Sad news out of my area this week, as former U.S. Representative from Kansas, Dennis Moore, announced that has Alzheimer's disease.
For someone who lives where I live, It was no less than a miracle that Dennis Moore was my representative for six terms. He had several very close races, but his likability and honesty allowed someone who was actually a fairly reliable Democrat (especially considering where he was from) continue to get elected.
Rep. Moore voted 100% pro-choice in his career. The NRA gave him a grade of F, which is an "A" in my book. He had a good environmental voting record. And, in his last term, he made a vote for Obama's Health Care bill and the cap-and-trade bill, that, had he chosen to run another term, may well have ended his career. As I surely don't need to tell anyone on this site, that is an impressive voting record for ANY representative from the state of Kansas.
I wrote to Dennis Moore frequently, understanding the difficult job he had, and expressed my appreciation for his efforts. Occasionally, I disagreed with some of his votes as well. Either way, I always received very nice, well-written letters back discussing my specific points, sometimes even with a hand-written note at the end from Dennis. Dennis lives very close to me, and he has always liked to be out in the community, talking to folks, and I always thought he was a great example of what a public servant should be. I think even the vastly Republican area I live in understands that as well, and I think that really helped him at election time.
Here is this week's article on Dennis from the Kansas City Star:
http://www.kansascity.com/...
Dennis, I wish you the very best in your fight against Alzheimer's and I hope you have many, many more days of joy with your family. I am very appreciative and extremely lucky to have had you as my representative, and I thank you for your excellent service.
Here is Dennis' contact information. I'd like those of us in his district, or anyone who appreciated his service, to drop him a line of encouragement:
http://midwestdemocracy.com/...