Okay, I’m playing with some new ideas (as you can probably tell). Would love a little help.
What are your memories (maybe hopes, but I’m most interested today in memories) of past Democratic politicians, programs, ideas, events, and so on? I’d love to hear about any level: federal, state, local, personal. And, for that matter, I’d love to hear about backlashes against Democrats, too.
Once again, please do make a note if you don’t want this used in a public writing in the future.
I’ll be in and out of this discussion, not just today, but over the next year…. :)
Inauguration Day - January of 2009. I was lucky enough to be an invited guest to the Nation's Capitol and the inauguration of Barack Obama. That in itself is a good reason to be called a memorable experience. However, what will always be indelibly etched in my mind is the bringing together of hundreds of thousands who trudged through packed DC Metro cars, all jammed with people who never met each other before, and having to get off the Metro system because of an unfortunate fatality, and all of us having to walk and run through streets that most of us never had been through before. All of us jammed into crowded streets, heading to the mall for the ceremony that was installing the first Black American as our President. We were all warmly dressed against the chill of the winter morning. Some in nice garb with furs and beautiful cloth, and others in not so fashionable attire. Black people, White people, Brown people, and all shades of skin in between. All People, talking with each other, and where we came from, and all with the same reason of being there. We had happy faces, and some with tears in the eyes, and all experiencing the same feeling as One Nation on this Day, and wanting to reach out to our new neighbors in the sharing of this day. I will never forget this experience, and I have been through all the experiences one can absorb in 79 years of a lifetime.
How lucky to have been an invited guest. I could get a ticket but drove to DC to be in the atmosphere of celebration. The day before the inauguration my sister and I wandered around the Mall area to be part of the joy. On Inauguration Day we had to watch on TV but still felt part of the whole event.
So many buses driving towards DC that day and the day before - we live in Maryland and I would see them on the highway as I drove to work in Baltimore. The morning of the inauguration we had one of the computers set to the ceremonies. When it was time, my patient and I, one of our resident physicians, and two of the nursing staff crowded into a tiny consult office to watch together with tears in our eyes. As an older woman, it was hard for me not to vote for Hilary Clinton that year, but oh, Obama was such a gift. Imperfect, like all leaders, but honorable and decent.
My take away this many years later, and all the highs and lows since then, is that it is worth the effort to strive to encourage the next generation to realize the same sense of One Nation .....again.
This is important. Young voters, those under 25 spent a good portion of their teen years in the Obama administration, reading Harry Potter. We now know Harry's author has issues, some manifest in her books, but mostly it was a tale a of trying to survive and do good under difficult, oppressive circumstances.
We thought the fight was over, or some of us did. It wasn't. We need to fight for it now though. But we saw what it could be, imperfect, frustratingly so, but ever better.
I remember talking with Stacey Abrams at a meet-and-greet in 2006 when she running for political office for the first time and going home and emailing my friends and neighbors to tell them to vote for her because one day she would be president of the United States.
Right there with you. She's larger than life when you meet her, isn't she? Completely dominates a room, but is quiet, thoughtful, funny, intelligent, not pushy dominant.
Stacey exhibits a combination of charisma, intelligence, and compassion that I have never seen in any other politician. While campaigning for her during her 2018 Georgia governor race, I realized that all I had to do is encourage people to go hear her speak in person or speak with her if they had the opportunity. That always sealed the deal.
Add “authenticity.” I am always struck by that as well when I hear her. No BS. Agree with you about all one has to do to be convinced is to listen to her.
Stacy Abrams is all of that with the added authenticity. My concern is the bern followers. They feel she’s not the right fit for them. I don’t have examples. I do know she has the intelligence and has no fear in responses she makes. I really like her as a first choice, don’t know what the DNC is looking for. That’s my concern.
A psychic says she is George Washington reincarnated. I know there's no fact basis here, but now I can't get it out of my head, lol. Think about it! Solemn, regal.
I live in TN. Pardon my jadedness, but for all the virtues you mention (she’s not quiet) she will be anathema to southern, less educated, still fighting the Civil War southerners. We already did black, but black AND a woman, especially such an articulate one? That’s enough to make you clutch your pearls or hug your Confederate flag!
That’s why I like her! We need SOMEONE who can speak articulately and intelligently with these republicans who have nothing better to do but argue. They don’t like AOC because she speaks up and out, I’m sure that’s why some don’t like or aren’t sure about Stacy Abrams. Hopefully, she’ll have lots of people holding on to that flag for and clutching pearls!
The first one that comes to mind is Elizabeth Warren reading every single word of the Mueller Report, and then immediately coming out for impeachment. The combination of moral clarity, courage, and taking her job (and the needs of the country) seriously. Among other things, that clinched my support of her as a presidential candidate, when initially I'd thought her MVP position was in the Senate.
Thank you for educating me! -- MA is truly progressive in that law, for sure. Good to know there is at least one state that gets it right -- are there others?
Another reader had responded that MA law required that a Senator had to be replaced by one from the same party. Then he/she deleted it.
Since then, I saw this:
"Basically, Democrats hold enough of a majority in the MA legislature to be able to change the law to require the Republican Governor to pick a Democrat to replace Warren, and they've done it before (in 2004 and 2009)."
I love Elizabeth Warren. She was my first choice for Democratic nominee. She leaves blood and teeth on the floor. Joe Biden owes her a big one. She neutered Bloomberg in the first debate he appeared in. Took him out as contender in the moderate lane.
I just this second went and told my daughter how incredible these comments are! I feel like people have been starved for smart conversations about politics, and wow... here they are!
I agree with your assessment. I am not as articulate or educated as so many in this group. The conversations here give me hope that we can overcome the tragedy of 45's administration.
Hey, just want to say educated does not mean informed, compassionate, incorruptible, kind or anything else. It often translates to arrogant, dismissive and insulated.
You are so right! How many highly degreed eejuts Iknow... Most stopped learning even before they finished their education because they already knew enough! No natural intellectual curiosity.
Going through people's comments on these threads are the best part of my day. I have learned so much. There are at least three books on my Kindle based on recommendations of people from this group. I also recently started a subscription to "The Atlantic". Again, I love your book "To Make Men Free". Thank you for this group!
I whole-heartedly agree. I have tears in my eyes, too -- but they are tears of hope. There are so many good, earnest, smart and dedicated people sharing remembrances here. I feel a lot better about the future for having read their comments (despite the fact that the future I'm yearning for is a number of months away...).
Well, I'm 74 years old today, so I have a LOT of memories, but, aside from hearing Joseph McCarthy's name on the TV when I was really young, most of the political discussions I heard before age 13 hit my ears pretty much like the adult voices in 'Peanuts' videos ... "mrahw-mrahw-mrahw-mrahw ...".
We got our first television set in 1952, just before I turned 6 years old, but about all we got at that time were test patterns and wrestling matches with 'Gorgeous George'. There may have been news programs, but I never paid much attention until 'The Mickey Mouse Club' debuted in 1955. By 1956, when I was 10, I would sometimes hide behind my bedroom door after I was supposed to be asleep, and look through the crack and watch while Mama and Daddy watched programs in the den, which was next to my bedroom. An image that's seared into my mind to this day was a program showing the effects of an atomic bomb blast, as the wave of energy slammed buildings into rubble and then ignited fires. There was an animation of two deer in a forest, watching as cataclysm approached, and that was branded on my soul.
In 1957, when I was in 6th grade, the integration of Central High School in Little Rock was brought home to me because a high school student from there was sent to live here, and stayed with my friend Nancy’s grandmother. I thought that was pretty weird, and from then on, I was much more attuned to the issue of integration, from James Meredith at Ol’ Miss in ‘62 to George Wallace’s shenanigans in Tuscaloosa in ’63. What a year THAT was! In a town this size, I was supposed to keep my mouth shut and my thoughts to myself, while Mama and Daddy funded an “Americanism” prize for the high school student who could deliver the most stirring pro-America speech. Hang down your head, Dr. Tom Dooley, and "Deliver Us From Evil".
I turned 14 while at camp in the Texas Hill Country the summer of '60, and some of the girls were buzzing about how Lucy Johnson's daddy was going to be JFK's vice-president, and how she was going to be unbearable! Typical t'ween-age girl talk, I thought, but it was another reason to pay attention. Lucy usually went to Camp Mystic 2nd term, while I went 1st term, so we never ran into one another, but other girls either went both terms or switched from year to year. At any rate, after I found out my parents were supporting Nixon, (of all people!), my inborn "maverick" tendencies were accelerated, and from then on, I was a full-fledged Democrat, if only at first for the rebellion factor. This has been a recurring theme in my life, by the way. <sigh>
Strangely, I was barely aware of the whole Bay of Pigs Megillah until if was in the rear-view mirror. It's possible that news coverage in our area was manipulated to some extent, or it may be that boys were taking up more of my band width, attention-wise.
I was in typing class in high school when the principal announced that the president had been shot, and when I went home for lunch, I learned that he had died. Mama made me go back for afternoon classes, and I was sickened by the number of kids who were acting as though it was a party. The population of the small, north Louisiana town in which I was raised, and to which I've moved back, is over 2,000 now ... back then it was around 3,000. Solidly ultra-conservative Republican (so, doubly "red"-necked, if you'll pardon the expression), and Protestant. When I was growing up here, Catholics were deeply suspect, and racial epithets were pretty much the common tongue. I couldn't wait to leave.
By the time I got to college, in '64, change was afoot, and (still in Louisiana) there was a lot of grumbling about the programs LBJ was trying to initiate. It was the first time I was in racially mixed classes, and I felt like an explorer who couldn't wait to see what was around the next bend. And then, by '65, I lost my first friend in Vietnam, and man, did the mood ever shift. I watched as LBJ's presidency was consumed by that "dirty little war", and over the next 3 years, my own life shifted from student, to wife, to mother, to hippie.
In 1968, pregnant with my first child, I watched in horror as, first, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and then Bobby Kennedy were assassinated. All I could think was, “What kind of world am I bringing my child into?
By '69, "Everybody" (by which I mean everybody I knew in Houston at the time) understood that "Tricky Dicky" was going to be a disaster for every hope we'd ever had. I remember when, in 1970, Tricia Nixon invited fellow Finch attendees to a tea at the White House, and Grace Slick got an invitation. She showed up with Abbie Hoffman, who was, unsurprisingly, turned away. So Grace left, too, before she had a chance to carry out her plan to slip LSD into Nixon's tea. Ah, the times, the times!
I was pissed when Ford pardoned Nixon, and pleased when Carter got elected in ‘76, but my lord, the MESS he inherited. That era, Nixon/Ford/Carter was so fractious. Carter was a smart, decent man who just never got his footing in the earthquake zone of American politics at that time, and that set the stage for the staged sunniness of Ronald Reagan. By then, I was becoming so disillusioned, and my life was undergoing a further series of metamorphoses. When George H.W. Bush barfed into the lap of Prime Minister Miyazawa, it almost perfectly mirrored my opinion of Republicans in general and the entire “know-nothing” Bush family, in particular.
My enthusiasm was at pretty low ebb until Al Gore ran. I volunteered in Victoria, TX, and was elated until … Freaking FLORIDA! If I was an enthusiastic Democrat before that, I became a rabidly enthusiastic Democrat afterwards.
One of the truly great disappointments of my life has been the realization that so many of our fellow citizens are intentionally ignorant. A few (possibly 12 to 14) years back, my central a/c unit (now deceased) was being serviced, and the young helper was parroting something he’d heard on Fox. I told him, “Do you know that’s not true? Fox isn’t “news”, it’s OPINION!” He said, “Yes, but it’s what I like to hear.” At least the guy was honest about that.
The absolute disdain that so many here in the U.S. have for facts that don’t support their personal world view makes my head feel like exploding, and damned if I can figure out how to begin to change that.
I figure the period from Gore to the present will be heavily represented by a lot of folks who can elucidate that period more adequately than I, so I’ll leave it to them.
When people ask me why, after living in St. Louis, Houston (twice), New Orleans, the San Antonio region, and Victoria, TX, I moved back to this tiny, über-conservative town, I've been known to reply that I moved back here to screw with the demographics. ;)
Thank you for taking the time to share all of this. Fascinating perspective. I am right there with you in amazement and grief about proud, intentional ignorance in the US. I too have no idea how to combat it. The futility of having a discussion, let alone a debate, with people who won't even acknowledge that facts exist, let alone be swayed by them, can't be overstated.
What I have noticed with most who represent republicanism, they depend on fox for news and use conspiracy websites for information and spout it as gospel! When you call them out on it, what a hail storm of hate that comes from them! Of course, you’re the one called hateful because you don’t agree. Ipot is one conspiracy website, I couldn’t get any information from it because I wasn’t willing to pay for what I believe is an opinion of someone named sir Patrick Mack. Then there’s Q Anon. I have a friend who says those people are just plain crazy. It appears that most conspiracy websites get their information from Q Anon. I find it incredible that just because you don’t agree with someone or this administration, you’re called hateful. It appears that common sense and decency have disappeared.
We are the same age with many similar memories. My coming of age was going to Mississippi during a winter break to help get black citizens to register to vote just after the federal registrars went down there. I was a big fan of Pete Seeger.
We had a friendly family bet on the 2000 election. When it was time to settle up, we agreed that Gore had won the election, but the bet had been on who became president.
Right there with you in terms of your memories as we are the same age. Though I never lived in the South I got all I needed from my father who grew up there. He was a Dem but voted for Wallace. Enough said! Good for you to move back and shake things up.
I was a college freshman in Massachusetts when we marched to the Boston Common in the fall of 1969, and when the Ohio State shootings happened and my college's ROTC building was burned to the ground in the spring of 1970. In November of 1972, my student resident status allowed me to vote in Massachusetts, still naive enough to think McGovern had a chance to win. Somewhere I have a pin with that "Don't Blame Me...." message. McGovern didn't win, but ever since I have believed in the power of people uniting to protest injustice.
Kent State shooting is what you are referring to as Ohio State shootings, right? (In the State of Ohio) My sister was attending Antioch at the time in Yellow Springs OH. Us family on the west coast were a bit concerned until she told us Admin and faculty at Antioch had joined the student protestors.
I was also a college freshman right next store to Ohio, at Indiana University. I remember opening my dorm room door and seeing the headline of the Indiana Daily Student about the shootings. I was horrified. I’ve NEVER forgotten that incident and Nixon’s part in the climate that gave rise to it. This year was the 50th remembrance.
I remember when we weren't called 'Massachusetts'; appearing instead, as an empty spot on a U.S. map, labelled as: "Gulf of New Hampshire''. I heard FDR speak 'live' on the radio [no television then]. Not clear about what he said, as I was btw. 5 & 10, for "the war". But there's no forgetting the timbre and timing of, 'that voice'. One learned; much later on, about what was being addressed, as my father, a physician and researcher, was politically, someplace to the right of what "Conservative" once meant, when there actually were such people. How all that has changed. WR
I remember breakfast and lunch. Specifically reduced-price breakfast and lunch at my public elementary school in the mid- to late-1970's, where I was one of maybe 10% of the students in my school who qualified. And I remember it being no big deal among my peers, or the teachers, or the school staff, or our neighbors. There was no shaming that my family and I needed help and accepted it. Was that small part of the social safety net a component of the partisan divide in the 1970's? A political historian will have to comment on that. But the steady erosion of funding for school lunches since then is very certainly partisan.
This. While I wasn’t “poor” growing up, taking care of those less fortunate than you was just what you did. We were all supposed to help each other up. This is why tuition in CA was almost free (hell, my Pell grant in 1980 was something like $2K and that almost covered tuition, dorm (w/ crappy meal plan), and books) at UCLA.
It was expected that my society (local & state government, church, etc) and family would invest in me. In return I would give back by becoming a contributing member of society.
I call myself a “mostly Eisenhower Republican” these days (in part to tweak all the extremists, but mostly that’s the brand of politics I imprinted on as a kid in the 60’s).
I too remember being impacted by this. My mother was (as I'm much more aware now) depressed and unable or unwilling (I'm not sure which) to get help except for barbituates which calmed the anger. I relied on the food from school which was either paid for or partially supplemented. Dinner was usually TV dinners, but at least we had those! My college tuition was also completely paid for with grants and some loans, but if I remember correctly, it was something like $2500 including room and board. I am very thankful that I'm not going through any of that at this time.
Back in the day, between being a California resident and having the GI Bill from Vietnam to live on, I graduated from excellent state schools with three degrees and no student debt. And California was a far better place for that investment made in people.
Attended college 1973-1977. No family funds, but Basic Education Opportunity Grant and low-cost National Direct Student loan got me through a good PA state college. Loan paid off in about 10 years of minimal payments. It was a tremendous boost.
My immediate response, which would not vary after reflection, is the inaugural address of President John F Kennedy. I was 18 years old. His campaign and the words of his inaugural inspired me and a great many of my generation. After college and law school I devoted the next eleven years of my career to working full time in public interest law. I have remained a dedicated Democrat and worker for a more just society. I am 77 years old. I attribute much of my motivation throughout my life to the example of President Kennedy.
Yes to the idealistic example, which still powers things. I still ask myself "Ask not what your country can do for you..." But studying the real history of the Vietnam War and the Cold War removes a lot of the shine off the actual presidency.
I think what I did when I came back from that war, against all the things JFK and LBJ did, was far more "ask rather what you can do for your country" than what he proposed.
I was a pediatrician, and can still remember when Reagan won by a landslide in 1980; I was in a mother's room examining her newborn, and her TV was on. I just could not believe that he had won against Jimmy Carter, who was decent and ethical and competent. To me, Reagan's victory marked the beginning of our long, sad slide into the massive accumulation of disproportionate wealth and power by a very few, further militarism, and disparagement of Blacks as worthless for political gain, and the sacrificing of essential long-term national and global goals just for that personal accumulation of wealth and power. I feel a heaviness in my heart, often and now, thinking about it.
You're certainly not wrong. Reagan was a turning point - the realization of the Republican 40 year war against the New Deal. When he broke PATCO that signaled the end of unions. When he got rid of the Fairness Doctrine, that set up the Far Right Noise Machine we deal with today. When I was in politics, I met him when he was governor. James Garner's two-word review is accurate: "amiable dunce."
Absolutely agreed. This felt like the beginning of the end even at the time. The first election I was old enough to vote in and I was certain we’d be nuked (I was volunteering for an anti-nukes organization at the time). It all felt manipulated and unfair, Reagan’s hostage “negotiations” and the negative press against Carter’s infamous speech, which looks so sane in retrospect. And the conglomeration of media ownership that fueled Carter’s negative press.
But it was all so clearly the ramping up of the Culture Wars as backlash against gains made by to the Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Rights, Stonewall—access to public space, public discourse, and education.
This is when the koch brothers created citizens united. It’s been their dream to be where we are today. PAC money, really and truly should not have any place in politics. Just a legitimate scheme to put the rich in charge and let everyone else, fall where they may regardless of which gutter it is!
i thought Nixon was the beginning of the end, but before that I thought Robert Kennedy's assignation and Martin Luther King's assignation was, and before that I was a high school student confounded by the assignation of John Kennedy. How could this happen in the USA. I was also confounded about reservations, what the h. were they about. . . lots of compartments of "less thans".
