Henry Hyde Passes Away

Former Illinois Rep. Henry Hyde, who retired from Congress last year, died early today at the age of 83. Hyde had heart surgery in July and his poor health was a big reason for his retirement from a House career that spanned more than three decades.

As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Hyde was among the House leaders in the effort to impeach President Clinton in 1998, and he was a vocal opponent of abortion. But, while he was a conservative Republican in the days when the Republican Party was still dominated by moderates, Hyde wasn't a conservative on everything.

It's also worth pointing out that Hyde was raised a Democrat, but switched parties in support of Dwight Eisenhower's race for the presidency in 1952.

Many people felt that Hyde was a larger-than-life personality, but George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley wrote, in the Chicago Tribune, that, rather than being larger than life, Hyde was "shaped by life and never forgot its lessons."

The Sixth District, the Chicago-area district that elected Hyde in every election since 1974, remained in Republican hands last year, but not as impressively as it did the last time Hyde was on the ballot, in 2004. Back then, Hyde was re-elected with 56% of the vote.

His successor, attorney Peter Roskam, narrowly defeated Democrat Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran who lost both legs in a helicopter crash. Roskam polled 51% of the vote, while Duckworth received 49%.