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'''Eugene McCarthy''' (March 29, 1916 – December 10, 2005) was a liberal U.S. Senator from [[Minnesota]] who ran for the [[Democratic Party]] nominee for President in 1968.  He was more a poet than a politician and angered his hyperearnest supporters by his nonchalance.

'''Eugene McCarthy''' (March 29, 1916 – December 10, 2005) was a liberal U.S. Senator from [[Minnesota]] who ran for the [[Democratic Party]] nominee for President in 1968.  He was sometimes considered more a poet than a politician and frustrated his hyperearnest supporters by his nonchalance.

==1968 election==

==1968 election==

He did not win the [[New Hampshire]] primary but made a very strong showing (42% McCarthy to 49% Johnson) against incumbent liberal President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], prompting Johnson to announce he was dropping out of the race. [[Robert Kennedy]] then entered the race.  McCarthy won the primaries in [[Wisconsin]] and [[Oregon]] but Robert Kennedy became the party favorite to win the nomination after defeating McCarthy in California.  That very night Kennedy was assassinated.   

McCarthy polled 42 percent of the ballots in the [[New Hampshire]] primary compared to 49 percent polled by [[U.S. President]] [[Lyndon BG. Johnson]] as a write-in candidate. McCarthy's showing prompted his senatorial colleague [[Robert F. Kennedy]] of [[New York]] to enter the race, and soon Johnson decided against seeking a second full term.  McCarthy won the primaries in [[Wisconsin]] and [[Oregon]] but Robert Kennedy became the party favorite to win the nomination after defeating McCarthy in [[Nebraska]] and [[California]].  That very night Kennedy was assassinated in [[Los Angeles]].   

The party favorite for the nomination then defaulted to Vice President [[Hubert Humphrey]], McCarthy's former senatorial colleague from Minnesota, who ultimately won the nomination at the party convention in [[Chicago]] which was infamous for leftist student agitators rioting in the streets during the convention.

The party favorite for the nomination then defaulted to Vice President [[Hubert Humphrey]], McCarthy's former senatorial colleague from Minnesota. Humphrey, with [[Edmund Muskie]] of [[Maine]], as his running mate, were nominated at the party convention in [[Chicago]] which was infamous for leftist student agitators rioting in the streets.

In 1976, McCarthy ran as an [[Independent]] in the [[general election]] for President, but voters chose his fellow Democrat [[Jimmy Carter]] of [[Georgia]]. In 1980, McCarthy refused to support Carter for reelection and surprisingly endorsed [[Republican]] [[Ronald Reagan]], having said that Reagan had "a better perception" of the office of president than did Carter.

In 1972, McCarthy again unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination, which instead went to [[Georege McGovern]] of [[South Dakota]]. In 1976, McCarthy ran as an [[Independent]] in the [[general election]] for President, but voters chose his fellow Democrat [[Jimmy Carter]] of [[Georgia]]. In 1980, McCarthy refused to support Carter for reelection and surprisingly endorsed [[Republican]] [[Ronald Reagan]], having said that Reagan had "a better perception" of the office of president than did Carter.

 

 

He left the U.S. Senate in 1971.

==Conservative causes==

==Conservative causes==

Following his retirement from the Senate and his quixotic 1976 run for the White House as an independent, Eugene McCarthy began a series of some [[conservative]] alliances and causes.  This does not mean he had become a conservative by any stretch, as he remained a liberal for the most part during this time.  Most notably: in the 1980 election, McCarthy endorsed [[Ronald Reagan]] for President.  He also wrote the introduction to the book ''A New Beginning'' by 1980 [[Libertarian Party]] nominee [[Ed Clark]], and involved himself in the [[Official English]] group U.S. English and in the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which seeks to cut both legal and illegal [[immigration]] into the United States.

McCarthy did not seek reelection to the Senate in 1970. In time, he became involved in some [[conservative]] alliances and causes but overall remained a liberal. In addition to his support for Reagan in 1980, he wrote the introduction to the book '''A New Beginning'' that year by yjr [[Libertarian Party]] nominee [[Ed Clark]]. McCarthy supported [[Official English]] and the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which seeks to cut both legal and illegal [[immigration]] into the United States.

==Liberal causes==

==Liberal causes==

In 1992, Eugene McCarthy re-entered the Democratic Party and sought the Democratic nomination for President, but was excluded from the debates by the party machinery and did poorly at the polls.  In 1996 and 2000, he supported [[Green Party]] nominee [[Ralph Nader]] for President and joined protests demanding his inclusion in the debates.  He also co-authored a book advocating a shorter workweek with Minnesota activist William McGaughey (later a [[Reform Party]] candidate who campaigned for the U.S. Senate on a platform of opposition to [[political correctness]].)

In 1992, Eugene McCarthy again sought the Democratic presidential nomination for President, but was excluded from the debates by the party machinery and did poorly at the polls. The voters nominated [[Bill Clinton]] of [[Arkansas]].  In 1996 and 2000, McCarthy supported [[Green Party]] nominee [[Ralph Nader]] for President and joined protests demanding Nader's inclusion in the debates.  He also co-authored a book advocating a shorter workweek with Minnesota activist William McGaughey, later a [[Reform Party]] candidate who campaigned for the U.S. Senate on a platform of opposition to the liberal cause known as [[political correctness]].

He is not to be confused with U.S. Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]], of the neighboring state of Wisconsin.

He is not to be confused with U.S. Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]], a Republican from the neighboring state of Wisconsin, who exposed communist subversion in the U.S. government during the 1950s..

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