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U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna, R-Barneveld, sits at his desk one last time at his Washington, D.C. office on Capitol Hill. Hanna will retire Jan. 3, 2017, ending a career in Congress in which he became a leading voice for Republican moderates. He represented eight counties in Central New York, the Mohawk Valley and Southern Tier that make up the 22nd Congressional District.

(Mark Weiner | mweiner@syracuse.com)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - When U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna walks away from Congress next week after six years in office, the Upstate New York Republican will leave behind a GOP that he says has become too intolerant and extreme, drowning out moderates like himself.

Hanna, 65, a fiercely independent voice within the GOP who repeatedly broke ranks to stand up to hardline conservatives, told Syracuse.com in an exit interview that he worries the traditional moderate Republican from the Northeast faces extinction in Congress.

"I never left the Republican Party that I originally joined," Hanna said. "I can only say that they've left me. It's really gone to the far extremes on social issues. They've become judgmental and sanctimonious and authoritarian on their approach to people. They talk about personal freedom, but they also want to define what that is for you and me."

Hanna, of Barneveld in Oneida County, stood out as the only Republican in Congress to support a combination of abortion rights, same-sex marriage and the Equal Rights Amendment, guaranteeing equal rights for women.

After announcing plans for his retirement, he gained national attention this year when he became the only GOP member of Congress to say he would vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton for president over the Republican nominee, Donald Trump.

Rep.-elect Claudia Tenney, R-New Hartford, a conservative Trump supporter who has received Tea Party backing, will succeed Hanna in office when the 115th Congress begins on Tuesday.

In a wide-ranging, two-hour interview this week, Hanna reflected on his career in Congress, the presidential election and the future of the Republican Party. He also said he would consider making a bid for the GOP nomination for New York governor in 2018. Here are excerpts from the interview.

Do you have any regrets about your decision to retire from Congress?

No, not for a moment. Not at all. I've been fortunate. I have things to go back to. I've made great friends in Congress. I've stood out in ways that I didn't intend to go there to do, but I wasn't going to walk away from who I was or what I believed. I think in many ways people have been angered by that - my support of women's health care, Planned Parenthood, and gay rights, the environment, and things like that.

One of the problems with Congress for me is you really are one of 435 people. And unless you really adapt the orthodoxy of being a Republican or a Democrat, you find yourself somewhat marginalized.

For a lot of people, it's a great job. But when it becomes all about you and you need it to survive, I think one should question why they got in it or whether they should stay. I don't see enough people asking that question because it's hard to give up.

You represented Central New York in Congress for six years. What do you view as your best accomplishment?

The thing I'm proud of is that on those votes which I regard as civil rights -- government minding its own business and staying out of people's personal affairs which it has no right to pursue -- like LGBT rights and the environment and things like that, I have been myself.

I have been willing to all along find myself widely disagreed with -- by not the majority, but by some people -- and I've been able to navigate that, be upfront about it, and leave my job intact as I went.

You were part of a group of moderate Republicans in Congress that has steadily dwindled over the past decade. Do you think it's possible for moderate Republicans like yourself to still have a meaningful role in the party?

I think it's difficult because nobody wants to be one of 10 out of 200 and something. Everybody wants to feel like they have an opportunity to make a difference. But if you have to be on the Science Committee and not believe in global warming or something like that, it's hard.

Think about this, (former North Country Rep.) John McHugh couldn't get elected today. Sherry Boehlert (who represented Central New York in Congress for 24 years) couldn't get elected today. And Jim Walsh (who represented the Syracuse area in Congress for 20 years) couldn't get elected today. These are three moderate members from Upstate New York, and they couldn't get the nomination today.

What's wrong with the Republican Party today?

Everyone is entitled to their own belief system, religiously and socially. But I think the lack of broad tolerance and appreciation for the diversity of this society we live in, and the benefits that it's brought us, have escaped or are not talked about or respected enough.

The Christian right, or far right, can be very authoritarian and fundamentalist, and plays a big role in the party. I think they're entitled to their personal beliefs, and I'd defend that completely. But the real tough test of success for me, and for the future of the Republican Party, is that pluralism matters, that tolerance matters.

I feel like the orthodoxy of the party, the authoritarian nature of it, has made it very judgmental and often very sanctimonious. Because that's what it is today, it's actually attracted a lot of people that appeals to. They are completely on board for it. They are judging everything and everybody, but they are the last to be judged.

What do you attribute Donald Trump's victory to?

I've never taken exception to the people who have voted for him. There are a lot of people who haven't seen their wages go up. Maybe for the first time, I think about 50 percent of young people are making less than their parents did. Those are huge issues. And then you see the government bureaucracy and the rules and regulations. They've taken the fun out of being in business. They've disincentivized entrepreneurs like me. They've kind of taken the heart out of people.

