Mark O. Hatfield, former (Oregon) senator and governor, died on Sunday

[UrbScotty]

Source: KATU

Mark O. Hatfield, the influential former Oregon governor and senator, died on Sunday night at the age of 89.

...

Hatfield had suffered from health problems in recent months. In November 2010, he was hospitalized at a National Institutes of Health hospital in Bethesda, Md. that bears his name.

He was born in Dallas, Ore. In 1922 and later attended Willamette University.

Hatfield served as governor from 1959-1967 before being elected to the United States Senate in 1966. He served in the Senate for 30 years.

Read more: http://www.katu.com/news/local/127131578.html

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From his Wikipedia article:

Hatfield frequently broke with his party on issues of national defense and foreign policy, such as military spending and the ban on travel to Cuba, while often siding with them on environmental and conservation issues. Senator Hatfield supported increased logging on federal lands. He was the lone Republican to vote against the 1981 fiscal year's appropriations bill for the Department of Defense. He was rated as the sixth most respected senator in a 1987 survey by fellow senators. In 1990, Hatfield voted against authorizing military action against Iraq in the Gulf War, one of only two members of his party to do so in the Senate.

Hatfield was of a time when most Republican leaders were willing to do the right thing.

RIP.

[stevedeshazer]

1. Wow. The last decent Republican.

He was anti-war and a great Oregonian.

This is very sad news.

[Vanje]

3. A decent man

He was pro-life.
Not just anti-sex.
Hatfield was very vocally against the VietNam War, and
Opposed the Death Penalty, because 'thou shalt not kill'

Oregon and Oregonians will remember Mark Hatfield with great respect.

[TygrBright]

7. Not just Oregon.

Many across the country will remember him with great respect and deep regret that his experience and moral fiber are no longer with us.

I disagreed with him on some things, but he was a principled man and at the most fundamental level we agreed on the important things. He was a great representative of the people he served.

Gentle passage, Senator.

sadly,
Bright

[CBHagman]

2. I heard him speak many years ago.

I honestly don't recall a single thing he said, but I am sorry to see him go.

http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/hatfield_mark_o_1922_/

With his introduction of a successful measure outlawing racial discrimination in public accommodations in Oregon and his criticism of the anti-communist crusade of Joseph McCarthy, Hatfield established his reputation as a moderate and a maverick Republican. He attracted national attention in 1951 as an early and vocal supporter of the nomination of Dwight Eisenhower for president. He then headed Eisenhower's Oregon campaign organization and was chosen as a delegate to the 1952 Republican National Convention, where he was Oregon's representative on the platform committee. His surprise selection for that post, over the likely candidate, then-Republican Senator Wayne Morse, was an indication of the standing he had achieved very early in his political career.

In 1956, Hatfield was elected secretary of state. Two years later, he ran for governor, with a strong grassroots organization. In the course of the campaign, he distanced himself from Republican Party positions on such issues as capital punishment and labor unions, and the national party refused to support him in the primary election. Nevertheless, his strategy turned out to be a significant factor in his victory over incumbent Democratic Governor Robert Holmes. It was a notable success in an election year that was a disaster for the Republican Party across the country.

Throughout his career, Hatfield pursued a balance between liberal and conservative political philosophies, while maintaining his evangelical religious beliefs. As governor, he supported aspects of the environmental movement while remaining attentive to the needs of agriculture and the timber industry. Both fit into his concept of protecting and developing Oregon's "livability." He opposed cuts in services to the poor and the elderly but spoke out for individual responsibility and against undue interference by the national government in state and local matters.

(SNIP)

During the annual conference of governors in 1965, Hatfield, along with George Romney of Michigan, voted against a motion in support of the war in Vietnam. Romney later changed his mind, but Hatfield's opposition to the war became the centerpiece of his public life. When another motion of support was presented at the 1966 governors' conference, Hatfield cast the lone negative vote. He was convinced that North Vietnam's motive was Vietnamese nationalism rather than communism and believed that nationalism was a force that could not be denied.

I wonder what he made of today's Republican Party? I suppose the obits might touch on that.

[CreekDog]

4. he was a good guy who could teach a few current Democrats a thing or two

:(

[grasswire]

5. I'm sorry to hear that.

I was just thinking about him the other day. He was a fine man, and a real heartthrob to Oregon's women in his time. I will forgive him for voting for George W. in his later years.

[emilyg]

6. Good man.

[PSPS]

8. A couple of pictures

[Old and In the Way]

9. They don't make Republicans like this anymore.

just the corrupt, stupid, hypocritical kind.

[Rabblevox]

10. Hatfield was one of the best. I agreed with him on some things, disagreed on others, but...

never for a second did I doubt his intelligence or integrity. He will be missed, deeply. He qualified as a statesman, not just a politician.

RIP, Senator, and from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

[BlueDemKev]

11. Hatfield cast the deciding vote against the Balanced Budget Amendment in 1995

He was the ONLY Republican in either house to vote against it, and his vote was crucial....the BBA was defeated by one vote in the Senate (34-66). Hatfield incurred the wrath of his party after that vote.