The election of Reagan seemed to me to be the the turning point when the accumulation and power of money began to be worshiped instead of almost suspect, as it was in NYC during “the recession” in the late 70's. I could feel the effect of this immediately in my neighborhood (the West Village) when for the first time there were armed muggings, and of course there was the not coincidental rise of Donald Trump. I could see the writing on the wall and fled.
I have a similar memory from further along in Reagan's presidency. I was just out of college and working as a social worker doing Child Protective Services in Ohio. As my caseload grew to the point of being unmanageable as a result cuts to our funding, I'd seen first hand the impact of cuts to social programs on the families I served. One day when I was driving three little African American kids to a supervised visit with their mom, I heard on the radio that there had been attempt to assassinate Reagan.I so clearly remember thinking very sternly to myself that it "wouldn't be appropriate" to say "serves him right" in front of those kids.
Oh this is the best memory! I was teaching at Colorado College in the Feminist and Gender Studies program during the 2008 Presidential Election. CC students were on FIRE! They were canvassing, calling, writing, etc. And, you must know, that Colorado Springs is not the most liberal city in Colorado. It is ringed by five military installations including the Air Force Academy. It is a tax haven/home for numerous evangelical Christian organizations, including Focus on the Family and The World Prayer Center. And these students were out there knocking on doors, making phone calls. The energy for Obama was electric. And when it was announced he was coming to Pueblo for a rally - we were determined to get there. Me and another professor rented a van (maybe 2 I can't remember) and we all packed in for the drive south - only about 45 minutes. When we arrived it was like a party. Stilt walkers and tumblers with painted faces entertaining the crowd that snaked around the outdoor rodeo complex (talk about paradox!). And all of us were laughing and smiling in anticipation - strangers sharing the excitement and happiness. We all knew we were witnessing and participating in something historical. And when he came on stage - his crisp white dress shirt rolled up to the elbows and bright red tie - we went crazy! I felt like a Beatles groupie. He inspired us all to do better, to want more, to have hope. Months later - we gathered in the little house that served as our campus offices and classrooms, watching the numbers come through, knowing that he won. Our students, our children, our partners - we witnessed history and the beginning of what we hoped would be a new America. Everything seemed possible - we believed we could participate in creating a country that would be more equal, more empathetic, more ethical, just MORE. Days have been really dark since Nov 2016 - and I still hold on to that night.
One of the best moments of my life was getting to meet nominee Obama the night before Election Day in 2008. I was hard at work volunteering at his Charlotte NC campaign office and envious of several staffers who were going to hear him speak that night at UNC-Charlotte. Suddenly the atmosphere changed in the office as the word went around — he’s coming here! He’s coming HERE! I called my mom to pick my daughter up at school so I could stay as the secret service came in and got us organized. And then Barack Obama came in — even more magnetic and impressive than he seemed on TV. He shook every one of our hands, asked our names, was the warmest and most genuine person I could imagine.
My favorite moment: as he was speaking to our group, an older Black woman broke down in tears of obvious pride and happiness. Obama never missed a beat but walked over and put his arm around her, hugging her close as he continued his talk. She was sobbing and needless to say the rest of us were too! We learned that night that he had just gotten the news that day of his grandmother’s death, making that moment even more poignant.
Just started reading “Burning Down the House” about the beginnings (or acceleration) of the Republican party’s makeover ala Newt Gingrich. His tactics began the downhill slide to where we are today.
Carter was the first president I voted for. I’ve always liked him, despite the criticism he gets. He was unlucky enough to serve during a very difficult time. But he personally is an incredible inspiration as a human being and a former president. He continues to make amazing, humble contributions to the world. I look forward to what President Obama will be able to do for the decades to come, especially after we get out from under the shadow of Trump.
I came of political age in the 1970s on Long Island. It was, and is still, chock-a-block with Republicans, which always appalled me. The self-congratulatory attitude, the easy racism, the possessive individualism and money-and comfort-worship among white working-through-middle class suburbanites always appalled me, and depressed me then as it depresses me now. I remember Nassau County Democrats as pretty complacent, but far, far better than the self-satisfied Republican politicians who were all over the place.
A few Democrats stick out in my mind:
Mario Cuomo, the last of the true New Dealers. Would that his son be so noble.
Eugene Nickerson, a Democratic Nassau County Executive. His election and re-election were rare events indeed.
Allard Lowenstein, one of the first Democrats to come out strongly against the Vietnam war, an act of conscience that cost him his seat to a Republican jingoist. That's a pretty rare event now too.
Bill Clinton. For me, his most quotable quote, directed against Newt Gingrich and his Republican beer-hall putch-ers, "They are the Reagan Republicans, we are the Eisenhower Republicans." He said this without the slightest hint of embarrassment. And, knowing full well that the Republicans would nail him to the wall at the slightest provocation, he abused the power of his office and not only betrayed the good faith of an intern, and his wife, he betrayed his party as well. Which mattered little, because he pretty much corrupted it to the core. I hold him in the same political contempt that I hold George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. I do not care if he was a "Democrat". Scare-quotes intentional.
And finally, Elizabeth Warren. She was wonkier than Bernie Sanders, and a smidgen to his Right. But she understood better than he the fact that the tech and finance sectors are completely out of control, and has the personality to rein them in. The Sanders/Warren/"Squad" wing of the party strikes me as its best hope in four decades.
Hi. I did a little thinking yesterday using my external brain (i.e., Google, Wikipedia), and it jogged my memory a bit more about Allard Lowenstein, who I think is a significant yet unfairly ignored figure in Vietnam-era Long Island politics, and whose political fate speaks volumes. Lowenstein's loss to Republican Norman Lent in 1970 was in part a reaction to his vehement anti-war stance, but was hastened by the gerrymandering of Lowenstein's district, which centered on the middle-class Jewish Five Towns community, to include Massapequa, which was a mix of Italian, Irish, and Jewish ethnicities (it's satirical nickname was "Matzoh-pizza"), yet politically much more conservative. Lowenstein was also instrumental in the "Dump Johnson" movement and helped recruit Eugene McCarthy as a primary challenger to LBJ, and the success of McCarthy in New Hampshire was part of the reason why the latter decided not to seek re-election. Lowenstein was an outlier in L.I. politics, not so much because he was a Democrat, but a Liberal-to-Left Democrat, with an Ivy League background. And that's a telling fact.
Why? Because Long Island politics has largely centered around the tangled relationship between race and real-estate, pretty much from the time it stopped being a semi-rural area mostly devoted to growing potatoes and breeding ducks. It explains why conservatism was the lingua franca there until about 10 years ago. Racist redlining policies created white zones and black zones, and to this day -- though entirely on the Q.T. with lots of nods and winks and innuendo -- guides which houses get shown to whom. The Republican party has long capitalized on the fears of white suburbanites that their property values will tumble if the neighborhood started being less rigorous about keeping black and brown people outside their borders. This politics of fear had a symbiotic relationship with the racism of many white people on Long Island: If they were already racist, this made them more racist, and if they weren't it would prompt racism through economic anxiety. THis is one reason I have long abominated the Republican party: they traded in racist dog whistles since the 1950s on L.I. It is only now that Democrats are getting elected en masse, partly because it does not pay to trust the minions of plutocrats, partly because a fair percentage of Long Islanders are black and brown, and white people get to know them. Post-Boomers here shed their parents' racism as something quite awful.
I do not think I am going to spend the rest of my life here on Long Island, but it disturbs me far less than it used to. Nov 2020 will be the watershed moment.
Historically, Democrats have been champions for education in our country, and our schools have played a vital role in the success of our nation. But the Democratic Party needs to bring more focus to the issues that really matter. We are no longer preparing our kids for life as an adult, and our education system is tilting an already-tilted playing field. Priorities need to be comprehensive early childhood care and education, reversing the horrid impact of the Supreme Court Rodriguez v San Antonio Unified decision (which says it's ok to shortchange schools in low-income communities, and shower resources on kids in affluent communities), and revitalize our community colleges with short-term immersive offerings. And too often the Democratic Party sends a message that you have to have a four-year degree to be a first-class citizen in America (highly offensive to many, and just not the case). And this college-ready obsession has shaped what our kids study in high schools, as we've driven out any hands-on learning opportunities, replacing them with sprints through vast swaths of 'college-ready content.' The net result is that we're not preparing kids for career, citizenship, or life -- only for high-stakes standardized tests that tell us very little about a person's competencies or ability to be a productive member of society. There's much more on this at www.teddintersmith.com for more on this. tdintersmith@gmail.com.
I remember the tiny hope that grew as the 2008 Primary season went on, that maybe Barack Obama could be president. I remember the fabulous convention where he and Joe Biden stood on stage together. The inauguration was amazing, and having Beyonce sing "At Last" at one of the balls made me cry. That was the first year I really got involved with the Democratic Party. I went to meetings and became a Poll Marshal - I was in a neighborhood I had never been to, and people were out on the streets, knocking on doors to get people to come out and vote. More families than I could count came in as 3 generations, with the oldest ones shining with pride. After the polls closed, I went home to join a watch party. We made sure that we got the news from a special Daily Show which aired live - Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert were the hosts and it was triumphant.
My sister and I went to Michelle Obama's book event in Detroit. It was a blast. Even though the event was huge. Mrs. Obama's warmth gave it an intimate feel. It was like sharing stories about what you had done with your life at a high school reunion with a fellow graduate who did well to put it mildly.😊
Oh, what a night, Tuesday, November fourth, 2008! Was at The PIT (improv) in NYC with new friends and we realized if we just walked up 13 short blocks, there might be some celebrating going on. We went, and were not disappointed. The joy on the street, and on top of the few phone columns (not booths anymore) was electric, exciting and enthralling. Certainly one for the memory books!
-The speech by the then new Senator from Illinois Barack Obama at the Democratic Convention when Al Gore received the Democratic nomination for President. I sat there with my father (bless his memory), as I predicted that we would see Senator Obama would run for President day. He did not believe that we would see a person of color in the White House in our lifetime. He was correct regarding his lifetime, however gratefully I was correct as well.
--Listening to Senator Chris Murphy speak in front of a synagogue to a group of CT citizens from a multitude of cultural, religious, and racial backgrounds. He spoke with great passion, and compassion regarding the rights of our Muslim neighbors and those from 'Muslim countries' who were being harmed by the religious divisiveness and discrimination encouraged by our new President, #45.
I, too, listened to then-unknown-to-me senator from Illinois. My first words were, "Wow! He's going to be president one day." My gut, not just my heart, knew it. Didn't expect it to be 2008, though.
JFK’s assassination. I was 5, not yet in school. Burned in my memory is my mother taking me by the hand and having me kneel with her in front of the TV and pray. Kneeling and praying to the TV sounds ridiculous, but I understand her emotions on that day.
My most powerful memory of that day: I was in eighth grade, and after hearing the news from my bus driver, returned home to the sight of Walter Cronkite weeping on the air. Oh, if only we had Cronkite's kind of journalism again....
Sitting in my fifth grade classroom, the announcement of JFKs assassination came over the PA. I ran home and told my parents, who were sitting at the kitchen table. They both began to weep, which upset me almost as much as the news I brought home that day. I’ll never forget it.
'Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country '...Kennedy wasn't perfect yet he inspired...same for Bobby. His assassination was crushing.
Even as a kid I could tell there was something different about JFK when he gave that speech. He was educated and not afraid to show it, while not exactly showing it off, either. It was like, "Hey, this is normal. This is how everyone should want to talk." That's how inspiration works. Show, don't tell.
My JFK assassination memory is as a 6th grader being called into the large study hall with all the other 6th-8th graders. The normally snarly and "mean" teacher that spoke to us was crying. That turned my world upside down before I could even comprehend what had happened.
I was in 8th grade. We were in choir practice when the announcement came over the loudspeaker. Our choir director, Patrick Carnes, crumpled over in front of us and began to weep. I had never seen a man cry before. I was deeply shaken by the intense grief of the adults around me.
I was in 7th grade in public school when it was announced over the PA that he was killed. Our teacher & our whole class knelt down on the floor in silent meditation.
I was in the Navy. Everyone was stunned - I'll never forget the "Gold Braid" Chief Bosun's Mate who ran down the street on North Island NAS shouting "The president's been shot!" We said "Hey Chief, that's not funny." He came over to us and in that "Chief voice" said: "I said, the *president* has been *shot*!" You don't doubt a Chief in that kind of moment. Went back to the ship and the inspection was canceled. Spent the next 4 days sitting in front of the TV at my girlfriend's house, all silent.
I was about about 7 and remember watching the entire funeral on a 10 inch screen black and white TV. We wanted to go out and play but knew the seriousness and devastation it had caused all of the adults in our lives. I remember the pictures in the newspaper of Jackie and his body. We weren't praying, but the emotion was just as palpable.
I was working in Fort Worth at that time, and at an earlier break, one of the local 'butt-heads' was talking about taking his double barrel shotgun to JFK. Strangely, the subject never came up again! I can't remember much else about that day, but that really stuck! (My rememberer ain't what it used to be, and I have slept since then!)
There are two from the 1960s that have had a great impression on my political views. The first was LBJ who would have been remembered as a great President if not for Vietnam. His accomplishments in civil rights, voting rights, and social welfare were extraordinary and lasting. He understood that to get things done you need a powerful vision and the ability to secure cooperation from Congress. The second was his great nemesis Bobby Kennedy who taught all of us that one's politics can and must be connected to one's values. He had come a long way from his service with McCarthy in the 1950s and as AG under JFK by 1968 and forged a very heartfelt and compassionate approach in his too-short 1968 campaign. I firmly believe we would love in a much different world today had he not been cut down in LA and had gone on to be elected.
That February 1968 performance was the first time Pete Seeger appeared on network television since he was blacklisted along with the other members if the Weavers in the 1950s. The song title is actually "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" and the first verse contains the line "knee deep." A couple of verses later they are neck deep and still "the big fool said to push on."
What finally killed them was the "sword in the stone" bit, with everyone talking about how the sword had to stay in the stone, till a little dwarf (Nixon) came along and said he had a plan to withdraw the sword from the stone, which everyone cheered. They'd been told "no more" and did it anyway. Tom Smothers once told me that was the thing he and Dick were proudest of having done.
I'd love to hear them. I've greatly enjoyed the first four volumes of Robert Caro's biography and look forward to his fifth and final one. LBJ was a very complicated person, wasn't he (as I suppose we all are). As for RFK, I higlhy recommend Thurston Clarke's The Last Campaign. Have you written on LBJ or RFK? Do you have specific reading suggestions. Thanks
I read once that in the last years of his presidency, LBJ was known to wander the hallways of the White House at night, unable to sleep because of the Vietnam carnage.
I suspect Trump will not lose one minute of sleep over the carnage he is causing as we speak.
I have some thoughts about LBJ and JFK, MLK and RFK, and about how greatness might reach in both directions—deeply meaningful psychologically, but not appropriate for your forum.
Having been there at the (alleged) Tonkin Gulf (non) Incident, the uber lie of the war of lies, the event that turned my life around 180 degrees, and now researching a second book on that war with the access the 50-year Rule provided by the Internet (I find a code word name of a program, I put it in Google, and more than likely I will within 5 searches find a PDF of the declassified formerly-secret report on that whole program, released sometime in the past 5 years). The result of the research is I hate Lyndon Bastard Johnson (for being an f'ing MORON) more than I did as a member of the GI antiwar movement 53 years ago.
When Jimmy Carter took office, it felt as if the obstacles were finally out of the way and we were on our way to realize the hopes of the 1960-70s. It felt a bit that way when Bill Clinton came in except that, after Reagan, it felt that we had lost ground. That a person of color was elected, and that we again had a president who could string together complete sentences made Obama's election a sense of relief and elation. With Obama, it felt as if we were poised to address race, climate change, and other key issues with an eye toward sustainability.
No one has mentioned Ann Richards yet. I think it’s hard now to understand how isolated state politics were back then (“national” news in the papers were generally limited to weather, protests, and the president’s latest policy), but even I in California heard about Governor Richards and her witty, fiery comebacks. She took no nonsense from men (and they still voted for her in a sexist state), She got things done and she was respected as a women politician that I’m not sure we’ve seen before or since.
President Carter Brokering the Camp David Peace accords between Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat. That was such an amazing breakthrough at the time.
Meeting VP Al Gore in person and watching him moderate a conference. I realized just how smart he is and that he actually does have a personality. I couldn't understand why it took him so long to stop being the wooden man in public and start letting that show through. This also plays into a backlash. I still feel like the 2000 election should have been a slam dunk. I think Gore and the DNC took way too much for granted and that much of the last 20 years stems from those mistakes.
The palpable feeling of relief when I heard in 2008 that Obama had carried Ohio. It may have been naive, but in my mind, that meant the election was over.
Jimmy Carter as an Ex-President. I still hope that history will remember him as the most effective and successful ex-president in history. I think his intelligence, integrity, compassion, and plain decency are or should be, an ongoing beacon of hope.
Any one of a number of times hearing President Obama speak. Basking in the glow of articulate intelligence after 8 years in the intellectual desert of W.
Backlash:
This is less about specific politicians and more about the DNC and the Democratic party and voters in general. Democrats are their own worst enemies. The tendency to refuse to back a candidate who is not their first choice or with whom they disagree on specific issues or details is self-defeating. Dems who claimed that there was no difference between Gore and Bush in 2000 and so they didn't vote. Dems who were so butt-hurt about the 2016 primary that they didn't vote in the general election. Numerically the only reason Democrats lose national elections (and in many places even state and local) is that they can't align behind a candidate.
One point on your last sentence—gerrymandering. I live in Pennsylvania, where there is no way to get a citizens-sponsored referendum on the ballot. Several groups have been relentlessly pushing for reform to the laws governing the way districts are drawn. But the districts are drawn with such precision that Republicans continue to hold the majority, even though more Democrats vote. And they can ignore their constituents, even on an issue that has demonstrable bi-partisan support among voters. (See Fairdistricts pa.com)
You are absolutely correct. Once the Republicans gain control they have been extremely aggressive and effective with gerrymandering districts to stay in power. This is a huge issue in several states. Offhand I can think of PA, NC, TX, WI, MI as key battlegrounds where this is ongoing. I recently heard a really good breakdown, I think it was on NPR. I don't remember whose research it was though.
On Carter, yes, a good and talented man who cared about the country, people and the state of the world. And unfortunately, so miligned. It took forty years, but truth will out: manipulators put their own self interest above American lives to win the 1980 elections:
When in Sept. 2013 my only son, SFC Liam Nevins, was killed by "Green on Blue" enemy fire on his Forward Operating Base in Paktia Province, Afghanistan (on the Pakistan border), both Democratic US Congressional Representative Michelle Lujan Grisham and Democratic US Senator Martin Heinrich, both of New Mexico, made extraordinary personal efforts to assist and comfort me--Congresswoman (now NM Governor) Lujan Grisham gave me her personal reserved seat on a Southwest Airlines flight from Albuquerque to the east coast so I could attend a family memorial ad grieving gathering; Senator Heinrich phoned me personally to talk at length. Both also initiated investigative action concerning the poor performance of the New Mexico National Guard and US Army in this matter--I was never given the respectful in person notification of my son's death by the Army/Guard and eventually, at the behest of our Democratic Congresswoman and Senator, the Commanding General of the NM National Guard (himself an adherent of our then-GOP NM governor) came to me in full uniform to apologize. This personal attention at a time of the greatest stress for a "gold star" parent will also stay with me. Vote Blue.
