A rare breed

There’s a lot going on on Capitol Hill this month with Iraq, appropriations and other legislative battles on the packed agenda. But we pause today from commenting on the flurry of policy and politics to remember a rare politician.

Rep. Paul Gillmor (R-Ohio), who died last week after falling down steps in his Arlington, Va., home, did not seek the media spotlight. Outside of his district, it’s unlikely he was recognized on the street by anyone who didn’t know him.

He was never a full committee chairman and he never caused an uproar. He just quietly did his job and voters kept reelecting him. Gillmor, who was in his 10th term, was respected on both sides of the aisle.

His voting record fell somewhere between centrist and conservative. He supported banning partial-birth abortion and same-sex marriage. He supported President Bush’s tax cuts and the Medicare drug benefit.

But Gillmor’s warm personality and his workmanlike approach are what will be remembered. The Cleveland Plain Dealer described him as unwilling to engage in publicity stunts and uninterested in leadership politics.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced Gillmor’s death on the floor last week in an emotional speech, saying, “Paul was a good friend. He is going to be missed by all of us.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said, “God did not give Paul Gillmor a long life, but he gave him a life of great quality with a beautiful family and the opportunity to serve a state he loved and a country he was very patriotic about.”

Despite the constant partisan wrangling in Congress, lawmakers always take time out to mourn when they lose a colleague. The House’s schedule was rightfully altered this week so that members of both parties could attend Gillmor’s funeral. Many members did so on Tuesday.

Gillmor is the fourth member of Congress to pass away this year, along with Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.) and Reps. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-Calif.) and Charles Norwood (R-Ga.).

Former Rep. Jennifer Dunn (R-Wash.) also passed away last week. Dunn, who was 66, suffered a pulmonary embolism at her Alexandria, Va. home. Dunn, who retired from Congress in 2004, remained politically active, serving as national co-chairwoman for Mitt Romney.

In recent years, there have been many headlines about corrupt members of Congress, two of whom are in jail, and more could be headed there. Gillmor, Millender-McDonald, Norwood and Thomas served their country in different ways, but they all served admirably.