Historian Heather Cox Richardson writes about the Republican Senator in 1950 who took a stand against Republican Senator Joe McCarthy. "I do not want to see the Republican party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny--Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry, and Smear," Republican Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine said while McCarthy sat two rows behind her. "While it might be a fleeting victory for the Republican party, it would be a more lasting defeat for the American people. Surely it would ultimately be suicide for the Republican party and the two-party system that has protected our American liberties from the dictatorship of a one-party system."

open.substack.com/pub/heatherc ...

"On June 1, 1950, Senator Margaret Chase Smith, a Republican from Maine, stood up against Republican Senator Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin and his supporters, who were undermining American democracy in a crusade against "communism.""[image or embed]

-- John Cooper (@johncooper314.bsky.social) 9:09 AM · Jun 1, 2026