Was Helen Gahagan Douglas a bad seed? I’d always read that she was unfairly tarred by Nixon.
That's the way the Drive-Bys always characterize it. She was the 1940 version of Hillary Clinton. LBJ had a fling with her way back.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Gahagan
In the 1940s, Gahagan Douglas entered politics. She was elected to the United States House of Representatives from California's 14th congressional district as a liberal Democrat in 1944, and served three full terms. During this time, according to author Robert Caro, she carried on an affair with then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson.
She authored a book about Eleanor Roosevelt. I can just imagine how it reads.
She was one of the most left-wing members of the House at that time, similar voting record to the Communist American Labor Party Congressman from NYC, Vito Marcantonio. Think of her as the ‘40s version of Barbara Boxer, with a strong Hollyweird connection.
“I’d always read that she was unfairly tarred by Nixon.”
She was. Just like we “unfairly tar” Pelosi today. ;)