Former Senator Howard Metzenbaum (D-Ohio) died tonight at 90. Metzenbaum, who was appointed to the Senate in 1974 by Gov. John Gilligan (the father of current Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius), defeated in the primary for a full term, then returned to the Senate for three terms from 1976 through 1994.
From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Metzenbaum was one of the Senate's wealthiest members, yet he prospered in politics for more than half a century as a champion of working men and women.
Metzenbaum's outlook was forged by the Depression, and his politics by Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. He remained an unreconstructed liberal Democrat to the end.
He achieved near-legendary status as a foe of big business, an advocate for consumer causes, and a tough infighter blocking scores of special interest bills. He believed he could have won a fourth consecutive term, but made way for a run by his son-in-law, lawyer Joel Hyatt, who lost the Senate seat to Republican Mike DeWine.
...
His grasp of pocketbook issues, his skill at fundraising and a pledge to voters that he was "on their side," were keys to his success in Ohio, historically a Republican-leaning state.
My condolences to the Metzenbaum family and the people of Ohio on the loss of a truly great American.