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David Durenberger

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U.S. Senator

The Resume

    (August 19, 1934-January 31, 2023)
    Born in St. Cloud, Minnesota
    US Senator from Minnesota (1978-95)
    Wrote ‘Neither Madmen nor Messiahs: A Policy of National Security for America’ (1984), ‘Prescription for Change’ (1986), and ‘When Republicans Were Progressive’ (2018)
    Left the Republican Party (2005)
    Endorsed Hilary Clinton (2016) and Joe Biden (2020) for President

Why he might be annoying:

    He was unanimously censured by the Senate, 96-0, for ethics violations, including evading limits on speaking fees by having organizations sponsoring his speeches make bulk purchases of his books, and collecting $40,000 in travel reimbursement for ‘renting’ a condo he actually owned (1990).
    He was sentenced to a year of probation after pleading guilty to misuse of public funds related to the condo payments (1995).
    The Minnesota Supreme Court suspended his law license for nine years (1991-2000).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was the top-ranked cadet in his ROTC class at St. John’s prep school.
    Latter Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar said, ‘His work to advance the Americans with Disabilities Act and prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities changed millions of lives for the better.’
    After his censure, the New York Times editorialized, ‘Last year, senators openly pocketed more than $2 million in honorariums from government favor-seekers. And they collected tens of millions more in campaign contributions from the same special interests. This system of legalized bribery poses a far greater threat to the Senate’s credibility than do any of Mr. Durenberger’s evasions.’

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 89 Votes: 53.93% Annoying