Dennis Moore (politician)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Dennis Moore (November 8, 1945 – November 2, 2021) was an American politician and lawyer, a "Blue Dog" centrist who served for six terms as a
U.S. Representative 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for , from 1999 until 2011. He was a member of the
Kansas Democratic Party The Kansas Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Kansas and one of two major parties in the state, alongside the Republicans. The chair of the party is Vicki Hiatt. The party currently controls the state's gove ...
. He and
Sharice Davids Sharice Lynnette Davids (; born May 22, 1980) is an American attorney, former mixed martial artist, and politician serving as the U.S. representative from since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents a district that includes mos ...
have been the only two Kansas Democrats to serve in Congress since January 2009.


Early life and education

Moore was born in 1945 in
Anthony Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonia (gens), Antonii'', a ''gens'' (Roman naming conventions, Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were ...
in southcentral
Harper County, Kansas Harper County (county code HP) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 5,485. Its county seat and most populous city is Anthony. The county was named for Sergeant Marion Harper of the 2 ...
. He attended the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...
, from which he earned a bachelor's degree, and was briefly enrolled at
Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...
. He received a
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
Washburn University School of Law The Washburn University School of Law is a public law school located on the main campus of Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. Washburn Law was founded in 1903. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and has been a member of ...
in
Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...
.


Career

Moore served in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
before becoming Assistant
Kansas Attorney General The Attorney General of Kansas is a statewide elected official responsible for providing legal services to the state government of Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is ...
. After a period in private practice, he was elected District Attorney in northeast Johnson County, serving in that capacity from 1977 to 1989. While a defense attorney at the practice of Moriarty, Erker & Moore, he represented
Debora Green Debora Green ( Jones; born February 28, 1951) is an American physician who pleaded no contest to setting a 1995 fire which burned down her family's home and killed two of her children, and to poisoning her husband with ricin with the intention ...
when she was charged with murder in 1995. The case ended in 1996 with Green pleading no contest to the charges. Moore was first elected to the United States House in 1998, defeating the Republican incumbent, Vince Snowbarger. The district had traditionally elected moderate Republicans, but Snowbarger's unyielding conservatism caused many voters to shift to Moore. He thus became the first Democrat to represent the district in 37 years, after Democrat Newell A. George lost re-election to Republican
Robert Fred Ellsworth Robert Fred Ellsworth (June 11, 1926 – May 9, 2011) was an American legislator and diplomat. He served as the United States Permanent Representative to NATO (an ambassadorial-level appointment) between 1969 and 1971. He had previously served t ...
, when it was the 2nd District. (It was renumbered the 3rd District by 1963.) Moore faced Republican conservative
Phill Kline Phillip D. Kline (born December 31, 1959) is a former American attorney who served as a Kansas state legislator, district attorney of Johnson County, and Kansas Attorney General. Kline, a member of the Republican Party, lost re-election as at ...
in 2000. He narrowly held his seat, taking 50% of the vote. His margin of victory was fairly close believed to be due to
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
's strong performance in the district. In 2002, he won another close race, this time against moderate Republican Adam Taff, an airline pilot. In 2004, Moore defeated law professor
Kris Kobach Kris William Kobach ( ; born March 26, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who is the Attorney General of Kansas. He previously served as the 31st Secretary of State of Kansas. A former Chairman of the Kansas Republican Party, Kobach came ...
, another conservative, in the general election, with 55% of the vote. In the 2006 Congressional election, Moore successfully defended his seat against
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 ...
Chuck Ahner, winning with 64% of the vote, a much larger margin than he had in the past. In August 2007, Republican State Senator Nick Jordan of Shawnee announced he would challenge Moore for the 3rd District seat in 2008. Moore defeated Jordan by a vote of 56% to 40%. On November 23, 2009, it was reported that after six terms, Dennis Moore would not seek re-election in 2010, when he would turn 65 years old. Moore's wife, Stephene Moore, became the Democratic nominee. She lost the election to Republican State Representative
Kevin Yoder Kevin Wayne Yoder (born January 8, 1976) is an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Yoder was the Kansas State Representative for the 20th distr ...
. The district was not represented by a Democrat again until 2019 after it was taken by Native American attorney
Sharice Davids Sharice Lynnette Davids (; born May 22, 1980) is an American attorney, former mixed martial artist, and politician serving as the U.S. representative from since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents a district that includes mos ...
.


