Isakson, Georgia's junior senator, learned the art of the deal
selling houses in the booming northern suburbs of his hometown of
Atlanta. But he perfected it during a 30-year political career
during which his Republican Party was often out of power. "I
tell everybody that the success I had in politics comes from what I
learned in real estate," Isakson once said. "It's the art
of compromise."
Isakson likes to say he was running as a Republican in Georgia
back when "nobody did that," back when southern Democrats
ruled Georgia and most of the South. Isakson, though, has always
been more pragmatic than ideological and that's helped him build a
reputation for getting things done in both the Georgia Assembly and
Congress.
"He could have passed a bill as easily as a Democrat because
everyone liked him and he'd reciprocate," former Georgia Gov.
Roy Barnes (D) once said of Isakson. "He reaches across the
aisle. He's - he'll hate this word - but he's very moderate. I'm
very high on Johnny Isakson. I know that's crazy for a Democrat to
say, (but) if every Republican were like Johnny Isakson, I'd be
one."
Isakson's low-key, workman-like style was his greatest appeal to
Georgia voters when they chose him to replace two of the state's
more bombastic politicians, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R),
who resigned in 1998, and former Sen. Zell Miller, a Democrat who
retired after denouncing his own party and speaking in favor of
President George W. Bush at the 2004 Republican National Convention.
Where Gingrich and Miller were outspoken and at home in the
spotlight, Isakson is reserved and prefers to work
behind-the-scenes. While Gingrich and Miller turned to
scorched-Earth tactics, Isakson often acts as a consensus builder.
"Everybody from Georgia who's in politics today, I don't know
of anybody I'd put ahead of Johnny Isakson," former Georgia
House Majority Leader Larry Walker, a Democrat who negotiated often
with Isakson, once said.
Isakson's style and willingness to work with members of the
opposition party have allowed him to leave his mark on major
legislation - including the No Child Left Behind education bill,
immigration reform and federal funding for embryonic stem-cell
research, among other things.
In His Own Words
“I tell everybody that the success I had in politics comes from what
I learned in real estate,” Isakson once said. “It’s the art of
compromise.”
More on: Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.)
Show less
Text Size
