Larry McDonald
This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2017) |
Larry McDonald | |
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George Darden | |
Personal details | |
Born | Lawrence Patton McDonald April 1, 1935 Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) |
Anna Tryggvadottir (divorced)Kathryn Jackson (1975–1983) |
Children | 5 |
Education | Davidson College Emory University (MD) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1959–1961 |
This article is part of a series on |
Conservatism in the United States |
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Lawrence Patton McDonald (April 1, 1935 – September 1, 1983) was an American physician, politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Democrat from 1975 until he was killed while a passenger on board Korean Air Lines Flight 007 when it was shot down by Soviet interceptors.[1]
McDonald maintained one of the most conservative voting records in Congress and crusaded against communism. He became chairman of the John Birch Society in 1983, months before his death. He was remembered as a martyr by American conservatives.[2][3]
Early life and career
Larry McDonald was born and raised in
From 1959 to 1961, McDonald served as a
After his tour of service he practiced medicine at the McDonald Urology Clinic in Atlanta.[2] He joined the anti-communist John Birch Society in 1966 or 1967.[6] He hosted thousands of people in his living room for Bircher-inspired lectures and documentaries, according to his first wife.[4] His preoccupation with politics led to a divorce.[2] He became known as an anti-abortion activist.[4] He made one unsuccessful run for Congress in 1972 before being elected in 1974. In 1975, he married Kathryn Jackson, whom he met while giving a speech in California.[2] He served as a member on the Georgia State Medical Education Board and as chairman from 1969 to 1974.[5]
Political career
In 1974, McDonald ran for Congress against incumbent
McDonald won the
McDonald, who considered himself a traditional Democrat "cut from the cloth of
The American Conservative Union gave him a perfect score of 100 every year he was in the House of Representatives, except in 1978, when he scored a 95.[10] He also scored "perfect or near perfect ratings" on the congressional scorecards of the National Right to Life Committee, Gun Owners of America, and the American Security Council.[11]
McDonald admired
McDonald called the
He advocated the use of the non-approved drug laetrile to treat patients in advanced stages of cancer[17] despite medical opinion that such use was quackery.[18][19][20] He was ordered to pay thousands of dollars in a laetrile malpractice lawsuit in 1976.[4] An investigation by the Atlanta Constitution later that year found that a friend of McDonald, a Georgia doctor, was asking patients seeking laetrile treatment to make their checks out to the Larry McDonald for Congress campaign.[4]
McDonald opposed the establishment of a
In 1979, with
McDonald opposed the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area in his own district because he did not believe the federal government could constitutionally own national parks.[25]
McDonald rarely spoke on the House floor, preferring to insert material into the Congressional Record.[22] These insertions typically dealt with foreign policy issues relating to the Soviet Union and domestic issues centered on the growth of non-Soviet and Soviet sponsored leftist subversion. A number of McDonald's insertions relating to the Socialist Workers Party were collected into a book, Trotskyism and Terror: The Strategy of Revolution, published in 1977.[26][non-primary source needed]
Legislation introduced
During his time in Congress, McDonald introduced over 150 bills, including legislation to:[third-party source needed]
- Repeal the Gun Control Act of 1968.
- Remove the limitation upon the amount of outside income a Social Securityrecipient may earn.
- Award honorary U.S. citizenship to Russian dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.[27]
- Invite Solzhenitsyn to address a joint meeting of Congress.[28]
- Prohibit Federal funds from being used to finance the purchase of American agricultural commodities by any Communist country.
- Create a select committee in the House of Representatives to conduct an investigation of human rights abuses in Southeast Asia by Communist forces.
- Repeal the FCC regulations against editorializing and support of political candidates by noncommercial educational broadcasting stations.
- Create a House Committee on Internal Security.
- Impeach UN Ambassador Andrew Young.
- Limit eligibility for appointment and admission to any United States service academy to men.
- Direct the Comptroller General of the United States to audit the gold held by the United States annually.
- Increase the national speed limit to 65 miles per hour (105 km/h) from the then-prevailing national speed limit of 55 miles per hour (89 km/h).
- Abolish the Federal Election Commission.
- Pull the U.S. out of the United Nations.
