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  Mr. No
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ContributorCraverguy 
Last EditedCraverguy  May 25, 2010 01:29am
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AuthorLaurence M. Vance
News DateTuesday, September 22, 2009 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0
Description"There are three parties in the House: Democrats, Republicans, and H.R. Gross."
-Gerald Ford

Congressional representative and medical doctor Ron Paul is often ridiculed with the epithet "Dr. No" because of his regular "no" votes in Congress when it comes to spending the taxpayers’ money.

But before there was Dr. No, there was Mr. No.

Harold Royce (H.R.) Gross died on this date in 1987. He was a thirteen-term Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa’s third district. Unlike John McCain, Gross was a real maverick who often bucked House and Party leaders, presidents of both parties, and his fellow Republicans. In addition to being dubbed "Mr. No" by the conservative weekly Human Events in 1969, Gross was also known as the "Watchdog of the Treasury," the "Abominable No-Man," and the "Useful Pest" as he questioned any and all spending bills in his fight "to save this country from national bankruptcy." He often began his speeches by asking: "How much will this boondoggle cost?" For his general legislative obstructionism, Life magazine considered him a member of the "Neanderthal Right" while Redbook listed him as among the worst members of Congress.

First elected to Congress in 1948 after defeating the incumbent member of his own party in the primary – without the help of the party – Gross went on to win the general election in a year when President Truman carried Iowa and a Democrat ousted a Republican in the Iowa Senate race. In the Democratic landslide of 1964, Gross was the only Republican House member from Iowa to retain his seat.
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