[Magdalen] Mary Scranton, RIP

[Jim Guthrie]

I note the passing of Mary Scranton, widow of onetime GOP Presidential hopeful 
Bill Scranton. The Scrantons represent the era when Republicans were sane and 
reasonable, intelligent people could vote for them -- and in retrospect at 
least -- we can even look at Barry Goldwater as a sane Republican, compared to 
today's crop of Presidential hopefuls and their supporters.

Back in the day, the GOP could posit reasonable policy ideas. The KKK was not a 
welcome part of the GOP Base, and candidates who hung out with preachers 
advocating genocide against fellow Americans would be called out and drummed out 
of the party -- while two of the candidates for 2016 (Cruz and Huckabee) have 
done so, not one of the other candidates have called them on it.

The Scrantons represented the traditional Republican Party -- reasonable, good 
people -- not the evil that pervades the GOP today.

It should be noted that Mary Scranton was always interested in space and space 
travel. She donated large sums to CalTech and lobbied for space exploration. 
I'll bet she always hoped against hop that she could go into space in her 
lifetime.

SCRANTON, Pa. — The widow of former Pennsylvania governor and presidential 
candidate William Warren Scranton has died. Mary Scranton was 97.

Susan Scranton Dawson says her mother died Saturday at a retirement community in 
Montecito, California, after a long illness.

Her husband was a progressive Republican from the northeastern Pennsylvania city 
named after his wealthy family. He was elected to Congress in 1960 and served 
one term before he was elected governor in 1962.

His foray into presidential politics occurred in 1964, during his one term as 
governor. He emerged as a moderately liberal alternative to conservative Arizona 
Sen. Barry Goldwater.

He died in 2013 at 96.

Mary Scranton graduated from Smith College, worked as a nurse's aide during 
World War II and served on numerous boards.

She's survived by her four children.

-----------------------------

Jim Guthrie

"The enemy isn’t liberalism;
the enemy isn’t conservatism.
The enemy, is baloney." - Lars Erik Nelson