Lawmakers Who Won't Be Missed

"Conrad, how can you live back there [in Washington] with all those niggers?" When asked how he had responded, Sen. Burns is reported to have . . . said with a chuckle that he told the rancher that it was 'a hell of a challenge.' "

-- The Washington Post, Oct. 22, 1994

Election night in the nation's capital was a pretty tame affair, given that most of the important local races were decided in the September primary. But for some of us who live in the District, the real action on election night took place far beyond city limits.

My attention, for example, was focused on Big Sky Country, where three-term Republican Sen. Conrad Burns was locking horns with the president of the Montana Senate, Jon Tester. It wasn't until late Wednesday morning that we received the good news that Burns had been defeated. It was worth the wait.

Burns lost his seat, in part, because of his ties to corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff. But Burns hit rock bottom with some of us 12 years ago when we learned about his slur against the District's African American population.

At the time, Burns was the senior Republican on the D.C. appropriations subcommittee. A former livestock auctioneer and radio announcer, Burns liked to affect a folksy, aw-shucks manner. A Montana newspaper, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, reported that during a campaign visit with the paper's editors, Burns told an anecdote about an elderly Montana rancher who wanted to know how he could stand living in the nation's capital "with all those niggers." Asked how he responded, Burns reportedly said he told the man it was "a hell of a challenge."

After Montanans raised a stink about the slur, making it clear they didn't think it was as funny as the senator did, Burns apologized.

Thanks to the wisdom of the people of Montana, Conrad Burns no longer is forced to bear the burden of living among those of us of color. The "hell of a challenge" that Burns faced for lo these many years has ended, and with it his career as a United States senator. To which I shout: "Praise God, from whom all blessings flow."

Grace was also flowing back east in North Carolina on election night. Republican Rep. Charles Taylor lost his job to Democratic challenger Heath Shuler, who once labored for our hometown National Football League team -- a fact better left undiscussed.

Taylor was defeated for reasons having little to do with his former service as chairman of the House D.C. appropriations subcommittee. But, again, we in the District had reason to follow the North Carolina vote count as closely as we watched the D.C. returns.

I'd like to believe that Taylor's loss was retributive justice for the dastardly way he treated the District when he was the chief House overseer of the city's budget.

Who can forget his Jan. 9, 1998, "Dear Colleague" letter to members of the House of Representatives? Emblazoned in large, bold type near the top of the page was this announcement: "The average D.C. student can't read this letter."