But it was a clear victory for Mr McCloskey, who said he had exposed Mr Robertson for “the fraud that he is”. (Mr. Robertson, who dropped out of the presidential race, did serve in Korea, but primarily as a supply officer away from combat operations.)
When Mr. McCloskey attempted a political comeback in 2006, he lost a primary race to Rep. Richard W. Pombo, a seven-term Republican who opposed environmental reforms. Mr. McCloskey, always the underdog, supported Democrat Jerry McNerney in the general election, and Mr. Pombo lost. The next year, at age 79, Mr. McCloskey switched his affiliation to the Democratic Party.
“The new brand of Republicanism,” which he described as hostile to progressive causes, ultimately led him to leave the party he had joined in 1948, Mr. McCloskey wrote in a letter to The Tracy Press, a California weekly newspaper, whose articles and editorials were widely discussed in the state’s news and opinion forums.
Mr. McCloskey lived in Woodside for many years and owned a home in Portola Valley, both in the Bay Area, and a farm in Rumsey, northwest of Sacramento. He served as a trustee of the Monterey Institute of International Studies and led efforts to provide college education to veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars upon their return from service.
Mr. McCloskey and Helen McCloskey are the subjects of the documentary “Helen and the Bear,” recently released by his niece Alix Blair, a filmmaker.
“Just as he lived his life with courage, drive and compassion,” Ms. Blair said in the family statement, “Pete brought these qualities to their marriage. The film is a tribute to his openness.”
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2024-05-08 20:56:16
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