Congressman Obey is leaving memories of power, accomplishment May 6, 2010 There is nothing quite like going out at the top of your game.
And that’s just what Wisconsin’s legendary lawmaker, Congressman Dave Obey, did in a surprise announcement Wednesday morning.
After almost 42 years in the U.S. Congress that followed over six years in the Wisconsin legislature, Obey has 48 years registered as a lawmaker. It has been quite a full-time job.
As districts shifted, Obey represented portions of Langlade County and the city of Antigo, and as he is retiring, he is our representative.
Obey is a liberal, and certainly does not shrink from the label. He championed the recently-passed health car initiative, worked to keep the U.S. out of “misguided” wars and has taken pride in the much maligned Economic Recovery Act of 2009, which he calls “essential.”
Like any legislator, we have strongly agreed and strongly disagreed with many of his positions over these many decades.
But during those differences, he would discuss the issues, answer or return our calls, and brought the aura of concern for the people of northern and northwestern Wisconsin.
He cared, and he responded.
“When I was a kid growing up in Wausau, I never dreamed that I would have one-tenth of the opportunities that have come my way,” he said.
“The people of northern Wisconsin have given me that honor and the privilege of representing them on the great issues of our times,” he added, “ranging from Vietnam to Watergate, the Iranian hostage crisis, the Reagan deficits, Iran-Contra, the collapse of communism, two Gulf Wars, the economic and budget reform of the early 1990s, the government shut down, 9/11, and the economic meltdown of the past decade.”
Those are all very weighty issues.
We like to remember Obey for his attempts to keep an active role for the Air Force’s 676th Squadron site south of Antigo back in the early 1970s. We enjoy the preservation of the courthouse dome — which he was certainly involved in as a key figure — and we remember when he saluted the Antigo Daily Journal at its 100th anniversary celebration in 2005.
And his legacy will also live on in the new wood technology center nearing ground-breaking at Northcentral Technical College. He placed a key role in securing federal funding.
But when all of those major and some of the more parochial issues fade, it’s the persona things we remember most—such as his often-repeated tale of spending his honeymoon in the 1960s on the shores of Summit Lake, at Rasmussen’s Cottages at Summit Lake.
In retirement, perhaps he and his wife, Joan, will pay a return visit
Our best wishes go to Congressman Obey and his family.
|
|
|
