Clement Zablocki

Clement Zablocki was born, raised, and lived most of his life in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The son of Polish immigrants, he grew up speaking both Polish and English in Milwaukee's flourishing Polish American community. He attended St. Vincent's Catholic Parochial School and then graduated from Marquette University High School. He took lessons as an organist from age 10, and earned money for college by performing at church services and directing the church choir. He also worked as a department store clerk. ==Early political career==

According to Milwaukee legend, Zablocki often emphasized with his Polish immigrant students the importance of participating in American politics. At one point, a student in his class, Mrs. Geniusz, responded to him saying that if he knew so much about politics, he should run for office. Zablocki responded by immediately declaring his candidacy for Wisconsin Senate. Whether or not that story is true, Zablocki had a strong base to begin a life in politics. His aunt, Leone Wozinski, was a leading figure in Milwaukee's Polish American community and was highly active with civic organizations which crossed over into other communities in the city. She introduced Zablocki to those organizations, and he quickly became "the life of the party". As it does today, the 3rd Senate district spanned a swath of the south side of the city of Milwaukee, from Walker's Point to the Jackson Park neighborhood, comprising many of the Polish American neighborhoods of the city. In addition to Zablocki, however, six other Democrats also sought to challenge Zimny in 1938, significantly diluting the vote. Zimni won renomination, but Zablocki posted a surprisingly strong second-place finish in the primary, falling only 411 votes short. Zimny did not run again in 1942, and Zablocki was immediately seen as a frontrunner to replace him. Nevertheless, he did still face a competitive Democratic primary against Richard F. Maruszewski. Zablocki prevailed with 53.6% of the vote. In the state Senate, Zablocki championed common Democratic issues of the time, supporting Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal policies, labor unions, and veterans benefits, but was deep in the minority and held little influence in the crafting of legislation. In the Spring 1948 election, Zablocki sought election as Milwaukee city comptroller, but lost. ==Congress==

