Former US Senator and 1972 presidential nominee George McGovern died today at the age of 90. Massachusetts was the only state (plus DC) to vote for him, which when Watergate blew open gave rise to the bumper stickers saying, “Don’t blame me – I’m from Massachusetts!” I met him a few years ago when he spoke at our state convention.
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With uncompromising idealism and integrity. Let this man’s name never again be used as an epithet, here was someone who ahead of his time. It is telling that his coalition of progressive professionals, women, minorities, gays, and those committed to a peace loving foreign policy is the same one that elected Barack Obama to the presidency and could re-elect him. In his day a Democrat could not run against a war and win, could not run for stronger civil rights, womens rights, choice, or gay rights. Now these are all codified in stone in our party’s platform. It is still McGovern’s party, like Goldwater (ironically one of his best friends in the Senate) McGovern played the long game and won far more in the long run in moving his party to his vision than he lost in he short term. Very few people would argue today the country would have been better off under Nixon, and very few would argue McGovern was not an elder statesman of our party and he broader progressive movement. He shall be missed but his legacy will endure.