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Created page with "{{Infobox officeholder |name=John Richard John Rarick |image=John Rarick of LA.jpg |office=[[United States Representative for<br> Louisiana's 6th congressional district |t..."
{{Infobox officeholder
|name=John Richard John Rarick
|image=John Rarick of LA.jpg
|office=[[United States Representative for<br> [[Louisiana]]'s 6th congressional district
|term_start=January 3, 1967
|term_end=January 3, 1975
|predecessor=[[James H. Morrison]]
|successor=William Henson Moore
|birth_date=January 29, 1924
|birth_place=Waterford, LaPorte County<br> [[Indiana]]
|death_date=September 14, 2009 (aged 85)
|death_place=St. Francisville, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana
|resting_place=Star Hill Cemetery near St. Francisville
|party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]-turned [[Independent voter|Independent]] (1976)
|spouse=Marguerite Pierce (married 1945–2003, her death)<br>Frances Eldred Campbell (married 2004–2009, his death)
|children=John Rarick, II
Cherie Rarick Brumfield<br>
Laurie Rarick Slattery
|alma_mater=Goshen (Indiana) High School<br>
[[Ball State University]] (Muncie, Indiana)<br>
[[Louisiana State University ([[Baton Rouge]])<br>
[[Tulane University]] Law School
|branch=[[United States Army]]
|battles/wars=Europe
|serviceyears = [[World War II]]
|awards=[[Bronze Star]]<br>
[[Purple Heart}}
'''John Richard Rarick''' (January 29, 1924 – September 14, 2009) was an [[United States|American]] [[attorney]] who served as a [[Louisiana]] state district court judge from 1961 to 1966 in St. Francisville in West Feliciana Parish, andfrom 1967 to 1975 a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[U.S. Representative]] for Louisiana's 6th congressional district A staunch [[conservative]]], he frequently quarreled with his party's increasingly [[liberal]] philosophy and leadership. In 1980, he did not support [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[Ronald W. Reagan]] in the race against [[Jimmy Carter]] but himself sought the presidency as the nominee of the former American Independent Party, founded in 1968 by former [[Governor]] [[George Wallace|George C. Wallace]] of [[Alabama]].
==Background==
Rarick was born in rural Waterford in LaPorte County in northwestern [[Indiana]]. He graduated from Goshen High School in Goshen, Indiana and studied at [[Ball State Universit]y]] (then Teacher's College) in Muncie, Indiana.<ref name="bioguide">{{cite dictionary|title=RARICK, John Richard|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000065|publisher=United States Congress|accessdateAapril 21, 2021}}</ref>
Rarick then entered the [[United States Army]]'s Specialized Training Program and was sent to [[Louisiana State University]] in [[Baton Rouge]], where he lived in the college barracks. He was then dispatched to the European Theater of Operations with the infantry during [[World War II]]. He was captured at the [[Battle of the Bulge]] and later escaped from a [[Germany|German]] [[prisoner of war]] camp at Würzburg. He was awarded the [[Bronze Star]] and the [[Purple Heart]].<ref name="bioguide"/><ref name="obit">John Rarick's Obituary, ''The Baton Rouge Advocate, September 16, 2009.</br><ref>
After his military service, Rarick obtained his bachelor's degree from LSU. He then attended [[Tulane University]] Law School in [[New Orleans]], from which he graduated with an LLB and then a [[Juris Doctor]]ate in 1949.<ref name="bioguide"/> He was admitted to the Louisiana state bar later that year and set up a law practice in St. Francisville north of Baton Rouge. He was a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association for more than sixty years.<ref name=obit/> On June 28, 1961, he was elected as a judge of the 20th Judicial District in East and West Feliciana parishes. He resigned the judgeship on May 15, 1966, to declare his candidacy for Congress.<ref name="bioguide"/>
==Political career==
===Unseating U.S. Representative Jimmy Morrison===
Rarick had been a member of the Democratic Party in Indiana and for a time was the party's city chairman in Goshen. He remained a Democrat when he moved to Louisiana. In the summer of 1966, Rarick upset veteran U.S. Representative [[James H. Morrison|James Hobson "Jimmy" Morrison]] (no relation to [[Chep Morrison]]) of Hammond in Tangipohoa Parish in a [[closed primary|closed]] Democratic primary runoff election with 51.2 percent of the vote. Morrison though an opponet of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] had a "moderate racial record" and was attacked in the campaign by Rarick as an ally of "the black-power voting bloc" and being an "[[Lyndon B. Johnson|LBJ]] rubber stamp".<ref>"Politics: The Turning Point," [[Time Magazine]],'' October 6, 1966.</ref> Rarick campaigned on "a segregationist, anti-Johnson and anti-federal government theme."<ref name="runoffs">"Runoffs Set for Sept. 24 in Louisiana," ''The Spokane Daily Chronicle,'' August 15, 1966.</ref> Morrison accused Rarick of being a member of the [[Ku Klux Klan]], for which Rarick sued Morrison for [[libel]].<ref name="runoffs"/>
Rarick's victory coincided with the selection of another controversial conservative, [[Lester Maddox]] as the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in [[Georgia]]. Incidentally, both Rarick and his 1966 [[Republican Party|Republican]] opponent, Crayton Green "Sparky" Hall (c. 1925-2014), later left their major parties. In 1976, Hall was the 6th congressional district elector for the [[Libertarian Party]] . Hall polled only 23 percent of the ballots cast in his race against Rarick. A native of Columbus, Georgia who was reared in Leesville in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, Hall was a process development engineer for the Ethyl Corporation in Baton Rouge. He ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for mayor-president of East Baton Rouge Parish in 1968 against the Democrat [[W. W. Dumas]]. He was a floor representative for [[Ronald Reagan]]'s 72-hour presidential bid at the 1968 [[Republican National Convention]] in Miami Beach, [[Florida]]. Hall soon left the GOP and was the founding chairman of the Louisiana Libertarian Party from the early 1970s until 1985, when he relocated to North Carolina, where he was an active Libertarian in that state as well. He died in Hendersonville, North Carolina, at the age of eighty-nine.<ref>Crayton Green "Sparky" Hall obituary, ,, ''Hendersonville ," August 31, 2014.</ref>
Rarick quickly compiled a very conservative voting record, even by Louisiana Democratic standards. According to one scoring method, published in''The American Journal of Political Science,''<ref>
"Estimating a Basic Space From A Set of Issue Scales," ''American Journal of Political Science,'' Vol. 42; Issue 32, July 1998, pp. 954-993.</ref> In a period of four years, 1971 to 1974, the [[American Conservative Union]] scored Rarick 100 three times and a 91 rating once, in 1973.<ref>"ACU Ratings of Congress: House Ratings," acuratings.org, Like colleague [[Joe Waggonner|Joe D. Waggonner Jr.]], of the 4th congressional district, Rarick was a former member of the pro-segregation [[White Citizens' Council]], founded in the middle 1950s by state Senator [[William Rainach]] of Claiborne Parish.. Rarick also spoke at events sponsored by the anti-communist [[John Birch Society]].
===Challenging John McKeithen===
In November 1967, with less than a year of congressional service to his credit, Rarick challenged popular Democratic Governor [[John J. McKeithen]] for re-nomination. Rarick secured the support of various "far right" groups in the state, but was badly defeated, having polled only 17.3 percent of the two-candidate vote to McKeithen's 80.7 percent. Rarick did not poll a gubernatorial majority even among those voters who expected the next year to support George Wallace for president.
During the primary campaign for the gubernatorial nomination, three or four men in a car fired four quick shots at the congressman in a New Orleans parking lot. Rarick told the media: "The whole thing happened about like the flip of a finger. At first it sounded like someone threw a cherry bomb. Then I turned around and looked at this car. This fellow was pointing a gun right at me. The shots kept coming. I jumped between cars ... I couldn't even tell you how many shots were fired."<ref>"Four shots fired at Rep. Rarick, ''[[The Washington Post]],''November 3, 1967.</ref>
===Segregation and charges of racism===
In both his campaign against Jimmy Morrison and against John McKeithen, Rarick was regarded as the segregationist candidate.<ref>"Runoffs Set for Sept. 24 in Louisiana," ''The Spokane (Washington) Daily Chronicle,'' November 2, 1967.</ref> He referred to racial busing as a torture tactic.<ref>"Busing Called Torture Tactic," ''The Spartanburg ([[South Carolina]]) Herald,'' August 4, 1971.</ref>
On June 13, 1967, Rarick introduced H.R. 208 which asked Congress to renounce the validity of the [[Fourteenth Amendment]] to the United States Constitution; Rarick presented historical evidence gathered by Leander Henry Perez, Sr. (1891-1969) of Plaquemines Parish purporting to show that the amendment was not validly adopted.