- Place statues of African American leaders Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver in the U.S. Capitol.[29]
Death
McDonald was invited to South Korea to attend a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the United States–South Korea Mutual Defense Treaty with three fellow members of Congress, Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, Senator Steve Symms of Idaho, and Representative Carroll Hubbard of Kentucky.[30] Due to bad weather on Sunday, August 28, 1983, McDonald's flight from Atlanta was diverted to Baltimore and when he finally arrived at JFK Airport in New York, he had missed his connection to South Korea by two or three minutes.[21]
McDonald could have boarded a
McDonald occupied an aisle seat, 02B in the first class section, when KAL 007 took off on August 31 at 12:24 AM local time, on a 3,400 miles (5,500 km) trip to Anchorage, Alaska for a scheduled stopover seven hours later. The plane remained on the ground for an hour and a half during which it was refueled, reprovisioned, cleaned, and serviced.[21] The passengers were given the option of leaving the aircraft but McDonald remained on the plane, catching up on his sleep. Helms meanwhile had managed to arrive and invited McDonald to move onto his flight, KAL 015, but McDonald did not wish to be disturbed.
With a fresh flight crew, KAL 007 took off at 4 AM local time for its scheduled non-stop flight over the Pacific to Seoul's Kimpo International Airport, a nearly 4,500 miles (7,200 km) flight that would take approximately eight hours.[21] On September 1, 1983, McDonald and the rest of the passengers and crew of KAL 007 were killed when Soviet fighters, under the command of Gen. Anatoly Kornukov, shot down KAL 007 near Moneron Island after the plane entered Soviet airspace.
Aftermath
McDonald became a martyr for his fans, who thought he was assassinated in a communist conspiracy. According to his widow, President Reagan was reluctant to take actions against the Soviet Union.[32]
After McDonald's death, a special election was held to fill his seat in the House. Former Governor Lester Maddox stated his intention to run for the seat if McDonald's widow, Kathy McDonald, did not.[33]
Kathy McDonald did decide to run, but lost to
Tribute
There is a
On March 18, 1998, the Georgia House of Representatives, "to preserve the memory of the sacrifice and service of this able and outstanding Georgian and recognize his service to the people of his district", named the portion of Interstate 75, which runs from the Chattahoochee River northward to the Tennessee state line in his honor, the Larry McDonald Memorial Highway.[34]
Bibliography
Articles
- “Why Does Spotlight Attack the Real Anti-Communists?” Congressional Record, September 9, 1981.[third-party source needed]
Books
- We Hold These Truths: A Reverent Review of the U.S. Constitution. Seal Beach, CA: '76 Press, 1976. ISBN 0892450053.[citation needed]
- Revised edition: Larry McDonald Memorial Foundation, Inc., 1992. ISBN 978-0963280909.
- Revised edition: Larry McDonald Memorial Foundation, Inc., 1992.
- Trotskyism and Terror: The Strategy of Revolution. Introduction by M. Stanton Evans. Foreword by Marx Lewis. Washington, D.C.: ACU Education and Research Institute, 1977.
Contributed works
- “Introduction.” The Rockefeller File, by ISBN 0892450010.[citation needed]
- “China in Africa.” Sino-Soviet Intervention in Africa, by OCLC 3100665.
- The Future of the United Nations: A Roundtable Discussion (Audiobook). Washington, D.C.: OCLC 2914756.
- Remarks on the UN, its past and future, and its relations with the United States.[third-party source needed]
Articles by other authors
- Dorman, Zach. “The Congressman Who Created His Own Deep State. Really.”. Politico, December 2, 2018.
See also
- Boll weevil (politics)
- John G. Schmitz
- John Rarick
- United States Congress members killed or wounded in office
- List of United States Congress members who died in office (1950–99)
- Willem Witteveen, another politician who got killed when an airliner was shot down
References
- ^ Krebs, Albin (September 2, 1983). "REP. L.P. MCDONALD OF GEORGIA AMONG THE AMERICANS LOST ON JET". New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h St. John, Jeffrey (September 30, 1985), "Essay on Character: Lawrence Patton McDonald (1935–1983)", The New American, archived from the original on September 27, 2007, retrieved August 24, 2009
- ^ Dewar, Helen (September 2, 1983). "Rep. McDonald Hailed As Right-Wing Martyr". Washington Post. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Dorfman, Zach (December 2, 2018). "The Congressman Who Created His Own Deep State. Really". Politico. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
- ^ a b c "McDonald, Lawrence Patton". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ International Committee for the Rescue of KAL 007 Survivors "Lawrence 'Larry' Patton McDonald", March 10, 2009; retrieved January 21, 2010.
