SENATE CENSURES MCCARTHY, JFK ABSENT FOR VOTE
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On December 2, 1954, the Senate of the United States voted 65-22 to censure* Senator Joseph McCarthy** (R-Wisconsin) for 'conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute.' ***
SOURCES
"Jack Kennedy, Elusive Hero", by Chris Matthews, Simon and Schuster, New York, 2011.
"The Censure Case of Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin (1954)," United States Senate, www.senate.gov/
Joseph McCarthy
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On December 2, 1954, the Senate of the United States voted 65-22 to censure* Senator Joseph McCarthy** (R-Wisconsin) for 'conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute.' ***
The road to censure began in February 1950 when McCarthy said he had a list of 205 employees in the State Department who were communists.
By 1954, McCarthy's lack of evidence and use of bullying tactics were observed by millions of Americans on live television in the Army-McCarthy Hearings.
Senator John F. Kennedy (D-Massachusetts), recuperating from a back operation, did not cast a vote and was the only senator not to go on record against McCarthy. Chris
Matthews says Ken O'Donnell
"insisted that Jack's voting against McCarthy would be 'political
suicide'."
Ted Sorensen, JFK's speech writer, saw the Senator's position as being between a rock and a hard place. If he voted for censure, "he would be defying...his home state and family," but if he voted against censure, he would be denounced by party leaders, liberals and intellectuals.
By 1954, McCarthy's lack of evidence and use of bullying tactics were observed by millions of Americans on live television in the Army-McCarthy Hearings.
Public opinion turned against the Senator.
Ted Sorensen, JFK's speech writer, saw the Senator's position as being between a rock and a hard place. If he voted for censure, "he would be defying...his home state and family," but if he voted against censure, he would be denounced by party leaders, liberals and intellectuals.
*Censure: the expression of formal disapproval.
**Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957) was born in Grande Chute, Wisconsin. He earned his law degree at Marquette in 1935 & became the youngest circuit judge in Wisconsin history. Having served in the USMC in WWII, JM was elected to the Senate in 1946 and re-elected in 1952.
***The Censure was "for (McCarthy's) non-cooperation with and abuse of the Select Committee on Privileges & Elections" in 1952 & "for the abuse of the Select Committee to Study Censure" of 1954. The Censure, according to the Senate website, "robbed him of his power & status." His health declined & JM died in 1957.
**Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957) was born in Grande Chute, Wisconsin. He earned his law degree at Marquette in 1935 & became the youngest circuit judge in Wisconsin history. Having served in the USMC in WWII, JM was elected to the Senate in 1946 and re-elected in 1952.
***The Censure was "for (McCarthy's) non-cooperation with and abuse of the Select Committee on Privileges & Elections" in 1952 & "for the abuse of the Select Committee to Study Censure" of 1954. The Censure, according to the Senate website, "robbed him of his power & status." His health declined & JM died in 1957.
SOURCES
"Jack Kennedy, Elusive Hero", by Chris Matthews, Simon and Schuster, New York, 2011.
"The Censure Case of Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin (1954)," United States Senate, www.senate.gov/
Joseph McCarthy
Library of Congress Photo
