When I came to work in the United States Senate, 40 years ago this
January, I quickly learned that there are two kinds of
Senators-workhorses and show horses. I dare say few, if any, high school
students could name all 100. Indeed most teachers would be impressed if
their high-schoolers could name the two Senators from their own State.
I have watched over the years the Senators who never met a microphone
they didn't try to get in front of. Then I have watched the Senators who
work quietly on matters vital to the nation but who get very little
coverage for doing so.
One of the workhorse Senators is James M. Inhofe (R-OK). His is hardly a
household name outside his own state, where he wins by landslide
margins. In the Senate he doggedly works on various pieces of non-sexy
legislation. Often his work pertains to national defense. I have seen
him go toe to toe with both the Clinton and Bush Administrations. And he
won. I have seen him clash with the Congressional leadership of his own
party. For example, he got the rules changed so that Congressmen who
sign a discharge petition (to force a bill to the floor against the
wishes of the leadership) must do so in broad daylight. The rules
previously permitted them to hide behind procedure.
Having been trained by two workhorse Senators I appreciate them a lot
more than those who will say anything to get on television. The reason I
mention Jim Inhofe is because of the 100 Senators I would put him as the
top workhorse Senator. He works on many projects at once. He pursues
them until they are complete. Do not get me wrong, he is good on
television. Since the advent of the Fox News Channel, he now has begun
to get some exposure and he does well. Primarily, however, he does what
he is now doing-that is, working on an infrastructure bill that has
almost no national following. He is shepherding something called the
Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). He and I always tell our fellow
conservatives that the two matters as to which the Federal Government is
authorized to spend money are defense and infrastructure. Two summers
ago Inhofe secured passage of the Transportation Bill, which took
incredible skill on his part. Yes, it has a few questionable items but
by and large that bill was an extraordinary piece of work. I praised him
for it at the time and I do so again today, despite all the criticism.
We both believe that spending outside of defense and infrastructure is
stretching the Constitution to a point beyond recognition.