Fearful of increased infringements on civil liberties under a Republican administration, Robert G. McCloskey, assistant professor of Government, is supporting Stevenson, whom he feels will "preserve the widest possible scope for freedom of expression."
McCloskey feels "profoundly" that the threat of McCarthyism is the number-one domestic issue of the campaign. He told the CRIMSON yesterday that he is confident that Stevenson understands the "complexities and drifts" of the so-called subversive issue and that he can be expected to deal with the problem effectively.
"Ike, on the other hand," McCloskey said, "has indicated by his public approval of McCarthy and his surrender to the Taft wing of the party that he is not a man of firm enough moral principle to resist the pressure for senseless persecution, even if he wanted to, which I doubt."
Ike Wrong Change
He added that he is "very much afraid that a change to Eisenhower would mean a change to all that is reactionary and irresponsible in modern American politics."
McCloskey said that he is "not really delighted" with the position of the Democrats on civil rights, however.
"Sparkman's presence on the ticket," he stated, "symbolizes the Democratic compromise on civil rights, a compromise which I deplore, but Nixon symbolizes a Republican surrender on civil liberties, and that surrender threatens our future as a democratic society."
McCloskey has a bunch that the Republicans will make McCarthyism an "increasingly significant issue" in the closing weeks of the campaign. He fears that, encouraged by the Senator's victory in Wisconsin, the Republicans will be tempted to use McCarthyism as another "Bloody Shirt of the Rebellion." He cited a "similar" attempt by Adolf Hitler, who conjured up threats of subversion in order to keep himself in power.
He fears that if the Republicans win, they will attribute their victory to the Red scare and will make McCarthy's methods "standard governmental practices."
Calling Nixon a "somewhat more sophisticated version of Joe McCarthy," he said, "the idea that only one heartbeat stands between Richard Nixon and the Presidency, gives me the horrors."
McCloskey feels that Stevenson has "injected a note of candor into American politics that is unusual and refreshing. He recognizes the subtleties and the difficulties of the problems we face and is likely to approach them in a spirit which might actually lead to their solution," McCloskey said.
"This is contrasted," he continued, "to the expressed Republican attitude which seems to be that you can solve these problems by some magic wand process."
McCloskey added, "I'm not and never was very enthusiastic about a general in the White House. Almost by definition a general is unlikely to understand the nature of free speech and its necessity."