Experienced the sixties in D.C. working for Government. RFK crystallized our politics and hope. The last politician who rallied both the minority and white working class population with his message of unity! Wonder how different we might be as a nation rather than the politics of division and racial
Yes. And for two days I've been trying to dig out how the Kennedys fit the Democratic story because they are clearly elites coming from a non-elite tradition (for the most part). Was it their Catholicism that linked them to the older traditions? Their machine politics dad? Something else? I have JFK's letters in the other room... I should drag those back onto the desk, clearly.
I wouldn't underestimate the influence of the Jesuits for a large swath of college educated Catholics in the '50s and '60s. I'm a product of that message, my Dad and uncles went to Jesuit colleges and I followed them and when to Holy Cross where we were taught to be "Men (sic) for Others." I took a class there called "Liberation Theology" were I first learned how US corporations treated workers in Central America. I was horrified. I spoke to my Jesuit professor outside class about it and I remember he told me, "No Dina, it doesn't mean you can't ever work for a corporation - we want you to graduate and get inside these places and change them for the better." The ethos was certainly the Lukan, "To whom much is given, much will be required."
And that was how Rose Kennedy raised her children. They were raised with the idea that they had been born to wealth and privilege and they had to give back to society. And most of them did find some way to make a contribution to society. Rose was a fascinating woman...not a very warm mother, but she raised very intelligent kids.
And now we have vocal conservative (fundamentalist) Catholics who are super Pro Trump but also anti Pope Francis. It’s like they forgot all Catholic social teaching. I’m in the South and know many of these Catholics.
I agree with Lisa Juodis Ristuccia. Those against PF are, for the most part, “traddies.” They want to return to the Latin Mass, altar turned to the East, away from the congregation, don’t like his welcoming stance toward LBGTQ, his reorganization of the Curia to serve bishops, not bishops to serve the Curia...I could go on and on. Some have called him a heretic.
I was in a delegation that spoke with Fr. Rafael Sivatte at the UCA in San Salvador the year after the assassinations of six Jesuit teachers there. He told us that 300 Jesuits from around the world had applied to fill their places. In the middle of the civil war. While death squads (funded by US dollars) cruised the streets every night in their black Jeep Cherokees. While I have major issues with some of their theology, I have great respect for the Jesuits' commitment to liberation, service, and education.
What I love about RFK is that he spoke up, not down to people, he wasn't afraid of using his education and knowledge to elevate and lead - he recited poetry to working class black Americans after MLK was killed, likely knowing that few would know the poet or possibly never even heard poetry before. He spoke from his heart and his own pain and it connected because it was authentic.
JFK set high goals and inspired us to believe that we could reach them, I was only a toddler when he ran for the presidency but I think that high goal setting helped, it connected to the goals during WW2, how we excelled in coming together to build more planes, more supplies, giving of ourselves for the common good of our country and even the world. His well known line, ask what you can do for your country, touched that same WW2 spirit in all those who were old enough to remember the war years. And back then, there wasn't the disdain for education that the GOP has built up now. Back then, a college education was respected, an achievement that was aspired to by many families, plus being Irish (even though lace curtain) and Catholic, I think gave them a bit of the underdog status and helped them connect to working class Americans.
But the decades that the Republicans have spent using division and racism to gain power have pushed us apart, encouraged both feelings of entitlement and resentment and stripped us of that spirit of working toward a common good.
"he recited poetry to working class black Americans after MLK was killed, likely knowing that few would know the poet or possibly never even heard poetry before."
Hmmmmm.... I am reminded of a recent online comment I read which said "White people need to talk to white people about white people." So I am humbly asking you to please consider white privilege before you assert things like this. James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, not to mention that there were myriads of Black song writers who were also poets -- they just set their poetry to music. I sincerely hope not to offend you, but we all must try to really consider what we are saying, and how it is heard by others. Thank you.
yes. we may not have read poetry or Shakespeare...i did cuz i graduated in liberal arts...but i hadn't seen an opera til covid utubes ( thank you Royal Opera). B ut we know the themes becausecwecare human, tho we may think we are alone. Now, thanks to Heather Cox Richardson, I know we are not alone. and that is power.
I was referring to the audience being "working class", less educated and less likely to have had much exposure to (classical) poetry (which is what RFK quoted that night), not because they were black. It's also good to give the benefit of the doubt before taking someone to task. :)
I said I hoped not to offend you, but I guess that didn't work, since you think I "took you to task". My apologies. Working class people still listen to songs, and they are poetry as well.
In my experience, when people say they hope not to offend on the internet, it's immediately before or after they say something offensive. :)
Your comment said that you think I'm showing white privilege, that's not a conversation starter - it doesn't show any interest, doesn't ask any questions, there's no room for sharing - it's essentially an accusation and reads to me more as your public demonstration that you're woke than an opening to discuss what I wrote, your reaction to it, how poetry is defined and how people are exposed to it.
Especially in these days, it is critical to have conversations, all kinds of conversations between all kinds of people - I applaud the comment you read online and I suggest that rather than telling someone else to examine their white privilege, instead share how that white conversations comment you read has made you examine your own white privilege and caused you to think in more depth, to be more aware of what you say - that can invite the other person to share their own feelings and it doesn't need to include a disclaimer of "I hope not to offend you" because it's about your experience, your reaction, rather than accusing them.
I make that suggestion because of my own experience recently with someone I work with and a comment they made about the 4th of July. It bothered me a great deal and it was an example of white privilege but as I thought about how to approach that person, I realized that calling that out, even privately, would simply put the other person on the defensive and not achieve the result I wanted - that they really think about what they wrote. Instead I took a different tack, writing that their comment had really affected me and discussing how and why it affected me so much. That opened the door for them to share their feelings with me and we had a good conversation.
I believe it was their humanitarian programs coupled with the tragedies their family has endured that makes them more connected. Yes, Joe senior was a scoundrel in the way he made money. Rose kept him in God’s good graces with their philanthropy. Realizing that philanthropy has carried forward with each generation, hit me profoundly when JFK, Jr. died and knowing his undisclosed philanthropic choices came to light. Even though they had money, they didn’t flaunt their wealth as these current times are showing.
Being Irish, in Massachusetts, back then was certainly a factor. The Irish were the working class, Democrats because they had suffered significant discrimination at the hands of Republican blue bloods.
JFK was so personable. I was 8 when he was assassinated. Soon after, my grandmother showed me a letter he wrote her, he had been on the Navy boat PT 109 in Korea with my Uncle (her son). She always held him with high regard. I still have the letter.
Whether or not "PT 109" was ghost-written, I think JFK's service in the Pacific during WWII must have really shaped his life going forward. He reportedly swam for miles with a burn-injured sailor towed behind him after the boat sank --the tow rope clenched in his teeth.
In my studies of the Pacific War, it shaped all four of the future presidents who served in it: JFK, Gerald Ford and George HW Bush all saw combat in the Navy (Ford was nearly swept overboard the USS Monterrey in "Halsey's Typhoon), and it shaped their view of service. Nixon too served, as a legal officer running court-martials on Guadalcanal after it became a rear area, and learning to play poker well enough to pay for his house in cash in 1946 (a whole $6,000). I think that experience shaped him, too.
Being elite and attracting a broad coalition is not unusual in American politics. Think FDR. Or TR. Probably examples at state and local levels as well. RFK and JFK maybe influence by Catholicism, not acceptable to many Americans at the time. As a volunteer for McCarthy, my reaction to RFK assignation was one of horror. RFK bridged the gap between Hard Hat, minorities, and voters like me, and likely would have beaten Nixon. Which reminds me that Sam Hays said Humphrey was charismatic in person, but clearly not suited for an age of tv campaigning.
i think it was his messages, yes, values. Hexwas very articulate, thoughtful. Robert had it too, even Edward. John Kennedy....frst Catholic president...some people thought his religion would keep him from being president, as i recall.
Possibly, but I don't like Joe Kennedy's move to dump Senator Ed Markey, who has been a progressive leader for a long time, for no better reason than "I want that job."
My Dad was a Republican all his life. When JFK won ( I assume he voted for him ) he was so proud because he was a Catholic. I do think there was something to that. He also took the whole family to hear him speak when he visited our area.
They (both JFK and RFK) were amazingly charismatic, good looking and smart. Next they put together slick campaigns. JFK had two campaign songs put out on a 45rpm single that even I as a 5 year old was singing in 1960. People felt like he (both JFK and RFK) was talking to you when he spoke. I remember overhearing adults talk about the Catholicism as something that was concerning and not as an asset.
I think that their being Irish explained why these wealthy Ivy leaguers were Democrats. In Massachusetts, the Irish (like my grandfather) were committed Democrats.
Mine is a very old and idealistic memory. I remember as a young girl hearing Kennedy say "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." I found that a very inspirational message.
Where were you? And how did you hear him? (Sorry, I just noted that that sounds inquisitorial. I'm in interview mode because I'm fascinated by these stories. Ignore at will, of course.)
Heard and saw his Inaugural speech on our B&W TV as a freshman in high school living in Chicago, January 1961. His speech was the most inspiring thing I had ever heard. I had started paying attention to politics because of him. He was brilliant, charming, funny and said things I liked that made sense to me. Nixon did not seem to possess any of those qualities. There was some accusatory news that Mayor Daley had stolen some votes to put JFK over the top in IL, securing his election. In all probability, perhaps Nixon’s supporters just didn’t steal enough. As a senior in high school, in November 1963, sitting in Home Economics class, the announcement that the President had been shot came over the loud speaker. I thought it was the end of everything hopeful and good. During my senior year in college in 1968, two more horrific assassinations of MLK and RFK would make sure of that. It took 40 long years, with a few exceptions like President Carter and Al Gore’s stolen election, to feel that kind of good hope again with President Obama’s election. Senate Republicans under McConnell during his second term would not even allow him a Supreme Court pick among other obstructions. Then came Trump... and here we are.
In Altadena, CA, I was jfks “campaign manager” in my junior high, just before dad became Washington Correspondent for the LA Mirror and we had to move to DC
I was in Denver, junior year of High School. stayed home from school to watch the inauguration (after arguing with my anti-Catholic Masonic father throughout the campaign, the first of many deep arguments we were about to have for the next 15 years). That was probably the most inspirational speech I heard from a President, though now as an historian to go back and read all of it, it's a blueprint for every bad thing that happened that my father and I would argue about those next 15 years.
Second grade in Overland Park, KS when JFK was elected. Heard the "Ask not" speech at my Catholic parochial school. We were told Irish Catholics were under-represented and that JFK would change things for us. JFK's election was an emotional moment in my family, a family that had close ties to Truman. Ultimately that speech led to me joining the Peace Corps after college, as did my sister, cousin, brother-in-law and son.
I was in 8th grade in 1960-61 in parochial school in central Illinois. 60 kids in my classroom. I had been following the presidential campaign for over a year thanks to discarded Saturday Evening Post and Life magazines. I had been aware that we (my parents) were Democrats since 1956 because Republicans were for people with money and Democrats were for those without. I remember watching Kennedy's inauguration on a black and white TV that the nun rolled into our classroom on a cart. It was a thrilling moment and inspiring moment.
The excitement around JFK’s candidacy and then the reality of having a young president with his family in the WH. I remember so much hope for the future. I was in my HS study hall when they announced his death and it was burned into my memory as one of life’s most memorable moments. It also was a loss of hope for the future.
I also was very excited for Obama’s election and presidency and thought that we could finally get so much accomplished. I had no idea how racist this country still was. I was naive enough to believe that because Obama was half white that he would be a great person to pull us all together. I am appalled at how much was blocked by the Republicans!
I live in MT and have been so impressed by what Governor Bullock has been able to accomplish. I actually got to meet him at a friend’s house and he is such a down to earth man. I never thought I would ever be sitting down visiting with our Governor. Very fond memory!
could we consider Jackie also? Bringing in the value of Arts, and health? -She started the "50 mile hikes" and brouught the idea of people becoming more active re: their own wellness.
The ACA is the most recent, critical sweeping change that the Democrats made that has been under attack since its inception. The GOP has of course stopped at nothing to destroy it, and yet it was the first, best change toward fixing our current healthcare system. I hope that the Democrats can build on the foundation that the ACA created to eventually bring the US in line with the rest of the developed world.
The ACA saved my life and I'll always be grateful to President Obama. I wrote to tell him so and in the month after he left office I got the warmest, most intelligently written I ever read; cherished possession.
I've been a reporter/editor with a weekly newspaper for 40 years. I will never forget in my earliest days meeting our State Senator Richard Luft and hearing him describe how things worked in Springfield Illinois in those days. "It's I'll scratch your back, and you scratch mine," he said. I was appalled at the time. What about ideals? Beliefs? As our political parties have become more partisan and politics more divisive, it became clear that what Dick was talking about was cooperation, negotiation, and compromise. Wouldn't we all just give our eyeteeth to have that political system back again?
Trevor Noah this morning: if we are constantly defining things in terms of this or that, black or white, dem or repub, we will continue to be forced into confrontation...must be more nuanced in approach.
The first time I felt invested in a particular Democratic candidate was Mo Udall who lost the nomination to Carter in 1976. He was a strong environmentalist from Arizona and an experienced Congressman. As things turned out, it seems to me that he would have been a more effective president too.
Back in the mid 90s I worked for Mark Udall, one of Mo's sons, after he won his first election to become a CO state representative and then later on his first Congressional race. Mark was a man of integrity and humility, committed to working with those he didn't necessarily agree with, who was unfortunately beaten by Cory Gardner (and all of that Koch $ plus some unforced campaign errors) in his bid to be re-elected to his US Senate seat in 2014. It's been years now since we've spoken but I am glad to have met him and had the opportunity to work with him. In December of 2014, I happened across a C-SPAN video of his last speech before the Senate where he excoriated the CIA for its lies and fabrications about torture and enhanced interrogation, and rigorously called out the Obama Administration for lack of transparency. His last committee assignments were Intelligence and Armed Forces so I'm sure he'd seen and heard some pretty intense stuff. As I watched the video I remembered the first day we walked into the CO State House together almost 20 years earlier, and I noticed him feeling a bit nervous and uncomfortable in a jacket and tie which were not usual attire for an accomplished international climber and mountaineer and former Outward Bound ED. We paused for a moment and looked around at all of the suits and politicians and lobbyists etc scurrying around and I said to him, "You know what's cool? That you can put on a tie and walk into their world, and I'll bet not more than one or two of these guys would last ten minutes in yours. And they know it. That's your superpower."
Here's a clip to the speech https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4518662/user-clip-mark-udalls-final-speech. Now I am remembering that Mark had intimated he might just read the redacted report into the record but decided against it. If you have seen or heard of the movie "The Report" (it's on Prime) it deals with this subject matter.
BSRC and RFK. RFK had a true left point of view of any mainstream politician in my lifetime. His work on race and poverty would still be advant-garde today, even to Sanders supporters. The New Frontier eclipsed the vision of The Great Society. His assassination was the end of liberalism, social democracy and the rise of the centrist right in the Democratic Party.
Yes, so true. The last "great Democrat." I was in the crowd in Union Square in SF in May 1968 when he said "Some see things as they are and ask "why?" - I see things that never were and say "why not?". Good politics in this country died June 7, 1968.
I remember how inspirational JFK was. Even though he was a scion of a powerful family his egalitarian philosophy is sorely missed. After him LBJ and the Great society programs went a long way to fostering social justice. Truly remarkable for a Southern Democrat. It's too bad he blew it with Vietnam. I remember Tip O'Neil, the consummate politician who managed to get things done even with Ronnie Ray Gun! It's tragic that his skill died with him.
I remember Carter's presidency as uneventful, perhaps a good thing. But he is by far our best Ex-president. And then the Democrats sold out to Neoliberalism with it's acolyte Slick Willie. The Clintons have done more to destroy the soul of the party than anyone in a "Century". They did more to foster income inequality than just about any Republican. Bill started dismantling the Great Society and his work has continued apace ever since.
Three memories: The protests in Selma, Alabama for a voting rights act had gotten more and more serious and deadly. Profoundly affected by those events, President Lyndon B. Johnson scheduled an address to the joint houses of Congress on March 15, 1965. I was 13 years old and remember the televised speech to this day: "I speak tonight for the dignity of man and the destiny of democracy. I urge every member of both parties, Americans of all religions and of all colors, from every section of this country, to join me in that cause," Johnson said. He went on: “Rarely in any time does an issue lay bare the secret heart of America itself. The issue of equal rights for American Negroes is such an issue.” He closed his speech by reciting the protester's call" “And…we… shall… overcome." Repeating that one phrase was a stunning recognition, and adoption, of the protesters' demands. It was a stunning moment in American political and cultural history.
The second memory is of Presiden Johnson's phone call to Senator Richard Russell in 1965. While we did not have access to the recording of the phone call at that time, what we know now is that Russell warned Johnson that if Johnson pushed the Voting Rights Bill [or was it the Civil Rights Act?] the Democratic Party would lose the Southern vote forever. Johnson told Russell that he knew that and that he wanted it anyway. I remember this whenever I despair of political leadership in the United States - where a political leader knew the costs of doing the right thing and did it anyway.
The third memory is of turning on the 2004 Democratic Convention and seeing the keynote speech by Barack Obama, someone no one had heard of. His speech was magnetic. I called my husband to come over: "Quick, listen to this amazing speech." It was moving, heart-breaking, and unforgetable.
Because I am philosophically inclined, I have been most impressed by Mario Cuomo and Jerry Brown, two leaders who had very disciplined minds and were always inclined to think very deeply, and intelligently, about their world views and how to put them into play in the public sphere. In his first run as Governor, when he and I were young, Jerry Brown responded to a reporter's forgettable question with a statement that stays with me as I think about my place in the social contract, "1400 calories a day and a moderate climate and everything else in your life is expectation." He was given to asking hard, sometimes-unpleasant questions that too many of us Democrats shy away from. I'm thinking, for example, of the time at a UC regents meeting, he asked if it was really necessary of Berkeley to pay more than $400,000 to get a competent chancellor, why doesn't the UC faculty teach more, why not get rid of inessential research? Good questions for which he did not get meaningful responses.
Ah. I had not dug into Brown. That's a great idea. You don't, by any chance, have some favorite places for me to read up on his speeches, do you? (I know, this is my job, not yours, but it never hurts to ask)....
I don't know of any, but two great reads are Trailblazer, a biography written by my friend Chuck McFadden, and The Browns of California, a thorough and well-researched chronicle of the entire Brown family; I was especially intrigued by the parts about Jerry's mother, Bernice, though having Pat Brown's story fleshed out gave me a greater appreciation for that man's decency. As a UC alumnus who, as a poor kid who was on his own at sixteen, I was fortunate to attend when it was tuition free, I especially appreciated his commitment to public higher education being accessible and affordable.
