Joe had long since passed by then - never had the opportunity to fight his national villanization by the MSM.
Gene had a vagueness about him that liberals loved in 1968, but could not organize a two-car funeral. Neither can the current POTUS. They are sort of alike, but Gene was a nice guy.
He may have been gone, but he was not forgotten by the YAF crowd. That same conference featured a mock GOP presidential nominating convention. The fact that he was deceased didn't stop the Wisconsin delegation from nominating Joe McCarthy for president. When they did, half the people in the room began marching around shouting, "Joe! Joe! Joe!"