Midge Miller
Encyclopedia
Marjorie "Midge" Miller was a Wisconsin Democratic
politician.
Born in Morgantown, West Virginia
, Miller served in the Wisconsin State Assembly
from 1971 to 1985.
She was an early supporter of the 1968 presidential candidacy of Senator Eugene McCarthy
(D-Minnesota), and eventually headed his Wisconsin campaign. It is believed that she was a major influence in convincing an initially reluctant Senator McCarthy to run for president, based in large part on his opposition to the Vietnam War. McCarthy was discounted by the political establishment as an underdog with virtually no chance of success, but Miller proved to be prescient in her belief that the time was right for his candidacy. In January of that year, McCarthy's opposition to the war resonated in a major way with voters in the 1968 New Hampshire presidential primary. Although McCarthy lost, he came in a close second to incumbent President Lyndon Johnson. With Midge Miller's support, McCarthy went on to defeat Johnson in the then-crucial Wisconsin primary the next month. Johnson, sensing in McCarthy's successes the devastating effect of the profundity of Democratic voter's disagreement with his Vietnam policy, made a surprise announcement on March 31, 1968 that he would not seek re-election.
This was just one example of the impact upon the national scene by the seven-term Wisconsin legislator, who defeated four well-known males for a state assembly seat long held by a Republican incumbent in 1971. An early leader in the national movement for women's rights, she counted among her admiring colleagues such movement leaders as Gloria Steinem and Bella Abzug. As a young woman who chose to reach out to the Japanese people following the second world war by choosing to live with her family in the nuclear-bomb-produced shadows that remained of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and she was internationally-recognized for her lifelong devotion to the interrelated causes of nuclear-non-proliferation and peace. Her "retirement" from the legislature in 1985 marked no respite, but only the latest chapter in her activism, when she established the Madison Institute, a think-tank designed to counter the growing influence of the extreme Right Wing in American politics.
As Madison, Wisconsin's Capital Times associate editor John Nichols wrote upon her death, "Midge Miller changed America and the world. She made presidents quake in their boots. She made political parties reflect the will of their members rather than the bosses. She made a place for women in the electoral process -- and in the governing of the land.
Then she got busy."
, when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center
and The Pentagon
, Miller was in a Senate office building on Capitol Hill. She had used a tax rebate provided by the new administration of George W. Bush
and Dick Cheney
to travel to Washington, D.C.
to lobby against Bush's proposed Star Wars national missile defense program.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
politician.
Born in Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...
, Miller served in the Wisconsin State Assembly
Wisconsin State Assembly
The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin....
from 1971 to 1985.
She was an early supporter of the 1968 presidential candidacy of Senator Eugene McCarthy
Eugene McCarthy
Eugene Joseph "Gene" McCarthy was an American politician, poet, and a long-time member of the United States Congress from Minnesota. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the U.S. Senate from 1959 to 1971.In the 1968 presidential election, McCarthy was the first...
(D-Minnesota), and eventually headed his Wisconsin campaign. It is believed that she was a major influence in convincing an initially reluctant Senator McCarthy to run for president, based in large part on his opposition to the Vietnam War. McCarthy was discounted by the political establishment as an underdog with virtually no chance of success, but Miller proved to be prescient in her belief that the time was right for his candidacy. In January of that year, McCarthy's opposition to the war resonated in a major way with voters in the 1968 New Hampshire presidential primary. Although McCarthy lost, he came in a close second to incumbent President Lyndon Johnson. With Midge Miller's support, McCarthy went on to defeat Johnson in the then-crucial Wisconsin primary the next month. Johnson, sensing in McCarthy's successes the devastating effect of the profundity of Democratic voter's disagreement with his Vietnam policy, made a surprise announcement on March 31, 1968 that he would not seek re-election.
This was just one example of the impact upon the national scene by the seven-term Wisconsin legislator, who defeated four well-known males for a state assembly seat long held by a Republican incumbent in 1971. An early leader in the national movement for women's rights, she counted among her admiring colleagues such movement leaders as Gloria Steinem and Bella Abzug. As a young woman who chose to reach out to the Japanese people following the second world war by choosing to live with her family in the nuclear-bomb-produced shadows that remained of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and she was internationally-recognized for her lifelong devotion to the interrelated causes of nuclear-non-proliferation and peace. Her "retirement" from the legislature in 1985 marked no respite, but only the latest chapter in her activism, when she established the Madison Institute, a think-tank designed to counter the growing influence of the extreme Right Wing in American politics.
As Madison, Wisconsin's Capital Times associate editor John Nichols wrote upon her death, "Midge Miller changed America and the world. She made presidents quake in their boots. She made political parties reflect the will of their members rather than the bosses. She made a place for women in the electoral process -- and in the governing of the land.
Then she got busy."
September 11, 2001
On September 11, 2001September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
and The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
, Miller was in a Senate office building on Capitol Hill. She had used a tax rebate provided by the new administration of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
to travel to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to lobby against Bush's proposed Star Wars national missile defense program.
- "They told us all that they were evacuating the building. We were shuffled out ... [T]he guys out in front said the Pentagon was smoking. It sounded horrible. But I couldn't do anything about that, so I thought I'd better keep on lobbying ... [I] was saying, 'Look, we've just been given all the evidence we need that President Bush's national missile defense plan is not the answer. If you develop these Star Wars weapons in the heavens, the people who want to attack the United States will find another way to do it.'" (Anecdote from Midge Miller's obituary in The Capital Times)
Quote
- "I have always said that, sooner or later, we would have proof that the threat wasn't in outer space."