Editing Sam Nunn (section)

==Political career==
Nunn first entered politics as a member of the [[Georgia House of Representatives]] in 1968.<ref name="tech"/> He was elected to the [[United States Senate]] [[1972 United States Senate election in Georgia|in 1972]], defeating appointed U.S. senator [[David H. Gambrell]] in the Democratic [[Partisan primary|primary]] and U.S. Rep. [[Fletcher Thompson]] in the [[1972 United States Senate election|general election]]. Nunn retired from the Senate in 1997, offering a lack of "zest and enthusiasm" as justification.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sack |first=Kevin |title=Nunn, Model Southern Democrat, To Retire From Senate Next Year |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 10, 1995 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CE4DD1339F933A25753C1A963958260| access-date= 2007-12-31}}</ref>

During his tenure in the U.S. Senate, Nunn served as the chairman of the [[U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services]] and the [[Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations]]. He also served on the [[United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence|Intelligence]] and [[Small Business Committee]]s. His legislative achievements include the landmark [[Goldwater-Nichols Act|Department of Defense Reorganization Act]], drafted with the late senator [[Barry Goldwater]], and the [[Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction]] Program,<ref name="honor"/> which provided assistance to Russia and the former Soviet republics for securing and destroying their excess nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}

The [[Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction]] program deactivated more than 7,600 nuclear [[warhead]]s. He was supposedly the "top choice" to be [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] or [[United States Secretary of State|State]] in 1992 and 1996 and in a prospective [[Al Gore|Gore]] cabinet in 2000.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}

Overall, Nunn was a [[New Democrats (United States)|moderate]]-to-[[Conservative Democrat|conservative]] Democrat<ref>[http://www.bookrags.com/Sam_Nunn Encyclopedia of World Biography on Sam Nunn], BookRags.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-25</ref> who often broke with his party on a host of [[social policy|social]] and [[economic policy|economic issues]]. He opposed the budget bill of 1993, which included provisions to raise taxes to reduce the [[budget deficit]]. He neither supported nor opposed [[Hillary Clinton]]'s attempt to establish universal health care, though he spoke out very strongly against the proposed insurance mandate.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}

Nunn actively worked to block President [[Bill Clinton]]'s proposal to allow homosexuals to [[Don't ask, don't tell|serve openly in the military]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00617FD385E0C7A8DDDA00894DB494D8 |title=A Retreat on Gay Soldiers |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1993-09-19|access-date=2007-03-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Martin |last=Kasindorf |url=http://tech.mit.edu/V113/N16/nunn.16w.html |title=A Plan for Military Gays; Nunn would keep them 'in the closet' |work=[[Newsday]] |date=1993-03-30|access-date=2007-03-10|archive-date=2022-02-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215095902/http://tech.mit.edu/V113/N16/nunn.16w.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> LGBT activist [[David Mixner]] openly referred to Nunn as an "old fashioned bigot" for opposing Clinton's plan to lift the military, though this was also reported to have angered the White House.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/12/david-mixner-clinton-campaign-advisor-dies-00146576 |title=David Mixner, LGBTQ+ activist and Bill Clinton campaign adviser, dies at 77 |publisher=Associated Press |date=March 12, 2024 |accessdate=March 12, 2024}}</ref>

In 2008, Nunn endorsed a new [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]] study to examine the issue of homosexuals serving openly in the military: "I think [when] 15 years go by on any personnel policy, it's appropriate to take another look at it—see how it's working, ask the hard questions, hear from the military. Start with a Pentagon study."<ref>[http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/06/03/says_nunn_it_might_be_time_to.html Says Nunn: It might be time to take another look at 'don't ask, don't tell'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110221531/http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/06/03/says_nunn_it_might_be_time_to.html |date=2012-01-10 }}, ajc.com; accessed February 27, 2017.</ref>

According to opensecrets.org, Sam Nunn received about $2.4&nbsp;million during his 1989–1994 political career.  His main contributors were the finance/insurance/real estate sector (totaling $411,665; $46,660 was received from Goldman, Sachs & Co.), the defense industry, lawyers and lobbyists, the alcohol and non-alcoholic beverages industry (including Coca-Cola), and the agriculture sector.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040522185244/http://www.opensecrets.org/1994os/osdata/nunnsam.pdf Profile], opensecrets.org; accessed February 27, 2017.</ref>

He voted in favor of [[school prayer]], capping punitive damage awards, amending the [[U.S. Constitution]] to require a [[balanced budget]], and limiting death penalty appeals. On certain issues like abortion, the [[Natural environment|environment]], [[gun control]], and [[affirmative action]], Nunn took a more liberal line. He consistently voted in favor of increased immigration.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20020717113232/http://profiles.numbersusa.com/improfile.php3?DistSend=GA&VIPID=207 Immigration profile of:Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Georgia)], NumbersUSA.com; retrieved October 25, 2007.</ref> One of his most controversial votes was his vote against the [[Gulf War]].<ref>[http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1389 Government & Politics:Sam Nunn] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514113508/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1389 |date=2013-05-14 }}, The New Georgia Encyclopedia; retrieved October 25, 2007.</ref>

In September 1994, Nunn, former president [[Jimmy Carter]] and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff [[Colin Powell]] were asked by President [[Bill Clinton]] to go to [[Haiti]] to force the departure of the military dictator Lieutenant General [[Raoul Cédras]]. In 1994 Clinton publicly demanded that the Haitian government step aside and restore democratic rule. Clinton deployed a large military force to surround the country in September 1994. Just before the troops reached Haiti, Clinton sent a delegation led by Carter, the delegation wanted Nunn and Powell to urge Cédras to step down and leave the country. Cédras agreed and surrendered the government, and he and his top lieutenants left the country in October. Just days later, American forces escorted the country's elected president, [[Jean-Bertrand Aristide]], into the capital. Afterwards, Clinton lavished praise on Nunn's delegation for averting a military strike on the nation. "As all of you know, at my request, President Carter, Gen. Colin Powell, and Sen. Sam Nunn went to Haiti to facilitate the dictators' departure. I have been in constant contact with them for the last two days. They have worked tirelessly, almost around the clock, and I want to thank them for undertaking this crucial mission on behalf of all Americans", Clinton said.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cartercenter.org/news/documents/doc218.html |title=President Carter Leads Delegation to Negotiate Peace With Haiti |work=cartercenter.org|access-date=February 27, 2017}}</ref>

Upon his exit from the Senate at the end of 1996, Nunn was the recipient of bipartisan praise from his colleagues. [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] Senator [[John Warner]] of [[Virginia]] concluded, "Senator Nunn quickly established himself as one of the leading experts in the Congress and, indeed, all of the United States on national security and foreign policy. He gained a reputation in our country and, indeed, worldwide as a global thinker, and that is where I think he will make his greatest contribution in the years to come, wherever he may be, in terms of being a global thinker. His approach to national security issues has been guided by one fundamental criteria: What Sam Nunn believes is in the best interest of the United States of America."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gpoaccess.gov/crecord/index.html |title=Congressional Record: Main Page |website=www.gpoaccess.gov |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030406080226/http://www.gpoaccess.gov/crecord/index.html |archive-date=6 April 2003 |url-status=dead}}</ref>