Family says ex-Sen. George McGovern ‘no longer responsive,’ daughter says he’s ‘peaceful’
Source: Washington Post
The family of ex-U.S. Sen. George McGovern says the 90-year-old is no longer responsive in hospice care.
McGoverns family issued a statement Wednesday afternoon through Avera McKennan Hospital.
His daughter, Ann McGovern, earlier told The Associated Press that her father is nearing the end and appears restful and peaceful. She says its a blessing that she and other family members are able to be with him.
McGovern was the Democratic presidential candidate who lost to President Richard Nixon in 1972 in a historic landslide. He was a member of the U.S. House from 1957 to 1961 and a U.S. senator from 1963 to 1981 and led the leader his partys liberal wing during that time.
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/daughter-former-presidential-nominee-ex-sen-mcgovern-peaceful-as-he-nears-end-of-life/2012/10/17/251d5bd8-186f-11e2-a346-f24efc680b8d_story.html
Y'all, I'm going to cry. What the world would have been like if he'd been President...
hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)leveymg
(36,418 posts)CaliforniaPeggy
(149,719 posts)I mourn his passing, but I'm glad he's not suffering now...
Peace to his family...
LoisB
(7,234 posts)JohnnyRingo
(18,650 posts)I'm deeply saddened by this unfortunate turn of events.
Gregorian
(23,867 posts)It's sad to see a very very good person leave us.
immoderate
(20,885 posts)--imm
indie_voter
(1,999 posts)wilt the stilt
(4,528 posts)When we had to be 21 to vote. It is with the possible exception of barack my proudest vote and one I will always cherish. What a great man.
PlanetBev
(4,104 posts)I was 21 going on 22, and couldn't wait to vote for the first time.
sinkingfeeling
(51,474 posts)hamsterjill
(15,224 posts)The waiting is difficult.
Thank you for your service, Mr. McGovern.
Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)...and Tom Petty was right - the waiting is the hardest part.
47of74
(18,470 posts)Waiting for it to happen was the hardest part. When the end finally did come it was something of a relief.
xchrom
(108,903 posts)FSogol
(45,529 posts)renate
(13,776 posts)He was in great shape on his 90th birthday in July.
Asked his thoughts on his 90th birthday, Sen. George McGovern replied without hesitation, On to 100. He stopped for a few minutes Thursday evening to take a few questions on his way up to a reception in his honor at the Newseum. I think Ill make it [to 100], he said, proud that a recent checkup found nothing wrong with him, and gave the OK to party organizers to book the same room for 10 years from now.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/20/george-mcgovern-celebrates-90th-birthday-with-washington.html
Bless him. What a wonderful man. He really made the world better for his having been here.
regnaD kciN
(26,045 posts)They just made it public this week.
kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)Oh, what a different place the world would now be if he had won and Nixon had crawled home in ignominy sooner than he did.
LiberalArkie
(15,729 posts)bongbong
(5,436 posts)I met Sen. McGovern once many moons ago. My condolences to his family, the Democratic Party, and to America.
alterfurz
(2,475 posts)What history might have been, had the country chosen wisely in '72...of all my 11 votes, still the one I feel best about--for the greatest president we never had.
wordpix
(18,652 posts)calimary
(81,511 posts)I find myself wondering that same thing, Bolo - what would the world have been like if McGovern had won that election?
Safe passage, dear Senator.
gademocrat7
(10,672 posts)A true statesman.
gopiscrap
(23,765 posts)postulater
(5,075 posts)In the reddest county in the state.
JitterbugPerfume
(18,183 posts)geckosfeet
(9,644 posts)Senator McGovern's run for president was one of the first political campaigns that I had any real involvement with and awareness of.
defacto7
(13,485 posts)but the future is bright, his memory will go on... a man of peace.
secondvariety
(1,245 posts)Nixon-not so much.
blm
(113,101 posts).
mnhtnbb
(31,405 posts)RIP, Senator. The world is better off for your service.
