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Alan Cranston | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| United States Senator fromCalifornia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1993 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Thomas Kuchel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Barbara Boxer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 25thController of California | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office January 5, 1959 – January 2, 1967 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Governor | Pat Brown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Robert C. Kirkwood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Houston I. Flournoy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Alan MacGregor Cranston (1914-06-19)June 19, 1914 Palo Alto, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | December 31, 2000(2000-12-31) (aged 86) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Democratic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouses | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Stanford University (BA) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Military service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allegiance | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Branch/service | United States Army | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years of service | 1944–1945 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Battles/wars | World War II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alan MacGregor Cranston (June 19, 1914 – December 31, 2000) was an American politician and journalist who served as aUnited States Senator fromCalifornia from 1969 to 1993, and as President of theWorld Federalist Association from 1949 to 1952.
Born inPalo Alto, California, Cranston worked as a journalist after graduating fromStanford University. After serving asCalifornia State Controller, he was elected to the Senate in 1968. He served as the Senate Democratic Whip from 1977 to 1991. In1984, Cranston sought the Democratic presidential nomination, advocating anuclear freeze during the later stages of theCold War. He dropped out after the first set of primaries.
In 1991, theSenate Ethics Committee reprimanded Cranston for his role in thesavings and loan crisis as a member of theKeating Five. After being diagnosed with prostate cancer, he decided not to run for a fifth term. After his retirement from the Senate, he served as president of theGlobal Security Institute and advocated for the global abolition ofnuclear weapons.
Cranston was born inPalo Alto, California, the son of Carol (née Dixon) and William MacGregor Cranston. He attendedPomona College for one year and studied abroad for a summer at theNational Autonomous University of Mexico before graduating fromStanford University in 1936 with a degree in English.[1]
Cranston was a correspondent for theInternational News Service for two years beforeWorld War II.[2] When an abridgedEnglish-language translation ofAdolf Hitler'sMein Kampf was released, sanitized to exclude some of Hitler'santi-Semitism andmilitancy, Cranston published a different translation (with annotations) that he believed reflected the contents of the book more accurately. In 1939, Hitler's publisher sued him forcopyright violation inConnecticut; a judge ruled in the publisher's favor and publication of the book was halted, but by then a half million copies had been sold, helping inform a wide audience about the threat Hitler posed.
Before enlisting in thearmed forces in 1944, Cranston worked as an editor and writer for the magazineCommon Ground, and later in theOffice of War Information. Enlisting in the army as aprivate in 1944, he requested service with a combat unit after completing Infantry basic training, but was instead assigned to be editor ofArmy Talk magazine. While on active duty, he wrote a second book,The Killing of the Peace, a synopsis of the failed bid to get the United States to join theLeague of Nations immediately afterWorld War I. Cranston held the rank ofsergeant when he was discharged at the end of the war in 1945.
A supporter ofworld government, Cranston attended the 1945 conference that led to theDublin Declaration.[3] He organized California chapters of the UWF and served as the president of the national UWF from 1949 to 1952.[4] He successfully pushed the California legislature to pass the1949 World Federalist California Resolution, calling on Congress to amend theConstitution to allow U.S. participation in a federalworld government. Also in the late 1940s, Cranston began his longstanding opposition tonuclear weapons.[5]
In 1952, Cranston co-founded theCalifornia Democratic Council (CDC), and served as chairman. Since that time, the CDC has served as an unofficial coalition of local Democratic clubs that coordinate electoral activities and activism throughout California. The CDC provided substantial support to Cranston in his bid for State Controller in 1958 and his numerous runs for the U.S. Senate.
ADemocrat, Cranston was electedCalifornia State Controller in 1958, reelected in 1962, and defeated for reelection in 1966.
Cranston first ran for theUnited States Senate in1964. He lost theDemocraticprimary to formerWhite House Press SecretaryPierre Salinger, who went on to lose the general election toRepublicanGeorge Murphy.[6]
In1968, Cranston was elected to the first of four terms in theUnited States Senate, defeatingRepublicanstate Superintendent of SchoolsMax Rafferty in the general election after the staunchly conservative Rafferty had narrowly defeated the liberal Republican incumbent,Thomas Kuchel, in that party'sprimary.
