Clifford P. Case | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Senator fromNew Jersey | |
| In office January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1979 | |
| Preceded by | Robert C. Hendrickson |
| Succeeded by | Bill Bradley |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew Jersey's6th district | |
| In office January 3, 1945 – August 16, 1953 | |
| Preceded by | Donald H. McLean |
| Succeeded by | Harrison A. Williams |
| Member of theNew Jersey General Assembly | |
| In office 1943–1945 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Clifford Philip Case Jr. (1904-04-16)April 16, 1904 Franklin Park, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | March 5, 1982(1982-03-05) (aged 77) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Somerville Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Ruth Miriam Smith (m. 1928) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Rutgers University (BA) Columbia University (LLB) |
Clifford Philip Case Jr. (April 16, 1904 – March 5, 1982), was an American lawyer and politician. For over 30 years, Case represented the state ofNew Jersey as a member of theRepublican Party both in theU.S. House of Representatives (1945–1953) and theU.S. Senate (1955–1979).
Case began his life in politics in 1937, serving in the Rahway Common Council from 1938 to 1942. After serving in the Rahway Common Council, Case was member of the New Jersey Assembly from 1943 to 1945. He defeated Democrat Walter van Hoesen to represent New Jersey's 6th congressional district in the House from 1945 to 1953. As one of the most left-leaning Republicans of the House, Case was supportive ofHarry S. Truman'sFair Deal andMarshall Plan programs. After an unsuccessful attempt to run for the Republican nomination for the1953 New Jersey gubernatorial election, Case became president of theFord Foundation'sFund for the Republic.
AfterRobert C. Hendrickson's retirement, Case defeated fellow U.S. RepresentativeCharles R. Howell for Hendrickson's seat in theUnited States Senate. In the Senate, Case was one of the biggest supporters of Democratic presidentsJohn F. Kennedy andLyndon B. Johnson'sNew Frontier andGreat Society programs. Case's support of civil rights for African-Americans and welfare programs often put him at odds with the right wing of the Republican Party. Initially supportive of the Vietnam War, Case began to have doubts about the war, supporting theMcGovern-Hatfield Amendment, and co-sponsoring theCase-Church Amendment with Idaho SenatorFrank Church. In 1978, Case was defeated in the Republican primaries for the United States Senate byJeffrey Bell, who ran to his right. After leaving the Senate, Case returned to practicing law. A heavy smoker, Case died of lung cancer in 1982.
The oldest of six children, Clifford Case was born in theFranklin Park section ofFranklin Township,New Jersey, to Clifford Philip and Jeannette McAlpin (née Benedict) Case.[1] His father was a minister in theDutch Reformed Church.[2] His father was also a staunchRepublican who even canceled his subscription toThe New York Times after it endorsedWoodrow Wilson in the1912 presidential election.[3] His uncle,Clarence E. Case, served as a member of theNew Jersey Senate and asChief Justice of theNew Jersey Supreme Court.[4] His great-grandfather was acourt crier inSomerset County.[3]
After serving atSix Mile Run Reformed Church in Franklin Park, his father accepted a position as pastor inPoughkeepsie, New York, in 1907.[4] Case received his early education at public schools in Poughkeepsie, and graduated fromPoughkeepsie High School in 1921.[5] His class predicted he would become vice president of the United States, adding, "His good nature, however, and his stubborn hair will keep theCabinet happy and harmonious."[3] Following his high school graduation, he enrolled atRutgers University in 1921.[5] His father died the year before, and Case helped pay for his tuition by working part-time jobs, including playing the pipe organ in church on Sundays.[4] At Rutgers, he was a member of the varsitylacrosse team, theGlee Club, the Rutgers chapter ofDelta Upsilon,Phi Beta Kappa society, andCap and Skull.[6] He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1925.[1]
Case then studied atColumbia Law School, receiving hisBachelor of Laws degree in 1928.[5] That same year, he married Ruth Miriam Smith, whom he had met in his junior year at Rutgers.[6] The couple remained married until his death; they had two daughters, Mary Jane and Ann, and one son, Clifford Philip III.[1]
In 1928, Case wasadmitted to the bar in New York and joined the law firm ofSimpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York City, where he remained until 1953.[4] He returned to New Jersey, living inRahway while commuting to work in New York City.[1] He entered politics in 1937, when he was elected to the RahwayCommon Council, serving from 1938 to 1942.[5] From 1943 to 1945, he was a member of theNew Jersey General Assembly.[5]
In 1944, Case successfully ran for theUnited States House of Representatives fromNew Jersey's 6th congressional district.[2] He defeated hisDemocratic opponent,Walter H. Van Hoesen, by a margin of 55%-43%.[7] He was subsequently re-elected to four more terms, never receiving less than 55% of the vote.[3] In 1952, he won 20,000 more votes than any other candidate ever received in his district and won 10,000 more votes thanDwight D. Eisenhower's majority.[3] During his entire tenure, Case's district was coterminous withUnion County.
