IU alumnus, former senator dies

WASHINGTON -- Former Sen. Vance Hartke, a liberal Indiana Democrat whose staunch opposition to the Vietnam War put him at odds with President Lyndon B. Johnson, died Sunday from heart failure. He was 84.\nHartke was born May 31, 1919, in the southern Indiana coal-mining town of Stendal. After graduating from the University of Evansville, he earned his law degree from IU. He enlisted in the Coast Guard and later served as a Navy officer in World War II.\nHartke, who set up a law practice in Falls Church, Va., after he was defeated for re-election in 1976, died in a suburban Virginia hospital after being rushed there Saturday with chest pains, said his son, Jan. He had undergone open-heart surgery three years ago.\nHartke was the mayor of Evansville when he first was elected to the Senate in 1958. He soon was befriended by Johnson, the party's majority leader, who awarded him choice assignments on the powerful Finance and Commerce committees.\nAfter winning re-election to a second term six years later, Hartke used his committee posts to advance Johnson's Great Society agenda, helping craft legislation creating student loan programs and new veterans benefits.\n"In the late 1950s and the 1960s, he was one of the strongest voices for Medicare," retired Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., recalled Monday. "He took a real lead on that (despite) a lot of opposition in the state of Indiana. He was not afraid to take a tough, controversial stand."\nHartke used his chairmanship of Commerce's transportation subcommittee to make automakers equip cars with seat belts and other safety equipment and helped establish Amtrak and Conrail. He also was instrumental in creating the International Executive Service Corps, an organization modeled after the Peace Corps, that sent retired U.S. businessmen to poor countries to help turn small businesses into large ones.\nThe split between Hartke and Johnson occurred in 1965, when Hartke aligned himself with other Senate Democrats opposed to the Vietnam war. The group included J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota and George McGovern of South Dakota.\nHartke's opposition to Vietnam later earned him a spot on Richard Nixon's enemies list, but Hartke refused to hold a grudge against Nixon.\n"That's neither here nor there," Hartke told The Indianapolis Star in 1991. "That's in the past."\nHartke won a third term in 1970 after a recount, a narrow victory marred by his Vietnam stance. He lost his Senate seat in 1976 to Republican Richard Lugar.\nHamilton said Hartke had an encyclopedic memory of projects in every Indiana county and recalled putting in 15- and 18-hour days campaigning with him.\n"He revitalized Democratic politics in the state of Indiana," Hamilton said. "He brought tremendous energy to it. He was a genuine populist. His great passion was for ordinary Americans."\nLugar said he last saw Hartke in July.\n"He was vigorous, enthusiastic and optimistic as always," Lugar said in a statement. "I counted upon him as a friend with strong Hoosier ties and a generous spirit that gave me a boost each time I visited with him."\n"You wished you had all the energy he had," said Indiana Gov. Frank O'Bannon. "At 84 he was still going strong."\nSen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., who was attending a Democratic Leadership Council meeting Monday in Philadelphia, said Hartke "served the people of Indiana with distinction as both mayor and U.S. senator."\nHartke also had his share of political problems. In 1994, he was indicted by a grand jury in Indiana for alleged misdemeanor polling violations in connection with a successful campaign to allow riverboat casinos in Dearborn County. As part of a plea agreement, he was given a six-month suspended sentence.\n"He was working in his office Friday night when I dropped by to see him," said his son Jan. "He wanted to be somebody who continued to achieve something."\nHartke is survived by his wife of 60 years, Martha, four sons, three daughters and 16 grandchildren, all of whom were with him when he died. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, but funeral plans were incomplete Monday, his family said.