The election was marred by mudslinging. Aconservative writer,Frank Capell, authored a pamphlet suggesting that Cranston might have hadCommunist leanings in his youth, and that during his stint at the Office of War Information he helped falsely convinceFranklin D. Roosevelt thatNazi Germany had perpetrated theKatyń massacre. Many of the same allegations were recycled in an article that ran inAmerican Opinion in 1974 titled "Alan Cranston: The Shadow in the Senate". (The article's title was a reference toLamont Cranston, the main character in the popular radio programThe Shadow.)
During his first few months in office, Cranston introduced a resolution calling for President Nixon to halt closing 59Job Corps Centers.[7] He amended the original resolution to include a June 30 deadline that would allow Congress to do a study of the targeted facilities and removed language criticizing the Nixon administration for damaging trainees' lives by closing the facilities. In April 1969, the Senate Labor and Public Welfare Committee approved the revised Cranston proposal in a vote of 10 to 6. Cranston predicted victory for the resolution when it was taken up for a vote by the entire chamber,[8] but the Senate defeated it on May 13, 1969, by a vote of 52 to 40.[7]
In a September 12, 1971 statement, Cranston disputed the Pentagon's claims that military manpower and national security would be threatened if Congress did not renew Nixon's draft authority and said he would filibuster the draft measure.[9]
In September 1973, Cranston introduced an amendment that would reduce American forces overseas by 20% in the next 18 months and would include naval forces. It was introduced as a fallback amendment to the 40% reduction in American forces overseas SenatorMike Mansfield had offered.[10]
In November 1973, Cranston announced his support for the nomination ofGerald Ford as vice president. He said his support came after consulting "several hundred persons—Democrats and Republicans, business and labor leaders, elected politicians and party functionaries—in his own state of California" and finding little opposition to Ford.[11]
On April 23, 1974, Cranston stated that members of the Veterans Administration had been encouraged to contribute to Nixon's reelection campaign and that head of the Veterans Administration Donald E. Johnson was privy to these activities. Cranston's allegations were corroborated later that day by a former VA employee.[12]
In1974, Cranston defeated RepublicanH.L. "Bill" Richardson, a conservative state senator previously affiliated with theJohn Birch Society. Cranston polled 3,693,160 votes (60.5%) to Richardson's 2,210,267 (36.2%).
In 1979, after 19 senators signed a letter indicating that their support for the SALT II treaty hinged on PresidentJimmy Carter's response to its impact on U.S. defense posture, Cranston said their concerns were legitimate but mostly did not "relate directly to the text of the SALT II treaty" and it was likely that their reservations about the treaty could be resolved without using killer amendments.[13]
In1980, Cranston defeated RepublicanPaul Gann, 4,705,399 (56.5%) to 3,093,426 (37.1%). His campaign was notable for a July 31 benefit that was the last concertthe Eagles played at together for 14 years. During the event Cranston's wife thanked Eagles guitaristDon Felder for performing, to which Felder reportedly replied, "You're welcome...I guess." BandmateGlenn Frey took exception to Felder's comment, leading to onstage bickering and the band's breakup immediately after the concert.[14][15]
In March 1981, Cranston was one of 24 elected officials to issue a joint statement calling on the Reagan administration to find a peaceful solution to the Ulster conflict.[16]
In April 1981, during a Senate floor speech, Cranston asserted that India and Pakistan had entered the final stages of their preparation for nuclear test sites, speculating that India "will decide to make another test at the Pokaran site in the next few months" and Pakistan "could produce the fissile materials for a similar test, perhaps by the end of this year, most likely by the end of 1982." He did not identify the source of his information, but senior Reagan administration officials verified "the gist of Senator Cranston's information."[17]
Cranston was reelected in1986, narrowly defeating Republican nominee CongressmanEd Zschau after an expensive and heated election.
On October 2, 1990, Cranston was one of nine senators to vote against the nomination ofDavid Souter for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.[18][19]
Cranston wasDemocratic Whip from 1977 to 1991.