In the midst of rioting in [[Washington, D.C.]], following the assassination of [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]], Rarick called for a congressional investigation into the violence in the capital city, and remarked that the police and federal troops in the city had been "rendered ineffective" by orders which "utilized the forces of law and order to protect the looters and rioters from an angry citizenry."<ref>
"Dr. King Is Buried in Atlanta after Outpouring of Tributes, ''[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]],'' April 10, 1968.</ref> A year after King's death, Rarick branded him as "a Communist errand-boy" and a man "whose only claim to fame was disobedience of the law."<ref>"Congressman's remarks about Dr. King draw strong retort, '' ''The Bend ([[Oregon]]) Bulletin,'' May 29, 1969.</ref>
In 1969, Rarick was described as a "patsy" for neo-Nazis for having spoken at several [[Liberty Lobby]] rallies; similar charges were made against several other politicians of national standing.<ref>"=Neo-Nazi Group Seeks U.S. Control," ''Toledo ([[Ohio]]) Blade]],'' April 17, 1969.</ref> It was also alleged that [[Willis Carto]]'s United Congressional Appeal made $3,000 contributions to Rarick and two other U.S. representatives.<ref>"Rites to Honor Hitler, ''The Tuscaloosa News,'' April 18, 1969.</ref>
In 1970, Rarick gave a speech in support of Ian Smith's white minority-rule government in the former [[Rhodesia]] and denounced the U.S. policy of denying recognition to Smith's government.<ref>
"Congressman ridicules Africa on House floor," ''The Baltimore Afro American,'' April 4, 1970.</ref>
In February 1971, when Captain Jerry B. Finley of Louisiana faced dismissal for refusing to shake hands with a black officer, Rarick called a news conference in Finley's defense. The [[Associated Press]] reported that Rarich said that in his state "it is not considered in good taste for a white person to shake hands with a black stranger."<ref>"White Officer Faces Dismissal Over Handshake," ''The New London ([[Connecticut]]) Day,'' February 12, 1971.</ref>
In 1972, U.S. Representative Charles Coles Digg, Jr. (1922-1998), a [[Michigan]] Democrat and chairman of the [[Congressional Black Caucus]], called Rarick the "leading racist in this ([92nd Congress."<ref name=worst-racist>"Rarick called worst racist in Congress," ''The Baltimore Afro-American,'' February 12, 1972.</ref> The local audience applauded Diggs' remarks, a fact which Rarick felt was "a perfect example of why we should prohibit home rule for the District of Columbia."<ref name=worst-racist/>
On January 3, 1973, Rarick introduced a resolution asking for a concurrent resolution by Congress stating that the federal government, the states, and local governments could not bar the song "Dixie" from being played.<ref name=dixie>"Solon tries to stop ban on 'Dixie'," ''The Eugene (Oregon) Register-Guard,'' January 14, 1973.</ref> The same day, he asked for a resolution that federal employees living in the District of Columbia must send their children to predominantly black public schools.<ref name=dixie/>
===Supporting George Wallace===
In 1968, Rarick won re-nomination by turning back a primary challenge from state Senator [[J. D. DeBlieux]] of Baton Rouge. DeBlieux (pronounced like the letter "W") was one of the first white politicians in Louisiana to have endorsed the [[civil rights]] agenda. By a 79-21 percent margin, Rarick then defeated the Republican congressional nominee, Loyd J. Rockhold (1922-2010).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, 1968 congressional election returns.</ref>
In 1968, Rarick supported American Independent Party candidate George Wallace for president against Democrat [[Hubert Humphrey]] and Republican [[Richard Nixon. Like the Democratic Representatives Albert William Watson (1922-1994) of [[South Carolina]] and John Bell Williams (1918-1983) of [[Mississippi]] who had supported Republican [[Barry Goldwater]] of [[Arizona]] in the 1964 presidential election, Rarick was also stripped of seniority by the House Democratic Caucus for having openly supported Wallace.<ref name="npr 2007">Thompson Accelerates Pitch to Iowa Voters : NPR|author=Ken Rudin,|title=What the (Joe) Lieberman Endorsement Means—For Him|publisher=[[National Public Radio]]: ''The Political Junkie'' |date=December 19, 2007.</ref>
Some Democrats were hesitant to discipline Rarick for concern that punitive action might make him a martyr in his district.<ref>"Accent on the News," ''The Milwaukee ([[Wisconsin]]) Journal,'' November 14, 1968.</ref> Representative Richard Walker Bolling (1916-1991) of [[Missouri]] of the House Rules Committee, however, led the move to strip Rarick of his two years of seniority. Rarick depicted himself as one with "political leprosy ... a whipping boy to intimidate older party members, to frighten them ... so they will vote as a unity group."<ref>"Liberals Hit Rarick for Wallace Campaign Support," ''[[Minden Press-Herald]],'' January 3, 1969, p. 2.</ref><ref>"Rarick Now Is Last Among House Democrats," ''Minden Press-Herald,'' January 30, 1969, p. 1.</ref> Since Rarick had only served a single term, the action was largely a symbolic gesture.<ref name="npr 2007"/> Nonetheless, Rarick reportedly considered switching to the Republican Party but never did so. George Wallace carried the 6th district that Rarick represented by 54 percent<ref name="npr 2007"/> and won Louisiana by a plurality vote of 48 percent statewide.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 5, 1968.</ref>
In 1969, Rarick wrote a lettersupporting the [[New York City]] Democratic [[mayor]]al candidate Mario Angelo Procaccino (1912-1995) offering to campaign "either for or against you whichever will be more helpful."<ref>"Runnin' Scared," '''The Village Voice,'' August 14, 1969.</ref> Procaccino was thereafter defeated by the incumbent liberal Republican [[John V. Lindsay]], who in 1971 defected to the Democrats and unsuccessfully sought his new party's presidential nomination in 1972.
