US Senator Daniel K. Inouye died at age 88 and was third in line for the US Presidency.
Senator Inouye was a Japanese American war veteran from Hawaii, who went to Washington in 1959, then dominated public life in the Hawaiian islands for more than 50 years and became the voice of conscience during the Watergate hearings and the Iran-contra scandal. He died on in Bethesda, Md.
His voting record was moderate to liberal, favoring organized labor, consumer protections, abortion rights, education and environmental protections, but also military appropriations. In 1984, he opposed reparations for Japanese-Americans interned in the West during World War II because of suspect loyalties.
(September 7, 1924 - December 17, 2012)
Links