Family says ex-Sen. George McGovern ‘no longer responsive,’ daughter says he’s ‘peaceful’

I mourn his passing, but I'm glad he's not suffering now...

Peace to his family...

I'm deeply saddened by this unfortunate turn of events.

It's sad to see a very very good person leave us.

--imm

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.

I was 21 going on 22, and couldn't wait to vote for the first time.

The waiting is difficult.

Thank you for your service, Mr. McGovern.

...and Tom Petty was right - the waiting is the hardest part.

Waiting for it to happen was the hardest part. When the end finally did come it was something of a relief.

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 I’ll make it ,” 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.

They just made it public this week.

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.

I met Sen. McGovern once many moons ago. My condolences to his family, the Democratic Party, and to America.

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.

rest in peace, Mr. McGovern

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.

A true statesman.

In the reddest county in the state.

Senator McGovern's run for president was one of the first political campaigns that I had any real involvement with and awareness of.

but the future is bright, his memory will go on... a man of peace.

Nixon-not so much.

.

RIP, Senator. The world is better off for your service.

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.

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.

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.

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...

A great man.

...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...)

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.)

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.

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.

Wouldn't we have been so much better off with him rather than Nixon? I wish him the most peaceful crossing.

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

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.

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.

... 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!)

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.

It would seem that he is not in pain, and that's something to be grateful for.

the family of this great public servant.

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.

that is the highest one can achieve in their lifetime

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.

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.

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.

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.

I was too young to vote for him in 72 but I carried his literature.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GeorgeStanleyMcGovern.png

Godspeed, indeed.

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.

Go in peace, Senator.

May he go in peace!

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.