U.S. House of Representatives

While in office Moore represented
Kansas's 3rd congressional district Kansas's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in eastern Kansas, the district encompasses all of Anderson, Franklin, Johnson and Miami counties and parts of Wyandotte County. The district in ...
, the state's smallest and most affluent, which includes most of the Kansas side of the
Kansas City metropolitan area The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...
, including
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
,
Overland Park Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. ...
, Olathe,
Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...
,
Lenexa Lenexa is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is one of four principal cities of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area and 9th most populated city of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,434. It is the ...
and
De Soto De Soto commonly refers to * Hernando de Soto (c. 1495 – 1542), Spanish explorer * DeSoto (automobile), an American automobile brand from 1928 to 1961 De Soto, DeSoto, Desoto, or de Soto may also refer to: Places in the United States of Ameri ...
. During his early tenure the university town of
Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...
was located in the third district but was later redistricted to the 2nd District.


Committee assignments

* Committee on the Budget *
Committee on Financial Services The United States House Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee and previously known as the Committee on Banking and Currency, is the committee of the United States House of Representatives that oversees t ...
** Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit ** Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Chairman) * Committee on Small Business ** Subcommittee on Finance and Tax Moore was the policy co-chair for the
Blue Dog Coalition The Blue Dog Coalition (commonly known as the Blue Dogs or Blue Dog Democrats) is a caucus in the United States House of Representatives comprising centrist members from the Democratic Party. The caucus was founded as a group of conservative De ...
in the 110th Congress and a member of the
New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a congressional caucus, caucus in the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democratic Party (United States), Democrats, primarily Centrism, cent ...
.


Political positions


Budget, spending, and taxes

In 2005–2006, Representative Moore supported the interests of
Citizens for Tax Justice Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ) is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank and advocacy group founded in 1979 focusing on tax policies and their impact. CTJ's work focuses primarily on federal tax policy, but also analyzes state and local tax policie ...
, an organization supporting fair taxes for middle and low-income families and the closing of corporate tax loopholes, 83% of the time. In 2007, the
National Taxpayers Union The National Taxpayers Union (NTU) is a fiscally conservative taxpayer advocacy organization and taxpayers union in the United States, founded in 1977 by James Dale Davidson. NTU says that it is the oldest taxpayer advocacy organization in the ...
, an organization favoring a
flat tax A flat tax (short for flat-rate tax) is a tax with a single rate on the taxable amount, after accounting for any deductions or exemptions from the tax base. It is not necessarily a fully proportional tax. Implementations are often progressiv ...
or a national sales tax, gave Representative Moore its rating of F for his 4% rating. The NTU explains "A score significantly below average qualifies for a grade of 'F.' This failing grade places the Member into the 'Big Spender' category." Representative Moore did not supported the agenda of the National Tax Limitation Committee and was given their rating of 0 percent in 2007–2008.


National security

In 2007–2008 the
Center for Security Policy The Center for Security Policy (CSP) is a US far-right, anti-Muslim, Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The organization's founder and current president is Frank Gaffney Jr. who is known for promoting falsehoods about former U.S. President B ...
, a Washington, D.C. think tank that focuses on national security issues, gave Representative Moore a rating of 25%. Their Congressional Scorecard cites Representative Moore for voting against the CSP position on 18 of 24 key votes. Specifically, Rep. Moore voted to limit Iraq war funding, limit surveillance to
FISA The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 ("FISA" , ) is a United States federal law that establishes procedures for the physical and electronic surveillance and the collection of "foreign intelligence information" between "foreign pow ...
guidelines, and voted against
Missile Defense Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception, and also the destruction of attacking missiles. Conceived as a defense against nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), ...
funding.


Military

Representative Moore sponsored HR 5055, which would have raised the death gratuity paid to the family of a soldier who died in combat from $12,000 to $50,000.Congressman Dennis Moore > Issues > Keeping Our Promise to Veterans
This amount was raised again to $100,000 and was added to "The Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global
War on Terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...
and
Tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...
Relief Act 2005" and signed into
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
as Public Law 109-13 on May 11, 2005. Representative Moore sponsored House Resolution 387 in 2003, calling on the
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
to cover all travel costs for troops from
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
and
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
granted leave under the Rest & Recuperation Program. The legislation was added to the Department of Defense Supplemental Spending Bill of 2004 and is now law.


Property rights

For 2007, with points assigned for actions in support of or in opposition to
American Land Rights Association The American Land Rights Association (ALRA) is a Wise Use organization based in Battle Ground, Washington. The group describes itself as "dedicated to the wise-use of our resources, access to our Federal lands and the protection of our private pro ...
position, Representative Moore received a rating of 8 (out of 100). He received the 8% rating for voting on 11 of 12 key votes in opposition to the "Private Property Position".


Gun control

Through 2003, Representative Moore supported the interests of the
Brady Campaign Brady: United Against Gun Violence (formerly “Handgun Control, Inc”., the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control and against ...
to Prevent Gun Violence 88% of the time. In 2008, the
National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...
gave Representative Moore a grade of F, in its scorecard for candidates seeking office in 2008. In 2007 the organization
Gun Owners of America Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a gun rights organization in the United States. It makes efforts to differentiate itself from the larger National Rifle Association (NRA) and has publicly criticized the NRA on multiple occasions for what it consid ...
gave Representative Moore a rating of F.