Stunningly spiritually evolved imho. when I have a little more time I will try to send something about his presidential campaign appearances here (Boston area.) Nothing important, I was/am just a regular citizen with various worn\m's eye views of various. -- the country lost an opportunity to truly incorporate our stated ideals into concrete form. His deep humor, intelligence, articulation were refreshing. Following that election -which Clinton won- I believe he became mayor of Oakland, and also had a call-in radio show. The Mike Royko /Gov. Mooonbeam incident is pretty interesting, illustrates how news persons can kill a good thing. (Haven't forgiven Royko yet!!!)
Ryko, whose Moonbeam comment came in reaction to the young Governor's determination that California should have its own satellite, later came to acknowledge that he was wrong. But at Jerry Brown liked to comment, if California was a country it would have the fifth largest GDP in the world.
What I loved about Jerry (when I was little, still Catholic, and his first time as governor) was his insistence on his living his values. Not using the governor’s mansion, but living modestly “off campus”, driving an old, beat up station wagon, no fancy dinners, etc.
I was “raised by Jesuits” (Catholic schooling) and even though he’d left his vows (one reason my parents didn’t trust him), I loved his intelligent, no nonsense, fiery passion for taking care of the poor.
He was very different, more world weary, and I think adhered less to his moral compass during his second governorship.
Actually, @Heather, it would prolly be super interesting to compare him and AOC. Or him, AOC, and Obama. They all had/have that “I’m here to rescue you” mindset towards public service and their faith.
Dani, I see his second tenure differently. So does he. He was not so much world weary as more experienced, which led him to be more pragmatic. He saw Climate Change as the number 1 challenge we face as a species and, in contrast to some of his ideas when he was young, was very concrete in his proposals for how to address it. When Trump pulled us out of the Paris Accord, Brown made a deal with the Chinese government to keep on keeping on. He inherited a multi-billion dollar debt from which he managed to liberate CA, leaving Gavin Newsom with a multi-billion dollar Rainy Day fund. And so it goes. As in his youth, he remained forward-thinking. Still is, heading up a Climate Change initiative in retirement.
Fair. I'd moved out of California before he was re-elected so have only seen things at a distance. I knew he'd bailed out California and made the independent climate deal with China (how is that going, btw? I don't see any news of that up here in Seattle). He always looked tired -- like the weight of the world's responsibilities were getting to him. I'm glad to hear he's still fighting the fight.
Jerry has always been for me the epitome of what a Catholic should be.
I'm not sure how the deal with China is going, but I suspect it remains in place. He and his wife, who kept the details of his gubernatorial office on track, appeared at the Commonwealth Club a few months after he left office. He looked older, which makes sense, given his age, but he is still very sharp, but still has a bit of his big-picture quirkiness, which I find appealing. The first question asked was how life after leaving office was different. His response was that it wasn't all that different, which left Ann Gust Brown rolling her eyes, "That's because you don't have to deal with all the boxes that keeping turning up!"
@Heather -- the other fun thing about Jerry is the generational difference in politics between his father and himself (I would argue that Nancy Pelosi probably learned as much from his dad as she did her own father). There's probably a whole PhD thesis on that (not that you need to do one, LOL), but it was fascinating to watch as I was growing up.
Two things: This is from my partner, Thomas Benson: All the democratic policies of the 1960’s led to the south becoming solidly republican. The Voting Rights Act, Civil Rights Act led to latent and covert racism that has developed within the Republican Party. I am wondering about “The Family” and how that originated primarily to fight organized labor and seems to have turned into a conservative work horse in DC. The use the “words of Jesus” rather than the Bible as a tool, which is truly troubling. But I guess that’s not democrats, is it? I can’t help my tendency to get distracted by something shiny.
this was an eye-opener for me for sure. I had always wondered why we have a National Prayer Breakfast, what with separation of church and state and all ....
I have had personal experience with the Family. Scary stuff. Also check out theocratic theologian Rousas Rushdooney’s influence on Reagan era politicizing of Christianity.
I hope folks have watched the entertaining but infuriating series “Mrs. America,” about Phyllis Schlafly and her work against the ERA—which built the powerful political bloc that became the religious right.
Yes, absolutely read Sharlet's book. I grew up in 60s and 70s in the Deep South with fundamentalist Christian parents. My relatively early escape from the religion made it possible to watch, aghast, as evangelicals became more and more politically active. These people are abusively authoritarian (a redundant characterization, perhaps) and have made their version of Christianity into a cult-like prison of double-binds and circular logic.
They want a theocracy in the US. Many believe that Jesus won't come back until that happens; and of course, they believe God has chosen tem to lead the world toward the spectacularly violent beginning of the Kingdom of Heaven that is the hallmark of End Times theology.
It is not always clear who the true believers are when politics mix with religion, but this particular kind of fundamentalism worships power more than love, so it is possible to be cynically manipulative and remain a "Good Christian". It is a very strange world they live in: extremely hostile to life on Earth as it is actually lived. they'd happily kill everything living to hurry up Armageddon.
Yes, my friend first saw a video last year...I believe on Netflix.."The Family"...I watched it ..I had not known anything previously about it..but it is an organization that continues throughout the world apparently...Weird stuff...Yes, the video speaks of "The National Prayer"...that all VIP politicians attend...I ordered Jeff Sharlet's book from Amazon after seeing the video..This organization has been around for decades..apparently very powerful..
SO many memories! As many others have stated: JFK (I was in 4th grade and his assassination was probably my first politically related memory), MLK and RFK assassinations, Johnson saying he would not run for a second term in March 1968, etc.
My late father was what he called a "Yellow Dog Democrat" and when I asked him what that meant, he told me he would vote for a yellow dog walking down the street before he would vote for a Republican. He was a huge influence on my political views and in 1972 I proudly cast my first ever vote for president for George McGovern. (When George W. Bush was president, he frequently wore a button that said, "He lied, they died.")
Some other observations/memories:
I've always loved watching the Democratic conventions every four years and have always been proud that the people attending are truly that melting pot we all learned about in school: many races/ethnicities, people of different religions, LGBTQ people, etc. The contrast between our conventions and the GOP, all white people, convention is astonishing.
My sister, who lives in Illinois, started telling me about Barack Obama prior to his speech at the 2004 (I think that was the year) Democratic National Convention. I was totally blown away when I heard him speak and happily voted for him twice. I was so hopeful in 2008 that our country really was progressing and moving forward and I didn't wake up every morning worrying about what awful thing he had done overnight. I didn't always agree with him but he was a person of decency and intellect who believed in science and expert advice.
I was literally sick when Donald Trump was elected. I could not believe it. Our daughter called me sobbing the night of the election and asked what kind of a world she would be raising her daughter in. I thought about it and the next day told her she would keep doing exactly what she had been doing: teaching our granddaughter to love and respect and be kind to all, that all people (no matter race, creed, religion, sexual orientation, etc.) were valued and worthy, and that love eventually would overcome hate.
I knew Trump would be bad but never in a million years did I think he would be as horrific as he has been. One positive for me out of his election is that I have become much more politically active: giving lots of money to candidates, attending candidate forums, becoming active in local progressive groups, etc. I have always voted and paid attention but I am hyper aware now of so many heinous things going on in our country.
Heather, you have been one bright spot in our otherwise dreary landscape. I read you first thing every morning and have learned so much. Thank you for your voice.
JFK’s excellence in government initiatives which accelerated growing a higher-quality Federal workforce, all-the-way through the Carter Administration.
“By helping to reduce turnover, by attracting more capable people into the Federal service, and by improving employee morale, this legislation will make an important contribution to increased productivity.” 1961
I was only 12 when Kennedy was elected. At that point it for me, it was about good-looks, Catholic, young ( based on Eisenhower, I thought Presidents mostly golfed!), beautiful wife, sense of newness and youth and possibilities . As a Catholic in Maine, I was in the minority in a all-white public school. And now my Catholic guy was President. Times..and my thoughts....were simpler then!
Not a memory, but a realization……modern day Democratic Presidents do far more to make this world a better place than Republican Presidents, both during, and even after they serve as President. All past Presidents continue to serve as advisors to their parties and give speeches, etc. However, what they do with the rest of their time is very telling. A very quick check shows the following.
From Nixon on back, every President pretty much retired to their home towns following their presidency.
Ford (R) retired to Palm Springs to play golf
Carter (D) set up the Carter Presidential Center that worked on curing River Blindness throughout the world, among its many accomplishments to help the poor. He also has worked tirelessly for Habitat for Humanity, and has participated in various peace negotiations around the world.
Reagan (R) retired to his home and his ranch.
H W Bush (R) retired to his home.
Clinton (D) set up a foundation that, among other things, works to stop HIV/AIDS throughout the world
W Bush (R) retired to his ranch to paint
Obama (D) started a foundation to help young Black men in America and young leaders throughout the world, and he and Michelle are also beginning to produce films and docu-series on race and class.
I grew up in Northfield MN, and also raised my kids there. Paul Wellstone was a Carleton professor with a fiery spirit, and can-do attitude. He traveled the state in an old green bus when campaigning for his US senate seat, reaching all who would listen with his message of: We all do better when we all do better. That has been inspiration in leading my life and all that I do.
1960 election, my Mom was Chairperson of Republican Town committee & campaigning vehemently for Goldwater. My Dad WW 2 Navy veteran (Mom also WW2 exMarine Tech Sgt) he told her Election Day he voted JFK & canceled out her vote. Coming home 11/22/63 from 2nd grade to my Mom crying over his death. Btw her sister needed $ and poll checked for Democrats (=friction!). My Aunt eventually became a MA State Representative! Both women WAY ahead of their times!
Wow. Would love to learn more about why your mom supported Goldwater and your dad JFK. That's an unusual split in that time. Also about your aunt. Women are key in the D party way earlier than I thought.
Think my Mom thought Republicans were elite, was 100% Irish. Her parents were class Valedictorian & Salutatorian Peabody MA HS ~1900 when, Irish need not apply! WW2 enabled her elite attitude. She was in charge (TechSgt) of a Women’s Barracks in the Mojave Desert. My Dad was a good but common man, had 6 older sisters family of 10 -had no grand illusions. Dad was our caregiver! My Aunt started with school committee, city Alderman then lost her run for Mayor, 1982 shot the moon as State Representative. Grew up in Essex County MA.
In the summer of 1984 I was approached by a coalition -teachers, environmentalists, seniors-- to be a candidate in the Democratic primary for then Florida Congressional District 4 against a long time incumbent. ( Granstrom vs Chappell). I had been in TV News in part of the District so already had name recognition and my background --ex-Nun, MA in Education, Florida grown--was hard to attack. I had had no political aspirations but I answered the call. We ran a true grassroots campaign--low on money big on volunteers.
It was the time of Mondale and Ferraro. As a young woman I got caught in some of the same flak Ferrarro got-- Catholic women and abortion, attacked not on our own experience but on our husbands' presumed business aspirations. I had to remind viewers on a PBS Candidate program that it was my name on the ballot not my husband's.
I was 38 years old. My 74 yr old opponent said of himself, "If this were a beauty contest I would lose,"-- a comment meant to get a laugh but our audiences did not laugh, bless them. When I spoke they realized I had a brain and this was not simply a vanity run.
My opponent was a Boll Weevil, a Southern Conservative Democrat (more Republican than Democrat) and, being an ex-Navy guy brought big money into the defense industry in northeast Florida. I had an Army Doctor brother who was that very summer training in desert sands in computerized tanks that did not work so I was pushing for less big armament spending but better R&D defense, clean energy and term limits, etc.
As we got closer to the vote he pulled out all the stops. He threatened local media if they interviewed me. He upheld a long tradition of paying the African American community for votes and found multiple ways to diminish and demean me and our campaign. His handlers even viciously, verbally attacked my Mom who was working for my campaign. I knew personal derogatory things about him that I refused to use because it would have hurt his family. I remember with some amusement the time a young man came up to me during a nightime, lightning laced outdoor rally to say that if he were not the son of my opponent he would vote for me!
I lost the Democratic Primary but we managed to get somewhere near 39% of the vote. A Democratic operative who had been tracking us said if we had had a few more weeks we would have gotten even closer. But we accomplished one goal which was to force the incumbent to campaign in a Congressional Primary he thought he would win without having to appear or campaign in the district. And our campaign kept some issues alive that he would have ignored. For me, it was one of the best educations of my life. As a woman I felt proud to be there in 1984, a year that saw a woman, Gerardine Ferraro, on the Democratic ticket. I also was reminded, once again, thanks to my opponent, that the Democratic party is not a monolith but a spectrum.
That was 36 years ago, some things have not changed, some have. In retrospect I would have done some things differently but given the moment, the time frame and the context I am proud of what we all accomplished together. It was a Congressional Democratic Primary but a democratic exercise on the local level of what coalitions of active citizens can do together. I hope that exercise can be activated even during a pandemic.
I love driving on the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut where the bridges and overpasses are all different Art Deco designs. It was built as part of the WPA and I love that in the New Deal attention was paid to supporting art and artists in our public infrastructure. That detail is sorely lacking in our infrastructure today.
At 12, JFK, Irish heritage AND CATHOLIC LIKE ME , YOUNG, smart, handsome with a beautiful wife and family and was elected President if the United States‼️
At 20, the draft of men that were my age.
At 21, spending a summer studying in France, and realizing for the first time how young America was and how many non-Americans regarded it as a “grand experiment for which the jury was still out.” America-democracy- could FAIL??!
At 22, a senior in a small college, the bombing of Hai Phong harbor. That was the day I became more politically active.
At 42, seeing Governor Bill Clinton at Portland Head Light Campaigning in August 1990 and thinking: “He doesn’t have a chance in 1992!”
At 43, meeting him in a small group before he did a “town hall” at Portland High (one of the oldest continuing public schools in America!). He Took the time to greet the small group Gathered and then walked across the large hall to introduce himself to a friend and me. I thought “Man, does he know how to work a crowd or what?! If he loses, it won’t be for lack of trying! He looked right into our eyes to talk to us. Then going upstairs to conduct The Town Hall in a relaxed, intelligent , non-defensive way...even when a heckler would not end his rant. Bill let him speak, then answered all his points.
At 32, in 1980, applying for heading up the U S Census work in Maine and learning that I was not considered for the job because I supported Teddy Kennedy instead of Jimmy Carter. ‼️
“Oh, that is how it works!”
1971-89: a Republican ACTOR was President??!!‼️
OBAMA-2008-16: FABULOUS!
November 8-10,2016. Unable to get out of bed for two days. PRESIDENT Donald Trump ??‼️😂😂😂😂
As a trained political scientist, I have been extremely concerned by the behavior and tendencies of Trump since early 2017. That year I testified before and submitted language to the Massachusetts Democrats’ platform committee regarding the “authoritarian tendencies” of the president for inclusion in the party platform that would be voted on at the state Democratic Convention in June. Unfortunately, my language was not added to the party platform, so I followed the alternative route available to me and submitted the following amendment on the floor of the Convention:
A healthy democracy is a precursor to achieving all elements of the Massachusetts Democratic Platform, yet the Executive Branch of our national government is exhibiting authoritarian tendencies. Massachusetts Democrats will resist these tendencies and support and protect our democratic institutions to prevent the erosion of our democracy.
We will:
• Stand with our immigrant, refugee, and minority communities
• Protect journalists from intimidation and resist efforts by the administration to marginalize mainstream media
• Protect judges from intimidation and resist efforts by the administration to marginalize the judiciary
• Work with the Democratic Party at the national level to resist the current administration’s efforts to erode the fundamental institutions of our democracy
The proposed amendment was met with resounding applause from the Convention attendees and ultimately added to the first page of the party platform. I originally developed this language because I know it is too easy for all of us to sit back and let awful things happen as our country slides into fascism. This is part of the model that fascists depend on as they grab a foothold.
So I wrote this language as a reminder to our politicians and activists that a slide into fascism is a real possibility (look around – it has happened already). It was meant as a reminder that we have to resist it every day with every fiber of our beings.
And that is the source of my disappointment with our Democratic leaders. Not one of our Democratic leaders has called it what it is, and Elizabeth Warren is the only one to prescribe remedies to what is in effect the take over of our political and economic systems. The Democratic leadership has been too passive, too interested in maintaining the neoliberal status quo, and unwilling to fight hard.
Barbara Jordan's address at the Democratic National Convention. Wow. I was in high school at the time. She struck every chord of hope and determination we needed. I remember thinking, "a woman could be president someday--an African American could be president." And then when Obama did his keynote address, I thought, "that's our first African American president." But back to Jordan. She is in the pantheon of great Texas women who have inspired me and continue to inspire: Ladybird Johnson, Sissy Farenthold, Barbara Jordan, Ann Richards, Molly Ivins. . . I know they're all long gone, but I have hope that more will rise.
I think I first became aware of politics at the age of 9 in the run-up to the 1972 presidential election. While Watergate would make its impression on me 2 years later, in '72 I was aware of the Democratic candidates. I don't remember if my parents were pro-Nixon or if just the events of personalities of George Wallace and George McGovern stood out to me. I distinctly remember Wallace getting shot that year and of McGovern becoming the Democratic candidate and losing terribly. My parents must have been pro-Nixon, because I have this vague impression that McGovern was not well liked in my house or by my mother's parents (this is all in Texas). At the time I wasn't aware of Wallace's notorious history as the Arkansas Governor and standing in doorways to stop black children going to school. Years later I wondered how Wallace & McGovern could have been in the same party. My family being Catholic, JFK was a (martyred?) saint for my grandparents and mother; the same for RFK later when he was killed. However, Teddy Kennedy's name was almost mentioned in whispers.
Fascinating about the whispers. And this is very helpful. You and I are the same age, and it was Watergate for me, too. But I'm not sure I knew much about Wallace. Our house was angrily divided between McGovern and Nixon.
It wasn't until I got to university and would call home to my grandparents that I realized how much they shaped my critical thinking about politics, because it's pretty much what we enjoyed talking about--we had such lively conversations. But for the life of me, I cannot remember what party they supported. My grandmother (being from the north) loved(!) Abraham Lincoln and books about the Civil War. And my grandfather had a disdain for all politicians ("They're all knuckleheads!"). I'd have to ask my siblings if they remember.
My sisters have confirmed that my grandparents did vote Democrat like many southerners did at the time, though my grandmother with her Irish Yankee roots claimed that black southerners still voted Republican because of Lincoln.
I remember the National Lampoon ad for Volkswagen that the magazine was sued over which showed a floating Volkswagen bug and was captioned: "If Ted Kennedy had owned a Volkswagen he would be President today." Alluding to Chapaquiddick and the drowning of Mary Jo Kopechine in the accident caused by Ted likely driving drunk.
I remember voting for Lyndon Johnson because he promised to get us out of the Vietnam War. He lied. I remember realizing that they all say whatever they think will get them elected, so what's the point? I didn't vote again until 2016.
After July 15th I'll share more as I have a deadline. Meeting JFK in Lincoln Park as an 8 year old, a lot of Maine political stories. Nice stories about Joe Brennan, George Mitchell, Libby Mitchell and some tough stories about a ballot tampering case. Oh, a lunch with Bill Richardson at Middlebury. Later.
This is a little anecdotal, but here goes: in my high school there were several classmates who were very interested in politics and actually became politicians. One of them is now in jail (guess what - he was a Republican), another got involved in NY State politics as a Democrat, but left politics a few years ago and now teaches courses in ... ethics!