In 1970, Rarick won re-nomination, 57,835 to 40,450, against the liberal Democrat [[Jesse Bankston]] of Baton Rouge, a long-time figure iin the Louisiana Democratic State Central Committee.<ref>''Louisiana Almanac,'' 2006.</ref>
In 1972, as Rarick was re-elected to his fourth and final term, his home parish of West Feliciana was the only parish among the sixty-four parishes to support Democratic presidential nominee [[George McGovern]] for president over Richard Nixon.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 7, 1968.</ref>
===Anti-communism and the Vietnam War===
Once described as "a Communist-hater of mountainous rage,"<ref>"Boar's head gift," ''St. Petersburg ([[Florida]]) Times,'' December 5, 1971.</ref> Rarick favored prosecution of the [[Vietnam War]]. He spoke at pro-war rallies with fellow anti-communist Carl McIntire.<ref>"Vietnam Victory March to Go On Without Kys," ''The Evening Independent,'' October 3, 1970.</ref><ref name="march-dbmj">"March For Victory Orderly, Peaceful," ''The Daytona Beach Morning Journal,'' April 5, 1970.</ref><ref name="parade-sarasota">"15,000 War Supporters Parade," ''Sarasota (Florida) Herald-Tribune,'' May 9, 1975.</ref> He remarked at an April 1970 rally that "A people with the intelligence, the skills, the financial resources and the organizational ability to place astronauts on the moon, not once, but repeatedly, is surely capable of military victory over a minor, backward, disorganized, fourth-rate dictatorship."<ref name="march-dbmj"/> At a May 1971 rally, he remarked that U.S. leaders "lack the guts to end the war in the five to six weeks every military leader says it will take."<ref name="parade-sarasota"/> Rarick also joined Carl McIntire at a rally urging Nixon to cancel his 1972 visit to [[Communist China]].<ref>""McIntire Urges Nixon to Cancel China Trip," ''The Spartanburg (South Carolina) Herald-Journal,'' October 23, 1971. </ref>
Rarick testified in favor of strengthening the McCarran Internal Security Act of 1950 and charged that the Subversive Activities Control Board was not doing its job.<ref>"Justice Department Draws Charge of Torpedo Action," ''The Sarasota Journal,'' May 2, 1968.</ref>
Along with Republican Representative [[John Ashbrook]] of [[Ohio]], who opposed Richard Nixon in a few primaries in 1972, Rarick regularly inserted accounts of terror tactics in the former South Vietnam into ''The Congressional Record.''<ref>"Communist Massacres Have a Long Lineage," ''The Evening Independent,'' December 5, 1969.</ref>
In April 1971, mere days after Second Lieutenant William Laws Calley, Jr. (born 1943) was convicted of ordering the [[My Lai Massacre]], Rarick offered an amendment, dedicated to Calley, which would have outlawed the prosecution of soldiers for killings during wartime.<ref name="house-approves">{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TBYfAAAAIBAJ&pg=3088,170692|date=April 2, 1971|title=House Approves Draft Extension|publisher=''The Tuscaloosa New''|accessdate=April 21, 2021}}</ref><ref>"Two-Year Draft Extension OK'd," '' ''Tri-City(Washington State) Herald,'' April 1, 1971.</ref> "We must tell every mother we shall not let another soldier be disgraced in this manner," Rarick said in advocacy of the amendment, "Isn't premeditated murder what war is all about?" The amendment was defeated by a voice vote.<ref name="house-approves"/>
In September 1971, twenty-one Senators and thirty-three House members, led by [[James Buckley]] (New York Conservative Party and [[Bill Brock]] ([[Tennessee]] Republican), called a press conference to urge that the [[Republic of China]] ([[Taiwan]]) not be expelled from the [[United Nations]]; some congressmen, however, expressed support for President Nixon's efforts to improve relationships with the [[People's Republic of China]]. The conference came to an abrupt end when Representative [[John G. Schmitz]] ([[California]] Republican) and Rarick stood up and walked out, with Schmitz saying, "Congressman Rarick and I are leaving, and you can take our names off that list. This is too weak a position."<ref>{{cite web|date=September 29, 1971|title=Congressional Bloc Fights to Keep Taiwan in U.N.|publisher=''St. Petersburg Times''|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MAkOAAAAIBAJ&pg=4240,3446766|accessdate=January 12, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=September 23, 1971|title=Conservative Split on China Place in UN|publisher=''The Modesto (California) Bee''|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TVchAAAAIBAJ&pg=1121,3027895|accessdate=January 12, 2010}}</ref>
Early in 1972, Rarick opposed President Nixon's latest peace proposal that would allow, when [the Paris Peace Accords were implemented in 1973, the acceptance of the Communist Party in a new government in South Vietnam. Rarick referred to Nixon as a "sellout" and one who catered to his own Democratic opponents. Colleague [[Felix Edward Hébert|F. Edward Hébert]], a Democrat from [[New Orleans]], also known for his hawkish views on the war, however, defended Nixon's offer as sincere and workable.<ref>"Hebert-Rarick: Views Different on Announcement," ''Minden Press-Herald,'' January 26, 1972, p. 1.</ref>
===Anti-establishment congressman===
In 1971, Rarick joined liberal Democratic U.S. Representatives Robert Louis Leggett (1926-1997) of California and Parren James Mitchell (1922-2007) of [[Maryland]] to sponsor the "People Power Over War Act," a proposed constitutional amendment requiring a national [[referendum]] on military action other than an invasion of the country. It was patterned after the former Ludlow Amendment. From 1935 to 1941, Representative Louis Leon Ludlow (1873-1950), a Democrat from Rarick's native Indiana, introduced legislation each year to oppose President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s interventionist foreign policy. The text of the measure reads in part: "Except in the event of an attack or invasion the authority of Congress to declare war shall not become effective until confirmed by a majority of all votes cast thereon in a nationwide referendum."<ref>''The Congressional Record,'' September 15, 1971.</ref>
Early in 1972, Democratic [[U.S. Senator]] [[Sam Ervin]], of [[North Carolina]] disclosed that Army intelligence surveillance of civilian officials from late 1967 into 1970 was more extensive than had been previously revealed. In a brief filed with the [[United States Supreme Court]], Ervin said that the Army had watched the political activities of certain public officials and retired politicians, including Rarick. Ervin said that the main targets were persons and organizations either opposed to the [[Vietnam War]] or considered "anti-establishment".<ref>"Wider Army Surveillance of Top Officials Disclosed," ''[[The New York Times]].'' February 29, 1972, p. 1.</ref>
Among the measures that Rarick introduced in Congress were the following:
* H.R. 10851: A bill to provide that paper money carry a designation in [[Braille]] to indicate the denomination<ref>"Braille Money," ''The Modesto Bee,'' December 3, 1973.</ref-01-12}}</ref><ref>"Paper Money Sought for Blin," ''The Sarasota Herald-Tribune,'' September 26, 1971.</ref><ref>"Measure asks Braille money," ''The Eugene ([[Oregon]]) Register-Guard,'' June 17, 1971.</ref>
* H.R. 6359: A bill to permit a deduction from gross annual income any expenses incurred in connection with the adoption of a child
* H.R. 118: A bill to permit citizens of the United States to acquire, hold, and dispose of [[gold]]
* H.R. 119: A bill to vest in the U.S. government unconditional ownership of the twelve [[Federal Reserve]] banks
* H.R. 960: A bill to reduce the public debt each [[fiscal year]] by at least 10 percent of the estimated overall federal receipts
* H.R. 5164: A bill to exempt law enforcement officer and firefighters from paying federal taxes on their first $5,000 of compensation in 1973 dollars
===Other issues===
Rarick strongly opposed gun control and the registration of firearms, which he found to be at odds with the [[Second Amendment]]. Of the latter, he said in 1971, "History confirms that registration of firearms inevitably leads to confiscation, followed by enslavement of peoples."<ref>{{cite web|date=May 16, 1991|title=Brady Gang after our rights|publisher=''The Spokesman-Review''|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Jhw1AAAAIBAJ&pg=1576,4198775|access-date=2010-01-12}}</ref> Also that year, he introduced a bill to repeal the [[Gun Control Act]] of 1968, which was signed into law by President Johnson.<ref>"Guns: A Menace or a Right?," ''The Salt Lake City Deseret New,'' June 1, 1971.</ref>
Rarick supported a constitutional amendment to permit [[school prayer]] in public schools, backing a constitutional amendment to that end.<ref>{{cite web|date=November 12, 1971|title=The Right to Pray|publisher=The Daily News|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=A0APAAAAIBAJ&pg=5689,2717880|accessdate=January 12, 2010}}</ref>
In 1973, Rarick introduced a bill to withdraw the United States from the [[United Nations]].<ref>"U.S. should withdraw from U.N.," ''The Boca Raton ([[Florida]]) News,'' November 13, 1973.</ref> Earlier, in 1972, Rarick tried to bring John G. Schmitz's bill to withdraw from the U.N. to a vote.<ref>"Letters to the Editor," ''Lodi (California) News-Sentinel,'' February 4, 1972.</ref> Rarick was against [[foreign aid]], writing in 1971: "In my three terms in the House I have never seen a foreign aid bill that deserved passage. I have always felt that we should have Americans helping Americans first, not after they got through helping everyone else."<ref>"Fighting Wars on Credit,'' ''The New York Daily News,'' September 20, 1971.</ref>
Like the [[Iowa]] Republican Representative [[H. R. Gross]], Rarick was a vocal opponents of legislation converting the U.S. to the [[metric system]], Rarick calling it "anti-American."<ref>How the metric legislation lost, ''The Lodi (California) News-Sentinel,'' May 11, 1974.</ref>
===Losing re-nomination in 1974===
In 1974, voters denied Rarick re-nomination, as they had done to Morrison eight years earlier. In order to unseat Rarick the Democratic Party leadership either paid for or strongly encouraged nine candidates to oppose Rarick in the primary race so that Rarick could be prevented from receiving a plurality. Rarick was unseated in the Democratic runoff election by a young Baton Rouge [[television]] broadcaster formerly from [[Arkansas]], Jeffrey Dean "Jeff" LaCaze, who objected to Rarick's conservative voting record. LaCaze prevailed, 60,570 votes (51.8 percent) to Rarick's 56,659 (48.2 percent). LaCaze was considered a liberal who enjoyed the support of [[organized labor]] and most African Americans in a district then almost one-third black.<ref>''[[U.S. News and World Report]]'', February 3, 1975, p. 76</ref> LaCaze in turn lost to Republican William Henson Moore II (born 1939) of Baton Rouge in a disputed November 1974 [[general election]]. In a [[special election]] rematch held in January 1975 to resolve the deadlock, LaCaze lost to Moore by nearly eight percentage points.
