Hit List
At the start of the McCarthy era, Floridian Claude Pepper, one of the Senates most outspoken liberals, was on the conservatives “hit list” along with many other senators. George Smathers lashed out with some typical right-wing invectivehe called his opponent “the Red Pepper”and he launched a campaign to expose Peppers secret “vices.” Smathers disclosed that Pepper was “a known extrovert,” his sister was a “thespian,” and his brother a “practicing homo sapiens.” Also, when Pepper went to college, he actually “matriculated.” Worst of all, he “practiced celibacy” before marriage. Naturally, rural voters were horrified, and Pepper lost.