Clifford P. Case

For 34 years, Clifford P. Case was a force in New Jersey and national politics. Early in his career, he practiced law for 10 years, rapidly rising from Rahway councilman in 1938, to state assemblyman, to U.S. congressman by 1944. After nine years in the U.S. House of Representatives, he was elected to the U.S. Senate where he served until 1978, retiring as the ranking Republican. Despite his party affiliation, he often aligned himself with the Democrats on many issues. He took the Senate floor to criticize Senator Joseph McCarthy, opposed the Vietnam War, and was a strong supporter of civil rights. He also advocated strong pro-Israel and pro-labor positions. When asked why he did not change parties, Case replied that he had his “own convictions as to what the Republican party should stand for, and I intend to fight for them as hard as I can.” In his honor, Rutgers established the Clifford P. Case Professorship of Public Affairs in 1979. At his Kirkpatrick Chapel funeral in 1982, the roster of the guests read like a “Who’s Who of U.S. Government.” Senator Howard Metzenbaum of Ohio summed up Case: “He stood out like a gem in the United States Senate.”