Watching the lack of Republican leadership this past week got me thinking about the great Senators of the past and how they were able to get things done, while it seems that in our moden politics, we seldom can address and fix many of the nation's urgent problems.
A little off topic but back in 1957, Senator John F. Kennedy headed a committee that selected five senators as the nation's greatest. They were the following:
Henry Clay of Kentucky: Served in the Senate from 1831 until his death in 1852. A member of the Whig Party, he was "the Great Compromiser" who had a great ability to balance regional and national interests. He was largely credited with keeping the North and South together without civil war for many years despite their differences over slavery.
John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, leading proponent of "states' rights." In 1957, Senator John F. Kennedy described him as a "forceful logician of state sovereignty" and a "masterful defender of the rights of a political minority against the dangers of an unchecked majority."
Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, who served in the Senate from 1827 to 1850, except for a two-year stint as Secretary of State. He championed the concept of a strong national government, and was a great orator.
Robert Marion La Follette a Republican from Wisconsin, was a leading progressive. He served in the Senate from 1906 until his death in 1925. He championed the regulatory reforms of Presidents Roosevelt and Wilson, and also a more direct democracy, pushing the Seventeenth Amendment (1913), which provided for direct election of senators.
Robert A. Taft, a Republican from Ohio, served in the Senate from 1938 to 1947. He helped write the Labor Management Relations Act, which placed controls on labor unions and prohibited "closed shops."
I thought it might be fun to try and pick out the five great Senators of right now.
Who would they be?
Any thoughts?
I'll update the diary with the Senators with the most request in the threads.