As a member of the House, Case earned a reputation as aliberal Republican, frequently receiving the endorsement of theAmericans for Democratic Action,Congress of Industrial Organizations, andAmerican Federation of Labor.[2] He once said, "If the needs of this country are not met by middle-of-the-road progressivism, the problems won't be met, and the time will come when only extremist solutions are possible."[4] A strong supporter of theCivil Rights Movement, he voted in favor of an anti-poll tax measure, a proposal to prevent segregation in the Women's Reserve of theCoast Guard, and the creation of aFair Employment Practices Commission to prohibit discrimination in the workforce.[4] He also opposed the establishment of a permanentHouse Un-American Activities Committee and the overriding of PresidentHarry S. Truman's veto of theImmigration and Nationality Act of 1952.[2] He served on theCivil Service,Education, andJudiciary Committees.[6]
In 1953, Case was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination forGovernor of New Jersey.[6] In August of that year, he resigned from the House to become president of theFord Foundation'sFund for the Republic, an organization dedicated to protecting freedom of speech and other civil liberties in the United States.[2] He served in that position until March 1954.[5]
In March 1954, after Republican incumbentRobert C. Hendrickson declined to run for re-election, Case announced his candidacy for Hendrickson's seat in theUnited States Senate.[6] After winning the Republican primary, he faced fellow U.S. RepresentativeCharles R. Howell in the general election.[8] During the campaign, Case openly criticized SenatorJoseph McCarthy, and pledged to vote against seating McCarthy on any committee with investigative functions.[4] McCarthy's supporters called him "a pro-CommunistRepublicrat" and "Stalin's choice for Senator."[1]The Star-Ledger quoted formerCommunist Party leaderBella Dodd as saying that Case's sister Adelaide was "an active member of several Communist front groups." It was later revealed, however, that the Adelaide Case in question was not the candidate's sister but a college professor who had died in 1948.[9][10] A conservative faction within the Republican Party unsuccessfully attempted to force Case off the ballot, also proposing awrite-in campaign for former U.S. RepresentativeFred A. Hartley Jr., co-author of theTaft-Hartley Act.[3] Case was endorsed by President Eisenhower and Vice PresidentRichard M. Nixon.[6] In 1959,William F. Buckley Jr.'sNational Review magazine in the article "Hopeless Case" appraised Case's liberal positions within the Republican Party.[11]
On November 2, 1954, Case narrowly defeated Howell by a margin of 3,369 votes.[8] It was the closest Senate election in New Jersey's history, and a recount was held on the following December 14.[4] Case won the recount by 3,507 votes.[1] In the Senate, he compiled one of the most liberal records of any Republican, being one of the most supportive Republicans of theNew Frontier and theGreat Society. Notoriously, Case was the only Republican in the Senate to support SenatorClinton Anderson (D-NM)'s medical care bill proposal supported by President Kennedy. He was re-elected in 1960, 1966 and 1972. Case voted in favor of theCivil Rights Acts of 1957,[12]1960,[13]1964,[14] and1968,[15] as well as the24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,[16] theVoting Rights Act of 1965,[17] and the confirmation ofThurgood Marshall to theU.S. Supreme Court.[18] Case was one of thirteen Republicans in the Senate to vote in favor of the creation of theMedicare program for the aged.[19] During his time in the Senate, Case received zero ratings from the Americans for Constitutional Action in 1971, 1974 and 1976 and often got ratings in the high nineties from theAmericans for Democratic Action organization. From 1973 to 1978, Case, along with fellow Republican senatorsJacob Javits andEdward Brooke, is seen byGovTrack as being to the left of Democrats likeHubert Humphrey,George McGovern,Edmund Muskie andGaylord Nelson.[20]
When Case was asked why he was a member of the Republican Party instead of the Democratic Party, he replied: "I am a Republican, and I believe in the Republican Party. But I have my own convictions as to what the Republican Party should stand for, and I intend to fight for them as hard as I can. And I will not be driven away from my Republicanism simply because some Democrats happen to agree with me on certain issues - and some Republicans don't."
