had never been in trouble before."'
She said one son was in a prison where he could work on a college degree. The other was not and was among hardened crim-i-nals where he feared assault.
"We helped him transfer without any reduction in term of sentence," Garn said. "The result is he got his college degree and has led a productive life since."
Among his favorite memories in the Senate are his close relationships with other senators - especially Democratic liberal senators such as Hubert Humphrey and Chris Dodd, with whom he disagreed almost always on politics.
"I remember one time when my youngest son, Matthew, was only 6 months old. My wife and I had some guests in the members' dining room, and the baby was fussing and wouldn't take a bottle. Hubert Humphrey came over and offered to take him so I could have time with my guests," Garn said.
He objected, but the former vice president insisted. "I remember him walking out with the baby in one arm and a bottle in the other. He watched him for about an hour. . . . People wonder how a conservative like me and a liberal like Hubert Humphrey can get along. They are good people with whom I just happen to disagree on politics."
But Garn said he has seen a decrease in such goodwill through the years and an increase in partisan politics. "There has been more as each year passed. That's one reason Congress rates so low in the polls. . . . Certain issues should never be partisan, such as what to do with savings and loans and banking."
Garn, the former chairman of the Banking Committee, worries such partisanship on the savings and loan crisis will extend banking problems for years.
"We're treating symptoms but not the disease that caused the problem," he said. He complains the Senate has passed reforms he says are essential but the House for years has blocked them. He said failure to achieve such reforms are his main regret.
Garn said he is also a bit surprised at the length of his career, especially because he decided 25 years ago when he won his first office as a Salt Lake City commissioner to speak his mind honestly and bluntly.
"Everyone in City Hall was talking in misdirection. You had to listen carefully to see what they meant. They were typically evasive. I decided I would always be honest and speak my mind. . . . That way you don't have to have a good memory. You don't have to remember what you said last week.
"And I always figured that the worst that could happen to me is I would lose, and then I would have more time for things like skiing," Garn said. "My mother used to get frustrated, though. She would say, `Jake, I know you have to be honest, but do you have to be so blunt?' "
"I think it's one of the reasons I've done so well," he said. "One lady came up to me once and said she disagreed with everything I did . . . but she said she voted for me - not in the first election but in the other two. I asked why. She looked me in the eye and said, `Because you're honest.' "
He added, "I think a lot of politicians make the mistake of not making the tough vote. People will respect you for your honesty, even if they disagree with you."
Such complaints about partisanship and politics are vintage Garn. In fact, he first ran for office only because an angry city commissioner told him at a public hearing that if he thought he could do a better job to run. Garn did and ousted the man.
Because of such experience, Garn says "I wish more people would get involved in the political process. . . . The government is run by a minority of hard-core special interests and activists. If more people were involved, it would cut down the power of special interests."
He adds, "I believe in term limits. Sure, I like to think I am a better senator than when I was elected 18 years ago. . . . But it doesn't take that long to learn your way around here. Term limits would bring in more people with a wider variety of experience.
"I decided I ought to practice what I preach. A lot of my colleagues still can't believe I would give up a seat in the U.S. Senate when I had no real opposition. One told me even yesterday, `I can't believe you're leaving, " Garn said.
Garn already has most of his belongings packed and is ready to leave for Utah (where he has actually lived for the past several years) as soon as the final gavel bangs.
He plans to campaign hard for Utah Republican candidates for a month, then return one final time to Washington to finish cleaning out his office.
Garn said because of Senate conflict-of-interest rules, he has not yet lined up another job. "Some people have asked me not to make any plans until I talk to them first. I have a big list of them. As soon as the last gavel bangs, I'll start calling them."