Capitol heroes

Fifteen legislators who don't suck

by Michael Crowley

It's so very easy to dislike Congress these days. House Speaker Newt Gingrich is publicly reviled, and if not for the ineptitude of his colleagues, the whiny Georgian would have been deposed last week. After years of demanding a balanced budget, the Republicans are about to finalize a major tax cut for the wealthy that will quickly throw us back into the red. Campaign-finance reform lies comatose. The venerable Senate Foreign Relations Committee has become a forum for the frothing malice of Jesse Helms. A May Gallup poll showed Congress's public-approval rating down to a dismal 32 percent.

But distasteful as Congress may have become, it still influences our daily lives through everything from taxes to abortion laws to speed limits. When we're tempted to turn away from Washington in disgust, it's all the more important to consider what good remains in the marble corridors of the Capitol. And yes, even in 1997, a few legislators are beaming rays of light through a darkened institution.

If a perfect politician exists, you won't find him here. But these representatives and senators represent some of the best Capitol Hill has to offer right now. They tend to fall into two categories. Some have been committed and effective leaders on a crucial issue -- the environment, entitlements, technology. Others seem to embody the best in national politics, raising the general tenor of the Washington debate.

This list is not exhaustive, and some congressional giants -- John Chafee, for instance -- are plenty familiar already. But instead of being shamelessly parochial, we've swept the nation for some flashes of heroism in Congress.

Intellectual warrior	REPRESENTATIVE BARNEY FRANK (D-Massachusetts)
Green guardian	REPRESENTATIVE SHERWOOD BOEHLERT (R-New York)
The last radical	SENATOR PAUL WELLSTONE (D-Minnesota)
Honest budgeteer	REPRESENTATIVE JOHN KASICH (R-Ohio)
From welfare to Washington	REPRESENTATIVE LYNN WOOLSEY (D-California)
Friend of the arts	REPRESENTATIVE RICK LAZIO (R-New York)
Gun controller	REPRESENTATIVE CAROLYN McCARTHY (D-New York)
Truth-teller	SENATOR BOB KERREY (D-Nebraska)
Minesweeper	SENATOR PAT LEAHY (D-Vermont)
Campaign-finance maverick	SENATOR JOHN McCAIN (R-Arizona)
Cyberpol	REPRESENTATIVE RICK WHITE (R-Washington)
Scholar-statesman	SENATOR DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN (D-New York)
Early warning	SENATOR RICHARD LUGAR (R-Indiana)
On the barricades for women	REPRESENTATIVE NITA LOWEY (D-New York)
Crunchy curiosity	REPRESENTATIVE BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vermont)

Michael Crowley can be reached at mcrowley[a]phx.com.