5 Random Things About Julius Caesar Watts
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Just who is J.C. Watts? He was once one of the most prominent Republicans in Congress. Oh, and he was black. Read on for more fascinating facts about Watts.
- J.C. Watts was born on November 18, 1957 in Eufala, Oklahoma. He was one of the first children to attend an integrated elementary school in Oklahoma, and was the first black quarterback at Eufala High School.
- Watts took his football skills to the next level, where he was the starting quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners from 1979-1980. He led the Sooners to two straight Big 8 Championships and two straight Orange Bowl victories. He was elected to the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame in 1992.
- Watts decided to enter politics in the 1980s, citing discontent over government regulation of his business. His family were lifelong Democrats, but J.C. decided to switch to the Republican Party, as he supported their views on fiscal and social conservatism. About his party affiliation,
hehis father said:A black man voting for the Republicans makes about as much sense as a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders.
- In 1990, J.C. Watts was elected to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, the state’s public utilities commission, becoming the first African-American elected to statewide office in Oklahoma history. He decided to take his political success to the next level in 1994 when he ran for Congress. Watts won the election, becoming the first black Representative from a southern state since Reconstruction. Watts remained in office for four consecutive terms before announcing his retirement in 2002 due to a desire to spend more time with his family.
- Another of Watts’ accomplishments during his Congressional tenure, was the delivery of the Republican response to the 1997 State of the Union Address. He is the only African-American to ever deliver a party’s response to the State of the Union. Also, up until Virginia Governor Tim Kaine delivered the 2006 response, Watts was the youngest (although he’s only 3 months older than Kaine).
Bonus: Despite his conservative views, Watts endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, citing his belief that the Republican party ignored black voters. Also, Watts fathered two children by two different women while he was in high school. However, he did marry the mother of one of the children, and they remain married to this day.
“I wasn’t raised to be a Republican or Democrat. My parents just taught by example. They taught me and my brothers and sisters that if you lived under their roof, you were going to work.”
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I believe it was actually his father, J. C. Watts Sr., who said the thing about Republicans and Colonel Sanders… and he said it *about* his son. See this article: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_17_95/ai_54731475/ (the L.A. Times article it mentions is here: http://articles.latimes.com/1999/jan/04/local/me-60248).
You are right. I misread that anecdote. I’ll go ahead and update the post now. Thanks!
The problem with this country is BOTH the Democrats and Republicans. Anyone who seriously thinks that one side isn’t corrupt or slaves to Corporate America hasn’t done an adequate job of paying attention. To the Republicans: The GW administration will go down in History as one of the worst administrations. They eroded your constitutional rights, expanded the power of the wealthy elite, invaded countries under false pretenses, destroyed diplomatic relations with the rest of the world, and spent money like it was going out of style. To the Democrats: Obama is a dud. He promised much and has turned out to be another corporate lackey. He made deals with big pharma to ensure you could not get your medication cheaper elsewhere, he flip flopped on military tribunals, he refuses to fix health care properly through nationalization or single payer, he populates his inner circle with more Wall Street insiders, he spends money on bailouts and useless stimulus packages.
[...] Quality Forum, called a press conference at the Boriken Neighborhood Health Center in New York…5 Random Things About J.C. Watts | Everything Is HistoryJust who is J.C. Watts? He was once one of the most prominent Republicans in Congress. Oh, and he [...]