Rarick resumed the practice of law in St. Francisville after his congressional defeat.
===Candidate for AIP presidential nomination, 1976===
In 1976, Rarick sought the American Independent Party nomination against Robert J. Morris (1914-1996) who had Richard Viguerie as his running mate and the backing of ''[[National Review]]''-publisher William Allen Rusher (1923-2011) and former Governor [[Lester Maddox]] of [[Georgia]].<ref>"Conservatives: Conclave in Chicago," ''Time,'' September 6, 1976.</ref><ref>"Maddox may file suit if left out of debate," ''Eugene Register-Guard,'' August 30, 1976.</ref>"Independent Party Looks for Candidate," ''The Hour'' (newspaper), August 28, 1976.</ref> Maddox, who had been widely described as the front-runner prior to the convention,<ref>"Maddox Front-Runner," ''Reading (Pennsylvania) Eagle,'' August 26, 1976.</ref><ref>"Maddox attacks Carter, Ford in seeking nomination," ''The St. Petersburg Times,'' August 28, 1976.</ref> won the nomination on the first ballo0, with the support of 177 delegates (52.2 percent.<ref name="aip76">Our Campaigns - US President - AIP Convention Race - August 26, 1976.</ref> Morris had the backing support of 80 delegates (23.6 percent) and Rarick had 79 (23.3 percent).<ref name="aip76"/>
In the general election, Maddox received only 170,274 votes (or 0.21%).<ref> U.S. Election Atlas: 1976 Presidential General Election Results.</ref>
===Running for Congress again, 1976===
Rarick then turned his attention to an attempt to return to Congress. He ran in the [[suburb]]an New Orleans-based 1st congressional district in 1976 as an [[Independent voter|Independent]]. The seat had come open when 36-year incumbent Felix Edward Hébert announced his retirement. Rarick polled only 12,227 votes (9.4 percent). However, he siphoned off enough votes that presumably otherwise would have gone to Republican [[Bob Livingston]] to throw the election to Democrat Richard Alvin Tonry (1935-2012).
===AIP presidential nominee, 1980===
In 1980, Rarick again sought the AIP nomination, competing against Percy L. Greaves, Jr. (1906-1984), an economist from New York, and James Schumacher of [[Arizona]].<ref name="arizonan-kdm">"Arizonan is nominated for presidency," ''The Kingman Daily Miner,'' August 31, 1980.</ref> Both Rarick and Greaves were described as advocating a "strictly defensive non-intervention[ist] foreign policy" while Schumacher spoke in favor of arming [[Israel]] "to the teeth" and the "complete destruction of the next country that invades Israel."<ref name="arizonan-kdm"/>
In a speech to 150 convention delegates, Rarick outlined a platform which opposed foreign aid and American participation in the United Nations, and citing his congressional votes against the [[Equal Rights Amendment]] and funding for [[abortion]].<ref name="arizonan-kdm"/> Rarick easily secured the nomination, winning the support of 64 delegates (84.2 percent) on the first ballot; Greaves had the support of 11 delegates (14. percent) and Schumacher had only a single supporter (1.3 percent).<ref name="aip80">Our Campaigns - US President, AIP Convention Race, August 29, 1980.</ref> Rarick's running mate was Eileen Mary Knowland Shearer (1920-2003), the wife of AIP founder William Kennedy Shearer (1931-2007) and a cousin of the late U.S. Senator[[William F. Knowland]] (1908-1974) of California.
On the ballot in only eight states, Rarick finished in seventh place nationally, with 40,906 votes (just 0.05 percent).<ref> U.S. Election Atlas: 1980 Presidential General Election Results, March 3, 2016.
</ref> Rarick's most respectable showings were in Louisiana, where he polled 10,333 votes (0.67 percent and about the same number that Maddox had obtained four years earlier) and in Alabama where he captured 15,010 votes (1.12 percent).<ref>U.S. Election Atlas: Presidential General Election Results for 1980 (Louisiana), March 3, 2016.</ref>
Overall, his totals were so meager as to have been omitted from most presidential election tallies. He opposed the campaign of Republican [[Ronald Reagan]] for president that year on the grounds that Reagan, a former governor of California, was too accommodating to the [[welfare state]] to address the pressing national needs.
===Later politics===
In 1990, Rarick supported then state Representative [[David Duke]]'s candidacy for [[U.S. Senator]] against the Democrat [[J. Bennett Johnston Jr.]]; Duke won 44 percent of the vote and launched a losing gubernatorial race in 1991.
==Honors==
Rarick was awarded the "Medal of Honor" from the National Society for the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]]. He received the "Medal of Freedom" Award from the Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation, an organization named for the [[Hungary|Hungarian]] [[priest]], [[Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty]], who was persecuted and exiled because of his opposition to [[Joseph Stalin]] and [[communist]] horrors during the [[Cold War]]. Rarick was given a "life achievement award" by the [[Council of Conservative Citizens]], a group of which he was a charter member and frequently addressed, along with the late conservative columnist, [[Samuel T. Francis|Samuel T. "Sam" Francis]]. Rarick was named "Freemason of the Century" by the Feliciana Lodge 31, where he was active for more than a half century and twice served as its worshipful master. He was instrumental in organizing the lodge's annual "Day the War Stopped," an annual [[American Civil War]] re-enactment.<ref name=obit/>
==Death and legacy==
On December 27, 1945, Rarick married the former Marguerite Pierce (September 10, 1924 – April 13, 2003), the mother of his three children. On January 21, 2004, the widower Rarick married the former Frances Eldred Campbell, a long-time family friend. In addition to his first wife, he was preceded in death by a grandson, Marc Magee Slattery.<ref name="obit/">
Rarick died of [[cancer]] at his St. Francisville home at 9:20 p.m., on September 14, 2009. Cherie Brumfield, his daughter and former law partner, told ''The Baton Rouge Morning Advocate'' that her father stood up for his lifetime motto: "For God and the Constitution," words inscribed on his tombstone. Brumfield said that Rarick had tried to "wake up America to fight for America." She added that her father, despite his Indiana birth, considered himself "as proud a southerner as anyone born here. He would say, 'I'm a southerner by choice, not chance."<ref>"Former Rep. John Rarick Dies at 85," ''The Baton Rouge Morning Advocate, on-line edition, September 15, 2009.</ref>
In addition to his second wife, Rarick is survived by one son, John Rarick, II, and wife Kay, and daughters Cherie Rarick Brumfield and husband, Bill, and Laurie Rarick Slattery and husband, John. He had nine grandchildren: John Rarick, III, and wife Tara; Parrish Rarick; Alecia Rarick Tortorich and husband, Louis; Jodie Brumfield Morrow and husband, Jude; William Brian Brumfield; H. Doyle Magee, III; John Slattery, III; Marguerite Slattery, and Patrick Rarick Slattery. He had six great-grandchildren: Brennan Morrow, Catherine Morrow, Christian Rarick, McKenna Rarick, John Challen Rarick, and Kaitlyn Tortorich. He is also survived by four stepchildren: Scott, Don, and Dave Campbell, and Lori Campbell Teufert; and one step-grandson, Derrick Hyde.<ref name="obit"/>
Services were held on September 18, 2009, at the First [[Southern Baptist|Baptist]] Church of St. Francisville, of which Rarick was a member. He is interred beside his first wife at Star Hill Cemetery off [[U.S. Highway 61]] and Louisiana Highway 966 near St. Francisville.<ref name="advo"/>
Rarick's papers were donated to Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond.<ref name="obit"/>
==See also==
*[[Larry McDonald]]
*[[Conservative Democrat]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rarick, John}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Indiana]]
[[Category:Attorneys]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Judges]]
[[Category:Former United States Representatives]]
[[Category:Former Democrats]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Independents]]
[[Category:Southern Baptists]]
[[Category:United States Army]]
[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Prisoners of war]]
|name=John Richard John Rarick
|image=John Rarick of LA.jpg
|office=[[United States Representative for<br> [[Louisiana]]'s 6th congressional district
|term_start=January 3, 1967
|term_end=January 3, 1975
|predecessor=[[James H. Morrison]]
|successor=William Henson Moore
|birth_date=January 29, 1924
|birth_place=Waterford, LaPorte County<br> [[Indiana]]
|death_date=September 14, 2009 (aged 85)
|death_place=St. Francisville, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana
|resting_place=Star Hill Cemetery near St. Francisville
|party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]-turned [[Independent voter|Independent]] (1976)
|spouse=Marguerite Pierce (married 1945–2003, her death)<br>Frances Eldred Campbell (married 2004–2009, his death)
|children=John Rarick, II
Cherie Rarick Brumfield<br>
Laurie Rarick Slattery
|alma_mater=Goshen (Indiana) High School<br>
[[Ball State University]] (Muncie, Indiana)<br>
[[Louisiana State University ([[Baton Rouge]])<br>
[[Tulane University]] Law School
|branch=[[United States Army]]
|battles/wars=Europe
|serviceyears = [[World War II]]
|awards=[[Bronze Star]]<br>
[[Purple Heart}}
'''John Richard Rarick''' (January 29, 1924 – September 14, 2009) was an [[United States|American]] [[attorney]] who served as a [[Louisiana]] state district court judge from 1961 to 1966 in St. Francisville in West Feliciana Parish, andfrom 1967 to 1975 a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[U.S. Representative]] for Louisiana's 6th congressional district A staunch [[conservative]]], he frequently quarreled with his party's increasingly [[liberal]] philosophy and leadership. In 1980, he did not support [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[Ronald W. Reagan]] in the race against [[Jimmy Carter]] but himself sought the presidency as the nominee of the former American Independent Party, founded in 1968 by former [[Governor]] [[George Wallace|George C. Wallace]] of [[Alabama]].
