Odd Wisconsin: Sen. McCarthy’s ouster began with small-town newspaper editor

Last week?s New York Times op-ed piece by UW-Madison professor William Cronon was one of several recent articles framing current politics against the McCarthy era. One thing the two periods have in common is that 60 years ago our most famous senator inspired a recall drive like the ones underway now. The recall campaign against Sen. Joseph McCarthy in 1954, however, was not launched by demonstrations in the streets, big labor unions, the Democratic Party, or university students. Instead, a small-town newspaper editor named Leroy Gore got the ball rolling.