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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With John Pippy

Aired January 25, 2004 - 09:19   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Every soldier has a story to tell, and this one is unique. John Pippy had been a Pennsylvania state representative for years and had just gotten on the ballot for a state Senate seat, then Uncle Sam called and Pippy, as you see here, the commander of an Army Reserve unit, was off to Iraq.
While he was gone, he won the election.

After nine months of helping to rebuild the roads and infrastructure in southern Iraq, John Pippy's unit was discharged earlier this month. He is now back home, to begin his new job as state senator. Senator Pippy is with us this morning from Pittsburgh to tell us his story. Good morning to you, Senator. Thanks for being with us.

SEN. JOHN PIPPY (R), PENNSYLVANIA STATE SENATE: Good morning, Heidi.

COLLINS: I want to ask you quickly, what was your initial thought when you got this phone call that you were going to have to go to Iraq and you had just started on this new political venture?

PIPPY: I obviously was shocked. We knew that the military's being called up and I was hoping at least we could have gone through the election first. It was a big surprise. But then, we were ready to go. You -- the blood starts flowing, you just say, I got a job to do and you do it.

COLLINS: That's right. And how long had you been involved with the military at that point? This is something that we talk about quite a bit, especially after the war. It's sort of innate to someone like yourself who is involved with the military branches.

PIPPY: Well, I had gone to West Point, and served on active duty first. So I have been -- I have done that, and had spent -- that was my 11th year in the military, I graduated in '92. So as a company commander, I had seen a lot of different things.

COLLINS: So are you a military man or a politician?

PIPPY: Well, I think I'm a Pennsylvanian, I'm an American. And those are the things that really count. And you try to balance the two. We had always never really mixed them at all, because of, one, you shouldn't do that. But also, I just thought that that was my way to give back a little to my country, and also I felt an obligation since I had gone to the military academy to stay in. COLLINS: I know that there were some snags, though, quite a few snags, actually.

PIPPY: Quite a few.

COLLINS: You were told that, hey, you know, by the way, when you're over there, you can't campaign, and I'm sure you thought, well, how on Earth am I going to win if I can't campaign. So what happened?

PIPPY: Right. Well, luckily I'm married to the most wonderful woman in the world.

COLLINS: Well, good for you!

PIPPY: You know, it's amazing, though. And I tell people, I wouldn't be involved in politics if it wasn't for my wife, Kathy. The stress that's normal with this type of job, you need to have a very solid family and just a lot of family support. And my wife is -- she really raised the bar. While I was gone, we received 68 percent of the vote. So now I'm in little trouble. If I don't get that at least that this election, I'll never hear the end of it.

COLLINS: Pressure's on, I bet. Now, I know that you also had a little bit of help from some guy, oh what's his name, Paul Wolfowitz to help you stay on the ballot as well. What was that about?

PIPPY: Well, the during the time we -- initially when we found out about the call-up, had asked for an opinion that, because I was a previous candidate, obviously I won't be campaigning while I'm serving, I'll be with my soldiers, and they told us we could be on the ballot, just do not break that rule.

And we weren't. And six or seven days before the election, another ruling came down that was a surprise that said, no, you can't, this has been reviewed again and the Army says no. So we made the appeal, just like everyone else would. And it went to the Department of Defense, and they just -- they followed the first rule, which was do not actively campaign. You are -- you were an existing candidate. And if you were to win, you cannot assume any of the official roles of the office until you get off active duty, which is what we followed.

COLLINS: What did your unit think when you found out and you got word that you had won?

PIPPY: They -- they were -- it's just an amazing group of people. Most of them from western Pennsylvania, some from Maryland, New Jersey. And they gave me a cake. And I don't think you have that picture, but it was very touching. These guys, and men and women were just so supportive. I'll never forget that.

COLLINS: I'm sure that meant a lot to you. Let me ask you, now that you are back, how's the job going?

PIPPY: It's going well. We are busy. Just like any other elected official. We have a lot of issues, and in particular Pennsylvanian and the area around Pittsburgh where I live. So we're working on that. The day I returned home, the next morning I went to a meeting and just have been doing that ever since.

And I think part of that is, as a thank you to my constituents. The question was very clear, and my opponent was very good at reminding people that I wasn't there. And they asked him, do you want someone who may not be back for a little while but serving in the military, or do you want someone who can be there right now but isn't? And 68 percent said they are going to let me serve and let me come back. So I figure I owe it to them, and we're going to try to make up for those 11 months I was away.

COLLINS: Well, it is an interesting story, and we certainly do appreciate you telling it to us this morning. John Pippy, thanks so much for being with us and thanks also for your service to the country. We do appreciate that as well.

