Former Fla. Sen. Paula Hawkins dies

[FLAprogressive]

Source: AP / Sarasota Herald-Tribune

WINTER PARK - Paula Hawkins, the feisty, self-described "housewife from Maitland" who in 1980 became the first woman elected to a full Senate term without a family political connection, died Friday. She was 82.

Hawkins had been in poor health recently, having suffered a stroke and a fall, said U.S. Rep. John Mica, a close friend. She died at Florida Hospital in Orlando surrounded by her family, he said.

During her single six-year term in the U.S. Senate, the Republican positioned herself as a media-savvy champion of children and working mothers and an enemy of drug dealers. She lost her bid for a second term in 1986 to then-Gov. Bob Graham in a race that pitted two of Florida's most popular politicians.


Read more: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20091204/breaking/912049976

[Bonobo]

1. I remember her from the music ratings fiasco. I'll never forget Zappa's interchange with her.

Hawkins: "Well I'd be interested to see what kind of toys your children play with."
Zappa: "Why would you be interested?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0MwPDaLhJM

[Dr.Phool]

2. Too bad Frank Zappa isn't around to do her eulogy.

I still remember those hearings.

Hawkins almost made Michelle Bachmann look smart.

[peace frog]

3. Hawkins, as sarcastically superior as she could be,

could still run circles around Bachmann. I'm no fan of Hawkins, but she had a couple of brain cells to rub together on occasion. Michele Bachmann, not so much.