Who Was Pat McCarran That the Airport Is Named After?

So I see that the County Commissioners are "waking up" and want to cancel the name McCarran for the Las Vegas airport. Why? I'd never wondered before, but who was McCarran, why was the airport named after him, and what did he do "wrong" that the honor should be removed? Or shouldn't?

And

In an item in Vegas News [in early February] about changing the name of the airport, you wrote, "The airport was named for Patrick McCarran in 1968, who was a strong advocate of commercial aviation and died in 1954. McCarran also held a number of views that didn't 'represent the diversity of our community,' according to one of the commissioners." It sounds like a polite way of saying that McCarran was some kind of reactionary or racist. Care to go into detail?

Patrick McCarran was born in 1876 in Reno and grew up on the northwestern Nevada sheep ranch owned by his parents, immigrants from Ireland.

His formal schooling didn't begin until he was 10 and his subsequent education was haphazard; he attended University of Nevada while tending sheep after his father was injured in a ranching accident. He never earned a bachelor's degree, instead studying law with a Reno attorney. But he postponed that to run for the Nevada Assembly in 1901 at age 25. He was elected as a Democrat running on a liberal free-silver platform (conservatives favored the more traditional tight-money gold standard). He served one term, then lost his race for a place in the state Senate.

Defeated, McCarran went back to sheep ranching; by that time he was married and had five children.

He was admitted to the bar in 1906 and served as the District Attorney of Nye County from 1907 to 1909 in Tonopah, which was in the midst of a silver-mining boom. Nearby Goldfield was starting a boom of its own when gold was discovered there; McCarran earned a reputation as a dangerous radical when he sided with striking hard-rock miners in Goldfield.

He was elected to the Nevada Supreme Court as an associate justice in 1912. In 1916, he ran again, this time for the U.S. Senate on another liberal platform that supported women's suffrage. He lost.

In 1917, he became Chief Justice of the Nevada Supreme Court. He lost his incumbency in the 1918 election and went back to practicing law defending criminals, for whom he was often sympathetic (he viewed sin as a "natural part of the human beast"). He also served as president of the Nevada Bar Association from 1920 to 1921 and vice president of the American Bar Association from 1922 to 1923.

He ran again for the U.S. Senate in 1926 and lost. He was finally elected and became the junior Democrat senator from Nevada in 1932. He was reelected in 1938 and 1944; that year, he gained immense political power as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In fact, he became one of the most powerful politicians in Nevada's history. He was reelected again in 1950 and served until his sudden death in 1954 at age 80 from a heart attack.

So much for the vital statistics. Now for the legacy.

Pat McCarran was a lifelong Democrat, but as he got older and more powerful (as Judiciary chairman, he easily killed bills in committee that never made it to the floor), he became more and more conservative and he continually clashed with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Most of his early issues with FDR were personal, having to do with power and the thwarting thereof, but he also opposed the president's attempt to "pack" the Supreme Court; when FDR's socialist legislation kept getting struck down, FDR proposed a law that would have forced the retirement of Supreme Court justices over the age of 70. Nor did he care for FDR's alliance with the Soviet Union upon entering WW II. He opposed Roosevelt's plans for federal health insurance, increased funding for education, and increased immigration after the war, and did an about-face from his support of unions as a young man when he strongly advocated for Nevada's anti-union right-to-work law.

McCarran was a staunch advocate for Nevada and funneled an enormous amount of pork to the Silver Sates. He was a tireless booster of Las Vegas. Near the end of the WW II when construction materials were in short supply, he helped supply them for the Flamingo, which he saw as adding some necessary glamor to the dusty town. He also fought tooth and nail against the Kefauver Commission, particularly its proposal to raise the federal gambling tax.

Aviation was one of his biggest platforms: He sponsored the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, was a proponent of establishing the United States Air Force, and lobbied hard for the construction of Nellis Air Force Base. For that and other aviation legislation, the Las Vegas airport was named after him in 1968, 14 years after his death.

So what's the controversy? It mainly stems from his virulent racism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism. He opposed the creation of the United Nations, which he called "a haven for spies and Communists." He voted against most, if not all, of FDR's Jewish appointees. He was also instrumental in limiting the number displaced persons (mostly Jews) allowed to enter the U.S. after the war. And he was the driving force behind the Internal Security Act of 1950, which required communists to “register” with the federal government.

