The Journal & Courier is reporting that Sen. Joe Harrison died on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010 at the age of 79. (h/t Tipsy Teetotaler). (Longer article here.) At 40 years in 2006 when he retired, Harrison was Indiana’s longest serving state Senator. My understanding is that he was part of a group of four state senators who dominated that chamber for a good long time – him, Morris Mills, Bob Garton, and Larry Borst.
He headed up the Senate’s labor committee where labor laws passed by the House usually went to die. He was also the Senator who offered the most resistance to the in-house printing project at Legislative Services back in the late 90s when I was there. (He was reluctant to take printing of the bills out of the hands of the private contractor who had been doing the work.) He was also tied into the Harrison Steel company in Attica.
That’s most of what I know about Sen. Harrison. There is no doubt that he was a major force in Indiana politics over most of the last half century. Rest in Peace, Senator.
As I recall, he was also pro-choice, back in the days when Republicans could BE pro-choice.
By the same token, these are also the days when a Democrat can no longer BE anti-abortion. See: Dennis Kucinich.