John Bailey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of theDemocratic National Committee | |
| In office January 21, 1961 – August 30, 1968 | |
| Preceded by | Henry M. Jackson |
| Succeeded by | Larry O'Brien |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Moran Bailey (1904-11-23)November 23, 1904 Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | April 10, 1975(1975-04-10) (aged 70) Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Children | Barbara |
| Education | Catholic University (BA) Harvard University (LLB) |
John Moran Bailey (November 23, 1904 – April 10, 1975) was an American politician who played a major role in promoting theNew Deal coalition of theDemocratic Party and itsliberal policy positions.
Bailey dominatedConnecticut Democratic politics as a party chairman, from 1946 to his death in 1975. He typically had a decisive voice in selecting the party's candidates for top offices and in coordinating Democrats in the state legislature. He was even more powerful as thechairman of theDemocratic National Committee from 1961 until 1968 and was one of the main behind-the-scenes backers ofJohn F. Kennedy.
AnIrish Catholic, Bailey was educated atThe Catholic University of America andHarvard Law School.
John M Bailey, was one of the proud founders of the Young Democrats of America, serving as a national officer in 1935 from Connecticut, an organization which was crafted from the Presidential Candidacy of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933.
Bailey was the dominant figure in Connecticut politics between 1950 and his death in 1975. From his office inHartford two blocks from theState Capitol, he coordinated and controlled statewide election campaigns and the activities of theConnecticut General Assembly.
Bailey's tenure as head of the Connecticut Democratic party was credited with turning the state from one politically dominated byWASP Yankee Republicans to one dominated by Democratic candidates ofRoman Catholic andJewish background, such asAbraham Ribicoff,Thomas Dodd,John Dempsey, andElla T. Grasso.
His Republican rival wasMeade Alcorn, who also happened to serve as national chairman of his party.
Prior to his statewide activities, Bailey had served in local roles in his home city of Hartford.
Bailey's term asDNC chairman was a roller-coaster ride, as he oversaw the party's moment of greatest political strength (following the1964 electoral landslide) and greatest political weakness (the1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago). He was also the first Chairman to oversee the loss of the South.
Following the assassination ofJohn F. Kennedy in 1963, Bailey and the new president,Lyndon B. Johnson, oversaw the greatest electoral landslide in United States history, with the party winning 486 electoral votes as well as supermajorities in both houses of theUS Congress. The 1966 elections to theHouse of Representatives and theSenate saw Republican gains but Democrats retaining control of both houses of Congress as well as the majority of governorships.
In 1968, theRepublican Party again nominatedRichard Nixon as the presidential nominee and quickly rallied around him. However, the Democrats were more divided, particularly over the controversialVietnam War. SenatorEugene McCarthy, SenatorRobert F. Kennedy, SenatorGeorge McGovern, Vice PresidentHubert Humphrey were only some of those who sought the nomination, with Bailey co-presiding over the1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In the end, Nixon was elected, but the Democrats retained their majority in both houses of Congress.
Bailey died in 1975 and was interred atCedar Hill Cemetery inHartford, Connecticut.[1]
The John M. Bailey Papers have been donated to the University of Connecticut and are available for research.[2]
Connecticut Democrats honor Bailey each year with theirJefferson-Jackson-Bailey Dinner. An admiring biography of Bailey was written by SenatorJoe Lieberman in 1981.[3]
The Bailey and Kennelly families have a prominent presence in the Connecticut Democratic Party and in their home city of Hartford. In Hartford, they're one of the last prominent Irish families in a city that is now dominated by African Americans and Puerto Ricans.[4]
Bailey's daughter,Barbara Bailey Kennelly served in the U.S. Congress representing Connecticut's first congressional district. She later left the House to run for governor in a race she lost to the incumbent,John G. Rowland.
Another Bailey daughter, Judith Bailey Perkins, is a professor atSaint Joseph College in West Hartford.
Bailey's son, also named John Bailey, was a career prosecutor in Connecticut, first serving as Hartford State's Attorney, then as Chief State's Attorney.
Many of Bailey's grandsons went on to have politically oriented careers: John Moran Bailey II is currently the Director of Government and Community Affairs for a nonprofit, SINA Inc.,Justin Kronholm, is the former executive director of the Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee, andJohn B. Kennelly was previously elected to Hartford Court of Common Council and was an early rival to Hartford mayorEddie Perez.
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Chair of theDemocratic National Committee 1961–1968 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