In 1946, Milwaukee's then-incumbent congressman Thaddeus Wasielewski lost the Democratic primary when seeking re-election, and then ran as an independent in the general election, splitting the Democratic vote and allowing Republican John C. Brophy to eke out a victory with 36% of the vote. When Wasielewski indicated he would not run again in 1948, Zablocki jumped into the race and quickly cleared the primary field. In the general election, however, Zablocki faced the danger of a split Democratic vote again, as the 1946 Democratic nominee Edmund V. Bobrowicz entered the race on the Progressive Party ticket. Zablocki and other prominent Milwaukee Democrats sought to head off this problem by denouncing Bobrowicz over past communist affiliations. The incumbent, Brophy, had only served on the Milwaukee City Council before his election to Congress and was regarded by the Wisconsin press as a weak campaigner relative to the gregarious Zablocki. At the general election, Zablocki won by a wide margin, taking nearly 56% of the vote. He represented Wisconsin's 4th congressional district, which at that time comprised all of the southern half of Milwaukee County, including the south side of the city of Milwaukee, and also included the city and town of Wauwatosa. He was sworn in at the start of the 81st Congress and was reelected 17 times, serving from January 3, 1949, until his death on December 3, 1983. Zablocki faced several primary challenges during his career and nearly always faced a Republican opponent in the general election, but he never received less than 60% in another election after the 1948 general. Early years in Congress Zablocki was assigned to the House Foreign Affairs Committee from his first term in Congress. He immediately struck a strong anti-communist line, insisting that the United States should not recognize the newly established People's Republic of China, and asserting that the people of China—and those of Eastern Europe—would eventually overthrow Communism. Controversially, he also then said that the U.S. should sooner recognize the Franco regime than Communist China. During his first term, he also hailed the establishment of the state of Israel on the first anniversary of its founding, praising it as a haven for refugees and displaced persons after the devastation of . Zablocki's continued support for rapprochement with Francoist Spain also led him into a public dispute with then-U.S. President Harry S. Truman in 1952. Zablocki also supported the Republican plan to invite General Douglas MacArthur to testify before Congress after his dismissal by President Truman. Politically, Zablocki also clashed in these early years with the state Democratic Party leadership, particularly over patronage opportunities. U.S. Senate special election (1957) Zablocki made only one attempt to run for higher office after being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. That attempt occurred in the 1957 special election for U.S. Senate following the death of senator Joseph McCarthy. In the Democratic primary election, Zablocki was opposed by former state representative William Proxmire, who had been the Democratic nominee for Governor of Wisconsin in the previous three general elections. Proxmire was an enthusiastic campaigner, and was—by then—well known throughout the state. At the primary, Zablocki put up a large majority in Milwaukee County, but Proxmire won nearly every other county and took the nomination easily. After losing the primary, however, Zablocki campaigned in Catholic communities around the state for Proxmire, sometimes accompanied by Massachusetts U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy. Their combined efforts led to Proxmire winning a surprise upset in the election, and was then emulated by future Democratic statewide campaigns. Later that year, Kennedy attended a series of events in Wisconsin culminating in a Pulaski Day dinner which included a celebration of Zablocki's decade of service in Congress. Zablocki later took credit for introducing Kennedy to the Polish-American community, which became part of Kennedy's base in the 1960 election. Zablocki was ultimately elected as a delegate to the 1960 Democratic National Convention. Kennedy would, in 1962, refer to Zablocki as his campaign manager in Wisconsin. In the year after Tonkin, Zablocki warmed to the idea of direct American involvement in the war, and suggested that he would be comfortable with maintaining an American presence in South Vietnam for more than 15 years. Although Zablocki's position on Vietnam became more politically unpopular within his party as the war dragged on, he easily survived several primary challenges. He served as chair of President Lyndon B. Johnson's doomed re-election effort in Wisconsin in 1968. Behind the scenes, however, Zablocki was souring on the war. In 1970, he began work on an early version of the War Powers Resolution. By 1971, Zablocki publicly supported a resolution from the House Foreign Affairs Committee calling for Nixon to set a date for a final American withdrawal from Vietnam as part of a broader effort to return American prisoners of war. And in 1972, Zablocki was a co-author of the Case-Zablocki Act, which required that executive agreements by the president be reported to Congress in 60 days. He ultimately helped push through the final version of the War Powers Resolution in 1973, over Nixon's veto. Zablocki remained an advocate for the interests of Vietnam War prisoners of war and missing in action. During May 1973 hearings, Zablocki observed that returning prisoners uniformly had expressed their belief that there were no U.S. servicemen still alive in Vietnam. Chair of House Foreign Affairs With the retirement of House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Thomas E. Morgan in 1977, Zablocki—with 28 years of seniority in the House—was a strong candidate to succeed him in the 95th Congress. But Zablocki faced intense opposition, led by veteran New York congressman Benjamin Rosenthal. Rosenthal circulated a memo criticizing Zablocki's temperament, reputation, and policy positions, accusing him of being more like a conservative Republican on foreign policy issues. Among Rosenthal's policy charges, he faulted Zablocki for frequently siding with nationalist parties, such as the South Korean military dictatorship and the Kuomintang of Taiwan. He accused Zablocki of blocking human rights proposals and attempts to cut off or limit support to regimes that were committing human rights violations. He said Zablocki's stance on the middle east isolated him from all sides—where Zablocki had suggested withdrawing support from both Israel and Egypt. And he assailed Zablocki's continued vocal support for the war in Vietnam long after most of the party had turned against the conflict. Zablocki reacted angrily and compared the memo to McCarthyism. He charged that Rosenthal's criticism was mostly motivated by his opinion that Zablocki was not sufficiently supportive of Israel. He further responded to some of Rosenthal's specific points, saying that cutting off aid to allies would not improve human rights, and that withdrawing from Vietnam harmed the United States reputation in Asia. Ultimately, 72 Democrats voted against Zablocki becoming chair of the committee, but 182 voted in favor, giving him more than enough support to secure the seat. == Personal life and family==

Clement Zablocki was the fifth of nine children born to Mathias Zablocki and his wife Mary (née Jankowski). Both of Zablocki's parents were immigrants from the Poznań region, part of Poland that was controlled by the German Empire during their lifetime. The Zablockis were Catholics and were members of the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Milwaukee. Clement Zablocki married his childhood sweetheart, Blanche Janic, in 1937. They had no biological children, but adopted a son and daughter. Zablocki's mother and wife died within days of each other in July 1977. ==Legacy==

The Clement J. Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center at in Milwaukee is named for him, as is the Zablocki Library and the Clement J. Zablocki Elementary School in Milwaukee. ==Electoral history==

Wisconsin Senate (1938, 1942, 1946) U.S. House of Representatives (1948–1982) == Further reading==