The Resume

(March 6, 1929-October 18, 2013)
Born in Spokane, Washington
Represented Washington's 5th District (1965-95)
Speaker of the House (1989-95)
US Ambassador to Japan (1997-2001)
Democrat

Why he might be annoying:

He remained liberal as the district he represented became increasingly conservative.
He abandoned his previous opposition to gun control to get an assault weapons ban passed by the House, a move that played an important role in the Republicans gaining control of the House in 1994.
His poor handling of the House banking scandal (in which Congressmen had been repeatedly allowed to overdraw their accounts without any penalty) also played a factor in the 1994 Republican Revolution.
His opposition to term limits, including suing to overturn a ballot initiative passed by Washington voters, ticked off his constituents.
He became the first sitting Speaker of the House to lose his reelection bid since the Civil War.

Why he might not be annoying:

A Los Angeles Times profile described him as 'a brainy, undeniably decent man who is liked by about everyone, Republican and Democrat alike.'
George H.W. Bush said, 'Tom never got personal or burned bridges. We didn't agree on every issue, but on key issues we managed to put the good of the country ahead of politics.'
He said about his opposition to an ammendment to ban flag burning, 'If it is not conservative to protect the Bill of Rights, then I don't know what conservatism is today.'
The Republican National Committee tried to insinuate he was gay, issuing a press release titled 'Tom Foley: Out of the Liberal Closet' that compared his voting record with Barney Frank's.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 50]
• I Attended Gonzaga University
• I Attended University of Washington
• I Delivered My Party’s State of the Union Response [United States] (Ranked: 1990)
• I Delivered My Party’s State of the Union Response [United States] (Ranked: 1992)
• I Died in 2013 (Ranked: 84)
• I Had a Stroke [Cerebral Vascular Accident]
• I Publicly Denied Being Gay
• I was a Boy Scout
• I Was an Eagle Scout
• Look at Me, I'm Thirsty
• Look at the Time
• Profiles 34751-35000 (Ranked: 34921)
• U.S. Congressional Representatives

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 22 Votes: 22.73% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 18 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 33 Votes: 75.76% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 26 Votes: 57.69% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 63 Votes: 58.73% Annoying