Angie Craig: “when I was preparing for this morning's tribute, I could not help but reflect on the year that has passed since the…”

“when I was preparing for this morning's tribute, I could not help but reflect on the year that has passed since the untimely departure of our friend and colleague, Paul Coverdell. What a year this has been--and what he would have made of it all. We used to joke that the Senate schedule had become ``All Coverdell, all the time,'' because his fingerprints were everywhere: education, tax reform, fighting for peace, standing for freedom. It was my privilege to work with him on the Republican leadership team, and to see firsthand that phenomenal energy that kept him working behind the scenes long after the Senate had shut down for the night or before it convened. Descriptions of him nearly always include the word ``workhorse''--and that is a name he certainly earned over and over. He was an idea generator with a boundless enthusiasm for public service and a willingness to undertake any chore, no matter how thankless, to move the agenda forward. He would have relished the many challenges that our party has faced over the past year, because he was a loyal partisan. Years ago, when he was one of only four Republicans in the Georgia State Senate, he took on the task of rebuilding the State's Republican Party. Later, his first run for the U.S. Senate was an uphill battle against an incumbent. This was a man who looked for big challenges and never faltered in advancing his party's standard.”