| − | '''Everett McKinley Dirksen''' (January 4, 1896 – September 7, 1969) was a leading [[conservative]] Republican and [[civil rights]] hero<ref>[https://npg.si.edu/blog/everett-dirksen-forgotten-civil-rights-champion Everett Dirksen: Forgotten Civil Rights Champion]. ''National Portrait Gallery''. Retrieved June 19, 2021.</ref><ref> Williams, Juan (September 28, 2018) [https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/juan-williams-why-republican-senator-everett-dirksen-is-an-unsung-civil-rights-hero Juan Williams: Why Republican Senator Everett Dirksen is an unsung civil rights hero] ''Fox News''. Retrieved June 22, 2021.</ref> in the [[United States Senate]] from [[Illinois]] after the untimely death of Senator [[Robert Taft]] in 1953. He first won his Senate seat in a huge upset by defeating Democrat then-[[Senate Majority Leader]] Scott W. Lucas,<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=19459 IL US Senate Race - Nov 07, 1950]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved June 19, 2021.</ref> emerging victorious by campaigning against [[communist]] infiltration of the Democrat Party and FDR and Truman administrations,{{fact}} as well as through his criticism of the [[Marshall Plan]].<ref name=fascinatingpolitics>[https://fascinatingpolitics.com/2020/08/30/the-wizard-of-ooze-everett-dirksen-of-illinois/ The Wizard of Ooze: Everett Dirksen of Illinois]. ''Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History''. Retrieved June 15, 2021.</ref> | + | '''Everett McKinley Dirksen''' (January 4, 1896 – September 7, 1969) was a leading [[conservative]] Republican and [[civil rights]] hero<ref>[https://npg.si.edu/blog/everett-dirksen-forgotten-civil-rights-champion Everett Dirksen: Forgotten Civil Rights Champion]. ''National Portrait Gallery''. Retrieved June 19, 2021.</ref><ref> Williams, Juan (September 28, 2018) [https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/juan-williams-why-republican-senator-everett-dirksen-is-an-unsung-civil-rights-hero Juan Williams: Why Republican Senator Everett Dirksen is an unsung civil rights hero] ''Fox News''. Retrieved June 22, 2021.</ref> in the [[United States Senate]] from [[Illinois]] after the untimely death of Senator [[Robert Taft]] in 1953. He first won his Senate seat in a huge upset by defeating Democrat then-[[Senate Majority Leader]] Scott W. Lucas,<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=19459 IL US Senate Race - Nov 07, 1950]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved June 19, 2021.</ref> emerging victorious by campaigning against [[communist]] infiltration of the Democrat Party and FDR and Truman administrations, as well as through his criticism of the [[Marshall Plan]].<ref name=fascinatingpolitics>[https://fascinatingpolitics.com/2020/08/30/the-wizard-of-ooze-everett-dirksen-of-illinois/ The Wizard of Ooze: Everett Dirksen of Illinois]. ''Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History''. Retrieved June 15, 2021.</ref> His famous rhetoric at the 1952 [[GOP]] national convention was, "We followed you before, and you took us down the road to defeat." |
| − | Dirksen was famous for his oratorical skills, tremendous wit, and likable, down-to-earth appearance. He was also a very shrewd politician who in just his second term was voted by a wide margin of 20–14 over [[Kentucky]] [[Moderate Republican]] [[John Sherman Cooper]] to become the [[Minority Leader]] in the Senate.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=53648 Minority Leader Race - Jan 07, 1959]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved June 19, 2021.</ref> Being so beloved by his colleagues that within three years of his untimely death from cancer, Democrats approved renaming a Senate building as the Dirksen Senate Office Building. | + | Dirksen was famous for his oratorical skills, tremendous wit, and likable, down-to-earth appearance. He was also a very shrewd politician who in just his second term was voted by a wide margin of 20–14 over [[Kentucky]] [[Moderate Republican]] [[John Sherman Cooper]] to become the [[Minority Leader]] in the Senate.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=53648 Minority Leader Race - Jan 07, 1959]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved June 19, 2021.</ref> He was so beloved by all his colleagues that within three years of his untimely death from cancer, Democrats approved renaming a Senate building as the Dirksen Senate Office Building. |
| | His long-term senatorial colleague was [[liberal]] Democrat [[Paul Douglas]], also a strong supporter of civil rights. | | His long-term senatorial colleague was [[liberal]] Democrat [[Paul Douglas]], also a strong supporter of civil rights. |