Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Paula Hawkins 1927 - 2009



Ex-US Sen. Paula Hawkins Of Florida Dies At 82

Paula Hawkins, who in 1980 became the first woman elected to a full Senate term without a family political connection, died December 4th.

Hawkins was a pioneering politician who positioned herself as a champion of children and equal opportunities for women and working mothers.

But the most memorable thing I remember from her time in office was that Hawkins "forced fellow senators to don bathing trunks when swimming in the Senate gym so she could work out at the previously all-male bastion during daytime hours."

Imagine the EWWWWWWW factor of all those senators cavorting in the buff...

Good gravy! The woman deserved a medal just for ending that despicable practice.

RIP.

6 comments:

Right Truth said...

Oh my goodness, that is something else. They went around naked? EWWWWAAAHH is right.

Rush might say this was the beginning of the chickfication of congress. She was a trailblazer

Debbie
Right Truth
http://www.righttruth.typepad.com

cube said...

Forcing senators to wear trunks in the Senate pool is an example of chickification being a definite improvement.

dmarks said...

"forced fellow senators to don bathing trunks when swimming in the Senate gym so she could work out at the previously all-male bastion during daytime hours."

And that decision more than anything else convinced Barney Frank that it wasn't worth leaving the House and getting elected to a Senate seat instead.

Debbie said: "Oh my goodness, that is something else. They went around naked?"

Are you referring to the naked legislative sessions? I think those ended sometime in the late 19th century.

cube said...

dmarks: I don't want to touch anything referencing Barney Frank AND this post. I'm still trying to get past Kennedy/Dodd waitress sandwiches. OY! That hurts my brain on so many levels.

I don't care what people do in their private pools, but clearly, people should use swimsuits in pools that are funded by the taxpayers.

dmarks said...

"I'm still trying to get past Kennedy/Dodd waitress sandwiches."

And don't even mention tne mayonnaise.

cube said...

dmarks: Here we have yet another instance when the high & mighty are protected from the leering eyes of the public. Perhaps they used mustard instead of mayo? ;-)