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A Personal Note on the Passing of Eugene McCarthy

by Dan Stein

I note with great sadness the passing of former Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy, a longtime member of the FAIR Board of Advisors, on December 10 at the age of 89.

Over the years I had the privilege of getting to know Senator McCarthy quite well. Always friendly, witty and outgoing, he would often drop into my office unannounced just to chat about the wide range of subjects on his mind — more often than not the need for organic reform of the nation’s democratic system. Clever, literate (he was a poet), humble and full of humor, Gene was never content with the status quo.

He was a reformer’s reformer — the true citizen politician. He took this high-minded quest into the realm of immigration policy. As an original cosponsor of the Immigration Act of 1965, he was willing to admit the Senate had been misled by the Johnson administration. Later he conceded that this legislation was a mistake. This man of honor worked tirelessly to fix it. He stood as a beacon of leadership willing to speak out for positive change in the nation’s immigration system. He loved and respected FAIR; we all loved and respected him.

Senator McCarthy can never be replaced and I know I speak for the entire organization when I say he will be dearly missed.

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