Jane Harman
Jane Lakes Harman (born June 28 1945), American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 2001, representing the 36th District of California (map). The 36th district includes Torrance, Redondo Beach, Venice and West Carson. She previously represented the district from 1993 to 1999. She was born in New York City, was educated at Smith College and the Harvard University School of Law, and was a lawyer, a staff member for US Senator John V. Tunney, adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, chief counsel and staff director for the United States Senate Judiciary subcommittee on constitutional rights, deputy secretary to the Cabinet at the White House (1977-1978) and special counsel to the Department of Defense before entering the House. Harman ran for Governor of California in 1998 but was defeated in the Democratic primary by then-Lieutenant Governor Gray Davis.
She is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of conservative Congressional Democrats, one of the few members who is not from the Deep South. She is the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). She is married to Dr. Sidney Harman, the cofounder of Harman Kardon electronics.
Harman is criticized by many liberal democrats who believe that she is too supportive of many of the Bush administration’s policies, including the Iraq war. In 2006 she faced her first Democratic primary challenge since 1992. Though Harman won easily, her opponent Marcy Winograd, who focused on an antiwar platform, received 38% of the vote. Winograd says that this relatively strong showing might lead Harman to give less support to the Iraq War.
Quotes
- "We are now in an era of franchise terrorism,” says Rep. Jane Harman of El Segundo. “Everyone doesn't have to ask permission of Uncle Osama to carry out a terrorist attack."
- "The terrorists aren't going to check our party registration before they blow us up. …We're under attack as America."