Southerners were universally Democrats until 1964. LBJ was a tragic character: Vietnam destroyed his presidency and his legacy which was otherwise one of historic transformation of the Party and the country
I would have stated it as his response to the Vietnam War destroyed his presidency. The buck stopped with him. He could have told McNamara to pound sand.
I was born in 1958 and the political events of the 60s and 70s seeped into my brain even at that young age and shaped my politics - the Kennedys, especially RFK, reading his speeches in recent months makes me mourn his loss anew and inspires me to believe we can turn this country around. Martin Luther King motivates me too in these days of BLM gathering strength, giving me hope that we can finally make real steps forward on police violence. I have been both hopeful, enthusiastic, cynical and depressed over the decades by all the presidents between JFK and trump (I cannot bring myself to capitalize his name) but the greatest moment for me was standing in the voting booth in the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary with my choices being the first woman candidate and the first black candidate of a major political party. I knew the day would come for both but I had begun to believe it would not happen in my lifetime and certainly not in the same election! It was also the last primary in Texas where we had to return for the caucus after the polls closed to actually determine the selection for party candidate - I had caucused in previous presidential primaries but this one was a particularly proud moment, to stand up and be counted publicly for my choice in such a historic election.
After watching all the hate and open racism against Obama during his terms, I knew that we'd take a step backwards, I hoped against hope that Hilary really could win like the polls said but to end up with so huge a leap backwards with the election of a man who embodies nearly every fault and vice there is has been soul crushing. Both this president and the current version of the Republican party sicken me to the core, especially McConnell and his perversion of our government. The president is destroying our government as well by loading it with toadying syncophants who disdain true public service and seek only to please him and the wealthy and to benefit themselves from their time in government employment. Nowhere is this more evident and more disgusting than the desecration of the Department of Justice which no longer lives up to that title. Barr is a disgrace to his profession and should be disbarred for his work in turning the DOJ into a tool for trump, deliberately ignoring the law and even guilty pleas to please trump and help secure his reelection. Not since Hoover has federal law enforcement been perverted for personal gain at the level that Barr has done.
In the past I have considered both candidates in elections on all levels, federal, state, local, but the Republican party has so twisted itself into using any means, no matter how low or degrading, to retain power, I have reached the point where I can no longer consider voting for any Republican at any level - the Republicans running for local office will be the ones in state and federal elections in the future and my goal is to remove them from power, both federal and state - the current state of politics here in Texas is horrendous, the white, male, heterosexual, "Christian" Republicans in control of the state government work to increase divisions and racism and restrict voting to only those who will support their party, catering to the wealthy and working to kick out or kill off anyone who might oppose them.
So I hold my breath, I ignore the polls (didn't we all learn how untrustworthy polls are in 2016???) and I vote in every single election for all Democratic candidates and especially for women and people of color and I wait for November when I'll check that box for a straight Democratic party vote and pray to whatever deity may exist that our country will have found a smidgen of compassion for one another and voted out the current monstrosity in the White House.
It was November 22, 1963, and my kinda ditzy 6th grade teacher came back from lunch, bawling her eyes out, too wracked by sobs to tell us why.
It’s April 1968 and one beacon of hope is assassinated, and then June 1968 and another. Imagine what might have been different if Bobby had lived.
Clean Gene. The woefully uninspiring Humphrey. Daley, back when anti-protester brutality wore a Democratic badge.
McGovern, maybe the most decent, thoughtful candidate in decades (Adlai?). Thomas Eagleton. Nixon 49, America 1.
Sam Ervin, proving that southern Democrats weren’t all corn-pone dopes. Back when there were still southern Democrats.
Jimmy, the toothy grin, the attack rabbit, the sweaters, the malaise. Oil embargo, odd/even days, woodstoves and thermostats. Then Reagan??? (the first time I thought “no way he can get elected” - for improbable sequels see Dubyah and Trump).
Paul Tsongas, Bill Bradley, Mo Udall, Mike Dukakis. My support for intelligent candidates with depth was surely a kiss of death.
Bill Clinton. He still makes me squirm. I voted for him, but I never liked or admired him. A true politician.
Al Gore. Perhaps the most boring man on earth. Although John Kerry was a close second.
Obama. The glow will never wear off. My best Trump antidote is rewatching Obama’s White House Correspondents’ dinner spiel. He is so, so good. So good.
Hillary. Damn, so unfair. I remember an interview with Karl Rove, back in the 1990s. He was asked why he constantly attacked Hillary, given that she was just the first lady. And he replied, “Someday she’ll run for president, we have to start tearing her down now.” Karl Rove’s circle in hell cannot be hot enough.
Bernie, Kamala, Liz, Pete, Amy, Julio, et al. Any of them far more qualified and much more decent than Trump. Biden will do.
Inauguration Day - January of 2009. I was lucky enough to be an invited guest to the Nation's Capitol and the inauguration of Barack Obama. That in itself is a good reason to be called a memorable experience. However, what will always be indelibly etched in my mind is the bringing together of hundreds of thousands who trudged through packed DC Metro cars, all jammed with people who never met each other before, and having to get off the Metro system because of an unfortunate fatality, and all of us having to walk and run through streets that most of us never had been through before. All of us jammed into crowded streets, heading to the mall for the ceremony that was installing the first Black American as our President. We were all warmly dressed against the chill of the winter morning. Some in nice garb with furs and beautiful cloth, and others in not so fashionable attire. Black people, White people, Brown people, and all shades of skin in between. All People, talking with each other, and where we came from, and all with the same reason of being there. We had happy faces, and some with tears in the eyes, and all experiencing the same feeling as One Nation on this Day, and wanting to reach out to our new neighbors in the sharing of this day. I will never forget this experience, and I have been through all the experiences one can absorb in 79 years of a lifetime.
How lucky to have been an invited guest. I could get a ticket but drove to DC to be in the atmosphere of celebration. The day before the inauguration my sister and I wandered around the Mall area to be part of the joy. On Inauguration Day we had to watch on TV but still felt part of the whole event.
So many buses driving towards DC that day and the day before - we live in Maryland and I would see them on the highway as I drove to work in Baltimore. The morning of the inauguration we had one of the computers set to the ceremonies. When it was time, my patient and I, one of our resident physicians, and two of the nursing staff crowded into a tiny consult office to watch together with tears in our eyes. As an older woman, it was hard for me not to vote for Hilary Clinton that year, but oh, Obama was such a gift. Imperfect, like all leaders, but honorable and decent.
We thought the Beloved Community had truly arrived then, didn't we?
My take away this many years later, and all the highs and lows since then, is that it is worth the effort to strive to encourage the next generation to realize the same sense of One Nation .....again.
This is important. Young voters, those under 25 spent a good portion of their teen years in the Obama administration, reading Harry Potter. We now know Harry's author has issues, some manifest in her books, but mostly it was a tale a of trying to survive and do good under difficult, oppressive circumstances.
yes
We thought the fight was over, or some of us did. It wasn't. We need to fight for it now though. But we saw what it could be, imperfect, frustratingly so, but ever better.
yes
I remember talking with Stacey Abrams at a meet-and-greet in 2006 when she running for political office for the first time and going home and emailing my friends and neighbors to tell them to vote for her because one day she would be president of the United States.
Right there with you. She's larger than life when you meet her, isn't she? Completely dominates a room, but is quiet, thoughtful, funny, intelligent, not pushy dominant.
Stacey exhibits a combination of charisma, intelligence, and compassion that I have never seen in any other politician. While campaigning for her during her 2018 Georgia governor race, I realized that all I had to do is encourage people to go hear her speak in person or speak with her if they had the opportunity. That always sealed the deal.
Add “authenticity.” I am always struck by that as well when I hear her. No BS. Agree with you about all one has to do to be convinced is to listen to her.
Stacy Abrams is all of that with the added authenticity. My concern is the bern followers. They feel she’s not the right fit for them. I don’t have examples. I do know she has the intelligence and has no fear in responses she makes. I really like her as a first choice, don’t know what the DNC is looking for. That’s my concern.
She is amazing...tired phrase? i hope not
A psychic says she is George Washington reincarnated. I know there's no fact basis here, but now I can't get it out of my head, lol. Think about it! Solemn, regal.
I live in TN. Pardon my jadedness, but for all the virtues you mention (she’s not quiet) she will be anathema to southern, less educated, still fighting the Civil War southerners. We already did black, but black AND a woman, especially such an articulate one? That’s enough to make you clutch your pearls or hug your Confederate flag!
That’s why I like her! We need SOMEONE who can speak articulately and intelligently with these republicans who have nothing better to do but argue. They don’t like AOC because she speaks up and out, I’m sure that’s why some don’t like or aren’t sure about Stacy Abrams. Hopefully, she’ll have lots of people holding on to that flag for and clutching pearls!
Thats Why I like her too. But i wasn’t raised here.
i like all of them
So sorry for your problem!
love this! from your mouth into God´s ear!!
I so much would LOVE to see her as President Biden's VP!
That is exactly what we need
The first one that comes to mind is Elizabeth Warren reading every single word of the Mueller Report, and then immediately coming out for impeachment. The combination of moral clarity, courage, and taking her job (and the needs of the country) seriously. Among other things, that clinched my support of her as a presidential candidate, when initially I'd thought her MVP position was in the Senate.
I'm hoping against hope that after November we can say "Senate Majority Leader Elizabeth Warren".
Agreed! Senate Majority Leader Warren sounds just dandy to me.
...and Barack Obama as a Supreme Court Justice ...or if he's tired, Michele!
I am loving this idea even better than Madame Secretary of the Treasury.
Yes, and one reason is that if she leaves the Senate, her replacement will be appointed by Charlie Baker, a Republican.
Thank you for educating me! -- MA is truly progressive in that law, for sure. Good to know there is at least one state that gets it right -- are there others?
Another reader had responded that MA law required that a Senator had to be replaced by one from the same party. Then he/she deleted it.
Since then, I saw this:
"Basically, Democrats hold enough of a majority in the MA legislature to be able to change the law to require the Republican Governor to pick a Democrat to replace Warren, and they've done it before (in 2004 and 2009)."
Oh, yesssss, and let her have full rein over the Consumer Protection Bureau...that’s her baby👍
YES!
I love Elizabeth Warren. She was my first choice for Democratic nominee. She leaves blood and teeth on the floor. Joe Biden owes her a big one. She neutered Bloomberg in the first debate he appeared in. Took him out as contender in the moderate lane.
These comments are very powerful, making me weep...but in a warm joyous way, rather than my distressful, garment-tearing grief at 45 and his admin.
I just this second went and told my daughter how incredible these comments are! I feel like people have been starved for smart conversations about politics, and wow... here they are!
I agree with your assessment. I am not as articulate or educated as so many in this group. The conversations here give me hope that we can overcome the tragedy of 45's administration.
You are welcome here, Carole, and in like-minded company
Thank you. I am so thankful that I found this group. I learn more and more every.
It's like an oasis of sanity. Keep coming back!
Me too Carole
Hey, just want to say educated does not mean informed, compassionate, incorruptible, kind or anything else. It often translates to arrogant, dismissive and insulated.
You are so right! How many highly degreed eejuts Iknow... Most stopped learning even before they finished their education because they already knew enough! No natural intellectual curiosity.
Precisely!
I think we also feel safe here, not subject to the hate mail we would get on FB or elsewhere?
Yep. I was. Now you are my first news source. Before it was the Guardian
Going through people's comments on these threads are the best part of my day. I have learned so much. There are at least three books on my Kindle based on recommendations of people from this group. I also recently started a subscription to "The Atlantic". Again, I love your book "To Make Men Free". Thank you for this group!
You'd be amazed that everyone to whom I've forwarded an article of yours has subscribed
I am trying to get the word out to friends.
Amen.
I whole-heartedly agree. I have tears in my eyes, too -- but they are tears of hope. There are so many good, earnest, smart and dedicated people sharing remembrances here. I feel a lot better about the future for having read their comments (despite the fact that the future I'm yearning for is a number of months away...).
Thank you for this post and thank you Heather Cox Richardson!
Well, I'm 74 years old today, so I have a LOT of memories, but, aside from hearing Joseph McCarthy's name on the TV when I was really young, most of the political discussions I heard before age 13 hit my ears pretty much like the adult voices in 'Peanuts' videos ... "mrahw-mrahw-mrahw-mrahw ...".
We got our first television set in 1952, just before I turned 6 years old, but about all we got at that time were test patterns and wrestling matches with 'Gorgeous George'. There may have been news programs, but I never paid much attention until 'The Mickey Mouse Club' debuted in 1955. By 1956, when I was 10, I would sometimes hide behind my bedroom door after I was supposed to be asleep, and look through the crack and watch while Mama and Daddy watched programs in the den, which was next to my bedroom. An image that's seared into my mind to this day was a program showing the effects of an atomic bomb blast, as the wave of energy slammed buildings into rubble and then ignited fires. There was an animation of two deer in a forest, watching as cataclysm approached, and that was branded on my soul.
In 1957, when I was in 6th grade, the integration of Central High School in Little Rock was brought home to me because a high school student from there was sent to live here, and stayed with my friend Nancy’s grandmother. I thought that was pretty weird, and from then on, I was much more attuned to the issue of integration, from James Meredith at Ol’ Miss in ‘62 to George Wallace’s shenanigans in Tuscaloosa in ’63. What a year THAT was! In a town this size, I was supposed to keep my mouth shut and my thoughts to myself, while Mama and Daddy funded an “Americanism” prize for the high school student who could deliver the most stirring pro-America speech. Hang down your head, Dr. Tom Dooley, and "Deliver Us From Evil".
I turned 14 while at camp in the Texas Hill Country the summer of '60, and some of the girls were buzzing about how Lucy Johnson's daddy was going to be JFK's vice-president, and how she was going to be unbearable! Typical t'ween-age girl talk, I thought, but it was another reason to pay attention. Lucy usually went to Camp Mystic 2nd term, while I went 1st term, so we never ran into one another, but other girls either went both terms or switched from year to year. At any rate, after I found out my parents were supporting Nixon, (of all people!), my inborn "maverick" tendencies were accelerated, and from then on, I was a full-fledged Democrat, if only at first for the rebellion factor. This has been a recurring theme in my life, by the way. <sigh>
Strangely, I was barely aware of the whole Bay of Pigs Megillah until if was in the rear-view mirror. It's possible that news coverage in our area was manipulated to some extent, or it may be that boys were taking up more of my band width, attention-wise.
I was in typing class in high school when the principal announced that the president had been shot, and when I went home for lunch, I learned that he had died. Mama made me go back for afternoon classes, and I was sickened by the number of kids who were acting as though it was a party. The population of the small, north Louisiana town in which I was raised, and to which I've moved back, is over 2,000 now ... back then it was around 3,000. Solidly ultra-conservative Republican (so, doubly "red"-necked, if you'll pardon the expression), and Protestant. When I was growing up here, Catholics were deeply suspect, and racial epithets were pretty much the common tongue. I couldn't wait to leave.
By the time I got to college, in '64, change was afoot, and (still in Louisiana) there was a lot of grumbling about the programs LBJ was trying to initiate. It was the first time I was in racially mixed classes, and I felt like an explorer who couldn't wait to see what was around the next bend. And then, by '65, I lost my first friend in Vietnam, and man, did the mood ever shift. I watched as LBJ's presidency was consumed by that "dirty little war", and over the next 3 years, my own life shifted from student, to wife, to mother, to hippie.
In 1968, pregnant with my first child, I watched in horror as, first, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and then Bobby Kennedy were assassinated. All I could think was, “What kind of world am I bringing my child into?
By '69, "Everybody" (by which I mean everybody I knew in Houston at the time) understood that "Tricky Dicky" was going to be a disaster for every hope we'd ever had. I remember when, in 1970, Tricia Nixon invited fellow Finch attendees to a tea at the White House, and Grace Slick got an invitation. She showed up with Abbie Hoffman, who was, unsurprisingly, turned away. So Grace left, too, before she had a chance to carry out her plan to slip LSD into Nixon's tea. Ah, the times, the times!
I was pissed when Ford pardoned Nixon, and pleased when Carter got elected in ‘76, but my lord, the MESS he inherited. That era, Nixon/Ford/Carter was so fractious. Carter was a smart, decent man who just never got his footing in the earthquake zone of American politics at that time, and that set the stage for the staged sunniness of Ronald Reagan. By then, I was becoming so disillusioned, and my life was undergoing a further series of metamorphoses. When George H.W. Bush barfed into the lap of Prime Minister Miyazawa, it almost perfectly mirrored my opinion of Republicans in general and the entire “know-nothing” Bush family, in particular.
My enthusiasm was at pretty low ebb until Al Gore ran. I volunteered in Victoria, TX, and was elated until … Freaking FLORIDA! If I was an enthusiastic Democrat before that, I became a rabidly enthusiastic Democrat afterwards.
One of the truly great disappointments of my life has been the realization that so many of our fellow citizens are intentionally ignorant. A few (possibly 12 to 14) years back, my central a/c unit (now deceased) was being serviced, and the young helper was parroting something he’d heard on Fox. I told him, “Do you know that’s not true? Fox isn’t “news”, it’s OPINION!” He said, “Yes, but it’s what I like to hear.” At least the guy was honest about that.
The absolute disdain that so many here in the U.S. have for facts that don’t support their personal world view makes my head feel like exploding, and damned if I can figure out how to begin to change that.
I figure the period from Gore to the present will be heavily represented by a lot of folks who can elucidate that period more adequately than I, so I’ll leave it to them.
When people ask me why, after living in St. Louis, Houston (twice), New Orleans, the San Antonio region, and Victoria, TX, I moved back to this tiny, über-conservative town, I've been known to reply that I moved back here to screw with the demographics. ;)
Aren’t you glad you asked?
Thank you for taking the time to share all of this. Fascinating perspective. I am right there with you in amazement and grief about proud, intentional ignorance in the US. I too have no idea how to combat it. The futility of having a discussion, let alone a debate, with people who won't even acknowledge that facts exist, let alone be swayed by them, can't be overstated.
If you come up with any ideas let me know.
What I have noticed with most who represent republicanism, they depend on fox for news and use conspiracy websites for information and spout it as gospel! When you call them out on it, what a hail storm of hate that comes from them! Of course, you’re the one called hateful because you don’t agree. Ipot is one conspiracy website, I couldn’t get any information from it because I wasn’t willing to pay for what I believe is an opinion of someone named sir Patrick Mack. Then there’s Q Anon. I have a friend who says those people are just plain crazy. It appears that most conspiracy websites get their information from Q Anon. I find it incredible that just because you don’t agree with someone or this administration, you’re called hateful. It appears that common sense and decency have disappeared.
not here
We are the same age with many similar memories. My coming of age was going to Mississippi during a winter break to help get black citizens to register to vote just after the federal registrars went down there. I was a big fan of Pete Seeger.
Yes, "Freaking FLORIDA!" -- W was elected by one vote: Sandra Day O'Connor. And yes, I am glad that Heather asked. Thank you!
We had a friendly family bet on the 2000 election. When it was time to settle up, we agreed that Gore had won the election, but the bet had been on who became president.
My gallows humor response in 2000 when people said W didn't win the popular vote...