==Background==
Rarick was born in rural Waterford in LaPorte County in northwestern [[Indiana]]. He graduated from Goshen High School in Goshen, Indiana and studied at [[Ball State Universit]y]] (then Teacher's College) in Muncie, Indiana.<ref name="bioguide">{{cite dictionary|title=RARICK, John Richard|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000065|publisher=United States Congress|accessdateAapril 21, 2021}}</ref>
Rarick then entered the [[United States Army]]'s Specialized Training Program and was sent to [[Louisiana State University]] in [[Baton Rouge]], where he lived in the college barracks. He was then dispatched to the European Theater of Operations with the infantry during [[World War II]]. He was captured at the [[Battle of the Bulge]] and later escaped from a [[Germany|German]] [[prisoner of war]] camp at Würzburg. He was awarded the [[Bronze Star]] and the [[Purple Heart]].<ref name="bioguide"/><ref name="obit">John Rarick's Obituary, ''The Baton Rouge Advocate, September 16, 2009.</br><ref>
After his military service, Rarick obtained his bachelor's degree from LSU. He then attended [[Tulane University]] Law School in [[New Orleans]], from which he graduated with an LLB and then a [[Juris Doctor]]ate in 1949.<ref name="bioguide"/> He was admitted to the Louisiana state bar later that year and set up a law practice in St. Francisville north of Baton Rouge. He was a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association for more than sixty years.<ref name=obit/> On June 28, 1961, he was elected as a judge of the 20th Judicial District in East and West Feliciana parishes. He resigned the judgeship on May 15, 1966, to declare his candidacy for Congress.<ref name="bioguide"/>
==Political career==
===Unseating U.S. Representative Jimmy Morrison===
Rarick had been a member of the Democratic Party in Indiana and for a time was the party's city chairman in Goshen. He remained a Democrat when he moved to Louisiana. In the summer of 1966, Rarick upset veteran U.S. Representative [[James H. Morrison|James Hobson "Jimmy" Morrison]] (no relation to [[Chep Morrison]]) of Hammond in Tangipohoa Parish in a [[closed primary|closed]] Democratic primary runoff election with 51.2 percent of the vote. Morrison though an opponet of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] had a "moderate racial record" and was attacked in the campaign by Rarick as an ally of "the black-power voting bloc" and being an "[[Lyndon B. Johnson|LBJ]] rubber stamp".<ref>"Politics: The Turning Point," [[Time Magazine]],'' October 6, 1966.</ref> Rarick campaigned on "a segregationist, anti-Johnson and anti-federal government theme."<ref name="runoffs">"Runoffs Set for Sept. 24 in Louisiana," ''The Spokane Daily Chronicle,'' August 15, 1966.</ref> Morrison accused Rarick of being a member of the [[Ku Klux Klan]], for which Rarick sued Morrison for [[libel]].<ref name="runoffs"/>
Rarick's victory coincided with the selection of another controversial conservative, [[Lester Maddox]] as the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in [[Georgia]]. Incidentally, both Rarick and his 1966 [[Republican Party|Republican]] opponent, Crayton Green "Sparky" Hall (c. 1925-2014), later left their major parties. In 1976, Hall was the 6th congressional district elector for the [[Libertarian Party]] . Hall polled only 23 percent of the ballots cast in his race against Rarick. A native of Columbus, Georgia who was reared in Leesville in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, Hall was a process development engineer for the Ethyl Corporation in Baton Rouge. He ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for mayor-president of East Baton Rouge Parish in 1968 against the Democrat [[W. W. Dumas]]. He was a floor representative for [[Ronald Reagan]]'s 72-hour presidential bid at the 1968 [[Republican National Convention]] in Miami Beach, [[Florida]]. Hall soon left the GOP and was the founding chairman of the Louisiana Libertarian Party from the early 1970s until 1985, when he relocated to North Carolina, where he was an active Libertarian in that state as well. He died in Hendersonville, North Carolina, at the age of eighty-nine.<ref>Crayton Green "Sparky" Hall obituary, ,, ''Hendersonville ," August 31, 2014.</ref>
Rarick quickly compiled a very conservative voting record, even by Louisiana Democratic standards. According to one scoring method, published in''The American Journal of Political Science,''<ref>
"Estimating a Basic Space From A Set of Issue Scales," ''American Journal of Political Science,'' Vol. 42; Issue 32, July 1998, pp. 954-993.</ref> In a period of four years, 1971 to 1974, the [[American Conservative Union]] scored Rarick 100 three times and a 91 rating once, in 1973.<ref>"ACU Ratings of Congress: House Ratings," acuratings.org, Like colleague [[Joe Waggonner|Joe D. Waggonner Jr.]], of the 4th congressional district, Rarick was a former member of the pro-segregation [[White Citizens' Council]], founded in the middle 1950s by state Senator [[William Rainach]] of Claiborne Parish.. Rarick also spoke at events sponsored by the anti-communist [[John Birch Society]].
===Challenging John McKeithen===
In November 1967, with less than a year of congressional service to his credit, Rarick challenged popular Democratic Governor [[John J. McKeithen]] for re-nomination. Rarick secured the support of various "far right" groups in the state, but was badly defeated, having polled only 17.3 percent of the two-candidate vote to McKeithen's 80.7 percent. Rarick did not poll a gubernatorial majority even among those voters who expected the next year to support George Wallace for president.
During the primary campaign for the gubernatorial nomination, three or four men in a car fired four quick shots at the congressman in a New Orleans parking lot. Rarick told the media: "The whole thing happened about like the flip of a finger. At first it sounded like someone threw a cherry bomb. Then I turned around and looked at this car. This fellow was pointing a gun right at me. The shots kept coming. I jumped between cars ... I couldn't even tell you how many shots were fired."<ref>"Four shots fired at Rep. Rarick, ''[[The Washington Post]],''November 3, 1967.</ref>
===Segregation and charges of racism===
In both his campaign against Jimmy Morrison and against John McKeithen, Rarick was regarded as the segregationist candidate.<ref>"Runoffs Set for Sept. 24 in Louisiana," ''The Spokane (Washington) Daily Chronicle,'' November 2, 1967.</ref> He referred to racial busing as a torture tactic.<ref>"Busing Called Torture Tactic," ''The Spartanburg ([[South Carolina]]) Herald,'' August 4, 1971.</ref>
On June 13, 1967, Rarick introduced H.R. 208 which asked Congress to renounce the validity of the [[Fourteenth Amendment]] to the United States Constitution; Rarick presented historical evidence gathered by Leander Henry Perez, Sr. (1891-1969) of Plaquemines Parish purporting to show that the amendment was not validly adopted.
