Former Rep. Henry Hyde Dies

Henry Hyde, the former Republican Congressman who represented Chicago's western suburbs for over 30 years had died at 83.

Born in Chicago, Hyde attended Duke University and Georgetown University. He received his law degree from Loyola University. Hyde served in the Navy during World War II, seeing combat in The Philippines. He was a Democrat until the 1950's when he supported Dwight Eisenhower. He served in the Illinois House of Representatives until 1974, when he was elected to Congress. A staunch pro-life politician, he vehemently opposed abortion rights. He served on the House Judiciary Committe since 1975 and chaired the committee from 1995-2001. Hyde is most famous for presiding over the Bill Clinton impeachment trials. Although rather conservative, he supported some gun control, including the Brady Bill and the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban. He also was skeptical of the Iraq war.

Hyde retired from Congress in 2006. After the Mark Foley scandal broke, some Republicans suggested Speaker Dennis Hastert should resign and be replaced by Hyde for the last few months of the 109th Congress. His seat in suburban Chicago was taken by Republican Pete Roskam, who narrowly defeated Democratic challenger Tammy Duckworth 51%-49%. Earlier this month, Hyde received the Presidential Media of Freedom.

Hyde underwent open-heart surgery in Chicago in July. He suffered from complications from the surgery which caused him to be hospitalized. Hyde passed away at 3 a.m. He was 83.

Jo Ann Davis (R-Virginia) 1950-2007

Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis (R-Virginia) who represents a district that includes Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Fredricksburg succumbed after a two year battle with breast cancer at her home in Virginia. She was 57 years old.

Davis was elected to the House in 2000 and reelected three more times with only minor opposition.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, she underwent a partial mastectomy tha same year and returned to work cancer-free. The cancer came back this year and, after a brave and rough battle, has taken her life.

Davis is the fifth member of Congress to die in office this year after Charlie Norwood (R-Georgia) Juanita-Millender-McDonald (D-California), Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyoming), and Paul Gilmor (R-Ohio).

Norwood, Millender-McDonald, and Thomas also succumbed to cancer.

Paul Gillmor (R-Ohio) 1939-2007

Republican Congressman Paul Gillmor was found dead this morning in his apartment in Washington, D.C.

CNN reports members of his staff found him dead in his apartment after he failed to show up to work on Congress' first day back from Summer recess.

Gillmor has served in Congress since 1989 representing the 5th district of Ohio, located in the northwestern portion of the state including Bowling Green, Tiffin, Fremont and Norwalk.

Gillmor is the third member of Congress to pass away this year, after Charlie Norwood (R-Georgia) in February and Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-California) in April. Gillmor's seat will be filled by a special election.

Lady Bird Johnson (1912-2007)

A long exciting life came to an end today. There will be a lot to talk about concerning this beautiful powerful Southern woman in the next few days.

RIP Mrs. Johnson.

Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (1938-2007)

Congresswoman Juanita Mlllender-McDonald (D-California) has passed away of cancer at the age of 68.

Millender-McDonald is the second member of Congress to die in office from cancer this year, after Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-Georgia) passed away in February.

Millender-McDonald served on the city council in Carson, California and the California State Assembly before being elected to Congress in 1996.

Millender-McDonald was considered the most likely choice for Secretary of Transportation if John Kerry had been elected President. She had just become chair of the Committee on House Administration this year.

I had the opportunity to meet Rep. Millender-McDonald in Boston during the 2004 Democratic National Convention along with Senator Dianne Feinstein.

Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggar has 14 to schedule a special election, probably in the fall, to fill the seat which includes parts of Long Beach and South Central Los Angeles including Compton.

Sen. Thomas Eagleton (1929-2007)

Former Missouri Senator Thomas Eagleton has died in St. Louis at the age of 77.

Eagleton is perhaps most well-known for being George McGovern's original running mate in the 1972 Presidential Election. He was forced to drop off the ticket after the Democratic National Convention because news broke that he had suffered from extreme depression that had, at one time, required him to receive electro-shock therapy.

Eagleton was born in 1929 in St. Louis, Missouri. He won his first election at the age of 26 as circuit attorney in St. Louis and in 1960 at the age of 31 was elected Missouri Attorney General, he later served as Lieutenant Governor and was elected to the United State Senate in 1968 narrowly defeating Republican Tom Curtis 51%-49% largely due to his opposition to the Vietnam War.

Senator Eagleton was chosen by Senator George McGovern to be his running mate after other anti-war Senators (Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, Walter Mondale of Minnesota, and Birch Bayh of Indiana) turned down the job. Eagleton was forced to withdraw due to questions about his mental state and was replaced by Sergeant Shriver, brother-in-law of President Kennedy and father-in-law of current California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Senator Eagleton did win reelection to the US Senate twice more, in 1974 and 1980. In his time in the Senate, he was instrumental in ending the Vietnam War and in the passage of the Clean Water Act and Clear Air Act. He retired in 1986.

His last public appearances were last year, rallying Missouri Democrats in support of Claire McCaskill's Senate campaign. McCaskill defeated incumbent Republican Jim Talent 50%-47%.

Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-Georgia) 1941-2007

Sad news out of Georgia....Rep. Charlie Norwood lost his battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (a form of lung cancer) at the age of 65. Norwood, a Republican, has represented Northern Georgia in the House of Representatives since 1995.

Norwood was born in Valdosta, Georgia in 1941. He was a football star in high school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Norwood received a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro in 1964, and a Doctorate in Dental Surgery from Georgetown University Dental School in Washington, D.C. He was a dentist in the US Army during the Vietnam War, where he also served in combat. He later served as a dentist in Augusta, Georgia before his election to Congress in 1994.

Norwood represented the 10th district of Georgia, located in the Northeastern part of the state, including most of the state's upper border with South Carolina and it's small border with North Carolina. His district included part of his hometown of Augusta, as well as Athens and Toccoa.

Norwood fell ill with IDF in 1998. In October, 2004, he underwent a partial lung transplant in Virginia. He was successfully treated for non-small cell lung cancer in November 2005, a side effect of his lung transplant medication. The cancer spread to his liver in November, 2006.

He was reelected in November with 68% of the vote and underwent chemotherapy in December. He returned to the 110th Congress for a short time in early January, before being forced to take a leave due to his weakness from the chemo. President Bush publicly wished him well at the State of the Union address, from which he was absent.

On February 7th, he went home to Georgia to receive hospice-care. On February 13th, 2007, at 2:02pm, Congressman Norwood died at his home in Augusta. Congressman Norwood is survived by his wife Gloria, sons Charles and Carlton Norwood, and four grandchildren, all of Augusta.

His seat was declared vacant. Governor Sonny Perdue will call a special election for the seat soon.