PIPPY: Thank you, Heidi.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired January 25, 2004 - 09:19   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Every soldier has a story to tell, and this one is unique. John Pippy had been a Pennsylvania state representative for years and had just gotten on the ballot for a state Senate seat, then Uncle Sam called and Pippy, as you see here, the commander of an Army Reserve unit, was off to Iraq.
While he was gone, he won the election.

After nine months of helping to rebuild the roads and infrastructure in southern Iraq, John Pippy's unit was discharged earlier this month. He is now back home, to begin his new job as state senator. Senator Pippy is with us this morning from Pittsburgh to tell us his story. Good morning to you, Senator. Thanks for being with us.

SEN. JOHN PIPPY (R), PENNSYLVANIA STATE SENATE: Good morning, Heidi.

COLLINS: I want to ask you quickly, what was your initial thought when you got this phone call that you were going to have to go to Iraq and you had just started on this new political venture?

PIPPY: I obviously was shocked. We knew that the military's being called up and I was hoping at least we could have gone through the election first. It was a big surprise. But then, we were ready to go. You -- the blood starts flowing, you just say, I got a job to do and you do it.

COLLINS: That's right. And how long had you been involved with the military at that point? This is something that we talk about quite a bit, especially after the war. It's sort of innate to someone like yourself who is involved with the military branches.

PIPPY: Well, I had gone to West Point, and served on active duty first. So I have been -- I have done that, and had spent -- that was my 11th year in the military, I graduated in '92. So as a company commander, I had seen a lot of different things.

COLLINS: So are you a military man or a politician?

PIPPY: Well, I think I'm a Pennsylvanian, I'm an American. And those are the things that really count. And you try to balance the two. We had always never really mixed them at all, because of, one, you shouldn't do that. But also, I just thought that that was my way to give back a little to my country, and also I felt an obligation since I had gone to the military academy to stay in. COLLINS: I know that there were some snags, though, quite a few snags, actually.

PIPPY: Quite a few.

COLLINS: You were told that, hey, you know, by the way, when you're over there, you can't campaign, and I'm sure you thought, well, how on Earth am I going to win if I can't campaign. So what happened?

PIPPY: Right. Well, luckily I'm married to the most wonderful woman in the world.

COLLINS: Well, good for you!

PIPPY: You know, it's amazing, though. And I tell people, I wouldn't be involved in politics if it wasn't for my wife, Kathy. The stress that's normal with this type of job, you need to have a very solid family and just a lot of family support. And my wife is -- she really raised the bar. While I was gone, we received 68 percent of the vote. So now I'm in little trouble. If I don't get that at least that this election, I'll never hear the end of it.

COLLINS: Pressure's on, I bet. Now, I know that you also had a little bit of help from some guy, oh what's his name, Paul Wolfowitz to help you stay on the ballot as well. What was that about?

PIPPY: Well, the during the time we -- initially when we found out about the call-up, had asked for an opinion that, because I was a previous candidate, obviously I won't be campaigning while I'm serving, I'll be with my soldiers, and they told us we could be on the ballot, just do not break that rule.

And we weren't. And six or seven days before the election, another ruling came down that was a surprise that said, no, you can't, this has been reviewed again and the Army says no. So we made the appeal, just like everyone else would. And it went to the Department of Defense, and they just -- they followed the first rule, which was do not actively campaign. You are -- you were an existing candidate. And if you were to win, you cannot assume any of the official roles of the office until you get off active duty, which is what we followed.

COLLINS: What did your unit think when you found out and you got word that you had won?

PIPPY: They -- they were -- it's just an amazing group of people. Most of them from western Pennsylvania, some from Maryland, New Jersey. And they gave me a cake. And I don't think you have that picture, but it was very touching. These guys, and men and women were just so supportive. I'll never forget that.

COLLINS: I'm sure that meant a lot to you. Let me ask you, now that you are back, how's the job going?

PIPPY: It's going well. We are busy. Just like any other elected official. We have a lot of issues, and in particular Pennsylvanian and the area around Pittsburgh where I live. So we're working on that. The day I returned home, the next morning I went to a meeting and just have been doing that ever since.

And I think part of that is, as a thank you to my constituents. The question was very clear, and my opponent was very good at reminding people that I wasn't there. And they asked him, do you want someone who may not be back for a little while but serving in the military, or do you want someone who can be there right now but isn't? And 68 percent said they are going to let me serve and let me come back. So I figure I owe it to them, and we're going to try to make up for those 11 months I was away.

COLLINS: Well, it is an interesting story, and we certainly do appreciate you telling it to us this morning. John Pippy, thanks so much for being with us and thanks also for your service to the country. We do appreciate that as well.

PIPPY: Thank you, Heidi.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com