December
4, 1950
Tricky Dick
Republican Congressman Richard
Nixon took office as U.S. Senator from California following a bitter election
campaign, having been appointed to the short remainder of the term of office of
outgoing Democrat Sheridan Downey, who had resigned on November 30.
In 1949, Nixon began to
consider running for the United States Senate against the Democratic incumbent,
Sheridan Downey, and entered the race in November of that year. Downey, faced
with a bitter primary battle with Representative Helen Gahagan Douglas,
announced his retirement in March 1950.
Nixon and Douglas won the primary
elections and engaged in a contentious campaign in which the ongoing Korean War
was a major issue. Nixon tried to focus attention on Douglas' liberal voting
record. As part of that effort, a "Pink Sheet" was distributed by the
Nixon campaign suggesting that, as Douglas' voting record was similar to that
of New York Congressman Vito Marcantonio (believed by some to be a communist);
their political views must be nearly identical. Nixon won the election by
almost twenty percentage points. During this campaign, Nixon was first called
"Tricky Dick" by his opponents for his campaign tactics.
Born in 1950?
Then
congratulations for turning 65 and entering the world of Medicare. If you
would like to know more about the maze we call Medicare …
