He was well-liked in Wisconsin. Truly a throwback to the good old days when politicians really cared about the people.
Proxmire was a pompous ass. His "Golden Fleece" awards took cheap shots at things like NASA, and the Military while he made sure money flew to his favorite pork barrel the dairy farmers.
I remember one science writer in the 70's said Proxmire would be all for the Space Shuttle if only NASA would fuel it with butter.