So you see a guy like Trump, and he comes along, and one way or another he speaks to a lot of those issues people feel strongly about. So they're willing to ignore a lot of those things they may not like about him.

I wish him well. I mean, he's the president. I think there are areas he will do well in. I think the Democrats played a role in his success too. They didn't need to put up somebody who by all accounts they all wanted to see as president - Mrs. Clinton - and yet she was a candidate that was probably the most beatable candidate, just like Trump was the most beatable candidate from the Republican side. I don't think they thought it through very well.

Did Trump win the election or did Clinton lose it?

I think both are true. The working middle class has been put upon and feels left behind. I think the Democrats haven't figured out the difference between helping people and empathy. Most people I know don't want anything from the government. They just want to take care of themselves.

Part of the problem I think the Democratic Party has is that it's become a party of redistribution instead of an uplifting model. They have this notion that things aren't fair and they want to make it fair.

If you could have a few minutes alone with Donald Trump, what advice would you offer him?

I don't think he'd listen because he hasn't yet. But I would tell him not to be dismissive of those people he disagrees with, simply based on the fact he disagrees with them. You know, he has become the most powerful man on the planet. I think that his success isn't going to be measured just by how well the economy comes back, if it comes back. But this country has survived because of its differences, not in spite of them. It's important to listen and to show respect.

If you want to make people angry - whether it's your wife, your children or anybody - just pretend you don't give a damn what they say. That's the projection he gives and that's the attitude some of the people around him seem to have. But that's not a recipe for success. You don't have to do everything that everybody wants, but you have to at least make them understand that you understand.

What's your advice for Claudia Tenney, your successor in the 22nd Congressional District?

The problem with Claudia is that I don't think she was very relevant in Albany (where she served in the state Assembly) and I don't think she will be very relevant in D.C. I don't say that to be a slap to her. But I know that in life that past performance is the best determinant of future performance.

My advice to Claudia is to embrace this job in a way that isn't about you. At the end of the day, you'll always be appreciated or respected by the far right and the Tea Party groups and those people that supported her. But there are 720,000 people in the district and you work for every damn one of them. Find a way to connect and listen.

If you could change anything about your six years in Congress, what would it be?

I had a habit every night: I would go home and read. And a lot of members go out and they meet one another, and they drink a little bit, and they get to know one another. I never took the time to build very many friendships down there. I have a few good friends.

It always bothered me that the Republican Party - they supported me and I'm grateful - but I could never quite check all of the boxes that they wanted me to. I have to say it bothered me that they were where they were, and that I had to push back so much. I guess that's my way of saying I thought I was right about a few things. I wish I could have convinced people that pluralism and tolerance are also values, and this anger and vitriol that is so easily flung around today...really bothered me and still does.

Is there any particular vote you are most proud of?

The Violence Against Women Act, the alternative that the Republican Party put out there, I thought was really anathema to the intent of the original act. It excluded lesbian women, it excluded illegal immigrants, it excluded American Indian women. And yet these are typically poor women, maybe marginalized, maybe running under the radar, likely needing more help than others. They wanted to exclude those categories.

Well, a woman is a woman. And abuse is abuse. If you want to deport somebody, that's one thing. But based on somebody's sexual preference, or the fact they may be here illegally, that should not be how we rewrite our attitude towards women who are being abused.

That vote came to the floor and I think to the surprise (of GOP leaders) there were maybe 18 or 20 of us at the time who didn't support it at the time. I was behind that. I just planted my feet and we worked the room. And after three months of trying, the historical version passed and got funded as it was about to expire.

What was the worst thing about serving in Congress?

The people I didn't like, and the worst part about Congress, was hearing people say to me I hate this vote but I'm going to vote the party line. That bothered me because I saw that as the purest form of dishonesty and hypocrisy in government. That's what I hated the most, the people that I saw who had an opportunity to have a voice and change outcomes and speak to their truth, and they chose not to.

What's the biggest misconception the public has about you?

That I'm not conservative. And I am. I think the definition of being conservative often means minding your own damn business. Being conservative means being tolerant of other peoples' freedoms and notions that you don't like, but you're willing to accept it because they accept yours.

I'm a fiscal conservative and I think I'm a conservative the way conservatism was designed, not by the Christian right, but by the American belief in pluralism and tolerance.

People say I'm not conservative. I think I'm more conservative than most conservative members of Congress because I actually live the way I talk.

Your son, Emerson, and daughter, Grace, are both under 10 years old. Years from now, when they grow up, what will you tell them about their father's service in Congress?

What I hope to tell them is not as important as what I hope other people tell them. I would be more than happy to have somebody walk up to my children and say: You know what, I didn't agree with your father on a number of issues. But he wasn't a hypocrite and he wasn't a liar. He actually stood for something. And he never made that job about him, and got out intact.

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