Source: John A. Farrell. Richard Nixon - The Life (2017)
The junior Senator from Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy (Republican), used some of Nixon’s phrases from his review of the “Hiss Case” just a few days later on 9 February 1950, when he launched a Communist witch hunt that would bear his name in a press conference in Wheeling (WVA). The Associated Press picked up McCarthy’s claim that there were Communists in the State Department, and just like that McCarthy became a national political figure without having to actually find a Communist spy, which Nixon had painstakingly done with Hiss.
From Truman-on-down, the Democrats attacked McCarthy, but the Republicans rallied around a bully, since by 1950 the GOP had concluded that there were more votes to be had via the Red Scare. The year 1950 proved to be pivotal, in that Hiss had been convicted for a second time in January, and later that month Truman announced that the US would develop the hydrogen bomb (a.k.a. the “Super”). A few days later the government released details about Klaus Fuchs and other USSR spies that had stolen US atomic secrets, and soon Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were arrested for espionage. Fear of Communists in the US (the “Enemy Within”) had officially reached epidemic levels in 1950, and McCarthy’s witch hunt would fan the flames.
From Truman-on-down, the Democrats attacked McCarthy, but the Republicans rallied around a bully, since by 1950 the GOP had concluded that there were more votes to be had via the Red Scare. The year 1950 proved to be pivotal, in that Hiss had been convicted for a second time in January, and later that month Truman announced that the US would develop the hydrogen bomb (a.k.a. the “Super”). A few days later the government released details about Klaus Fuchs and other USSR spies that had stolen US atomic secrets, and soon Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were arrested for espionage. Fear of Communists in the US (the “Enemy Within”) had officially reached epidemic levels in 1950, and McCarthy’s witch hunt would fan the flames.
In the midst of all of this, Truman ignored FDR’s sage advice to avoid taking sides in an anti-colonial war of independence; Truman approved the first million dollar aid package to French Indochina. Nixon viewed McCarthy as a reckless ally in the hunt for Communists in the US, and he urged McCarthy to make an extra effort to be accurate with his accusations.
As the Spring of 1950 progressed, Nixon and Chotiner were convinced that they needed to ramp up their strategy from 1946 against Voorhis for the Senate race. Nixon was advised by a prominent CA Republican that he should portray Gahagan Douglas as an actual member of the Communist Party instead of a dupe for Stalin. Downey pulled out of the Democratic primary for health reasons (he was 65), and a Democrat in the primary that had no chance of winning called Gahagan Douglas the “Pink Lady”. Even though he had withdrawn, Downey chimed in, loudly stating for the media that Gahagan Douglas had opposed the Truman Doctrine and had also opposed additional funding for HUAC, which according to Downey, assisted Soviet tyranny.
As the Spring of 1950 progressed, Nixon and Chotiner were convinced that they needed to ramp up their strategy from 1946 against Voorhis for the Senate race. Nixon was advised by a prominent CA Republican that he should portray Gahagan Douglas as an actual member of the Communist Party instead of a dupe for Stalin. Downey pulled out of the Democratic primary for health reasons (he was 65), and a Democrat in the primary that had no chance of winning called Gahagan Douglas the “Pink Lady”. Even though he had withdrawn, Downey chimed in, loudly stating for the media that Gahagan Douglas had opposed the Truman Doctrine and had also opposed additional funding for HUAC, which according to Downey, assisted Soviet tyranny.
Due to CA rules and the squabbles among the Democrats, Nixon saw an opportunity and ran in both the Democratic and Repubican primaries for the Senate. It was actually a kooky unelectable Democratic candidate that was trying to deny Gahagan Douglas victory that gave Nixon the nickname that would stick with him forever: “Tricky Dick” (it was in a full page newspaper ad). When the dust settled, it was Gahagan Douglas vs. Richard Nixon in general campaign for a seat in the US Senate in 1950. Chotiner believed that women voters would not flock to Gahagan Douglas in droves, since women were (and are) hard on other women and that she was an upper-class liberal. Almost twenty years before the Feminist Movement gained traction, millions of women still believed that women should remain in the private sphere, and those, like Gahagan Douglas that dared to dabble in the public sphere, were usually punished in one way or another. That being said, Nixon and Chotiner both believed that the “Pink Lady” strategy was the surest route to victory.