He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination for the1984 election. He became the first announced candidate on February 1, 1983. Despite his age (69) and appearance that seemed even older (he dyed his little remaining white hair a color that most called orange[20]), Cranston quickly became a recognized candidate. His strong support for anuclear freeze won him an intense following among anti-nuclear activists, support that translated into campaign donations, committed staff (future Washington SenatorMaria Cantwell moved to the state in 1983 to head up Cranston's caucus campaign effort there) and volunteers and straw poll victories in Wisconsin, California, and Alabama. However, the entry ofGeorge McGovern into the race in September 1983 cut into Cranston's support. He finished a weak fourth inIowa in February 1984 and dropped out a week later after finishing seventh out of eight candidates inNew Hampshire, with only two percent of the vote.
Cranston also faced a campaign debt of $2 million from his 1984 run as he began gearing up for an expensive and tough re-election fight in 1986, when he narrowly defeated the liberal Republican U.S. RepresentativeEd Zschau, who later left theRepublican Party.
On November 20, 1991, Cranston was reprimanded by theU.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics for "improper conduct" afterLincoln Savings headCharles Keating's companies contributed $850,000 to voter registration groups closely affiliated with Cranston. Keating had wanted federal regulators to stop "hounding" hissavings and loan association. Although the committee found that "no evidence was presented to the Committee that Senator Cranston ever agreed to help Mr. Keating in return for a contribution", the committee deemed Cranston's misconduct the worst among theKeating Five.
Cranston announced his retirement from the Senate in 1991, citing his diagnosis ofprostate cancer as the reason. However, it was widely speculated that his decision not to seek re-election was strongly influenced by the fallout from the savings and loan scandal. His involvement with Charles Keating and the subsequent Senate Ethics Committee reprimand had severely damaged his public image. Polls suggested that if he ran again in 1992, he would likely lose. His successor in the Senate,Barbara Boxer, later expressed doubt that he would have stepped down if not for the Keating scandal.[21]
Throughout his public life, Cranston was notable for practicing and participating in the sport oftrack and field as a sprinter in special senior races. Many of the events, races for senior sprinters at major track meets, were the early events that became the sport ofmasters athletics. While on his many political trips, Cranston would spend time sprinting in long hotel hallways to maintain his fitness.[22][better source needed]
Cranston's family was wealthy, with investments in real estate. He married and divorced twice. His first wife, Geneva McMath, was the mother of his sons, Kim and Robin. The elder Robin died in 1980 in aLos Angelestraffic accident.[23]
Cranston later married Norma Weintraub. Weintraub was afflicted by Parkinson’s disease. The two divorced in 1989.[21]
After retiring from the Senate, Cranston largely stepped out of public view. He spent his later years dedicated to the global abolition of nuclear weapons, which had been central to his political career. In 1996, he became chairman of the Gorbachev Foundation USA, a San Francisco-based think tank founded by former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to advance world peace and nuclear arms control.[24] He also served as Chairman of the State of the World Forum, where he led efforts for nuclear disarmament through the Nuclear Weapon Elimination Initiative of the State of the World Forum. In 1999, he founded theGlobal Security Institute, a non-profit organization aiming for the global abolition of the use of nuclear weapons.[25][26]
Cranston died from natural causes at his home inLos Altos Hills, California, on December 31, 2000, at the age of 86.[23][27]
Cranston received a score of 100% from theAFL-CIO in 1969, 1970, 1972, and 1981 while his lowest score was 79% in 1977. His lowest score fromAmericans for Democratic Action was 72% in 1969 and his highest was 95% in 1982. TheUnited States Chamber of Commerce gave him a score of 0% from 1969 to 1973, and in 1976.[28]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Controller of California 1959–1967 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator from California (Class 3) 1968,1974,1980,1986 | Succeeded by |
| Vacant Title last held by Ted StevensJohn Rhodes | Response to the State of the Union address 1982 Served alongside:Robert Byrd,Al Gore,Gary Hart,Bennett Johnston,Ted Kennedy,Tip O'Neill,Don Riegle,Paul Sarbanes,Jim Sasser | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Senate Democratic Whip 1977–1991 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | United States Senator (Class 3) from California 1969–1993 Served alongside:George Murphy,John V. Tunney,S. I. Hayakawa,Pete Wilson,John F. Seymour,Dianne Feinstein | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Senate Majority Whip 1977–1981 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Veterans Affairs Committee 1977–1981 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Senate Minority Whip 1981–1987 | |
| Preceded by | Senate Majority Whip 1987–1991 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Veterans Affairs Committee 1987–1993 | Succeeded by |
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Chairs of theUnited States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs | ||
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