Indeed, his death, at age 80 from the massive heart attack, occurred on stage at a political rally in which he was thundering against "the cancer of communism."

No part of this answer may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the publisher.

Have a question that hasn't been answered? Email us with your suggestion.

Missed a Question of the Day?

Have a Question?

Tomorrow's Question

Where did casino shills work in the '70s and '80s and how much did they earn?

Comments

Kevin Lewis Feb-22-2021

A man of his times?

Hmmm...bigoted, anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic, freaking out about communism and sooooocialism, and highly adept at pork-barrel politics. He'd fit right in with today's RepubliQ Party.

It seems that he was actually a flaming liberal initially, until he acquired power (and, one would assume, wealth), at which point he veered to the right like a truck that blows a tire. Interesting case study of how a good man turns profoundly evil.

I can see why they named the airport after him, though. Getting Nellis AFB didn't do Vegas any favors (it stands in the way of development in the northeast to this day and blights the neighborhoods around it), but as he was an aviation advocate, he doubtless had a lot to do with the creation and expansion of LAS.

Adam Cohen Feb-22-2021

Very informative

That was one of the complete and balanced answers I have seen. While Nellis is possibly a problem today I wonder what people thought of back then.  It also sounds like we owe the start of the strip to him as he helped get the Flamingo going.  Having said all that after reading this and then doing some more reading I would not want his name on the gateway to my city.

thebeachbum Feb-22-2021

I knew

I knew I could count on Mr. Lewis to move this QOD to his political beliefs.

Larry Stone Feb-22-2021

cost of change?

i wonder what it will cost to change all the signage to reflect the new name.

Mike Scudiero Feb-22-2021

Godfather 2

Also worth noting, most consider him the senator for which the Godfather Part 2 character of Senator Pat Geary was modeled after.

Bob Feb-22-2021

Blight?

"(it stands in the way of development in the northeast to this day and blights the neighborhoods around it)"   Yeah, You would think they would have built something like that out in the desert somewhere!   Oh Wait...

Stewart Ethier Feb-22-2021

Harry Reid ?

So they're going to name it after another corrupt former Senator, Harry Reid, in recognition of the enormous amount of pork he funneled to the Silver State?  Why not name it after someone admired by tourists, say Wayne Newton?

Wesparkey Feb-22-2021

just more political BS

another political BS hack move. IF it wasn't political, they would simply rename it Las Vegas International Airport.

Luis Feb-22-2021

Thank you

Wow, what a complete answer, great Info!!, thank you very much!!

Texas Transplant Feb-22-2021

Keep current day political opinions out of this

Kevin's comments are rather tiring and predictable.  I almost always enjoy the QoD and reader's comments. Today was one of the rare exceptions.

i have been flying onto McCarran for 40 years and will probably always refer to it as McCarran.

I respectfully suggest the LVA do it's best to eliminate ALL current day political commentary for Comments, forums, etc.  When I want political opinions, I'll turn on the news.

[email protected] Feb-22-2021

Fahgetaboutit!

What a brilliant response by kevin! Spoken like a trueairhead liberal bigot. 

Your answer to QOD was spot on and very informative. Too bad some folks use it (and any other opportunity) to espouse their political views. Forget about renaming the airport. It will change nothing. And forget about renaming it for Reid...unless Las Vegas wants to be ridiculed for naming their airport after a clown!

Dennis Sterba Feb-22-2021

History

That was a good answer, and a lot of history was involved.  If the name is changed all of that history is gone, just as we are losing history all across America. Weather history is good or bad it is history. Keep the name, we have already lost buildings, statues, etc. This has to stop somewhere.

Marty Feb-22-2021

Kitchen Stink

The QOD was very interesting and informative but Mr Lewis needs to keep his comment in the Kitchen Sink.  How many times does he need to be warned?

Anthony Curtis Feb-22-2021

Politics

It's the bane of our existence here. This is a somewhat political QoD, so politics is bound to sneak in. Kevin can't help himself when given a path, but his response isn't excessive. Some of you have voiced your disapproval. Let's please leave it at that from this point. Thank you.

Kevin Lewis Feb-22-2021

It's a political topic

But let's be clear--those who voiced objections to what I said weren't genuinely outraged at the fact that I discussed politics; they were upset that I stated opinions that weren't aligned with their own. I've noticed that that really bothers some folks, not just here but pretty much everywhere.

