Edwin Ruthvin Bethune Jr. (born December 19, 1935), known as Ed Bethune, is an American lawyer and lobbyist in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, who was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

from 1979-1985.

Early years, education, military, legal practice

Bethune was born to Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Bethune Sr. in

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

. He graduated in 1953 from Pocahontas High School. He was a

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

from 1954–1957, with service in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. After military service, Bethune obtained his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1961 from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

at Fayetteville, where he was a member of the

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and colo ...

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

. He received the

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from the

University of Arkansas School of Law The University of Arkansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a state university. It has around 445 students enrolled in its Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Law (LL.M) programs and is home to ...

in 1963 and was admitted to the Arkansas bar that same year.

Career

That year he began his practice in Pocahontas. In 1972, while he was living in Searcy north of

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

, he practiced with former

Arkansas Republican Party The Republican Party of Arkansas (RPA), headquartered at 1201 West 6th Street in downtown Little Rock, is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Arkansas. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all four of Arkansas' U.S ...

chairman

Odell Pollard Odell Pollard (April 29, 1927 - May 12, 2015) was a lawyer and politician in Arkansas. He switched from being a Democrat to becoming a member of the Republican Party. In the 1960s, he chaired the Arkansas Republican Party. In 1967 he addressed the ...

, who served as his political mentor. Bethune also was admitted to practice before the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. He was a prosecuting attorney for the First Judicial District of Arkansas from 1970-1971. He was chairman of the Ninth District

Federal Home Loan Bank Board The Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB) was a board created in 1932 that governed the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB or FHLBanks) also created by the act, the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) and nationally-chartered savings ...

from 1973-1976.

Political career

Campaign for state attorney general, 1972

In 1972, Bethune was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Arkansas

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

against the Democrat James Guy Tucker Jr. Tucker defeated Bethune, 370,647 (60 percent) to 247,404 (40 percent).

Election to the U.S. House, 1978

Bethune was chosen in 1979 as the president of the U.S. House Republican freshman class. He was reelected with ease in 1980—he polled 159,148 votes (78.9 percent) to 42,278 (21 percent) for his Democratic opponent,

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

James G. Reid. Once in the House, Bethune made federal taxes and spending his chief concern. Bethune opposed Reagan's proposal to sell AWACS fighter planes to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, which was against the advice of Israel. Bethune joined Senators Bumpers and Pryor to veto a proposal to override Arkansas' 10 percent interest ceiling for retail loans.

Election of 1982

In 1982, a year of widespread election of Democrats, Bethune had a harder race. He did not begin campaigning until the final three weeks of the contest, as he had been confident of winning a third term. His opponent was the Democratic former

state Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

Charles Lindbergh George Sr. (born ca. 1929), from Cabot. George was not the Democrats' first choice; party leaders failed to persuade Little Rock attorney Sandy Sidney McMath (born ca. 1942), the son of the former governor, Sidney Sanders McMath, to challenge Bethune. Bethune survived the challenge and gained re-election: 96,775 (53.9 percent) to George's 82,913 (46.1 percent). It was his last election victory.

U.S. Senate campaign, 1984

In 1984, Bethune sought the Senate seat against the incumbent Senator Pryor. He was decisively defeated, with Pryor receiving 502,341 votes (57.3 percent) to Bethune's 373,615 (42.7 percent). After leaving Congress, Bethune served from 1986-1988 as the Arkansas Republican Party state Chairman. He resisted suggestions that he run for governor in 1986, and the nomination went to Frank White.

References

Retrieved on 2008-04-01 *''Arkansas Gazette'', November 5, 1972; October 23, 1981; November 29, 1981; March 31, 1982; May 9, 1982; July 31, 1982; August 1, 1982; October 24, 1982 *''Arkansas Democrat'', August 10, 18, 20, 1982 *''Arkansas Outlook'', Republican Party newspaper, September 1972; July 1978 *John C. Topping Jr., ed., "1978 Election Preview"', ''Ripon Forum'', September/October 1978, p. 11 *''Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report'', February 15, 1978, p. 424; February 27, 1982, p. 362; October 14, 1978, p. 2804 *https://web.archive.org/web/20070930135721/http://www.opensecrets.org/lobbyists/firmsum.asp?txtname=Ed+Bethune+&+Assoc&year=1999 *https://web.archive.org/web/20070930121642/http://www.opensecrets.org/lobbyists/firmsum.asp?txtname=Ed+Bethune+&+Assoc&year=1998 *http://partners.nytimes.com/library/politics/10tran.html *http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/01/10/gingrich.ethics/excerpts.shtml *https://archive.today/20130209115128/http://wired-vig.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/1997/01/1397 *http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2004/10/09/delay_assails_panel_accusers/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+National+News *''Election Statistics'', 1972, 1978, 1980, 1982, and 1984, Little Rock: Secretary of State *http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bethune, Edwin 1935 births People from Pocahontas, Arkansas Federal Bureau of Investigation agents United States Marines Arkansas lawyers University of Arkansas alumni Arkansas Republican state chairmen Living people Candidates in the 1984 United States elections American United Methodists 2020 United States presidential electors Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas