Howard Metzenbaum, who died Wednesday at age 90, was a relentless, in-your-face senator who stood up for workers' rights and paved the way for the candidates who came after him.
Holly YeagerMar 14, 2008
Young liberals looking for role models with the guts to stand up to conservative intimidation usually think of Russ Feingold or the late Paul Wellstone.
But, back before Feingold and Wellstone, there was Howard Metzenbaum, who died Wednesday at age 90. Metzenbaum was a relentless, in-your-face progressive, as I learned when I covered him in the early 1990s, near the end of the 19 years he spent representing Ohio in the U.S. Senate.
Metzenbaum was an advocate of a single-payer health-care system and a staunch defender of workers' rights, leading the fight for legislation that requires employers to give workers at least 60 days' notice before their plant closes.