I am, nonetheless, entitled to my own effin' opinions. This is a political and, judging from the responses, highly emotional topic. If subsequent QODs are about Vegas happy hours or fluffy white bunnies, I won't be mentioning political issues.

And they can name the damn thing after Elvis for all I care.

Deke Castleman Feb-22-2021

Bunnies

And if anyone would like to submit a question about fluffy white bunnies, it would make a good QoD for Easter Sunday, April 4. Of course, it needs to relate to Vegas.

Tal2 Feb-22-2021

Amazing

So, he accomplished all that without ever earning a college degree?  I would call that amazing.

protravel Feb-22-2021

LAS

Agree with Wesparkey, airports are public places that definitely do not need to be named for a person. Sea-Tac tried a name change in the early '80s. The new name lasted 6 months. YVR has "thought" about adding a human's name for over 10 years.

O2bnVegas Feb-22-2021

Airport payola?  No.

I wondered if people pay to have airports named after them, like companies do with arenas.  Our little airport was originally named for a man who died in service in 1937.  It remained so until 2012 when it was renamed for a former President and his Wife.  Not everyone was/is happy about that, but...

I did a little wiki investigating...very little...but my body of research (ha) tells me no, names of airports aren't for sale.  Idlewild golf course became Idlewild Airport, which became JFK right after his assassination.  

I'll always think of the show "Car 54 Where Are You?", where a line in the theme song is "Kruschev's due at Idlewild."  Hey, I can sing every word, if anyone is interested.  LOL.

Besides, who doesn't have some icky baggage in their long ago life? 
 
I suspect even "Las Vegas International" would bring about objections...from somebody...for something.

BTW, excellent historical piece about McCarran, the man and the airport.

Candy

Roy Furukawa Feb-22-2021

Unfortunate

Naming and renaming of public entities like airports where every politician wants their name on it. No matter who they name it in honor of, someone will always have a problem with it. This whoe process is almost as sacred as naming a new sports team.

Anthony Curtis Feb-22-2021

I'll probably regret this

Would something about fluffy white bunnies be considered racist? You know, fluffy privilege.

Eileen Feb-22-2021

Mr. Curtis - REALLY?

If some of the comments weren't "excessive" there wouldn't be so much push back.  So one individual can say whatever they want and the rest of us aren't allowed to comment in turn?  We just have to say we don't approve?

Anthony Curtis Feb-22-2021

Not the proper place

I think it's obvious that there's disagreement. If you want to argue it, that's what the message boards are for, and specifically the "Kitchen Sink." This just isn't the place to have arguments.

Eileen Feb-22-2021

Not the Place for Arguments

But it's OK to be a place for some to be nasty, name-calling and terribly inappropriate in their response to almost every single QOD that is printed? If you don't want arguments, you shouldn't allow arguable material to be posted here.

Bob Feb-22-2021

Bunnies

There were some Fluffy White Bunny (tails) connected to Vegas! not sure I have a QOD  but the history of Playboy in Vegas could work for Easter!  certainly Hefner must have had Vegas ties before the Palms?  did the Maxim property have some sort of Playboy ties?

Anthony Curtis Feb-22-2021

Girls of Rock 'n Roll

Yes, Playboy's Girls of Rock 'n Roll. I'm sheepishly proud to say that I dated one of the cast members. You know what they say about blind squirrels.

Anthony Curtis Feb-22-2021

Maybe the record

I think this is the most posts I've ever made in a QoD thread. Working on the March LVA and guess I needed the diversion. Thanks to all, even those who are perturbed with me.

Rod McElvain Feb-22-2021

Rod

Hmmm?  White rabbit - Did Elwood P. Dowd ever show up in a Las Vegas casino with Harvey?

Sandra Ritter Feb-22-2021

Not Sure Where This Fits

But I do like, very much, Las Vegas International Airport

John Feb-22-2021

Hey Reb !

Removing the name McCarren is almost as bad as dropping Hey Reb !

Jackie Feb-22-2021

I loved todays QOD

I have never laughed so hard at a QOD as todays and never seen Anthony Curtis partake so much.
Purely enjoyable.

Joseph heether Feb-23-2021

puzzling

SO, let me get this straight. Mccarran was AGAINST communism and Dirty Harry Reid is for communism and we are debating the name of the airport? How many joints do the clark county commishes smoke per day. Really hard to have any other explanation

Question of the Day - 22 February 2021

Comments