NCL statement on passing of George McGovern – National Consumers League
October 21, 2012
Contact: NCL Communications, media@nclnet.org
Washington, DC–The following statement may be attributed to National Consumers League Executive Director Sally Greenberg:
The National Consumers League is saddened to learn of the passing of former South Dakota Senator and Presidential candidate George McGovern. His 1972 run for President on an anti-war platform represented a turning point in American history. McGovern’s campaign – though he lost the election – nevertheless galvanized a whole generation of activists and advocates that, for the first time, included women and minorities gaining equal representation. In more recent years, Senator McGovern lobbied with NCL and other advocates for nutritional labeling on alcoholic beverages.
I had the distinct honor of joining the Senator in a meeting at the Department of Treasury in 2011, which regulates the alcoholic beverage industry (through the Alcohol, Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau), to press for action at the federal level for labeling of alcoholic beverages. McGovern was a key ally in our efforts to get nutritional information on alcoholic products. His efforts were driven, in part, by the untimely death of his daughter, who suffered from alcoholism. As we walked back from our meeting at Treasury to the Mayflower hotel, where McGovern stayed when in Washington, he took out his wallet and showed me his daughter’s picture.
Senator McGovern will be sorely missed. We thank him for his leadership and for galvanizing an entire generation to believe in fighting for social change and for the rights of the disenfranchised.
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About the National Consumers League
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.
