The Haskell that sticks in my mind is Sen.Floyd Haskell (D-Colo.) who bucked the 1972 Nixon landslide by narrowly edging out conservative Republican incumbent Gordon Allot and then pushes a far-left agenda until Bill Armstrong ousted him in 1978.
Gillis could be Irish if his first name were Sean or Seamus. But Dobie is the diminutive for Dov, which is Hebrew for “bear,” so I would say Jewish, unless there’s an Irish equivalent for Dobie. Maynard G. Krebs couldn’t be Irish, nor the strange rich kid who was going to public school for some reason, Chadsworth T. Tadsworth(?).
If I remember correctly,Sen. Floyd Haskell (D-Co.) hired Hanoi supporter and ex VISTA leader Sam Brown on his staff or one of Brown’s key aides. Haskell was one of the lightest of the lightweights I have ever seen when I was covering the Hill. A total waste of taxpayer’s money.
Let’s go to the father to arbite the matter. Papa Gillis, on the one hand, had red hair and didn’t look very Jewish. On the other hand, he talked to himself a lot, saying “I gotta kill that boy. I just gotta.” On the other hand, he operated the town’s only grocery store, a struggling enterprise. Jewish or Irish? Do Jews or Irish or both contemplate murdering their teenagers? Are both bad with money, but enterprising enough to keep trying? Plenty of red-headed Jews, though.