Passing of Senator Proxmire

The country lost a great politician when it lost William Proxmire, who served Wisonsin in the Senate from 1957 - 1989. You know the guy represented the opposite of what I cannot stand about the inefficient, wasteful, hatelful partisan politics that exist today when the following reprersents the joint views of Mike Kaufman, a staunch conservative and myself, a moderate:

The death of Senator William Proxmire at the age of 90 is a reminder of what really ails our great country today---too much partisan politics and not enough compromise. Proxmire was a well respected Democrat who created the Golden Fleece Awards--awards that publicized frivolous government expenditures.

Proxmire was a politician that was well respected on both sides of the aisle and even had the courage to negate the appropriation of funds for projects in his own state that he viewed as frivolous. He also did not accept campaign donations--certainly a foreign concept in today's day and age and probably another source of wasteful spending in this country. In fact, for his final campaign into the senate in 1982, he registered less than $150 in campaign expenses, then won in a landslide.

Proxmire's behavior should represent the norm in politics instead of such a glaring exception. Rest in Peace, Seantor, may we have learned something from your teachings.