In 1964,Carter sought the Republican nomination for Congress,following the retirement of Representative Eugene Siler. Carter won the election over DemocratFrances Jones Mills,becoming one of the few bright spots in a disastrous year for the GOP. However,he represented one of the few ancestrally Republican districts south of the Ohio River. Voters in this region identified with the Republicans after the Civil War,and have remained loyal to the GOP through good times and bad ever since. Carter kept this tradition going,and was reelected seven times with no substantive opposition.
Vietnam war
In 1966,Carter was sent by President Johnson to Vietnam along with ten other war-veteran congressmen on a "Speaker's Committee." Upon his return,he was asked by Johnson about his opinion of the state of the war. Carter went against the nine other delegates,stating:"No,Mr. President,you are not winning the war,". Carter later came to be known as the first Republican Congressman to call for the end of the Vietnam War. Rising before the U.S. House of Representatives on August 28,1967,Carter stated "Let us now,while we are yet strong,bring our men home,every man jack of them. The Vietcong fight fiercely and tenaciously because it is their land and we are foreigners intervening in their civil war. If we must fight,let us fight in defense of our homeland and our own hemisphere."
Policies
President Gerald Ford prior to signing S.3735,authorizing the 1976 National Swine Flu Immunization Program. Also shown are [l-r]:Department of Health,Education and Welfare (HEW) Undersecretary Marjorie Lynch,HEW Secretary F. David Mathews,U.S. Rep. Tim Lee Carter (R-KY),Assistant Secretary for Health (HEW) Dr. Theodore Cooper,HEW General Counsel William Howard Taft IV,and HEW Assistant General Counsel Bernard Feiner.
Carter was considered as a moderate-progressive Republican in Washington.[dubious–discuss] Carter voted in favor of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968.[2][3] In 1971,Carter was the sole Republican in the state's congressional delegation to vote for the Equal Employment Opportunity Act.[4] As reported in a 1977 issue of Time magazine,Carter put forth the first Republican plan for national health insurance. Carter was appointed by President Nixon to the Shafer Commission,charged with making policy recommendations concerning drug abuse. The Shafer Commission recommended decriminalizing simple marijuana possession,a policy that President Nixon flatly refused.
Family
Tim Lee Carter's sister,Pearl Carter Pace was the first elected woman sheriff in Kentucky. Pearl's and Tim Lee's father,James C. Carter Sr.,served for 48 years as Circuit Judge in four counties of South Central Kentucky. His son,James C. Carter Jr.,served for 46 years as judge following his father. Numerous other Carters have served in a wide range of public offices,both elective and appointive.
Pearl's son,Stanley Carter Pace,was captured as a prisoner of war by the German Army during World War II. He later rose to the Chairmanship of TRW,and,came out of retirement to return the giant defense contractor General Dynamics to viability. The extended Carter family is still active in state and local politics in Monroe County,Kentucky.
Retirement
In 1980,Carter did not seek re-election. On his retirement,he returned to live in Tompkinsville,Kentucky,and remained active in local,state,and national politics until his death in 1987.
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![President Gerald Ford prior to signing S.3735,authorizing the 1976 National Swine Flu Immunization Program. Also shown are [l-r]:Department of Health,Education and Welfare (HEW) Undersecretary Marjorie Lynch,HEW Secretary F. David Mathews,U.S. Rep. Tim Lee Carter (R-KY),Assistant Secretary for Health (HEW) Dr. Theodore Cooper,HEW General Counsel William Howard Taft IV,and HEW Assistant General Counsel Bernard Feiner. President Ford prior to signing S.3735,the 1976 National Swine Flu Immunization Program - NARA - 7064717.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/President_Ford_prior_to_signing_S.3735%2C_the_1976_National_Swine_Flu_Immunization_Program_-_NARA_-_7064717.jpg/250px-President_Ford_prior_to_signing_S.3735%2C_the_1976_National_Swine_Flu_Immunization_Program_-_NARA_-_7064717.jpg)
