George R. Nethercutt, Jr., the Spokane lawyer and county Republican chairman who became a national political “giant killer” 30 years ago by defeating the sitting speaker of the House of Representatives, died Friday morning. He was 79 and had fought the debilitating effects of a progressive neurological disease for several years.
Who was George Nethercutt?
George Rector Nethercutt Jr. was an American lawyer, author, and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he rose to national attention upon his election to the U.S. House of epresentatives in 1994, when he defeated House Speaker Tom Foley in Washington’s 5th congressional district. Nethercutt served five terms and left the House in 2004, when he mounted an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate.
George Nethercutt Political Journey
After beating Speaker of the House Tom Foley in 1994 as one of the stars of a GOP revolution, Nethercutt went on to serve 10 years in the House before an unsuccessful run for U.S. Senate. He later set up a foundation to inspire a new generation with an appreciation for civics and government service. “He had a high regard for our country and its institutions,” Rich Kuhling, a long-time friend who directed Nethercutt’s 1994 campaign.
The foundation sponsored tournaments for students to match their knowledge of civics and sponsored internships in Washington, D.C. Two years ago he published a book, “Saving Patriotism: American Patriotism in a Global Era,” in which he described an effort to educate and advocate for civic knowledge of all citizens, but particularly for millennials and Generation Z.
In 2022, as Nethercutt struggled with a neurological disorder, progressive supranuclear palsy that made it increasingly difficult to speak and walk, his foundation joined forces with the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University, endowing a speaker series on civil discourse and civics education.
Post-congressional life
Nethercutt left the House of Representatives at the end of his term in January 2005, but said that he would probably not completely retire from politics. In 2005, he and two other political veterans (former Interior Department deputy secretary J. Steven Griles and former White House national energy policy director Andrew Lundquist) formed the political lobbying firm Lundquist, Nethercutt & Griles, LLC. Griles resigned in 2007, after he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in connection with the Abramoff scandal, the top Bush administration official to do so.
Nethercutt served as Chairman of Nethercutt Consulting LLC, was of counsel for the law firms of Bluewater Strategies and Lee & Hayes, and was a member of several corporate boards. He was the author of the book In Tune with America: Our History in Song,. Hewrites a monthly column for The Pacific Northwest Inlander newspaper, and records radio commentaries for several radio stations.