"Yes he did. He won the only vote that ended up mattering 5-4. "
It wasn't funny then. It still isn't.
Happy birthday! Your perspective brought back so many forgotten times.
Fabulous answer. That’s a whole novel, right there!
Right there with you in terms of your memories as we are the same age. Though I never lived in the South I got all I needed from my father who grew up there. He was a Dem but voted for Wallace. Enough said! Good for you to move back and shake things up.
Southerners like you are jewels, and unfortunately about as rare.
I was always proud to be from Massachusetts, the only state that Nixon never carried.......guess we knew he was a crook!
"Don't blame me, I'm from Massachusetts."
I’m the proud owner of a “Don’t blame me, I voted for Dukakis” bumper sticker!
I loved the "Don't blame me I voted for McGovern"
I was a college freshman in Massachusetts when we marched to the Boston Common in the fall of 1969, and when the Ohio State shootings happened and my college's ROTC building was burned to the ground in the spring of 1970. In November of 1972, my student resident status allowed me to vote in Massachusetts, still naive enough to think McGovern had a chance to win. Somewhere I have a pin with that "Don't Blame Me...." message. McGovern didn't win, but ever since I have believed in the power of people uniting to protest injustice.
Kent State shooting is what you are referring to as Ohio State shootings, right? (In the State of Ohio) My sister was attending Antioch at the time in Yellow Springs OH. Us family on the west coast were a bit concerned until she told us Admin and faculty at Antioch had joined the student protestors.
I was also a college freshman right next store to Ohio, at Indiana University. I remember opening my dorm room door and seeing the headline of the Indiana Daily Student about the shootings. I was horrified. I’ve NEVER forgotten that incident and Nixon’s part in the climate that gave rise to it. This year was the 50th remembrance.
McGovern my my fist vote and Jay Rockefeller for governor. They both lost but I was never disillusioned.
I remember when we weren't called 'Massachusetts'; appearing instead, as an empty spot on a U.S. map, labelled as: "Gulf of New Hampshire''. I heard FDR speak 'live' on the radio [no television then]. Not clear about what he said, as I was btw. 5 & 10, for "the war". But there's no forgetting the timbre and timing of, 'that voice'. One learned; much later on, about what was being addressed, as my father, a physician and researcher, was politically, someplace to the right of what "Conservative" once meant, when there actually were such people. How all that has changed. WR
Went to college in Ma. And stayed for 40 years. In the Berkshires no less. Miss it every day.
Me too!
I remember breakfast and lunch. Specifically reduced-price breakfast and lunch at my public elementary school in the mid- to late-1970's, where I was one of maybe 10% of the students in my school who qualified. And I remember it being no big deal among my peers, or the teachers, or the school staff, or our neighbors. There was no shaming that my family and I needed help and accepted it. Was that small part of the social safety net a component of the partisan divide in the 1970's? A political historian will have to comment on that. But the steady erosion of funding for school lunches since then is very certainly partisan.
OK. this one is a big deal. Thank you.
This. While I wasn’t “poor” growing up, taking care of those less fortunate than you was just what you did. We were all supposed to help each other up. This is why tuition in CA was almost free (hell, my Pell grant in 1980 was something like $2K and that almost covered tuition, dorm (w/ crappy meal plan), and books) at UCLA.
It was expected that my society (local & state government, church, etc) and family would invest in me. In return I would give back by becoming a contributing member of society.
I call myself a “mostly Eisenhower Republican” these days (in part to tweak all the extremists, but mostly that’s the brand of politics I imprinted on as a kid in the 60’s).
I too remember being impacted by this. My mother was (as I'm much more aware now) depressed and unable or unwilling (I'm not sure which) to get help except for barbituates which calmed the anger. I relied on the food from school which was either paid for or partially supplemented. Dinner was usually TV dinners, but at least we had those! My college tuition was also completely paid for with grants and some loans, but if I remember correctly, it was something like $2500 including room and board. I am very thankful that I'm not going through any of that at this time.
Back in the day, between being a California resident and having the GI Bill from Vietnam to live on, I graduated from excellent state schools with three degrees and no student debt. And California was a far better place for that investment made in people.
Attended college 1973-1977. No family funds, but Basic Education Opportunity Grant and low-cost National Direct Student loan got me through a good PA state college. Loan paid off in about 10 years of minimal payments. It was a tremendous boost.
BEOG ~3000 & work study job kept me in college in 1978. Gentle loan payoff followed. Forever grateful!
Just for clarity, K-12 in the 60's, college grad '80
My immediate response, which would not vary after reflection, is the inaugural address of President John F Kennedy. I was 18 years old. His campaign and the words of his inaugural inspired me and a great many of my generation. After college and law school I devoted the next eleven years of my career to working full time in public interest law. I have remained a dedicated Democrat and worker for a more just society. I am 77 years old. I attribute much of my motivation throughout my life to the example of President Kennedy.
This is lovely. And solid.
Yes to the idealistic example, which still powers things. I still ask myself "Ask not what your country can do for you..." But studying the real history of the Vietnam War and the Cold War removes a lot of the shine off the actual presidency.
I think what I did when I came back from that war, against all the things JFK and LBJ did, was far more "ask rather what you can do for your country" than what he proposed.
I was a pediatrician, and can still remember when Reagan won by a landslide in 1980; I was in a mother's room examining her newborn, and her TV was on. I just could not believe that he had won against Jimmy Carter, who was decent and ethical and competent. To me, Reagan's victory marked the beginning of our long, sad slide into the massive accumulation of disproportionate wealth and power by a very few, further militarism, and disparagement of Blacks as worthless for political gain, and the sacrificing of essential long-term national and global goals just for that personal accumulation of wealth and power. I feel a heaviness in my heart, often and now, thinking about it.
You're certainly not wrong. Reagan was a turning point - the realization of the Republican 40 year war against the New Deal. When he broke PATCO that signaled the end of unions. When he got rid of the Fairness Doctrine, that set up the Far Right Noise Machine we deal with today. When I was in politics, I met him when he was governor. James Garner's two-word review is accurate: "amiable dunce."
You should read Rick Perlstein's "The Invisible Bridge." Actually you should read all three of his books - on Goldwater, Nixon and Reagan.
The Goldwater book is aces
Absolutely agreed. This felt like the beginning of the end even at the time. The first election I was old enough to vote in and I was certain we’d be nuked (I was volunteering for an anti-nukes organization at the time). It all felt manipulated and unfair, Reagan’s hostage “negotiations” and the negative press against Carter’s infamous speech, which looks so sane in retrospect. And the conglomeration of media ownership that fueled Carter’s negative press.
But it was all so clearly the ramping up of the Culture Wars as backlash against gains made by to the Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Rights, Stonewall—access to public space, public discourse, and education.
This is when the koch brothers created citizens united. It’s been their dream to be where we are today. PAC money, really and truly should not have any place in politics. Just a legitimate scheme to put the rich in charge and let everyone else, fall where they may regardless of which gutter it is!
i thought Nixon was the beginning of the end, but before that I thought Robert Kennedy's assignation and Martin Luther King's assignation was, and before that I was a high school student confounded by the assignation of John Kennedy. How could this happen in the USA. I was also confounded about reservations, what the h. were they about. . . lots of compartments of "less thans".
The election of Reagan seemed to me to be the the turning point when the accumulation and power of money began to be worshiped instead of almost suspect, as it was in NYC during “the recession” in the late 70's. I could feel the effect of this immediately in my neighborhood (the West Village) when for the first time there were armed muggings, and of course there was the not coincidental rise of Donald Trump. I could see the writing on the wall and fled.
I have a similar memory from further along in Reagan's presidency. I was just out of college and working as a social worker doing Child Protective Services in Ohio. As my caseload grew to the point of being unmanageable as a result cuts to our funding, I'd seen first hand the impact of cuts to social programs on the families I served. One day when I was driving three little African American kids to a supervised visit with their mom, I heard on the radio that there had been attempt to assassinate Reagan.I so clearly remember thinking very sternly to myself that it "wouldn't be appropriate" to say "serves him right" in front of those kids.
Oh this is the best memory! I was teaching at Colorado College in the Feminist and Gender Studies program during the 2008 Presidential Election. CC students were on FIRE! They were canvassing, calling, writing, etc. And, you must know, that Colorado Springs is not the most liberal city in Colorado. It is ringed by five military installations including the Air Force Academy. It is a tax haven/home for numerous evangelical Christian organizations, including Focus on the Family and The World Prayer Center. And these students were out there knocking on doors, making phone calls. The energy for Obama was electric. And when it was announced he was coming to Pueblo for a rally - we were determined to get there. Me and another professor rented a van (maybe 2 I can't remember) and we all packed in for the drive south - only about 45 minutes. When we arrived it was like a party. Stilt walkers and tumblers with painted faces entertaining the crowd that snaked around the outdoor rodeo complex (talk about paradox!). And all of us were laughing and smiling in anticipation - strangers sharing the excitement and happiness. We all knew we were witnessing and participating in something historical. And when he came on stage - his crisp white dress shirt rolled up to the elbows and bright red tie - we went crazy! I felt like a Beatles groupie. He inspired us all to do better, to want more, to have hope. Months later - we gathered in the little house that served as our campus offices and classrooms, watching the numbers come through, knowing that he won. Our students, our children, our partners - we witnessed history and the beginning of what we hoped would be a new America. Everything seemed possible - we believed we could participate in creating a country that would be more equal, more empathetic, more ethical, just MORE. Days have been really dark since Nov 2016 - and I still hold on to that night.
One of the best moments of my life was getting to meet nominee Obama the night before Election Day in 2008. I was hard at work volunteering at his Charlotte NC campaign office and envious of several staffers who were going to hear him speak that night at UNC-Charlotte. Suddenly the atmosphere changed in the office as the word went around — he’s coming here! He’s coming HERE! I called my mom to pick my daughter up at school so I could stay as the secret service came in and got us organized. And then Barack Obama came in — even more magnetic and impressive than he seemed on TV. He shook every one of our hands, asked our names, was the warmest and most genuine person I could imagine.
My favorite moment: as he was speaking to our group, an older Black woman broke down in tears of obvious pride and happiness. Obama never missed a beat but walked over and put his arm around her, hugging her close as he continued his talk. She was sobbing and needless to say the rest of us were too! We learned that night that he had just gotten the news that day of his grandmother’s death, making that moment even more poignant.
What a wonderful description you wrote Tonja! Thank you.
You captured my feelings exactly! Thank you!
Our memories of a recent visit to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta gives us hope that decency can prevail!
DECENCY! THAT's The Word.
Amen. And it seems to me such a low bar. I truly don't get why some people find it so hard.
“Decency vs. darkness. Let’s make decency a thing again.” Catherine Mullally about Joe Biden. I think he should use it as a campaign slogan.
Just started reading “Burning Down the House” about the beginnings (or acceleration) of the Republican party’s makeover ala Newt Gingrich. His tactics began the downhill slide to where we are today.
Agree.
Decency and Common Sense go hand in hand👍
Carter was the first president I voted for. I’ve always liked him, despite the criticism he gets. He was unlucky enough to serve during a very difficult time. But he personally is an incredible inspiration as a human being and a former president. He continues to make amazing, humble contributions to the world. I look forward to what President Obama will be able to do for the decades to come, especially after we get out from under the shadow of Trump.
Very underrated. Look what he still does today.
Agree! He was the first president I voted for, as well. A true statesman and humanitarian.
Isn’t that an incredible library? I loved and learned every minute I spent there!
I came of political age in the 1970s on Long Island. It was, and is still, chock-a-block with Republicans, which always appalled me. The self-congratulatory attitude, the easy racism, the possessive individualism and money-and comfort-worship among white working-through-middle class suburbanites always appalled me, and depressed me then as it depresses me now. I remember Nassau County Democrats as pretty complacent, but far, far better than the self-satisfied Republican politicians who were all over the place.
A few Democrats stick out in my mind:
Mario Cuomo, the last of the true New Dealers. Would that his son be so noble.
Eugene Nickerson, a Democratic Nassau County Executive. His election and re-election were rare events indeed.
Allard Lowenstein, one of the first Democrats to come out strongly against the Vietnam war, an act of conscience that cost him his seat to a Republican jingoist. That's a pretty rare event now too.
Bill Clinton. For me, his most quotable quote, directed against Newt Gingrich and his Republican beer-hall putch-ers, "They are the Reagan Republicans, we are the Eisenhower Republicans." He said this without the slightest hint of embarrassment. And, knowing full well that the Republicans would nail him to the wall at the slightest provocation, he abused the power of his office and not only betrayed the good faith of an intern, and his wife, he betrayed his party as well. Which mattered little, because he pretty much corrupted it to the core. I hold him in the same political contempt that I hold George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. I do not care if he was a "Democrat". Scare-quotes intentional.
And finally, Elizabeth Warren. She was wonkier than Bernie Sanders, and a smidgen to his Right. But she understood better than he the fact that the tech and finance sectors are completely out of control, and has the personality to rein them in. The Sanders/Warren/"Squad" wing of the party strikes me as its best hope in four decades.
Wow. This is beautiful. I'm taking notes on another screen.
Hi. I did a little thinking yesterday using my external brain (i.e., Google, Wikipedia), and it jogged my memory a bit more about Allard Lowenstein, who I think is a significant yet unfairly ignored figure in Vietnam-era Long Island politics, and whose political fate speaks volumes. Lowenstein's loss to Republican Norman Lent in 1970 was in part a reaction to his vehement anti-war stance, but was hastened by the gerrymandering of Lowenstein's district, which centered on the middle-class Jewish Five Towns community, to include Massapequa, which was a mix of Italian, Irish, and Jewish ethnicities (it's satirical nickname was "Matzoh-pizza"), yet politically much more conservative. Lowenstein was also instrumental in the "Dump Johnson" movement and helped recruit Eugene McCarthy as a primary challenger to LBJ, and the success of McCarthy in New Hampshire was part of the reason why the latter decided not to seek re-election. Lowenstein was an outlier in L.I. politics, not so much because he was a Democrat, but a Liberal-to-Left Democrat, with an Ivy League background. And that's a telling fact.
Why? Because Long Island politics has largely centered around the tangled relationship between race and real-estate, pretty much from the time it stopped being a semi-rural area mostly devoted to growing potatoes and breeding ducks. It explains why conservatism was the lingua franca there until about 10 years ago. Racist redlining policies created white zones and black zones, and to this day -- though entirely on the Q.T. with lots of nods and winks and innuendo -- guides which houses get shown to whom. The Republican party has long capitalized on the fears of white suburbanites that their property values will tumble if the neighborhood started being less rigorous about keeping black and brown people outside their borders. This politics of fear had a symbiotic relationship with the racism of many white people on Long Island: If they were already racist, this made them more racist, and if they weren't it would prompt racism through economic anxiety. THis is one reason I have long abominated the Republican party: they traded in racist dog whistles since the 1950s on L.I. It is only now that Democrats are getting elected en masse, partly because it does not pay to trust the minions of plutocrats, partly because a fair percentage of Long Islanders are black and brown, and white people get to know them. Post-Boomers here shed their parents' racism as something quite awful.
I do not think I am going to spend the rest of my life here on Long Island, but it disturbs me far less than it used to. Nov 2020 will be the watershed moment.
I concur about the Sanders/Warren "Squad" wing of the party, Laura. They give me hope.
I'm proud to say I didn't vote for that Arkansas scumbag twice. He was as obvious a slime as Trump was in 2015.
Historically, Democrats have been champions for education in our country, and our schools have played a vital role in the success of our nation. But the Democratic Party needs to bring more focus to the issues that really matter. We are no longer preparing our kids for life as an adult, and our education system is tilting an already-tilted playing field. Priorities need to be comprehensive early childhood care and education, reversing the horrid impact of the Supreme Court Rodriguez v San Antonio Unified decision (which says it's ok to shortchange schools in low-income communities, and shower resources on kids in affluent communities), and revitalize our community colleges with short-term immersive offerings. And too often the Democratic Party sends a message that you have to have a four-year degree to be a first-class citizen in America (highly offensive to many, and just not the case). And this college-ready obsession has shaped what our kids study in high schools, as we've driven out any hands-on learning opportunities, replacing them with sprints through vast swaths of 'college-ready content.' The net result is that we're not preparing kids for career, citizenship, or life -- only for high-stakes standardized tests that tell us very little about a person's competencies or ability to be a productive member of society. There's much more on this at www.teddintersmith.com for more on this. tdintersmith@gmail.com.
Thank you. And amen.
American public miseducation is even worse than it was when I educated myself in the stacks at the Denver Public Library main branch.
I remember the tiny hope that grew as the 2008 Primary season went on, that maybe Barack Obama could be president. I remember the fabulous convention where he and Joe Biden stood on stage together. The inauguration was amazing, and having Beyonce sing "At Last" at one of the balls made me cry. That was the first year I really got involved with the Democratic Party. I went to meetings and became a Poll Marshal - I was in a neighborhood I had never been to, and people were out on the streets, knocking on doors to get people to come out and vote. More families than I could count came in as 3 generations, with the oldest ones shining with pride. After the polls closed, I went home to join a watch party. We made sure that we got the news from a special Daily Show which aired live - Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert were the hosts and it was triumphant.
My sister and I went to Michelle Obama's book event in Detroit. It was a blast. Even though the event was huge. Mrs. Obama's warmth gave it an intimate feel. It was like sharing stories about what you had done with your life at a high school reunion with a fellow graduate who did well to put it mildly.😊
This is lovely.
Oh, what a night, Tuesday, November fourth, 2008! Was at The PIT (improv) in NYC with new friends and we realized if we just walked up 13 short blocks, there might be some celebrating going on. We went, and were not disappointed. The joy on the street, and on top of the few phone columns (not booths anymore) was electric, exciting and enthralling. Certainly one for the memory books!
-The speech by the then new Senator from Illinois Barack Obama at the Democratic Convention when Al Gore received the Democratic nomination for President. I sat there with my father (bless his memory), as I predicted that we would see Senator Obama would run for President day. He did not believe that we would see a person of color in the White House in our lifetime. He was correct regarding his lifetime, however gratefully I was correct as well.
--Listening to Senator Chris Murphy speak in front of a synagogue to a group of CT citizens from a multitude of cultural, religious, and racial backgrounds. He spoke with great passion, and compassion regarding the rights of our Muslim neighbors and those from 'Muslim countries' who were being harmed by the religious divisiveness and discrimination encouraged by our new President, #45.
This is lovely. Murphy is big on Twitter these days, too.
So proud of my Senator
So embarrassed by mine -- I live in Maine, where I will again have a chance to vote against Susan Collins.
Me too, but she won't be senator much longer!
I, too, listened to then-unknown-to-me senator from Illinois. My first words were, "Wow! He's going to be president one day." My gut, not just my heart, knew it. Didn't expect it to be 2008, though.
Somewhere I have a poem I wrote to my late father about Obama becoming president. He eanted to see that so badly but did not live long enough.
Actually, the speech was given in 2004, at Kerry's convention. Just sayin'... it's hard to keep track of history last week these days.
JFK’s assassination. I was 5, not yet in school. Burned in my memory is my mother taking me by the hand and having me kneel with her in front of the TV and pray. Kneeling and praying to the TV sounds ridiculous, but I understand her emotions on that day.
