WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. William Proxmire, the Wisconsin Democrat who fought government waste for years with his mocking "Golden Fleece" awards, died Thursday at 90.
Proxmire was known for battling for causes that few colleagues embraced. He won re-election repeatedly without accepting campaign donations and fought year after year for ratification of an anti-genocide treaty.
The former senator, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, died at Copper Ridge, a convalescent home in Sykesville, Md., Copper Ridge spokeswoman Mindy Brandt said. His son, Douglas Proxmire, said that no exact cause had been determined for the death.
"He was a constant profile in courage on countless issues, continually insisting that the Senate live up to its ideals and always willing to wage lonely battles for noble causes," said Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat who served with Proxmire for nearly three decades.
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