Despite his liberalism, Case saw himself as a conservative in the vein ofEdmund Burke,Benjamin Disraeli,Winston Churchill and theFederalist Papers.[21]
In 1966, along with two other Republican Senators and five Republican Representatives, Case signed a telegram sent to Georgia GovernorCarl E. Sanders regarding the Georgia legislature's refusal to seat the recently electedJulian Bond in their state House of Representatives. This refusal, said the telegram, was "a dangerous attack on representative government. None of us agree with Mr. Bond's views on the Vietnam War; in fact we strongly repudiate these views. But unless otherwise determined by a court of law, which the Georgia Legislature is not, he is entitled to express them."[22]
At the 1968 Republican National Convention, Case attempted to hold the New Jersey's delegation's 40 votes as afavorite son candidate to prevent Richard Nixon being selected on the first ballot and thus give Case's preferred candidate, Nelson Rockefeller, a chance of being chosen in later ballots. Case failed to hold the delegation together and 18 delegates deserted Case'sfavorite son candidacy for Nixon. Nixon was nominated on the first ballot. Case was a co-author of theCase-Zablocki Act of 1972 which required that executive agreements by the president be reported to Congress in 60 days. Originally supportive of the Vietnam War in the 60's, he grew more critical of American involvement in Vietnam, supporting theMcGovern-Hatfield Amendment in 1970 and co-sponsored theCase–Church Amendment which prohibited further U.S. military activity inVietnam,Laos andCambodia in 1973.
AlongsideJacob Javits,John Sherman Cooper andWilliam B. Saxbe, Case was one of four Republican co-sponsors ofTed Kennedy's "Health Security Act" in 1971, which would have provided health coverage to every American through an insurance program run by the federal government. In a speech advocating for universal coverage through the Health Security Act, Case stated:
Mr. President, I am pleased to join Senators Kennedy, Cooper, and Saxbe as cosponsor of S.3, the Health Security Act of 1971. Today the question of national health insurance is not whether we should have a national health program. The facts dictate that we do. It is rather, what kind of program, will best serve all our people. It is shocking that medical care is so difficult to obtain, and that so many people have little or no health coverage at all, when America is spending $63 billion a year on health care. This sum amounts to 7 percent of our gross national product, or about $300 for every man, woman, and child. Despite the fact that we spend more on health care than any other nation, America lags behind most industrial nations in health standards. Clearly something must be done to change the system by which medical care and services are delivered. It must be made more equitable and much more efficient. In a country as wealthy and resourceful as ours, there is no reason why every citizen, rich or poor, young or old, working or unemployed, should be denied the right to good healthcare. As one of the earliest supporters of Medicare and as a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee dealing with health, I have long believed that we must do better in making health care a matter of national priority. The Health Security Act of 1971 is the product of months of study by outstanding citizens involved in health care and many other areas of human and social concern. It is my hope that the proposal will be carefully considered this year and that the 92nd Congress will enact legislation establishing a system capable of making quality health care available to every citizen of the United States.[23]
Case sought a fifth Senate term in 1978, but lost the Republican primary toJeffrey Bell, an anti-tax conservative. Case criticized Bell's support of a tax cut bill introduced byJack Kemp, believing that it would cause tremendous inflation.[24] Bell went on to lose the general election to DemocratBill Bradley, a former professional basketball player. No Republican has been elected to represent New Jersey in the Senate since Case's last victory in 1972 (RepublicansNicholas F. Brady andJeffrey Chiesa served only as appointees).
After leaving the Senate, Case resumed the practice of law withCurtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle, a New Yorklaw firm. Case also lectured atRutgers University'sEagleton Institute of Politics. He died from lung cancer atGeorgetown University Hospital in Washington on March 5, 1982,[1] and was interred at theSomerville New Cemetery inSomerville, New Jersey.
After Case's death, friend and colleaguePeter Rodino said of him:
Speaking personally, I have never met a more decent human being than Clifford Case. He taught us how to live with dignity, and how to serve the people with integrity and honor. I join with his wife Ruth, the rest of his family and all the citizens of New Jersey in mourning the loss of this giant of a man. I hope that as we honor Cliff Case today we can learn from the man and his principles which helped to chart a certain portion of our Nation's history——for they are timeless in their simplicity and strength.[25][better source needed]
His grandson, formerClinton Mayor Matthew Holt, was elected to theHunterdon CountyBoard of Chosen Freeholders in 2005. He ran for theGeneral Assembly seat in the23rd legislative district that was vacated byMarcia A. Karrow in January 2009.[26]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromNew Jersey's 6th congressional district January 3, 1945 – August 16, 1953 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 2) from New Jersey January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1979 Served alongside:H. Alexander Smith,Harrison A. Williams | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theSenate Foreign Relations Committee 1975–1979 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican Nominee for theU.S. Senate (Class 2) fromNew Jersey 1954,1960,1966,1972 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
