RIP George McGovern
Senator George McGovern died today at the age of 90 in South Dakota. I was too young to vote for McGovern when he ran in 1972, but was not too young to help the grownups around me do the lit drops, sign placements and the other volunteer work you do to get a candidate elected. I wasn’t too young to be opposed to the Vietnam War and I wasn’t too young to recognize and admire this politician who seemed to maintain his basic decency and honesty while articulating principled positions on the issues of the day.
Even after his pretty epic loss, Senator McGovern remained a principled defender and genuinely liberal ideas and principles. You could hear him in various venues calmly and powerfully making his case against Iraq, working for equality for all Americans, working for better environmental policy, helping to feed the world (and helping it to feed itself) and always pushing the Democratic Party to work on (and not run away from) its liberal principles.
The NYT obit linked above is a good overview of a life of an idealist who didn’t run away from that. Good journey home, Senator McGovern, and thanks for working so hard to remind us that American democracy is supposed to be an act of idealism.
Tags: George McGovern
George McGovern was an example of the principled, moral individual whose value to our society cannot be measured in terms of his ideology or political views, but by his example of integrity.
1972 election results Nixon 49 America 1
This is fantastic — video of Hunter S. Thompson at Senator McGovern’s birthday.
h/t Bob Cesca’s Blog
Bert Carvel did a press release endorsing George McGovern, this week in 1972.
To my everlasting shame, the very first time I had the opportunity to vote, I voted for Nixon over McGovern. I was young and a product of my s/w Ohio political heritage. After Nixon, I have done penance ever since. The real shame is that McGovern represented the most progressive candidate I could have voted for in a presidential general election. I blew it. Pity that the nation, very much like myself at the time, wasn’t ready for such a visionary.