In the midst of rioting in [[Washington, D.C.]], following the assassination of [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]], Rarick called for a congressional investigation into the violence in the capital city, and remarked that the police and federal troops in the city had been "rendered ineffective" by orders which "utilized the forces of law and order to protect the looters and rioters from an angry citizenry."<ref>
"Dr. King Is Buried in Atlanta after Outpouring of Tributes, ''[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]],'' April 10, 1968.</ref> A year after King's death, Rarick branded him as "a Communist errand-boy" and a man "whose only claim to fame was disobedience of the law."<ref>"Congressman's remarks about Dr. King draw strong retort, '' ''The Bend ([[Oregon]]) Bulletin,'' May 29, 1969.</ref>
In 1969, Rarick was described as a "patsy" for neo-Nazis for having spoken at several [[Liberty Lobby]] rallies; similar charges were made against several other politicians of national standing.<ref>"=Neo-Nazi Group Seeks U.S. Control," ''Toledo ([[Ohio]]) Blade]],'' April 17, 1969.</ref> It was also alleged that [[Willis Carto]]'s United Congressional Appeal made $3,000 contributions to Rarick and two other U.S. representatives.<ref>"Rites to Honor Hitler, ''The Tuscaloosa News,'' April 18, 1969.</ref>
In 1970, Rarick gave a speech in support of Ian Smith's white minority-rule government in the former [[Rhodesia]] and denounced the U.S. policy of denying recognition to Smith's government.<ref>
"Congressman ridicules Africa on House floor," ''The Baltimore Afro American,'' April 4, 1970.</ref>
In February 1971, when Captain Jerry B. Finley of Louisiana faced dismissal for refusing to shake hands with a black officer, Rarick called a news conference in Finley's defense. The [[Associated Press]] reported that Rarich said that in his state "it is not considered in good taste for a white person to shake hands with a black stranger."<ref>"White Officer Faces Dismissal Over Handshake," ''The New London ([[Connecticut]]) Day,'' February 12, 1971.</ref>
In 1972, U.S. Representative Charles Coles Digg, Jr. (1922-1998), a [[Michigan]] Democrat and chairman of the [[Congressional Black Caucus]], called Rarick the "leading racist in this ([92nd Congress."<ref name=worst-racist>"Rarick called worst racist in Congress," ''The Baltimore Afro-American,'' February 12, 1972.</ref> The local audience applauded Diggs' remarks, a fact which Rarick felt was "a perfect example of why we should prohibit home rule for the District of Columbia."<ref name=worst-racist/>
On January 3, 1973, Rarick introduced a resolution asking for a concurrent resolution by Congress stating that the federal government, the states, and local governments could not bar the song "Dixie" from being played.<ref name=dixie>"Solon tries to stop ban on 'Dixie'," ''The Eugene (Oregon) Register-Guard,'' January 14, 1973.</ref> The same day, he asked for a resolution that federal employees living in the District of Columbia must send their children to predominantly black public schools.<ref name=dixie/>
===Supporting George Wallace===
In 1968, Rarick won re-nomination by turning back a primary challenge from state Senator [[J. D. DeBlieux]] of Baton Rouge. DeBlieux (pronounced like the letter "W") was one of the first white politicians in Louisiana to have endorsed the [[civil rights]] agenda. By a 79-21 percent margin, Rarick then defeated the Republican congressional nominee, Loyd J. Rockhold (1922-2010).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, 1968 congressional election returns.</ref>
In 1968, Rarick supported American Independent Party candidate George Wallace for president against Democrat [[Hubert Humphrey]] and Republican [[Richard Nixon. Like the Democratic Representatives Albert William Watson (1922-1994) of [[South Carolina]] and John Bell Williams (1918-1983) of [[Mississippi]] who had supported Republican [[Barry Goldwater]] of [[Arizona]] in the 1964 presidential election, Rarick was also stripped of seniority by the House Democratic Caucus for having openly supported Wallace.<ref name="npr 2007">Thompson Accelerates Pitch to Iowa Voters : NPR|author=Ken Rudin,|title=What the (Joe) Lieberman Endorsement Means—For Him|publisher=[[National Public Radio]]: ''The Political Junkie'' |date=December 19, 2007.</ref>
Some Democrats were hesitant to discipline Rarick for concern that punitive action might make him a martyr in his district.<ref>"Accent on the News," ''The Milwaukee ([[Wisconsin]]) Journal,'' November 14, 1968.</ref> Representative Richard Walker Bolling (1916-1991) of [[Missouri]] of the House Rules Committee, however, led the move to strip Rarick of his two years of seniority. Rarick depicted himself as one with "political leprosy ... a whipping boy to intimidate older party members, to frighten them ... so they will vote as a unity group."<ref>"Liberals Hit Rarick for Wallace Campaign Support," ''[[Minden Press-Herald]],'' January 3, 1969, p. 2.</ref><ref>"Rarick Now Is Last Among House Democrats," ''Minden Press-Herald,'' January 30, 1969, p. 1.</ref> Since Rarick had only served a single term, the action was largely a symbolic gesture.<ref name="npr 2007"/> Nonetheless, Rarick reportedly considered switching to the Republican Party but never did so. George Wallace carried the 6th district that Rarick represented by 54 percent<ref name="npr 2007"/> and won Louisiana by a plurality vote of 48 percent statewide.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 5, 1968.</ref>
In 1969, Rarick wrote a lettersupporting the [[New York City]] Democratic [[mayor]]al candidate Mario Angelo Procaccino (1912-1995) offering to campaign "either for or against you whichever will be more helpful."<ref>"Runnin' Scared," '''The Village Voice,'' August 14, 1969.</ref> Procaccino was thereafter defeated by the incumbent liberal Republican [[John V. Lindsay]], who in 1971 defected to the Democrats and unsuccessfully sought his new party's presidential nomination in 1972.