On 24 June 1950, Nixon was on his way to CA after finishing a session of Congress when news broke of North Korea’s surprise attack on South Korea; the US would again be at war, and Communism was no longer a theoretical danger. Gahagan Douglas wasn’t an idiot; she was fully aware of the damage done to her in the Democratic primary in terms of distorting her record as well as the “Pink Lady” label, and she believed that a preemptive strike on Nixon would be her best strategy. Gahagan Douglas focused on Nixon’s vote against a $60m aid package to South Korea in January 1950, arguing that Nixon had helped cause the Korean War. Nixon fumed, in that he voted against the bill because it didn’t include aid for Chiang Kai-Shek and Taiwan. Nixon played the accepted game of not voting for the original bill in order to extract something better for later.
On 24 June 1950, Nixon was on his way to CA after finishing a session of Congress when news broke of North Korea’s surprise attack on South Korea; the US would again be at war, and Communism was no longer a theoretical danger. Gahagan Douglas wasn’t an idiot; she was fully aware of the damage done to her in the Democratic primary in terms of distorting her record as well as the “Pink Lady” label, and she believed that a preemptive strike on Nixon would be her best strategy. Gahagan Douglas focused on Nixon’s vote against a $60m aid package to South Korea in January 1950, arguing that Nixon had helped cause the Korean War. Nixon fumed, in that he voted against the bill because it didn’t include aid for Chiang Kai-Shek and Taiwan. Nixon played the accepted game of not voting for the original bill in order to extract something better for later.
Gahagan Douglas didn’t have the media on her side (in particular the LA Times) to make the charges stick in the memory of the voters. Also, by striking first, she was fair game for Nixon’s full attack; Gahagan Douglas gave Nixon the gift of being the aggrieved party seeking redress from an unfair charge. To start, Nixon portrayed Gahagan Douglas as a stooge for Stalin, but soon the “pink sheet” was issued at Nixon campaign rallies that distorted the record of Gahagan Douglas.
Contained in the pink sheet was a comparison of the voting records of Gahagan Douglas and a fellow representative from NYC who followed the Communist Party’s line. NIxon outlined the times that Gahagan Douglas voted the same as the NYC representatives; his goal was to get all of CA talking about the treachery of Helen Gahagan Douglas.
Contained in the pink sheet was a comparison of the voting records of Gahagan Douglas and a fellow representative from NYC who followed the Communist Party’s line. NIxon outlined the times that Gahagan Douglas voted the same as the NYC representatives; his goal was to get all of CA talking about the treachery of Helen Gahagan Douglas.
During August 1950, the old Mundt-Nixon bill was introduced under the new title of the Subversive Activities Control Act, and Gahagan Douglas was one of only 20 in the House that voted against the bill. At that point, Kyle Palmer started to warm up to the idea of going after Gahagan Douglas, and in his op/eds, he constantly used the word “emotional” when referring to her, as well as other keywords such as “dramatic” and “superficial”. During October 1950, Nixon made it clear that he was accusing Gahagan Douglas of actions that were inspired and/or approved by the Communist Party.
Gahagan Douglas was limited by a lack of funding and mostly negative attention by the media. Gahagan Douglas reported campaign spending of $156k, while Nixon reported $750k (which was probably too low). Neither the White House or the Democratic National Committee made much of an effort on behalf of Gahagan Douglas, but her campaign was inept/inefficient compared to Nixon’s juggernaut. During the weeks before the election, news from Korea was awful, in that US troops were not holding their own against the North Korean and Chinese armies, which benefited Nixon's campaign. In the days before the election, Nixon attacked Gahagan Douglas for her opposition to ban Communist China from the United Nations. Nixon crushed Gahagan Douglas in the election, garnering 59% of the vote; at the tender age of 37, Richard Nixon was a United States Senator.
Gahagan Douglas was limited by a lack of funding and mostly negative attention by the media. Gahagan Douglas reported campaign spending of $156k, while Nixon reported $750k (which was probably too low). Neither the White House or the Democratic National Committee made much of an effort on behalf of Gahagan Douglas, but her campaign was inept/inefficient compared to Nixon’s juggernaut. During the weeks before the election, news from Korea was awful, in that US troops were not holding their own against the North Korean and Chinese armies, which benefited Nixon's campaign. In the days before the election, Nixon attacked Gahagan Douglas for her opposition to ban Communist China from the United Nations. Nixon crushed Gahagan Douglas in the election, garnering 59% of the vote; at the tender age of 37, Richard Nixon was a United States Senator.