ES-3410 Glen Hearst Taylor (April 12, 1904 – April 28, 1984) was an American politician, entertainer, businessman, and U.S. senator from Idaho . He was the vice presidential candidate on the Progressive Party ticket in the 1948 election .[2] Taylor was otherwise a member of the Democratic Party . By one measure, Taylor was the second-most liberal member of the U.S. Senate, trailing only Wayne Morse of Oregon , and the fourth-most liberal member of Congress overall between 1937 and 2002. Born in a boarding house in Portland, Oregon , Taylor was the twelfth of thirteen children of Pleasant John Taylor and Olive Higgins Taylor.[5] His father was a retired Texas ranger and wandering preacher , and the family was with him in Portland for a protracted soul-saving meeting. The family homesteaded in North Central Idaho , near Kooskia , and Taylor attended the public schools. In 1919, after completing eighth grade, he joined his older brother's stock theater company, and between 1926 and 1944, he became the owner and manager of various entertainment enterprises. Taylor was also a country-western singer; his older sister, Lena, became famous as a jazz singer under the name Lee Morse in the 1920s. Taylor was inspired to run for political office by King Camp Gillette 's book The People's Corporation and Stuart Chase 's 1932 book A New Deal . In 1935 Taylor unsuccessfully attempted to organize a Farmer–Labor Party in Nevada and Montana . By the late 1930s, Taylor had settled in Eastern Idaho at Pocatello . His first political campaign was in 1938 for an open seat in the US House of Representatives from the second district , but he finished a distant fourth in the Democratic primary.Taylor first ran for the US Senate in 1940 in a special election to fill the remaining term of the late William Borah , but lost to appointee John W. Thomas , with 47.1 to 52.9 percent. Despite being labeled as "semi-socialistic" and "communistic," he ran again in 1942 against Thomas and lost a closer race, 48.5 to 51.5 percent. Taylor lost both elections to Thomas because of stiff opposition from state Democratic Party leaders. Between elections, Taylor supported himself as a painter's assistant and sheet metal worker in California . In his third try for the Senate, Taylor ran for the other Idaho seat in 1944, defeating incumbent D. Worth Clark in the Democratic primary, and Governor C. A. Bottolfsen in the general election. Taylor, the first professional actor ever elected to the US Congress , had never been east of Chicago prior to his election. In the Senate, Taylor, known as "The Singing Cowboy," acquired a reputation for eccentric behavior. Upon his arrival in Washington D.C., Taylor rode his horse, Nugget, up the steps of the U.S. Capitol building. Nugget also accompanied Taylor during a 1947 tour of the country highlighting his antiwar activism and opposition to the time's US foreign policy. When Taylor moved to Washington in preparation to be sworn in in January 1945, the housing shortage caused by World War II was still in full swing and so he and his family had a difficult time finding a place to live. In response, Taylor, a musician and songwriter, stood outside the US Capitol building and sang, "O give us a home, near the Capitol dome, with a yard for two children to play ..." to the tune of Home on the Range . He and his family were offered several places to rent. Taylor was appointed to the Committee on Banking and Currency after telling Senator Robert F. Wagner of New York that he was qualified for the post because he had been a depositor with several banks. In October 1945, Taylor submitted a resolution to the Senate "favoring the creation of a world republic ." On election night in 1946, Taylor made national headlines by allegedly breaking the jaw of local Republican leader Ray McKaig in a hotel lobby in Boise . Taylor claimed that McKaig had called him an obscene name, and struck him first with a punch that broke his nose, but McKaig denied those claims. McKaig, 66, claimed that while he was lying on the floor Taylor proceeded to kick him in the face, but Taylor denied that claim. Later, when Taylor lost his reelection bid in the 1950 primary, McKaig sent a telegram that said, "You may have broken my jaw, but I just broke your back!!!" Taylor also feuded with other Idaho Democrats, often making critical remarks about Charles C. Gossett , who resigned as governor in November 1945 to have his successor appoint him to the vacant Senate seat. During the 1946 Democratic primary in June, Taylor openly supported Gossett's opponent, George E. Donart , calling the appointed incumbent Gossett a "conservative" who "hobnobbed" with Republicans in Congress. In the Senate, Taylor became noted for lengthy speeches that were often critical of President Harry S. Truman 's policies, particularly in foreign affairs. He was particularly critical of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan , both of which he believed brought the United States closer to war with the Soviet Union Taylor was decidedly less critical of the Soviet Union than most of his Senate colleagues, once noting that there was no need to criticize Soviet policy when there were 90 other senators willing to do it every day.