In 1970, Rarick won re-nomination, 57,835 to 40,450, against the liberal Democrat [[Jesse Bankston]] of Baton Rouge, a long-time figure iin the Louisiana Democratic State Central Committee.<ref>''Louisiana Almanac,'' 2006.</ref>
In 1972, as Rarick was re-elected to his fourth and final term, his home parish of West Feliciana was the only parish among the sixty-four parishes to support Democratic presidential nominee [[George McGovern]] for president over Richard Nixon.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 7, 1968.</ref>
===Anti-communism and the Vietnam War===
Once described as "a Communist-hater of mountainous rage,"<ref>"Boar's head gift," ''St. Petersburg ([[Florida]]) Times,'' December 5, 1971.</ref> Rarick favored prosecution of the [[Vietnam War]]. He spoke at pro-war rallies with fellow anti-communist Carl McIntire.<ref>"Vietnam Victory March to Go On Without Kys," ''The Evening Independent,'' October 3, 1970.</ref><ref name="march-dbmj">"March For Victory Orderly, Peaceful," ''The Daytona Beach Morning Journal,'' April 5, 1970.</ref><ref name="parade-sarasota">"15,000 War Supporters Parade," ''Sarasota (Florida) Herald-Tribune,'' May 9, 1975.</ref> He remarked at an April 1970 rally that "A people with the intelligence, the skills, the financial resources and the organizational ability to place astronauts on the moon, not once, but repeatedly, is surely capable of military victory over a minor, backward, disorganized, fourth-rate dictatorship."<ref name="march-dbmj"/> At a May 1971 rally, he remarked that U.S. leaders "lack the guts to end the war in the five to six weeks every military leader says it will take."<ref name="parade-sarasota"/> Rarick also joined Carl McIntire at a rally urging Nixon to cancel his 1972 visit to [[Communist China]].<ref>""McIntire Urges Nixon to Cancel China Trip," ''The Spartanburg (South Carolina) Herald-Journal,'' October 23, 1971. </ref>
Rarick testified in favor of strengthening the McCarran Internal Security Act of 1950 and charged that the Subversive Activities Control Board was not doing its job.<ref>"Justice Department Draws Charge of Torpedo Action," ''The Sarasota Journal,'' May 2, 1968.</ref>
Along with Republican Representative [[John Ashbrook]] of [[Ohio]], who opposed Richard Nixon in a few primaries in 1972, Rarick regularly inserted accounts of terror tactics in the former South Vietnam into ''The Congressional Record.''<ref>"Communist Massacres Have a Long Lineage," ''The Evening Independent,'' December 5, 1969.</ref>
In April 1971, mere days after Second Lieutenant William Laws Calley, Jr. (born 1943) was convicted of ordering the [[My Lai Massacre]], Rarick offered an amendment, dedicated to Calley, which would have outlawed the prosecution of soldiers for killings during wartime.<ref name="house-approves">{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TBYfAAAAIBAJ&pg=3088,170692|date=April 2, 1971|title=House Approves Draft Extension|publisher=''The Tuscaloosa New''|accessdate=April 21, 2021}}</ref><ref>"Two-Year Draft Extension OK'd," '' ''Tri-City(Washington State) Herald,'' April 1, 1971.</ref> "We must tell every mother we shall not let another soldier be disgraced in this manner," Rarick said in advocacy of the amendment, "Isn't premeditated murder what war is all about?" The amendment was defeated by a voice vote.<ref name="house-approves"/>
In September 1971, twenty-one Senators and thirty-three House members, led by [[James Buckley]] (New York Conservative Party and [[Bill Brock]] ([[Tennessee]] Republican), called a press conference to urge that the [[Republic of China]] ([[Taiwan]]) not be expelled from the [[United Nations]]; some congressmen, however, expressed support for President Nixon's efforts to improve relationships with the [[People's Republic of China]]. The conference came to an abrupt end when Representative [[John G. Schmitz]] ([[California]] Republican) and Rarick stood up and walked out, with Schmitz saying, "Congressman Rarick and I are leaving, and you can take our names off that list. This is too weak a position."<ref>{{cite web|date=September 29, 1971|title=Congressional Bloc Fights to Keep Taiwan in U.N.|publisher=''St. Petersburg Times''|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MAkOAAAAIBAJ&pg=4240,3446766|accessdate=January 12, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=September 23, 1971|title=Conservative Split on China Place in UN|publisher=''The Modesto (California) Bee''|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TVchAAAAIBAJ&pg=1121,3027895|accessdate=January 12, 2010}}</ref>
Early in 1972, Rarick opposed President Nixon's latest peace proposal that would allow, when [the Paris Peace Accords were implemented in 1973, the acceptance of the Communist Party in a new government in South Vietnam. Rarick referred to Nixon as a "sellout" and one who catered to his own Democratic opponents. Colleague [[Felix Edward Hébert|F. Edward Hébert]], a Democrat from [[New Orleans]], also known for his hawkish views on the war, however, defended Nixon's offer as sincere and workable.<ref>"Hebert-Rarick: Views Different on Announcement," ''Minden Press-Herald,'' January 26, 1972, p. 1.</ref>
===Anti-establishment congressman===
In 1971, Rarick joined liberal Democratic U.S. Representatives Robert Louis Leggett (1926-1997) of California and Parren James Mitchell (1922-2007) of [[Maryland]] to sponsor the "People Power Over War Act," a proposed constitutional amendment requiring a national [[referendum]] on military action other than an invasion of the country. It was patterned after the former Ludlow Amendment. From 1935 to 1941, Representative Louis Leon Ludlow (1873-1950), a Democrat from Rarick's native Indiana, introduced legislation each year to oppose President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s interventionist foreign policy. The text of the measure reads in part: "Except in the event of an attack or invasion the authority of Congress to declare war shall not become effective until confirmed by a majority of all votes cast thereon in a nationwide referendum."<ref>''The Congressional Record,'' September 15, 1971.</ref>
Early in 1972, Democratic [[U.S. Senator]] [[Sam Ervin]], of [[North Carolina]] disclosed that Army intelligence surveillance of civilian officials from late 1967 into 1970 was more extensive than had been previously revealed. In a brief filed with the [[United States Supreme Court]], Ervin said that the Army had watched the political activities of certain public officials and retired politicians, including Rarick. Ervin said that the main targets were persons and organizations either opposed to the [[Vietnam War]] or considered "anti-establishment".<ref>"Wider Army Surveillance of Top Officials Disclosed," ''[[The New York Times]].'' February 29, 1972, p. 1.</ref>
Among the measures that Rarick introduced in Congress were the following:
* H.R. 10851: A bill to provide that paper money carry a designation in [[Braille]] to indicate the denomination<ref>"Braille Money," ''The Modesto Bee,'' December 3, 1973.</ref-01-12}}</ref><ref>"Paper Money Sought for Blin," ''The Sarasota Herald-Tribune,'' September 26, 1971.</ref><ref>"Measure asks Braille money," ''The Eugene ([[Oregon]]) Register-Guard,'' June 17, 1971.</ref>
* H.R. 6359: A bill to permit a deduction from gross annual income any expenses incurred in connection with the adoption of a child
* H.R. 118: A bill to permit citizens of the United States to acquire, hold, and dispose of [[gold]]
* H.R. 119: A bill to vest in the U.S. government unconditional ownership of the twelve [[Federal Reserve]] banks
* H.R. 960: A bill to reduce the public debt each [[fiscal year]] by at least 10 percent of the estimated overall federal receipts
* H.R. 5164: A bill to exempt law enforcement officer and firefighters from paying federal taxes on their first $5,000 of compensation in 1973 dollars
===Other issues===
Rarick strongly opposed gun control and the registration of firearms, which he found to be at odds with the [[Second Amendment]]. Of the latter, he said in 1971, "History confirms that registration of firearms inevitably leads to confiscation, followed by enslavement of peoples."<ref>{{cite web|date=May 16, 1991|title=Brady Gang after our rights|publisher=''The Spokesman-Review''|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Jhw1AAAAIBAJ&pg=1576,4198775|access-date=2010-01-12}}</ref> Also that year, he introduced a bill to repeal the [[Gun Control Act]] of 1968, which was signed into law by President Johnson.<ref>"Guns: A Menace or a Right?," ''The Salt Lake City Deseret New,'' June 1, 1971.</ref>
Rarick supported a constitutional amendment to permit [[school prayer]] in public schools, backing a constitutional amendment to that end.<ref>{{cite web|date=November 12, 1971|title=The Right to Pray|publisher=The Daily News|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=A0APAAAAIBAJ&pg=5689,2717880|accessdate=January 12, 2010}}</ref>
In 1973, Rarick introduced a bill to withdraw the United States from the [[United Nations]].<ref>"U.S. should withdraw from U.N.," ''The Boca Raton ([[Florida]]) News,'' November 13, 1973.</ref> Earlier, in 1972, Rarick tried to bring John G. Schmitz's bill to withdraw from the U.N. to a vote.<ref>"Letters to the Editor," ''Lodi (California) News-Sentinel,'' February 4, 1972.</ref> Rarick was against [[foreign aid]], writing in 1971: "In my three terms in the House I have never seen a foreign aid bill that deserved passage. I have always felt that we should have Americans helping Americans first, not after they got through helping everyone else."<ref>"Fighting Wars on Credit,'' ''The New York Daily News,'' September 20, 1971.</ref>
Like the [[Iowa]] Republican Representative [[H. R. Gross]], Rarick was a vocal opponents of legislation converting the U.S. to the [[metric system]], Rarick calling it "anti-American."<ref>How the metric legislation lost, ''The Lodi (California) News-Sentinel,'' May 11, 1974.</ref>
===Losing re-nomination in 1974===
In 1974, voters denied Rarick re-nomination, as they had done to Morrison eight years earlier. In order to unseat Rarick the Democratic Party leadership either paid for or strongly encouraged nine candidates to oppose Rarick in the primary race so that Rarick could be prevented from receiving a plurality. Rarick was unseated in the Democratic runoff election by a young Baton Rouge [[television]] broadcaster formerly from [[Arkansas]], Jeffrey Dean "Jeff" LaCaze, who objected to Rarick's conservative voting record. LaCaze prevailed, 60,570 votes (51.8 percent) to Rarick's 56,659 (48.2 percent). LaCaze was considered a liberal who enjoyed the support of [[organized labor]] and most African Americans in a district then almost one-third black.<ref>''[[U.S. News and World Report]]'', February 3, 1975, p. 76</ref> LaCaze in turn lost to Republican William Henson Moore II (born 1939) of Baton Rouge in a disputed November 1974 [[general election]]. In a [[special election]] rematch held in January 1975 to resolve the deadlock, LaCaze lost to Moore by nearly eight percentage points.