GentryDixon
(2,962 posts)bpj62
(999 posts)George McGovern was a B-24 pilot with the 15th air force in Italy during WWII. He saw the horror of war up close and as a politic an he did his best to end the Vietnam war. The Book "Wild Blue" which was written by the late Stephen Ambrose is mostly about McGovern and his actions during his time in combat. One particular passage describes a mission in which McGovern inadvertently dropped a bomb on a farm house in Austria and for many years he thought he had killed the family. Years later on a trip to Austria he discovered that the family had not been injured and that they forgave him for what happened. He was a great man and everyday his generation is fading away and we don't seem to have anyone to replace them with.
Ikonoklast
(23,973 posts)A real, true war hero that never talked about his service in order to score political points.
He should have. A great man is passing.
Thank you, Sir.
Frank Cannon
(7,570 posts)I read that book, and I couldn't remember the title. It was really good, and I would recommend it to anyone who would like a little more information about McGovern's World War II experiences.
Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)I still remember the banner that hung in HQ that said, "Nixon NEVER!"
The morning after the election, my sister woke me up and gently told me that Nixon won. I looked at her, doe-eyed, and shouted "Nixon NEVER!!!!!!"
I love Mr McGovern and hope for peace for him and his...
Chorophyll
(5,179 posts)The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,869 posts)A great man.
regnaD kciN
(26,045 posts)...to where Eleanor, Teresa, and Steven await you.
(And I'm sorry I'm not yet magnanimous enough to think you'll find your 1972 opponent where you're heading...)
deurbano
(2,896 posts)This was the first time 18-year-olds could vote in a presidential election, though I couldn't vote in the primary because I was still 17. I was so proud to cast my first vote for McGovern, and stunned that so many would choose Nixon, instead. (What might have been...) Thank you, Senator McGovern! (These tears are for you.)
Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)From military spending so wasteful that it weakens our nation; come home, America.
From the entrenchment of special privileges in tax favoritism; from the waste of idle lands to the joy of useful labor; from the prejudice based on race and sex; from the loneliness of the aging poor and the despair of the neglected sick -- come home, America.
Come home to the affirmation that we have a dream. Come home to the conviction that we can move our country forward.
Come home to the belief that we can seek a newer world, and let us be joyful in that homecoming, for this is your land, this land is my land -- from California to New York island, from the redwood forest to the gulf stream waters -- this land was made for you and me.
So let us close on this note: May God grant each one of us the wisdom to cherish this good land and to meet the great challenge that beckons us home.
reACTIONary
(5,788 posts)spike91nz
(180 posts)It is amazing to think how much better the country could have been if McGovern had been chosen instead of Nixon. The entire GOP southern strategy could have been short-circuited and the wars in Asia and Central America would have been replaced with diplomacy. So much potential and America chose the pretense and posturing of a racist, paranoid. McGovern was the real deal candidate for hope and progress. A quite, intelligent war hero was offered to America and we chose Agnew's racist, anti-intellectual, corruption and Nixon's opening the door to dirty tricks and Ailes and the beginning of the strategy that would eventually have Reagan elevating religious fundamentalism over academics and doubting evolution while gutting the EPA.
Thank you George McGovern for the lifelong inspiration you gave to me.
Anthony McCarthy
(507 posts)Between his daughter and son dying before him so tragically, his service to humanity, George McGovern has earned his peace. May his passage be easy.
snappyturtle
(14,656 posts)Wouldn't we have been so much better off with him rather than Nixon? I wish him the most peaceful crossing.
reACTIONary
(5,788 posts)xxqqqzme
(14,887 posts)of 'dirty tricks' and Watergate. I remember seeing a little story about the break-in, in the newspaper. I read it aloud to my husband and said 'You know nixon had something to do with that'.
I was proud my first presidential vote was for George McGovern
fightthegoodfightnow
(7,042 posts)Any of us who lived through that time of enormous social change can't help but weep for a man who stood for social justice, peace, civil rights, economic freedom, and all that is good on the progressive agenda.
The Wizard
(12,549 posts)better human being. Rest easy Senator.
His efforts were by and large forgotten by a nation of blowhards and morons.
All he wanted was to leave this place better than he found it.
reACTIONary
(5,788 posts)... as an independent and involved more-or-less adult. As opposed to absorbing an opinion from my parents.
