before I talk.

If you guessed that headline is a quote from somebody named Smith, you are right!  Because…it’s Smith Sunday!

Today, we would like to bring to your notice Margaret Chase Smith.

While we’re all being enthusiastic (or outraged, as the case may be) over Hillary Clinton’s past, and possible future, run for the Presidency—and some of us who are a bit older remember the excitement over Geraldine Ferraro’s nomination to the Vice Presidency—it’s worth remembering that Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman placed in nomination for the Presidency at a major party’s convention.

Ms. Smith served her country as a Congresswoman and a Senator and, until Senator Barbara Mikulski, was the longest serving woman in the Senate.   What may be even more impressive is that she held an all-time voting record in the Senate until 1981.  2,941 consecutive roll call votes.

When you consider that, these days, legislators don’t seem to even show up to work, let alone vote, I think that’s pretty good.  (Hey!  Maybe we should pay them by the vote and see if that gets any more work out of them?)

She was also a moderate Republican and was not afraid to break ranks with her party when she disagreed with them.

Now, admittedly, she was only a Smith by marriage, but with a record like that—we’ll take her!