Women's issues

Representative Moore was
pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...
and had a 100% rating with
NARAL NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...
. In 2007, Representative Moore voted with the
League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...
100% of the time. The League of Women Voters presented Moore with the Making Democracy Work Award in 2010. For 2007–2008, with points assigned for actions in support of or in opposition to
National Right to Life Committee The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) is the oldest and largest national anti-abortion organization in the United States with affiliates in all 50 states and more than 3,000 local chapters nationwide. Since the 1980s, NRLC has influen ...
position, Representative Moore received a rating of 0. Representative Moore earned the rating of zero by voting against the Right-To-Life positions during his entire political career.


Environment and animal protection

The environmental watchdog group
League of Conservation Voters The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "advocates for sound environmental laws and policies, holds elected officials accountable for their votes and actions, and elects pro-environmen ...
gave Moore a score of 92% for 2006, citing pro-environment votes on eleven out of twelve issues deemed critical by the organization. The League praised Moore for supporting right-to-know legislation regarding the
Toxics Release Inventory The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) is a publicly available database containing information on toxic chemical releases and other waste management activities in the United States. Summary of requirements The database is available from the United St ...
program, the
Clean Water Act The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters; recognizing the responsibiliti ...
, and energy and
weatherization Weatherization (American English) or weatherproofing (British English) is the practice of protecting a building and its interior from the elements, particularly from sunlight, precipitation, and wind, and of modifying a building to reduce e ...
assistance for low-income families, as well as for opposing
oil drilling An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas may ...
offshore and in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR or Arctic Refuge) is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States on traditional Gwich'in lands. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest national wildlife ...
, opposing salvage logging, opposing
logging road A gravel road is a type of unpaved road surfaced with gravel that has been brought to the site from a quarry or stream bed. They are common in less-developed nations, and also in the rural areas of developed nations such as Canada and the Unite ...
s in Alaska's
Tongass National Forest The Tongass National Forest () in Southeast Alaska is the largest U.S. National Forest at . Most of its area is temperate rain forest and is remote enough to be home to many species of endangered and rare flora and fauna. The Tongass, which i ...
, and for opposing measures designed to expedite the production of new
oil refineries An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefie ...
. The
Animal Welfare Institute The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is an American non-profit charitable organization founded by Christine Stevens in 1951 with the goal of reducing suffering inflicted on animals by humans. It is one of the oldest animal welfare organizations in ...
a national animal protection organization founded in 1951 gave Representative Moore consistently high marks for supporting various animal protection issues on its Compassion Index. Representative Moore received a rating of 91% in the 109th Congress, a 100% rating in the 110th Congress and a 78% in the 111th Congress.


Electoral history

* 1998: defeated incumbent Vince Snowbarger 52%–48% * 2000: defeated
Phill Kline Phillip D. Kline (born December 31, 1959) is a former American attorney who served as a Kansas state legislator, district attorney of Johnson County, and Kansas Attorney General. Kline, a member of the Republican Party, lost re-election as at ...
50%–47% * 2002: defeated Adam Taff 50%–47% * 2004: defeated
Kris Kobach Kris William Kobach ( ; born March 26, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who is the Attorney General of Kansas. He previously served as the 31st Secretary of State of Kansas. A former Chairman of the Kansas Republican Party, Kobach came ...
55%–43% * 2006: defeated Chuck Ahner 64%–34% * 2008: defeated Nick Jordan 56%–40%


Health and death

In June 2011, Moore was diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
at the St. Luke's Neuroscience Institute. His father also had the disease. After announcing the diagnosis the following year, Moore and his wife Stephene continued to be public about it, and Stephene has become a national advocate for families struggling with Alzheimer's disease. On November 2, 2021, Moore died from cancer, aged 75, at a care facility in
Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. As o ...
, where he had lived for the previous three years.


References


External links

*
KS 3: Democrat’s Unusual Support Stems From Centrist Efforts
CQ Politics Congressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is part of a privately owned publishing company called CQ Roll Call that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress. CQ was acquired by the Economist Group and combine ...
, June 18, 2006
Mr. Moore Runs for Washington
BBC TV documentary for The Open University. Follows Moore's 1998 campaign. * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Dennis 1945 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians American Protestants Deaths from cancer in Kansas Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas District attorneys in Kansas Kansas lawyers People from Anthony, Kansas People with Alzheimer's disease People from Lenexa, Kansas Military personnel from Kansas United States Army soldiers University of Kansas alumni Washburn University School of Law alumni