a blueblood Democrat who represented blue-collar Rhode Island for 36 years
A Dem?
A Blueblood?
Representing Blue Collar workers?
Guess that all makes him a Rhode Island Blue, eh?
/As opposed to a Rhode Island Red.
His initial victory fer a vacated senate seat in 1960 as an unendorsed candidate was a victory not only fer the man himself but also fer RI, obviously, and fer tons of folk like Slbronkowski above who were able to expand their own horizons due to the Pell Grants which were largely his creation.
Spud found this snippet on his wiki page that Spud found worthy of sharing.
In 1993, during the bitter confirmation battle over Roberta Achtenberg, a lesbian, to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Pell stated that his daughter was a lesbian, and that he hoped that it would not be a barrier to federal employment for her. Many agree that Pell, arguably one of the most popular U.S. Senators of the later years of the 20th century, helped secure Achtenberg's nomination, making her the first openly gay person to be confirmed by the United States Senate.
The US Senate could use a lot more folks like Claiborne Pell.
RIP.
Be Well.