Today on Inland Journal and the Inland Journal podcast, we celebrate 40 years of Spokane Public Radio programming with 1994 documentary, A Tom Foley Retrospective.
At a time when many decry the frayed nature of our public discourse, it’s instructive to remember that the U.S. has had other difficult political times. In 1994, a Republican wave led by Newt Gingrich turned a Democratic majority out of Congress. Spokane’s Tom Foley became the first Speaker of the House to lose his Congressional seat.
A month or so after that election, I produced a documentary that looks back at Tom Foley’s 30 years in Congress, from his first campaign to the end of his tenure. We’ll replay that today on Inland Journal. The quality of the recording isn’t as good as it was then, but we hope you’ll enjoy looking back.