This is powerful.
My most powerful memory of that day: I was in eighth grade, and after hearing the news from my bus driver, returned home to the sight of Walter Cronkite weeping on the air. Oh, if only we had Cronkite's kind of journalism again....
I still remember the cadence of the drums from the funeral procession.
Sitting in my fifth grade classroom, the announcement of JFKs assassination came over the PA. I ran home and told my parents, who were sitting at the kitchen table. They both began to weep, which upset me almost as much as the news I brought home that day. I’ll never forget it.
i do too.
'Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country '...Kennedy wasn't perfect yet he inspired...same for Bobby. His assassination was crushing.
Even as a kid I could tell there was something different about JFK when he gave that speech. He was educated and not afraid to show it, while not exactly showing it off, either. It was like, "Hey, this is normal. This is how everyone should want to talk." That's how inspiration works. Show, don't tell.
My JFK assassination memory is as a 6th grader being called into the large study hall with all the other 6th-8th graders. The normally snarly and "mean" teacher that spoke to us was crying. That turned my world upside down before I could even comprehend what had happened.
I was in 8th grade. We were in choir practice when the announcement came over the loudspeaker. Our choir director, Patrick Carnes, crumpled over in front of us and began to weep. I had never seen a man cry before. I was deeply shaken by the intense grief of the adults around me.
I was in 7th grade in public school when it was announced over the PA that he was killed. Our teacher & our whole class knelt down on the floor in silent meditation.
I was in the Navy. Everyone was stunned - I'll never forget the "Gold Braid" Chief Bosun's Mate who ran down the street on North Island NAS shouting "The president's been shot!" We said "Hey Chief, that's not funny." He came over to us and in that "Chief voice" said: "I said, the *president* has been *shot*!" You don't doubt a Chief in that kind of moment. Went back to the ship and the inspection was canceled. Spent the next 4 days sitting in front of the TV at my girlfriend's house, all silent.
I was about about 7 and remember watching the entire funeral on a 10 inch screen black and white TV. We wanted to go out and play but knew the seriousness and devastation it had caused all of the adults in our lives. I remember the pictures in the newspaper of Jackie and his body. We weren't praying, but the emotion was just as palpable.
wow. I was too young when JFK was killed but I remember seeing my mom cry at the TV when MLK was killed and I was about 6...
I was working in Fort Worth at that time, and at an earlier break, one of the local 'butt-heads' was talking about taking his double barrel shotgun to JFK. Strangely, the subject never came up again! I can't remember much else about that day, but that really stuck! (My rememberer ain't what it used to be, and I have slept since then!)
There are two from the 1960s that have had a great impression on my political views. The first was LBJ who would have been remembered as a great President if not for Vietnam. His accomplishments in civil rights, voting rights, and social welfare were extraordinary and lasting. He understood that to get things done you need a powerful vision and the ability to secure cooperation from Congress. The second was his great nemesis Bobby Kennedy who taught all of us that one's politics can and must be connected to one's values. He had come a long way from his service with McCarthy in the 1950s and as AG under JFK by 1968 and forged a very heartfelt and compassionate approach in his too-short 1968 campaign. I firmly believe we would love in a much different world today had he not been cut down in LA and had gone on to be elected.
Ah. LBJ and Vietnam. I have some ideas about that.
The song, knee deep in the big muddy comes to mind and how it caused a bru ha ha for the Smothers Brothers
That February 1968 performance was the first time Pete Seeger appeared on network television since he was blacklisted along with the other members if the Weavers in the 1950s. The song title is actually "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" and the first verse contains the line "knee deep." A couple of verses later they are neck deep and still "the big fool said to push on."
What finally killed them was the "sword in the stone" bit, with everyone talking about how the sword had to stay in the stone, till a little dwarf (Nixon) came along and said he had a plan to withdraw the sword from the stone, which everyone cheered. They'd been told "no more" and did it anyway. Tom Smothers once told me that was the thing he and Dick were proudest of having done.
Richard Prior’s poem on the Smother’s Brothers did not endear them to the censors.
Anyone remember the show TW3: That Was the Week That Was? Political satire....didn’t last long but it was good.
Theme song by Tom Lehrer?
Absolutely
Watched it faithfully
I made tape recordings of many of the shows as a kid!
I'd love to hear them. I've greatly enjoyed the first four volumes of Robert Caro's biography and look forward to his fifth and final one. LBJ was a very complicated person, wasn't he (as I suppose we all are). As for RFK, I higlhy recommend Thurston Clarke's The Last Campaign. Have you written on LBJ or RFK? Do you have specific reading suggestions. Thanks
I read once that in the last years of his presidency, LBJ was known to wander the hallways of the White House at night, unable to sleep because of the Vietnam carnage.
I suspect Trump will not lose one minute of sleep over the carnage he is causing as we speak.
I have some thoughts about LBJ and JFK, MLK and RFK, and about how greatness might reach in both directions—deeply meaningful psychologically, but not appropriate for your forum.
Having been there at the (alleged) Tonkin Gulf (non) Incident, the uber lie of the war of lies, the event that turned my life around 180 degrees, and now researching a second book on that war with the access the 50-year Rule provided by the Internet (I find a code word name of a program, I put it in Google, and more than likely I will within 5 searches find a PDF of the declassified formerly-secret report on that whole program, released sometime in the past 5 years). The result of the research is I hate Lyndon Bastard Johnson (for being an f'ing MORON) more than I did as a member of the GI antiwar movement 53 years ago.
And I remember him pulling his dogs’ ears, sighhh
When Jimmy Carter took office, it felt as if the obstacles were finally out of the way and we were on our way to realize the hopes of the 1960-70s. It felt a bit that way when Bill Clinton came in except that, after Reagan, it felt that we had lost ground. That a person of color was elected, and that we again had a president who could string together complete sentences made Obama's election a sense of relief and elation. With Obama, it felt as if we were poised to address race, climate change, and other key issues with an eye toward sustainability.
If he hadn't let Rahm Emmanuel lose the 2010 election, all that might have happened.
No one has mentioned Ann Richards yet. I think it’s hard now to understand how isolated state politics were back then (“national” news in the papers were generally limited to weather, protests, and the president’s latest policy), but even I in California heard about Governor Richards and her witty, fiery comebacks. She took no nonsense from men (and they still voted for her in a sexist state), She got things done and she was respected as a women politician that I’m not sure we’ve seen before or since.
do watch the one woman show about Ann on PBS if you have'nt. It's wonderful and no holds barred. She and Molly Ivins are sorely missed
Truth. Molly was a force in her own right.
The movie about Molly Ivens is worth watching also.
Gov Ann Richards
—“Poor George, he was born with a silver foot in his mouth.”
1988 Dem Convention, Atlanta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtIFhiqS_TY
🤣😂
Memories:
President Carter Brokering the Camp David Peace accords between Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat. That was such an amazing breakthrough at the time.
Meeting VP Al Gore in person and watching him moderate a conference. I realized just how smart he is and that he actually does have a personality. I couldn't understand why it took him so long to stop being the wooden man in public and start letting that show through. This also plays into a backlash. I still feel like the 2000 election should have been a slam dunk. I think Gore and the DNC took way too much for granted and that much of the last 20 years stems from those mistakes.
The palpable feeling of relief when I heard in 2008 that Obama had carried Ohio. It may have been naive, but in my mind, that meant the election was over.
Jimmy Carter as an Ex-President. I still hope that history will remember him as the most effective and successful ex-president in history. I think his intelligence, integrity, compassion, and plain decency are or should be, an ongoing beacon of hope.
Any one of a number of times hearing President Obama speak. Basking in the glow of articulate intelligence after 8 years in the intellectual desert of W.
Backlash:
This is less about specific politicians and more about the DNC and the Democratic party and voters in general. Democrats are their own worst enemies. The tendency to refuse to back a candidate who is not their first choice or with whom they disagree on specific issues or details is self-defeating. Dems who claimed that there was no difference between Gore and Bush in 2000 and so they didn't vote. Dems who were so butt-hurt about the 2016 primary that they didn't vote in the general election. Numerically the only reason Democrats lose national elections (and in many places even state and local) is that they can't align behind a candidate.
One point on your last sentence—gerrymandering. I live in Pennsylvania, where there is no way to get a citizens-sponsored referendum on the ballot. Several groups have been relentlessly pushing for reform to the laws governing the way districts are drawn. But the districts are drawn with such precision that Republicans continue to hold the majority, even though more Democrats vote. And they can ignore their constituents, even on an issue that has demonstrable bi-partisan support among voters. (See Fairdistricts pa.com)
You are absolutely correct. Once the Republicans gain control they have been extremely aggressive and effective with gerrymandering districts to stay in power. This is a huge issue in several states. Offhand I can think of PA, NC, TX, WI, MI as key battlegrounds where this is ongoing. I recently heard a really good breakdown, I think it was on NPR. I don't remember whose research it was though.
On Carter, yes, a good and talented man who cared about the country, people and the state of the world. And unfortunately, so miligned. It took forty years, but truth will out: manipulators put their own self interest above American lives to win the 1980 elections:
https://jacobinmag.com/2020/01/ronald-reagan-october-surprise-carter-iran-hostage-crisis-conspiracy
Your last paragraph is dead-on accurate.
When in Sept. 2013 my only son, SFC Liam Nevins, was killed by "Green on Blue" enemy fire on his Forward Operating Base in Paktia Province, Afghanistan (on the Pakistan border), both Democratic US Congressional Representative Michelle Lujan Grisham and Democratic US Senator Martin Heinrich, both of New Mexico, made extraordinary personal efforts to assist and comfort me--Congresswoman (now NM Governor) Lujan Grisham gave me her personal reserved seat on a Southwest Airlines flight from Albuquerque to the east coast so I could attend a family memorial ad grieving gathering; Senator Heinrich phoned me personally to talk at length. Both also initiated investigative action concerning the poor performance of the New Mexico National Guard and US Army in this matter--I was never given the respectful in person notification of my son's death by the Army/Guard and eventually, at the behest of our Democratic Congresswoman and Senator, the Commanding General of the NM National Guard (himself an adherent of our then-GOP NM governor) came to me in full uniform to apologize. This personal attention at a time of the greatest stress for a "gold star" parent will also stay with me. Vote Blue.
Experienced the sixties in D.C. working for Government. RFK crystallized our politics and hope. The last politician who rallied both the minority and white working class population with his message of unity! Wonder how different we might be as a nation rather than the politics of division and racial
animosity for the last half century!
Yes. And for two days I've been trying to dig out how the Kennedys fit the Democratic story because they are clearly elites coming from a non-elite tradition (for the most part). Was it their Catholicism that linked them to the older traditions? Their machine politics dad? Something else? I have JFK's letters in the other room... I should drag those back onto the desk, clearly.
I wouldn't underestimate the influence of the Jesuits for a large swath of college educated Catholics in the '50s and '60s. I'm a product of that message, my Dad and uncles went to Jesuit colleges and I followed them and when to Holy Cross where we were taught to be "Men (sic) for Others." I took a class there called "Liberation Theology" were I first learned how US corporations treated workers in Central America. I was horrified. I spoke to my Jesuit professor outside class about it and I remember he told me, "No Dina, it doesn't mean you can't ever work for a corporation - we want you to graduate and get inside these places and change them for the better." The ethos was certainly the Lukan, "To whom much is given, much will be required."
And that was how Rose Kennedy raised her children. They were raised with the idea that they had been born to wealth and privilege and they had to give back to society. And most of them did find some way to make a contribution to society. Rose was a fascinating woman...not a very warm mother, but she raised very intelligent kids.
And now we have vocal conservative (fundamentalist) Catholics who are super Pro Trump but also anti Pope Francis. It’s like they forgot all Catholic social teaching. I’m in the South and know many of these Catholics.
I don’t recognize these people. How can you be against Pope Francis? 🤦🏽♀️
I agree with Lisa Juodis Ristuccia. Those against PF are, for the most part, “traddies.” They want to return to the Latin Mass, altar turned to the East, away from the congregation, don’t like his welcoming stance toward LBGTQ, his reorganization of the Curia to serve bishops, not bishops to serve the Curia...I could go on and on. Some have called him a heretic.
that is sad
I was in a delegation that spoke with Fr. Rafael Sivatte at the UCA in San Salvador the year after the assassinations of six Jesuit teachers there. He told us that 300 Jesuits from around the world had applied to fill their places. In the middle of the civil war. While death squads (funded by US dollars) cruised the streets every night in their black Jeep Cherokees. While I have major issues with some of their theology, I have great respect for the Jesuits' commitment to liberation, service, and education.
What I love about RFK is that he spoke up, not down to people, he wasn't afraid of using his education and knowledge to elevate and lead - he recited poetry to working class black Americans after MLK was killed, likely knowing that few would know the poet or possibly never even heard poetry before. He spoke from his heart and his own pain and it connected because it was authentic.
JFK set high goals and inspired us to believe that we could reach them, I was only a toddler when he ran for the presidency but I think that high goal setting helped, it connected to the goals during WW2, how we excelled in coming together to build more planes, more supplies, giving of ourselves for the common good of our country and even the world. His well known line, ask what you can do for your country, touched that same WW2 spirit in all those who were old enough to remember the war years. And back then, there wasn't the disdain for education that the GOP has built up now. Back then, a college education was respected, an achievement that was aspired to by many families, plus being Irish (even though lace curtain) and Catholic, I think gave them a bit of the underdog status and helped them connect to working class Americans.
But the decades that the Republicans have spent using division and racism to gain power have pushed us apart, encouraged both feelings of entitlement and resentment and stripped us of that spirit of working toward a common good.
"he recited poetry to working class black Americans after MLK was killed, likely knowing that few would know the poet or possibly never even heard poetry before."
Hmmmmm.... I am reminded of a recent online comment I read which said "White people need to talk to white people about white people." So I am humbly asking you to please consider white privilege before you assert things like this. James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, not to mention that there were myriads of Black song writers who were also poets -- they just set their poetry to music. I sincerely hope not to offend you, but we all must try to really consider what we are saying, and how it is heard by others. Thank you.
yes. we may not have read poetry or Shakespeare...i did cuz i graduated in liberal arts...but i hadn't seen an opera til covid utubes ( thank you Royal Opera). B ut we know the themes becausecwecare human, tho we may think we are alone. Now, thanks to Heather Cox Richardson, I know we are not alone. and that is power.
I was referring to the audience being "working class", less educated and less likely to have had much exposure to (classical) poetry (which is what RFK quoted that night), not because they were black. It's also good to give the benefit of the doubt before taking someone to task. :)
I said I hoped not to offend you, but I guess that didn't work, since you think I "took you to task". My apologies. Working class people still listen to songs, and they are poetry as well.
In my experience, when people say they hope not to offend on the internet, it's immediately before or after they say something offensive. :)
Your comment said that you think I'm showing white privilege, that's not a conversation starter - it doesn't show any interest, doesn't ask any questions, there's no room for sharing - it's essentially an accusation and reads to me more as your public demonstration that you're woke than an opening to discuss what I wrote, your reaction to it, how poetry is defined and how people are exposed to it.
Especially in these days, it is critical to have conversations, all kinds of conversations between all kinds of people - I applaud the comment you read online and I suggest that rather than telling someone else to examine their white privilege, instead share how that white conversations comment you read has made you examine your own white privilege and caused you to think in more depth, to be more aware of what you say - that can invite the other person to share their own feelings and it doesn't need to include a disclaimer of "I hope not to offend you" because it's about your experience, your reaction, rather than accusing them.
I make that suggestion because of my own experience recently with someone I work with and a comment they made about the 4th of July. It bothered me a great deal and it was an example of white privilege but as I thought about how to approach that person, I realized that calling that out, even privately, would simply put the other person on the defensive and not achieve the result I wanted - that they really think about what they wrote. Instead I took a different tack, writing that their comment had really affected me and discussing how and why it affected me so much. That opened the door for them to share their feelings with me and we had a good conversation.
I believe it was their humanitarian programs coupled with the tragedies their family has endured that makes them more connected. Yes, Joe senior was a scoundrel in the way he made money. Rose kept him in God’s good graces with their philanthropy. Realizing that philanthropy has carried forward with each generation, hit me profoundly when JFK, Jr. died and knowing his undisclosed philanthropic choices came to light. Even though they had money, they didn’t flaunt their wealth as these current times are showing.
Being Irish, in Massachusetts, back then was certainly a factor. The Irish were the working class, Democrats because they had suffered significant discrimination at the hands of Republican blue bloods.
JFK was so personable. I was 8 when he was assassinated. Soon after, my grandmother showed me a letter he wrote her, he had been on the Navy boat PT 109 in Korea with my Uncle (her son). She always held him with high regard. I still have the letter.
Whether or not "PT 109" was ghost-written, I think JFK's service in the Pacific during WWII must have really shaped his life going forward. He reportedly swam for miles with a burn-injured sailor towed behind him after the boat sank --the tow rope clenched in his teeth.
In my studies of the Pacific War, it shaped all four of the future presidents who served in it: JFK, Gerald Ford and George HW Bush all saw combat in the Navy (Ford was nearly swept overboard the USS Monterrey in "Halsey's Typhoon), and it shaped their view of service. Nixon too served, as a legal officer running court-martials on Guadalcanal after it became a rear area, and learning to play poker well enough to pay for his house in cash in 1946 (a whole $6,000). I think that experience shaped him, too.
I just shared above how my Uncle was with him on the PT 109. I have a letter he later wrote to my grandmother.
I hadn’t heard that report. Thank you.
That would be old Catholicism before it got corrupted by abortion fervor
Amen sister.
You might want to look hard at the influence of Rose Kennedy.
See First Mothers: The Women Who Shaped the Presidents by Bonnie Angelo.
Being elite and attracting a broad coalition is not unusual in American politics. Think FDR. Or TR. Probably examples at state and local levels as well. RFK and JFK maybe influence by Catholicism, not acceptable to many Americans at the time. As a volunteer for McCarthy, my reaction to RFK assignation was one of horror. RFK bridged the gap between Hard Hat, minorities, and voters like me, and likely would have beaten Nixon. Which reminds me that Sam Hays said Humphrey was charismatic in person, but clearly not suited for an age of tv campaigning.
i think it was his messages, yes, values. Hexwas very articulate, thoughtful. Robert had it too, even Edward. John Kennedy....frst Catholic president...some people thought his religion would keep him from being president, as i recall.
Joe Kennedy in MA seems to have the ideals as JFK and Bobby Kennedy. I think he is Bobby Kennedys’ great grandson.
Possibly, but I don't like Joe Kennedy's move to dump Senator Ed Markey, who has been a progressive leader for a long time, for no better reason than "I want that job."
My Dad was a Republican all his life. When JFK won ( I assume he voted for him ) he was so proud because he was a Catholic. I do think there was something to that. He also took the whole family to hear him speak when he visited our area.
They (both JFK and RFK) were amazingly charismatic, good looking and smart. Next they put together slick campaigns. JFK had two campaign songs put out on a 45rpm single that even I as a 5 year old was singing in 1960. People felt like he (both JFK and RFK) was talking to you when he spoke. I remember overhearing adults talk about the Catholicism as something that was concerning and not as an asset.
