Many here are too young to remember William Proxmire, one of the finest public servants this country has ever known. Proxmire was elected to the Senate in 1957 to complete the unexpired term of Joe McCarthy. Ironic that one of the worst senators in our history was replace by one of the best.
Proxmire was among the first, if not the first, to buck the Democratic establishment in opposing the war in Vietnam.
What he's best remembered for, however, is the Golden Fleece Awards, which he bestowed annually to commemorate the frivolous expenditure of taxpayer money. He retired in 1988 and passed this morning at 90. We need more like him. Here's a link to his AP obit. http://news.yahoo.com/...