Whatever happened to Pete McCloskey?

[BurtWorm]

Republican from California, perennial nemesis of Nixon. He ran against him in 1968, I think, and 1972. A very decent, liberal, anti-war guy, from what I remember.

[dfong63]

1. great question!!!

yesterday there was a thread where someone asked if there were any "good republicans", at least someone who you'd warn if a truck were about to run him over. Pete McCloskey came to my mind as an example. i'd vote for McCloskey (R) over Lantos (D) in a heartbeat.

so what happened to McCloskey? he ran afoul of the ADL. read about it
here. the full story is too long to quote, but here's the intro.

``...
After nearly a decade of fighting the Anti-Defamation League in court, attorney Pete McCloskey is as bitter as a man who consumed a gallon of vinegar.

The former Republican congressman from San Mateo, who recently won a settlement from the civil rights group for three Bay Area residents, is still tending to emotional wounds he endured from the ADL simply for defending his clients' rights.

"They come after anyone that disagrees with them," he said of the organization's tactics to paint him as an anti-Semite.

The decorated retired Marine, who represented his San Mateo County district in the House of Representatives from 1967 to 1983, is anything but an ideologue. He was one of the few Republicans who opposed the Vietnam War and fought with President Nixon on numerous occasions. ...
...''

[regnaD kciN]

3. Hmmm...

Giving an interview to the Spotlight on how the Democrats are controlled by Jewish money and speaking to a Holocaust denial group?

Not too cool.

Pete McCloskey may, as other people have said, been anything but an anti-Semite himself, but those weren't very bright moves. Almost like waving a red cloth in front of a bull, if you ask me.

[dfong63]

4. mccloskey took the bull by the horns

Pete McCloskey may, as other people have said, been anything but an anti-Semite himself, but those weren't very bright moves. Almost like waving a red cloth in front of a bull, if you ask me.

i say kudos to McCloskey for having the balls to confront the bull. he had his principles and he defended them to the hilt. it's people like him who make the space for all of us to exercise our rights. did you read about the spying lawsuit against the ADL? that bull gored a lot of people who didn't go around waving red flags. it was a danger to us all. we are all freer because of McCloskey's courageous fight.

[BurtWorm]

5. This is all very shocking.

Not what I expected to hear. But thanks for the update.

[regnaD kciN]

6. It's one thing...

...to criticize Jewish pressure groups (like pressure groups of every other racial or religious entity) when they cross the line, but to choose the Spotlight or a Holocaust-denial group as a venue for such criticism is a serious misjudgement. It's a little like criticizing some of the lyrics found in gangsta rap...in the KKK newsletter.

I thought Pete had more sense than that.

:-(

[BurtWorm]

7. That's disappointing.

I really respected him before I heard that.

[dfong63]

8. mccloskey's still a hero

he fought the good fight against a powerful organization that was seriously violating people's civil liberties, including those of Jews. it's curious how you gloss over that, the substance, while leaping to condemn him for the forum he chose. sure, it would have been better if he'd gotten it published in COMMENTARY magazine or TIKKUN. but the factuality of what he said, and the political implication of those facts, is imho much more important than the detail of where he said it.

[BurtWorm]

9. It doesn't make a difference that he allowed himself to be used

by a racist publication? Was it an accident that it ended up there, or did he know who was using him?

[realFedUp]

2. I think he's still practicing law

up in the Bay Area...you could google him.
He's the last Republican I ever liked.