Pete McCloskey

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Paul Norton "Pete" McCloskey Jr. (born September 29, 1927) is a Republican politician from California, USA. He served in the U.S. Congress House of Representatives from 1967 to 1983. He ran on an anti-war platform for the Republican nomination for President in 1972, but was defeated by incumbent President Richard Nixon. Also in 1972, his book Truth and Untruth: Political Deceit in America was published. One of Pete McCloskey's enduring legacies is his co-authorship of the 1973 Endangered Species Act.

Contents 1 Biography 2 A return to politics 3 IHR controversy 4 Notes 5 External links

[edit] Biography

He was born in Loma Linda, California, and attended public schools in South Pasadena and San Marino. He attended Occidental College and California Institute of Technology under the U.S. Navy's V-5 Pilot Program. He graduated from Stanford University in 1950 and Stanford University Law School in 1953.

He served in the U.S. Navy from 1945 to 1947, the U.S. Marine Corps from 1950 to 1952, the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve from 1952 to 1960 and the Ready Reserve from 1960 to 1967. He retired from the Marine Corps Reserve in 1974, having attained the rank of Colonel. Pete McCloskey won both the Navy Cross and the Silver Star for outstanding service during the Korean War. In 1992, he wrote his fourth book, "The Taking of Hill 610", describing some of his exploits in Korea.

He was Deputy District Attorney for Alameda County, California, from 1953 to 1954 and practiced law in Palo Alto, California, from 1955 to 1967. He was a lecturer on legal ethics at the Santa Clara and Stanford Law Schools from 1964 to 1967. He was elected as a Republican to the 90th Congress, by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of U.S. Rep. J. Arthur Younger and was reelected to the seven succeeding Congresses, serving from December 12, 1967 to January 3, 1983.

McCloskey was not a candidate for reelection in 1982, but was instead an unsuccessful Republican candidate for nomination to the United States Senate.

McCloskey was the first Republican Congressman to publicly call for the impeachment of Former President Richard Nixon after the Watergate scandal and the Saturday Night Massacre. An opponent of the Iraq War,^[1] McCloskey broke party ranks in 2004 to endorse John Kerry in his bid to unseat George W. Bush as President of the United States.

In the late 1980s, religious broadcaster Pat Robertson sued Congressman McCloskey and Representative Andy Jacobs for libel. McCloskey had made remarks, which Jacobs repeated, stating that Robertson had used connections to avoid combat duty in the Korean War, where McCloskey had known Robertson. Eventually, Robertson dropped his lawsuit, claiming scheduling conflicts between court dates and his 1988 presidential campaign as the reason, and he was ordered to pay part of McCloskey's court costs.

In 1989, McCloskey co-founded the Council for the National Interest along with former Congressmen Paul Findley (R-IL). He taught political science at Santa Clara University in the early 1990s. For many years, he practiced law in Redwood City, California and resided in Woodside, Calif. He recently moved to San Joaquin County in order (as stated on his official campaign site) to run for Congress against incumbent Congressman Richard Pombo of Tracy.

[edit] A return to politics

On January 23, 2006, Pete McCloskey announced at a press conference in Lodi, California, that he would return to the political arena by running against Representative Richard W. Pombo (R-Tracy) in the Republican Party's Primary election for California's Eleventh Congressional district (map).

In the June 6, 2006 primary, McCloskey was defeated by Pombo. McCloskey received 32% of the vote.^[2]

On July 24, 2006, McCloskey endorsed Jerry McNerney, a Democrat who would go on to unseat Pombo in the 2006 midterm elections. ^[3] McCloskey even spent most of Election Night at McNerney's victory party. ^[4]

The Sierra Club recognized Pete McCloskey for helping to unseat the anti-environmentalist Pombo with their 2006 Edgar Wayburn Award. ^[5]

[edit] IHR controversy

Pete McCloskey gave a featured address to the Holocaust denial group Institute for Historical Review (IHR) in 2000. ^[6][7] According to the San Jose Mercury News, February 20, 2006^[8]

Campaign charges are exploding over a 2000 speech McCloskey gave to the controversial Institute for Historical Review, some of whose members question the severity of the Holocaust. McCloskey said at the time, "I don't know whether you are right or wrong about the Holocaust," and referred to the "so-called Holocaust". McCloskey said Friday that he has never questioned the existence of the Holocaust, and the 2000 quote referred to a debate over the number of people killed.

McCloskey claimed in an interview with the Contra Costa Times on January 18, 2006 that the IHR transcript of his speech was inaccurate.^[9][10]

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Mark Hertsgaard, A Dragon Slayer Returns, The Nation, posted March 9, 2006 (March 27, 2006 issue). Accessed 20 June 2006.
2. ^ Brian Foley, Pombo to face McNerney in November; Zone 7 candidates tight, Tri-Valley Herald, June 8, 2006. Accessed 20 June 2006.
3. ^ McCloskey Bucks GOP, Backs Democrat, Washington Post, July 24, 2006
4. ^ McNerney, enviros take down Richard Pombo, Capitol Weekly, Novembey 9 2006
5. ^ John Upton,Greens honor McCloskey, Tracy Press, November 25, 2006
6. ^ 13th IHR Conference: A Resounding Success, The Journal of Historical Review, May-June 2000 (Vol. 19, No. 3), pages 2-11. Accessed online 20 June 2006.
7. ^ Paul N. McCloskey, Jr., Machinations of the Anti-Defamation League, The Journal for Historical Review, September/December 2001, Volume 20 number 5/6, page 13, ISSN 0195-6752. Accessed online 20 June 2006.
8. ^ Mary Anne Ostrom, At 78, Spoiling for One Last Fight, San Jose Mercury News, February 20, 2006, reprinted on McCloskey's web site. Accessed online 20 June 2006.
9. ^ Lisa Vorderbrueggen, McCloskey takes challenge to run against Pombo, Contra Costa Times, January 19, 2006. Accessed online 20 June 2006.
10. ^ This claim of an inaccurate transcript has been corroborated by Mark Hertsgaard of The Nation. Mark Hertsgaard, 'Dragon Slayer' No Saint George? Hertsgaard Replies, The Nation, May 1, 2006. Accessed 20 June 2006.

[edit] External links

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• McCloskey's letter endorsing McNerney, July 27, 2006

Political offices
Preceded by Jesse A. Younger	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 11th congressional district 1969 – 1983	Succeeded by Leo Joseph Ryan, Jr.