Rarick resumed the practice of law in St. Francisville after his congressional defeat.
===Candidate for AIP presidential nomination, 1976===
In 1976, Rarick sought the American Independent Party nomination against Robert J. Morris (1914-1996) who had Richard Viguerie as his running mate and the backing of ''[[National Review]]''-publisher William Allen Rusher (1923-2011) and former Governor [[Lester Maddox]] of [[Georgia]].<ref>"Conservatives: Conclave in Chicago," ''Time,'' September 6, 1976.</ref><ref>"Maddox may file suit if left out of debate," ''Eugene Register-Guard,'' August 30, 1976.</ref>"Independent Party Looks for Candidate," ''The Hour'' (newspaper), August 28, 1976.</ref> Maddox, who had been widely described as the front-runner prior to the convention,<ref>"Maddox Front-Runner," ''Reading (Pennsylvania) Eagle,'' August 26, 1976.</ref><ref>"Maddox attacks Carter, Ford in seeking nomination," ''The St. Petersburg Times,'' August 28, 1976.</ref> won the nomination on the first ballo0, with the support of 177 delegates (52.2 percent.<ref name="aip76">Our Campaigns - US President - AIP Convention Race - August 26, 1976.</ref> Morris had the backing support of 80 delegates (23.6 percent) and Rarick had 79 (23.3 percent).<ref name="aip76"/>
In the general election, Maddox received only 170,274 votes (or 0.21%).<ref> U.S. Election Atlas: 1976 Presidential General Election Results.</ref>
===Running for Congress again, 1976===
Rarick then turned his attention to an attempt to return to Congress. He ran in the [[suburb]]an New Orleans-based 1st congressional district in 1976 as an [[Independent voter|Independent]]. The seat had come open when 36-year incumbent Felix Edward Hébert announced his retirement. Rarick polled only 12,227 votes (9.4 percent). However, he siphoned off enough votes that presumably otherwise would have gone to Republican [[Bob Livingston]] to throw the election to Democrat Richard Alvin Tonry (1935-2012).
===AIP presidential nominee, 1980===
In 1980, Rarick again sought the AIP nomination, competing against Percy L. Greaves, Jr. (1906-1984), an economist from New York, and James Schumacher of [[Arizona]].<ref name="arizonan-kdm">"Arizonan is nominated for presidency," ''The Kingman Daily Miner,'' August 31, 1980.</ref> Both Rarick and Greaves were described as advocating a "strictly defensive non-intervention[ist] foreign policy" while Schumacher spoke in favor of arming [[Israel]] "to the teeth" and the "complete destruction of the next country that invades Israel."<ref name="arizonan-kdm"/>
In a speech to 150 convention delegates, Rarick outlined a platform which opposed foreign aid and American participation in the United Nations, and citing his congressional votes against the [[Equal Rights Amendment]] and funding for [[abortion]].<ref name="arizonan-kdm"/> Rarick easily secured the nomination, winning the support of 64 delegates (84.2 percent) on the first ballot; Greaves had the support of 11 delegates (14. percent) and Schumacher had only a single supporter (1.3 percent).<ref name="aip80">Our Campaigns - US President, AIP Convention Race, August 29, 1980.</ref> Rarick's running mate was Eileen Mary Knowland Shearer (1920-2003), the wife of AIP founder William Kennedy Shearer (1931-2007) and a cousin of the late U.S. Senator[[William F. Knowland]] (1908-1974) of California.
On the ballot in only eight states, Rarick finished in seventh place nationally, with 40,906 votes (just 0.05 percent).<ref> U.S. Election Atlas: 1980 Presidential General Election Results, March 3, 2016.
</ref> Rarick's most respectable showings were in Louisiana, where he polled 10,333 votes (0.67 percent and about the same number that Maddox had obtained four years earlier) and in Alabama where he captured 15,010 votes (1.12 percent).<ref>U.S. Election Atlas: Presidential General Election Results for 1980 (Louisiana), March 3, 2016.</ref>
Overall, his totals were so meager as to have been omitted from most presidential election tallies. He opposed the campaign of Republican [[Ronald Reagan]] for president that year on the grounds that Reagan, a former governor of California, was too accommodating to the [[welfare state]] to address the pressing national needs.
===Later politics===
In 1990, Rarick supported then state Representative [[David Duke]]'s candidacy for [[U.S. Senator]] against the Democrat [[J. Bennett Johnston Jr.]]; Duke won 44 percent of the vote and launched a losing gubernatorial race in 1991.
==Honors==
Rarick was awarded the "Medal of Honor" from the National Society for the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]]. He received the "Medal of Freedom" Award from the Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation, an organization named for the [[Hungary|Hungarian]] [[priest]], [[Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty]], who was persecuted and exiled because of his opposition to [[Joseph Stalin]] and [[communist]] horrors during the [[Cold War]]. Rarick was given a "life achievement award" by the [[Council of Conservative Citizens]], a group of which he was a charter member and frequently addressed, along with the late conservative columnist, [[Samuel T. Francis|Samuel T. "Sam" Francis]]. Rarick was named "Freemason of the Century" by the Feliciana Lodge 31, where he was active for more than a half century and twice served as its worshipful master. He was instrumental in organizing the lodge's annual "Day the War Stopped," an annual [[American Civil War]] re-enactment.<ref name=obit/>
==Death and legacy==
On December 27, 1945, Rarick married the former Marguerite Pierce (September 10, 1924 – April 13, 2003), the mother of his three children. On January 21, 2004, the widower Rarick married the former Frances Eldred Campbell, a long-time family friend. In addition to his first wife, he was preceded in death by a grandson, Marc Magee Slattery.<ref name="obit/">
Rarick died of [[cancer]] at his St. Francisville home at 9:20 p.m., on September 14, 2009. Cherie Brumfield, his daughter and former law partner, told ''The Baton Rouge Morning Advocate'' that her father stood up for his lifetime motto: "For God and the Constitution," words inscribed on his tombstone. Brumfield said that Rarick had tried to "wake up America to fight for America." She added that her father, despite his Indiana birth, considered himself "as proud a southerner as anyone born here. He would say, 'I'm a southerner by choice, not chance."<ref>"Former Rep. John Rarick Dies at 85," ''The Baton Rouge Morning Advocate, on-line edition, September 15, 2009.</ref>
In addition to his second wife, Rarick is survived by one son, John Rarick, II, and wife Kay, and daughters Cherie Rarick Brumfield and husband, Bill, and Laurie Rarick Slattery and husband, John. He had nine grandchildren: John Rarick, III, and wife Tara; Parrish Rarick; Alecia Rarick Tortorich and husband, Louis; Jodie Brumfield Morrow and husband, Jude; William Brian Brumfield; H. Doyle Magee, III; John Slattery, III; Marguerite Slattery, and Patrick Rarick Slattery. He had six great-grandchildren: Brennan Morrow, Catherine Morrow, Christian Rarick, McKenna Rarick, John Challen Rarick, and Kaitlyn Tortorich. He is also survived by four stepchildren: Scott, Don, and Dave Campbell, and Lori Campbell Teufert; and one step-grandson, Derrick Hyde.<ref name="obit"/>
Services were held on September 18, 2009, at the First [[Southern Baptist|Baptist]] Church of St. Francisville, of which Rarick was a member. He is interred beside his first wife at Star Hill Cemetery off [[U.S. Highway 61]] and Louisiana Highway 966 near St. Francisville.<ref name="advo"/>
Rarick's papers were donated to Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond.<ref name="obit"/>
==See also==
*[[Larry McDonald]]
*[[Conservative Democrat]]
==References==
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[[Category:Louisiana People]]
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