I was just under the age limit for voting, so I wasn't able to vote, but I am proud to say that if it WAS my first election it would have gone to GEORGE McGOVERN.
(And DICK NIXION before he DICKS you!)
vankuria
(904 posts)Was too young to vote then but first election where I had an awareness of what was going on in the country and the world. I was in high school and remember going to a rally with some friends to see Sen. McGovern when he campaigned through Syracuse, NY. He's a good man who served his country honorably in the military and the Senate. I hope his passage is peaceful and the nation will always remember him for the true hero he was.
NaturalHigh
(12,778 posts)It would seem that he is not in pain, and that's something to be grateful for.
mzmolly
(51,006 posts)the family of this great public servant.
senseandsensibility
(17,146 posts)Here's to a live very, very well lived! He is a hero of mine. On another thread, a DUer wrote that she met him at a friends' birthday party a couple of years ago and he asked her to dance to a Stones song. Amazing. I would like to thank him and his family for his incredible life of service.
madrchsod
(58,162 posts)that is the highest one can achieve in their lifetime
joanbarnes
(1,723 posts)Sparkly
(24,149 posts)1620rock
(2,218 posts)Go toward the light and Godspeed on your journey to a better place. You will never be forgotten by those of us who pray for peace for all mankind.
daleo
(21,317 posts)alp227
(32,062 posts)so I'll be sure to learn more about McGovern's career and political positions in the future. I wish his family well and am so sorry for their loss; the hospice should be treating McGovern with the utmost compassion at this pont.
Historic NY
(37,453 posts)Frank Cannon
(7,570 posts)I read a book about his exploits as a bomber pilot in World War II. They downplayed his military service during his Presidential run because they didn't think it would play well with the Vietnam war going on at the time, but the dude was a real badass.
Godspeed you, sir. Thank you for your long, long service to the American people.
democrat2thecore
(3,572 posts)A campaign he said he was most proud of was his little-known (or remembered) 1984 campaign for the Democratic nomination. It was a courageous campaign to be sure. More about that particular campaign is in a book just about his run in '84 - the price new is outrageous, but the used prices are worth every dime. Excellent book by Richard Marano ( http://www.amazon.com/Vote-Your-Conscience-Campaign-McGovern/dp/0275971899 )
On edit: This was, according to many, one of McGovern's finest moments. It was a primary debate in that 1984 campaign and they turned it into his one of two produced ads that year.) This is how we need to remember the Senator - a fighter. The line, in context, "Don't throw away your conscience" is a classic).
When he was considering running for the 1984 Democratic nomination, I called directory assistance and asked for George McGovern's telephone number. They replied, all I have is a home listing (he was out of the Senate). I thought - why not? She gave me his listed phone number, I called and by golly Senator George McGovern himself answered the phone! I was nervous and apologized for calling at home and told him I called him to encourage him to run. The issues he was pushing wouldn't be heard otherwise. He said he was so happy I called and we ended up on the phone for about 20 minutes. Most of it was his telling me, one person on the phone, why he was giving it serious consideration - one issue at a time. He ended by saying my call had given him a boost. He was the most genuine politician I've ever had the pleasure to speak with.
A great man is passing. Godspeed, George McGovern.
Historic NY
(37,453 posts)I was too young to vote for him in 72 but I carried his literature.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GeorgeStanleyMcGovern.png
senseandsensibility
(17,146 posts)Godspeed, indeed.
tilsammans
(2,549 posts)Thanks so much for sharing it.
McGovern = a genuinely good person, a man of the people, and a patriot through and through.
Compare that with sniveling automaton chickenhawk blowhards like Romney and his ilk.
democrat2thecore
(3,572 posts)Go in peace, Senator.
burrowowl
(17,652 posts)May he go in peace!
midnight
(26,624 posts)susanna
(5,231 posts)Supply Side Jesus
(2,528 posts)he was digging into some Bar b Que at the Ludlow Memorial. He was so polite and sincere. He even autographed a book and posed with him for a photo. He was before my time but I have such admiration for such a descent man.