- ^ McDonald, Larry (July 9, 1974), "Where I Stand (advertisement)", Rome News-Tribune, retrieved August 26, 2009[permanent dead link]
- JSTOR 2991737, retrieved May 4, 2008
- ^ Poole, Keith T. (October 13, 2004). "Is John Kerry a Liberal?". voteview.com. Retrieved August 24, 2009.
- ^ ACU Ratings of Congress: House Ratings: 1976, 1977 Archived September 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, 1978 Archived September 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, 1979 Archived September 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, 1980 Archived September 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, 1981 Archived September 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, 1982 Archived September 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, 1983 Archived June 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine; retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ "Remembering Larry McDonald", The New American, September 8, 2003, retrieved August 26, 2009
- ^ McDonald, Larry P. (1981), Remarks of the Honorable Larry P. McDonald of Georgia: On the occasion of the 24th annual memorial services commemorating the death of U.S. Senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy, Senator Joseph R. McCarthy Educational Foundation
- ^ "Five Myths About the Gold Standard" by Rep. Larry McDonald and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas). Congressional Record, Vol. 127, No. 28; February 23, 1981; retrieved January 21, 2010.
- YouTube. YouTube; retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ a b Royal, David (August 20, 1982), "7th District Race for U.S. Congress: Incumbent Larry McDonald cites 'favorable record'", Rome News-Tribune, retrieved August 26, 2009[permanent dead link]
- ^ "H.Con.Res.29". congress.gov. Library of Congress. February 17, 1981. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
- ^ "H.R.4045 - 96th Congress (1979-1980)". congress.gov. Library of Congress. May 10, 1979. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
- PMID 219680.
- S2CID 36332694.
- PMID 6431478.
- ^ a b c d e Wilkes Jr., Donald E. (September 3, 2003), "The Death Flight of Larry McDonald", Flagpole Magazine, p. 7, archived from the original on March 14, 2012, retrieved August 24, 2009
- ^ a b c "McDonald's peers note tragic irony", The Spokesman-Review, September 2, 1983, retrieved August 26, 2009[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Congressman Reportedly Helped to Stockpile Guns", The New York Times, p. 18, March 30, 1977, retrieved August 26, 2009
- ^ Brussell, Mae (February 1984). "Who Killed Congressman Larry McDonald?". Hustler Magazine. Larry Flynt.
- ^ "Committee OKs $7 Million for Chattahoochee Park". Newspapers.com. The Atlanta Constitution. June 4, 1976. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
- Evans, M. Stanton(1977). Introduction. Trotskyism and Terror: The Strategy of Revolution. By Larry McDonald. Washington, D.C.: ACU Education and Research Institute. pp. 2–3.
- ^ McDonald, Lawrence (July 17, 1975). "House Concurrent Resolution 348 - A concurrent resolution to award honorary United States citizenship to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn". Congress.gov. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ McDonald, Lawrence (July 22, 1975). "House Concurrent Resolution 353 - Concurrent resolution to invite Alexandr Solzhenitsyn to address a joint meeting of the House of Representatives and Senate". Congress.gov. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ Representative Lawrence P. McDonald (1935 - 1983) at Congress.gov.
- ^ Johnson, R. W. (1986), Shootdown: Flight 007 and the American Connection, New York, N.Y.: Viking Penguin, pp. 3–4
- ^ Farber, Stephen (November 27, 1988), "TELEVISION; Why Sparks Flew in Retelling the Tale of Flight 007", The New York Times, retrieved August 24, 2009
- ^ Dallek, Matthew (April 28, 2023). "Opinions | Before Marjorie Taylor Greene, there was Larry McDonald". MSN. Washington Post. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
- The Miami Herald, September 8, 1983, retrieved August 26, 2009
- ^ "HR 1098 - Larry McDonald Memorial Highway; designate". Georgia House of Representatives. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
External links
- United States Congress. "Larry McDonald (id: M000413)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Larry McDonald on Crossfire in 1983
- "KAL 007 Mystery", Timothy Maier, Insight Magazine at the Library of Congress Web Archives (archived September 18, 2001)
- Larry P. McDonald, late a representative
- Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University: Lawrence Patton McDonald congressional papers, circa 1974-1983