R.I.P. Senator William Proxmire
Damn -- one of the good ones...
From
CNN/AP:
Maverick Sen. Proxmire dies at 90
Politician took on government waste with 'Golden Fleece' awards
When William Proxmire won a Senate seat in 1957, he took a most unusual approach for a freshman, challenging the right of congressional leaders to determine committee assignments.
Capitol Hill watchers termed this act of hubris "Proxmire's Farewell Address," but they underestimated the Wisconsin Democrat. Proxmire would go on to serve for four decades in the Senate, distinguished by his knack for taking on big targets.
Proxmire, who died Thursday at age 90, made his mark in Congress by taking on government waste with his mocking "Golden Fleece" awards.
He battled for causes that few colleagues embraced. He won re-election repeatedly without accepting campaign donations and fought year after year for ratification of an anti-genocide treaty.
The article talks about when he was first elected Senator:
Soon he carved out a reputation as a senator with an independent streak, introducing amendments without consulting Democratic Party heads, filibustering and even criticizing the dictates of Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas.
In more than two decades, Proxmire did not travel abroad on Senate business and he returned more than $900,000 from his office allowances to the Treasury.
He repeatedly sparked his colleagues' ire by opposing salary increases, fighting against such Senate "perks" as a new gym in the Hart office building and keeping the Senate open all night long -- at a cost of thousands of dollars -- so he alone could argue against increasing the national debt limit.
Even so, his reputation was that of a workaholic and even his strongest critics found him to be one of the chamber's most disciplined, intelligent and persistent members.
He held the longest unbroken record in the history of the Senate for roll call votes.
Proxmire said his biggest mistake in Congress was his early support for the Vietnam War, a position he reversed in 1967.
Proxmire kept in shape with rigorous exercise, ran several miles to work each day and wrote a book about keeping fit. He even got a facelift and a hair transplant.
Although he was generally considered a liberal Democrat when he began his political career, Proxmire later said he found such labels useless. He opposed abortion and school busing.
The Golden Fleece Awards were a lot of fun -- the recipient was said to have been "Proxmired". They were so good that they are still going on, still in the same spirit.
The website is here:
Golden Fleece
Here are three from the
top ten list:
Great Wall of Bedford, Indiana
The Economic Development Administration of the Commerce Department for spending $20,000 in 1981 to construct an 800-foot limestone replica of the Great Wall of China in Bedford, Indiana.
TV Watching Lessons
The Office of Education for spending $219,592 in 1978 to develop a curriculum to teach college students how to watch television.
Basketball Therapy
For the Health Care Financing Administration for Medicaid payments to psychiatrists for unscheduled, coincidental meetings with patients who were attending basketball games, sitting on stoops, etc. -- the cost of which was between $40 and $80 million from 1981 to 1984.
Posted by DaveH at December 15, 2005 8:57 PM