Voting Station

Abraham A. Ribicoff

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U.S. Senator

The Resume

    (April 9, 1910-February 22, 1998)
    Born in New Britain, Connecticut
    Represented Connecticut’s 1st District in Congress (1949-53)
    Governor of Connecticut (1955-61)
    Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (1961-62)
    US Senator from Connecticut (1963-81)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was to first to suggest to JFK that he name his brother Attorney General.
    He said his one regret was resigning as governor to join the Kennedy cabinet.
    His speeches were riddled with clichés. ('Clichés are clichés because men in all generations have recognized the wisdom they contain.’)
    Although opposed to farm subsidies, he acceded to a request from tobacco-growing constituents by introducing a bill that would grant them Federal subsidies – and then fought to defeat the bill.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He put himself though college and law school.
    When John F. Kennedy campaigned to be Adlai Stevenson’s running mate (1956) and several Catholic politicians objected that the country was not ready for a Catholic on the ticket, he observed, ‘I never thought I’d see the day when a man of the Jewish faith had to plead before a group of Irish Catholics about allowing another Irish Catholic to be nominated for the position.’
    During the 1968 Democratic convention, he went off-script to complain about ‘Gestapo tactics in the streets of Chicago.’
    Chicago Mayor Richard Daley responded by yelling, ‘Fuck you, you Jew son of a bitch.’
    He said his favorite political memory was not a piece of legislation but the reaction of the people of Connecticut during a 1955 flood: ‘Everyone pitched in. Connecticut came together.’

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 12 Votes: 41.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 17 Votes: 64.71% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 30 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 21 Votes: 52.38% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 99 Votes: 51.52% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 45 Votes: 57.78% Annoying