Lawrence C. "Larry" McCarthy (born 1952) is an American

political consultant Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely tel ...

and media advisor to Republican Party (GOP) campaigns. He is best known as a master of the

attack ad Attack may refer to: Warfare and combat * Offensive (military) * Charge (warfare) * Attack (fencing) * Strike (attack) * Attack (computing) * Attack aircraft Books and publishing * ''The Attack'' (novel), a book * ''Attack No. 1'', comic and ...

, having produced the infamous

Willie Horton William R. Horton (born August 12, 1951), commonly referred to as "Willie Horton", is an American convicted felon who became notorious for committing violent crimes while on furlough from prison, where he was serving a life sentence without the ...

TV spot A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

during the 1988 presidential election. He serves as President of McCarthy, Marcus, Hennings, Ltd., whose clients include

American Crossroads American Crossroads is a US Super PAC that raises funds from donors to advocate for certain candidates of the Republican Party. It has pioneered many of the new methods of fundraising opened up by the Supreme Court's ruling in ''Citizens United ...

and pro- Romney Super PAC

Restore Our Future Restore Our Future is a political action committee (PAC) created to support Mitt Romney in the 2012 U.S. Presidential election. A so-called Super PAC, Restore Our Future is permitted to raise and spend unlimited amounts of corporate, union, and ...

Early life

McCarthy was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, in 1952 and was raised in Rockville, Maryland. He attended

Gonzaga College High School Gonzaga College High School is a private Catholic college-preparatory high school for boys in Washington, D.C. Founded by the Jesuits in 1821 as the Washington Seminary, Gonzaga is named in honor of Aloysius Gonzaga, an Italian saint from the 1 ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

before graduating from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in 1974.

Career

Early campaigns

Upon graduating from Georgetown, McCarthy worked on the successful 1974 re-election campaign of Liberal Republican Senator Jacob K. Javits of New York. He later worked as an aide to

John Heinz Henry John Heinz III (October 23, 1938 – April 4, 1991) was an American businessman and Republican politician from Pennsylvania. Heinz represented the Pittsburgh suburbs in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977 and ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, serving as

press secretary A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Dut ...

in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

and political advisor to his successful 1976 Senate campaign. After several years running Heinz's Senate press office, McCarthy joined the staff of the

National Republican Senatorial Committee The National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) is the Republican Hill committee for the United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lowe ...

where the Senator took the helm as Chairman for the 1980 campaign. During this cycle, Republicans gained 12 seats and took control of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

for the first time since 1954.

Ailes Communications

From 1981 to 1987, McCarthy worked as a senior executive for Ailes Communications under the mentorship of longtime GOP media strategist (and current

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

CEO)

Roger Ailes Roger Eugene Ailes (May 15, 1940 – May 18, 2017) was an American television executive and media consultant. He was the chairman and CEO of Fox News, Fox Television Stations and 20th Television. Ailes was a media consultant for Republica ...

. During this period he assisted winning campaigns for Republican Senators Phil Gramm,

Warren Rudman Warren Bruce Rudman (May 18, 1930November 19, 2012) was an American attorney and Republican politician who served as United States Senator from New Hampshire between 1980 and 1993. He was known as a moderate centrist, to such an extent that Pr ...

Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party, Quayle served as a U.S. ...

, Bob Kasten, Mitch McConnell,

Gordon Humphrey Gordon John Humphrey (born October 9, 1940) is an American politician from New Hampshire who served two terms in the U.S. Senate as a Republican from 1979 to 1990, and twice ran for Governor of New Hampshire, though both bids were unsuccessful. E ...

and

Dave Durenberger David Ferdinand Durenberger (born August 19, 1934) is a retired American politician and attorney. Durenberger represented Minnesota in the United States Senate as a Republican from 1978 to 1995. He left the Republican Party in 2005 and has become ...

, and Governors

George Deukmejian Courken George Deukmejian Jr. (; June 6, 1928 – May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. Of Armenian descent, Deukmejian was a member of the Republican Party and he also served ...

and Tom Kean.

1988 presidential election

During the 1988 presidential election, while Ailes served as top media advisor to

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

George H. W. Bush, McCarthy worked for the

independent expenditure An independent expenditure, in elections in the United States, is a political campaign communication that expressly advocates for the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate that is not made in cooperation, consultation or concert wit ...

group "Americans for Bush" under the auspices of the National Security Political Action Committee (NSPAC.) Amid the emerging debate over Democrat Presidential nominee

Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...

' use of prison furloughs during his tenure as

Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachuset ...

, McCarthy and Americans for Bush released a TV advertisement using the story and likeness of convicted murderer and oft-furloughed inmate

. Known a
"Weekend Passes"
the ad was limited to cable airtime, but was given significant

earned media Earned media (or free media) refers to publicity gained through promotional efforts other than advertising ( paid media) or branding (owned media). Background There are many types of media available to online marketers and fit into the broad ca ...

by the networks and other news outlets and became a flashpoint in the campaign. Despite the controversy over the ad and its alleged racial overtones, it was credited along with the Bush-Quayle-sanctioned "Revolving Door" ad for changing the dynamic of the election and marking the downfall of the Dukakis campaign.

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Larry Georgetown University alumni Gonzaga College High School alumni American political consultants 1952 births Living people Maryland Republicans