I think that their being Irish explained why these wealthy Ivy leaguers were Democrats. In Massachusetts, the Irish (like my grandfather) were committed Democrats.
Did you know my dad, Paul Weeks?
Mine is a very old and idealistic memory. I remember as a young girl hearing Kennedy say "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." I found that a very inspirational message.
Where were you? And how did you hear him? (Sorry, I just noted that that sounds inquisitorial. I'm in interview mode because I'm fascinated by these stories. Ignore at will, of course.)
Heard and saw his Inaugural speech on our B&W TV as a freshman in high school living in Chicago, January 1961. His speech was the most inspiring thing I had ever heard. I had started paying attention to politics because of him. He was brilliant, charming, funny and said things I liked that made sense to me. Nixon did not seem to possess any of those qualities. There was some accusatory news that Mayor Daley had stolen some votes to put JFK over the top in IL, securing his election. In all probability, perhaps Nixon’s supporters just didn’t steal enough. As a senior in high school, in November 1963, sitting in Home Economics class, the announcement that the President had been shot came over the loud speaker. I thought it was the end of everything hopeful and good. During my senior year in college in 1968, two more horrific assassinations of MLK and RFK would make sure of that. It took 40 long years, with a few exceptions like President Carter and Al Gore’s stolen election, to feel that kind of good hope again with President Obama’s election. Senate Republicans under McConnell during his second term would not even allow him a Supreme Court pick among other obstructions. Then came Trump... and here we are.
In Altadena, CA, I was jfks “campaign manager” in my junior high, just before dad became Washington Correspondent for the LA Mirror and we had to move to DC
I was in Denver, junior year of High School. stayed home from school to watch the inauguration (after arguing with my anti-Catholic Masonic father throughout the campaign, the first of many deep arguments we were about to have for the next 15 years). That was probably the most inspirational speech I heard from a President, though now as an historian to go back and read all of it, it's a blueprint for every bad thing that happened that my father and I would argue about those next 15 years.
I agree very much with Diana’s comments regarding JFK’s message. I was in sixth grade.
Second grade in Overland Park, KS when JFK was elected. Heard the "Ask not" speech at my Catholic parochial school. We were told Irish Catholics were under-represented and that JFK would change things for us. JFK's election was an emotional moment in my family, a family that had close ties to Truman. Ultimately that speech led to me joining the Peace Corps after college, as did my sister, cousin, brother-in-law and son.
I was in 8th grade in 1960-61 in parochial school in central Illinois. 60 kids in my classroom. I had been following the presidential campaign for over a year thanks to discarded Saturday Evening Post and Life magazines. I had been aware that we (my parents) were Democrats since 1956 because Republicans were for people with money and Democrats were for those without. I remember watching Kennedy's inauguration on a black and white TV that the nun rolled into our classroom on a cart. It was a thrilling moment and inspiring moment.
The excitement around JFK’s candidacy and then the reality of having a young president with his family in the WH. I remember so much hope for the future. I was in my HS study hall when they announced his death and it was burned into my memory as one of life’s most memorable moments. It also was a loss of hope for the future.
I also was very excited for Obama’s election and presidency and thought that we could finally get so much accomplished. I had no idea how racist this country still was. I was naive enough to believe that because Obama was half white that he would be a great person to pull us all together. I am appalled at how much was blocked by the Republicans!
I live in MT and have been so impressed by what Governor Bullock has been able to accomplish. I actually got to meet him at a friend’s house and he is such a down to earth man. I never thought I would ever be sitting down visiting with our Governor. Very fond memory!
I am 69 if you want age context🤣
OK, this is great. What was it about JFK? Did you think of him as a Democrat, or just as a president (if that makes sense)....
could we consider Jackie also? Bringing in the value of Arts, and health? -She started the "50 mile hikes" and brouught the idea of people becoming more active re: their own wellness.
The ACA is the most recent, critical sweeping change that the Democrats made that has been under attack since its inception. The GOP has of course stopped at nothing to destroy it, and yet it was the first, best change toward fixing our current healthcare system. I hope that the Democrats can build on the foundation that the ACA created to eventually bring the US in line with the rest of the developed world.
The ACA saved my life and I'll always be grateful to President Obama. I wrote to tell him so and in the month after he left office I got the warmest, most intelligently written I ever read; cherished possession.
WHOLE-heartedly agree!
I've been a reporter/editor with a weekly newspaper for 40 years. I will never forget in my earliest days meeting our State Senator Richard Luft and hearing him describe how things worked in Springfield Illinois in those days. "It's I'll scratch your back, and you scratch mine," he said. I was appalled at the time. What about ideals? Beliefs? As our political parties have become more partisan and politics more divisive, it became clear that what Dick was talking about was cooperation, negotiation, and compromise. Wouldn't we all just give our eyeteeth to have that political system back again?
Would like very much to correspond with you about this stuff over email if you're so inclined.
Trevor Noah this morning: if we are constantly defining things in terms of this or that, black or white, dem or repub, we will continue to be forced into confrontation...must be more nuanced in approach.
The first time I felt invested in a particular Democratic candidate was Mo Udall who lost the nomination to Carter in 1976. He was a strong environmentalist from Arizona and an experienced Congressman. As things turned out, it seems to me that he would have been a more effective president too.
Oh, wow. I had forgotten about him! Udall! See, this is why these threads are so much fun.
Back in the mid 90s I worked for Mark Udall, one of Mo's sons, after he won his first election to become a CO state representative and then later on his first Congressional race. Mark was a man of integrity and humility, committed to working with those he didn't necessarily agree with, who was unfortunately beaten by Cory Gardner (and all of that Koch $ plus some unforced campaign errors) in his bid to be re-elected to his US Senate seat in 2014. It's been years now since we've spoken but I am glad to have met him and had the opportunity to work with him. In December of 2014, I happened across a C-SPAN video of his last speech before the Senate where he excoriated the CIA for its lies and fabrications about torture and enhanced interrogation, and rigorously called out the Obama Administration for lack of transparency. His last committee assignments were Intelligence and Armed Forces so I'm sure he'd seen and heard some pretty intense stuff. As I watched the video I remembered the first day we walked into the CO State House together almost 20 years earlier, and I noticed him feeling a bit nervous and uncomfortable in a jacket and tie which were not usual attire for an accomplished international climber and mountaineer and former Outward Bound ED. We paused for a moment and looked around at all of the suits and politicians and lobbyists etc scurrying around and I said to him, "You know what's cool? That you can put on a tie and walk into their world, and I'll bet not more than one or two of these guys would last ten minutes in yours. And they know it. That's your superpower."
Here's a clip to the speech https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4518662/user-clip-mark-udalls-final-speech. Now I am remembering that Mark had intimated he might just read the redacted report into the record but decided against it. If you have seen or heard of the movie "The Report" (it's on Prime) it deals with this subject matter.
BSRC and RFK. RFK had a true left point of view of any mainstream politician in my lifetime. His work on race and poverty would still be advant-garde today, even to Sanders supporters. The New Frontier eclipsed the vision of The Great Society. His assassination was the end of liberalism, social democracy and the rise of the centrist right in the Democratic Party.
BSRC? And yes, his assassination....
Known as the “Restoration”... Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation
Yes, so true. The last "great Democrat." I was in the crowd in Union Square in SF in May 1968 when he said "Some see things as they are and ask "why?" - I see things that never were and say "why not?". Good politics in this country died June 7, 1968.
I remember how inspirational JFK was. Even though he was a scion of a powerful family his egalitarian philosophy is sorely missed. After him LBJ and the Great society programs went a long way to fostering social justice. Truly remarkable for a Southern Democrat. It's too bad he blew it with Vietnam. I remember Tip O'Neil, the consummate politician who managed to get things done even with Ronnie Ray Gun! It's tragic that his skill died with him.
I remember Carter's presidency as uneventful, perhaps a good thing. But he is by far our best Ex-president. And then the Democrats sold out to Neoliberalism with it's acolyte Slick Willie. The Clintons have done more to destroy the soul of the party than anyone in a "Century". They did more to foster income inequality than just about any Republican. Bill started dismantling the Great Society and his work has continued apace ever since.
Ah. Tip. this is very helpful.
Calmness. Empathy. Intelligence: Jimmy Carter.
Carter was the first president I voted for when I was 18. I loved that he put solar panels on the WH and hated when Reagan took them down
Three memories: The protests in Selma, Alabama for a voting rights act had gotten more and more serious and deadly. Profoundly affected by those events, President Lyndon B. Johnson scheduled an address to the joint houses of Congress on March 15, 1965. I was 13 years old and remember the televised speech to this day: "I speak tonight for the dignity of man and the destiny of democracy. I urge every member of both parties, Americans of all religions and of all colors, from every section of this country, to join me in that cause," Johnson said. He went on: “Rarely in any time does an issue lay bare the secret heart of America itself. The issue of equal rights for American Negroes is such an issue.” He closed his speech by reciting the protester's call" “And…we… shall… overcome." Repeating that one phrase was a stunning recognition, and adoption, of the protesters' demands. It was a stunning moment in American political and cultural history.
The second memory is of Presiden Johnson's phone call to Senator Richard Russell in 1965. While we did not have access to the recording of the phone call at that time, what we know now is that Russell warned Johnson that if Johnson pushed the Voting Rights Bill [or was it the Civil Rights Act?] the Democratic Party would lose the Southern vote forever. Johnson told Russell that he knew that and that he wanted it anyway. I remember this whenever I despair of political leadership in the United States - where a political leader knew the costs of doing the right thing and did it anyway.
The third memory is of turning on the 2004 Democratic Convention and seeing the keynote speech by Barack Obama, someone no one had heard of. His speech was magnetic. I called my husband to come over: "Quick, listen to this amazing speech." It was moving, heart-breaking, and unforgetable.
Because I am philosophically inclined, I have been most impressed by Mario Cuomo and Jerry Brown, two leaders who had very disciplined minds and were always inclined to think very deeply, and intelligently, about their world views and how to put them into play in the public sphere. In his first run as Governor, when he and I were young, Jerry Brown responded to a reporter's forgettable question with a statement that stays with me as I think about my place in the social contract, "1400 calories a day and a moderate climate and everything else in your life is expectation." He was given to asking hard, sometimes-unpleasant questions that too many of us Democrats shy away from. I'm thinking, for example, of the time at a UC regents meeting, he asked if it was really necessary of Berkeley to pay more than $400,000 to get a competent chancellor, why doesn't the UC faculty teach more, why not get rid of inessential research? Good questions for which he did not get meaningful responses.
Ah. I had not dug into Brown. That's a great idea. You don't, by any chance, have some favorite places for me to read up on his speeches, do you? (I know, this is my job, not yours, but it never hurts to ask)....
I don't know of any, but two great reads are Trailblazer, a biography written by my friend Chuck McFadden, and The Browns of California, a thorough and well-researched chronicle of the entire Brown family; I was especially intrigued by the parts about Jerry's mother, Bernice, though having Pat Brown's story fleshed out gave me a greater appreciation for that man's decency. As a UC alumnus who, as a poor kid who was on his own at sixteen, I was fortunate to attend when it was tuition free, I especially appreciated his commitment to public higher education being accessible and affordable.
Stunningly spiritually evolved imho. when I have a little more time I will try to send something about his presidential campaign appearances here (Boston area.) Nothing important, I was/am just a regular citizen with various worn\m's eye views of various. -- the country lost an opportunity to truly incorporate our stated ideals into concrete form. His deep humor, intelligence, articulation were refreshing. Following that election -which Clinton won- I believe he became mayor of Oakland, and also had a call-in radio show. The Mike Royko /Gov. Mooonbeam incident is pretty interesting, illustrates how news persons can kill a good thing. (Haven't forgiven Royko yet!!!)
Ryko, whose Moonbeam comment came in reaction to the young Governor's determination that California should have its own satellite, later came to acknowledge that he was wrong. But at Jerry Brown liked to comment, if California was a country it would have the fifth largest GDP in the world.
What I loved about Jerry (when I was little, still Catholic, and his first time as governor) was his insistence on his living his values. Not using the governor’s mansion, but living modestly “off campus”, driving an old, beat up station wagon, no fancy dinners, etc.
I was “raised by Jesuits” (Catholic schooling) and even though he’d left his vows (one reason my parents didn’t trust him), I loved his intelligent, no nonsense, fiery passion for taking care of the poor.
He was very different, more world weary, and I think adhered less to his moral compass during his second governorship.
Actually, @Heather, it would prolly be super interesting to compare him and AOC. Or him, AOC, and Obama. They all had/have that “I’m here to rescue you” mindset towards public service and their faith.
Dani, I see his second tenure differently. So does he. He was not so much world weary as more experienced, which led him to be more pragmatic. He saw Climate Change as the number 1 challenge we face as a species and, in contrast to some of his ideas when he was young, was very concrete in his proposals for how to address it. When Trump pulled us out of the Paris Accord, Brown made a deal with the Chinese government to keep on keeping on. He inherited a multi-billion dollar debt from which he managed to liberate CA, leaving Gavin Newsom with a multi-billion dollar Rainy Day fund. And so it goes. As in his youth, he remained forward-thinking. Still is, heading up a Climate Change initiative in retirement.
Fair. I'd moved out of California before he was re-elected so have only seen things at a distance. I knew he'd bailed out California and made the independent climate deal with China (how is that going, btw? I don't see any news of that up here in Seattle). He always looked tired -- like the weight of the world's responsibilities were getting to him. I'm glad to hear he's still fighting the fight.
Jerry has always been for me the epitome of what a Catholic should be.
I'm not sure how the deal with China is going, but I suspect it remains in place. He and his wife, who kept the details of his gubernatorial office on track, appeared at the Commonwealth Club a few months after he left office. He looked older, which makes sense, given his age, but he is still very sharp, but still has a bit of his big-picture quirkiness, which I find appealing. The first question asked was how life after leaving office was different. His response was that it wasn't all that different, which left Ann Gust Brown rolling her eyes, "That's because you don't have to deal with all the boxes that keeping turning up!"
@Heather -- the other fun thing about Jerry is the generational difference in politics between his father and himself (I would argue that Nancy Pelosi probably learned as much from his dad as she did her own father). There's probably a whole PhD thesis on that (not that you need to do one, LOL), but it was fascinating to watch as I was growing up.
Two things: This is from my partner, Thomas Benson: All the democratic policies of the 1960’s led to the south becoming solidly republican. The Voting Rights Act, Civil Rights Act led to latent and covert racism that has developed within the Republican Party. I am wondering about “The Family” and how that originated primarily to fight organized labor and seems to have turned into a conservative work horse in DC. The use the “words of Jesus” rather than the Bible as a tool, which is truly troubling. But I guess that’s not democrats, is it? I can’t help my tendency to get distracted by something shiny.
I did not know that about The Family. Fascinating. Am literally looking it up right now on my other screen.
this was an eye-opener for me for sure. I had always wondered why we have a National Prayer Breakfast, what with separation of church and state and all ....
See: The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power
by Jeff Sharlet, Jun 2, 2009
I first heard about it in a Docuseries on Netflix. It is seriously scary stuff
It was well done, scary, and important to see.
I couldn’t finish it. It was nightmarish.
I couldn't either. I tried watching it and couldn't finish.
Same here. Too creepy.
Go read Jeff Sharlet's book. They're the creators of The Religulous Wrong.
I have had personal experience with the Family. Scary stuff. Also check out theocratic theologian Rousas Rushdooney’s influence on Reagan era politicizing of Christianity.
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120746516
I hope folks have watched the entertaining but infuriating series “Mrs. America,” about Phyllis Schlafly and her work against the ERA—which built the powerful political bloc that became the religious right.
I did. Notice how she herself did not follow the advice she was officially giving others?
Yes, absolutely read Sharlet's book. I grew up in 60s and 70s in the Deep South with fundamentalist Christian parents. My relatively early escape from the religion made it possible to watch, aghast, as evangelicals became more and more politically active. These people are abusively authoritarian (a redundant characterization, perhaps) and have made their version of Christianity into a cult-like prison of double-binds and circular logic.
They want a theocracy in the US. Many believe that Jesus won't come back until that happens; and of course, they believe God has chosen tem to lead the world toward the spectacularly violent beginning of the Kingdom of Heaven that is the hallmark of End Times theology.
It is not always clear who the true believers are when politics mix with religion, but this particular kind of fundamentalism worships power more than love, so it is possible to be cynically manipulative and remain a "Good Christian". It is a very strange world they live in: extremely hostile to life on Earth as it is actually lived. they'd happily kill everything living to hurry up Armageddon.
<https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120746516>
Yes, my friend first saw a video last year...I believe on Netflix.."The Family"...I watched it ..I had not known anything previously about it..but it is an organization that continues throughout the world apparently...Weird stuff...Yes, the video speaks of "The National Prayer"...that all VIP politicians attend...I ordered Jeff Sharlet's book from Amazon after seeing the video..This organization has been around for decades..apparently very powerful..
SO many memories! As many others have stated: JFK (I was in 4th grade and his assassination was probably my first politically related memory), MLK and RFK assassinations, Johnson saying he would not run for a second term in March 1968, etc.
My late father was what he called a "Yellow Dog Democrat" and when I asked him what that meant, he told me he would vote for a yellow dog walking down the street before he would vote for a Republican. He was a huge influence on my political views and in 1972 I proudly cast my first ever vote for president for George McGovern. (When George W. Bush was president, he frequently wore a button that said, "He lied, they died.")
Some other observations/memories:
I've always loved watching the Democratic conventions every four years and have always been proud that the people attending are truly that melting pot we all learned about in school: many races/ethnicities, people of different religions, LGBTQ people, etc. The contrast between our conventions and the GOP, all white people, convention is astonishing.
My sister, who lives in Illinois, started telling me about Barack Obama prior to his speech at the 2004 (I think that was the year) Democratic National Convention. I was totally blown away when I heard him speak and happily voted for him twice. I was so hopeful in 2008 that our country really was progressing and moving forward and I didn't wake up every morning worrying about what awful thing he had done overnight. I didn't always agree with him but he was a person of decency and intellect who believed in science and expert advice.
I was literally sick when Donald Trump was elected. I could not believe it. Our daughter called me sobbing the night of the election and asked what kind of a world she would be raising her daughter in. I thought about it and the next day told her she would keep doing exactly what she had been doing: teaching our granddaughter to love and respect and be kind to all, that all people (no matter race, creed, religion, sexual orientation, etc.) were valued and worthy, and that love eventually would overcome hate.
I knew Trump would be bad but never in a million years did I think he would be as horrific as he has been. One positive for me out of his election is that I have become much more politically active: giving lots of money to candidates, attending candidate forums, becoming active in local progressive groups, etc. I have always voted and paid attention but I am hyper aware now of so many heinous things going on in our country.
Heather, you have been one bright spot in our otherwise dreary landscape. I read you first thing every morning and have learned so much. Thank you for your voice.
JFK’s excellence in government initiatives which accelerated growing a higher-quality Federal workforce, all-the-way through the Carter Administration.
Yes! Tks for reminding me.
The President in signing the bill stated:
“By helping to reduce turnover, by attracting more capable people into the Federal service, and by improving employee morale, this legislation will make an important contribution to increased productivity.” 1961
https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/legislative-summary/federal-employees
Ooo... interesting. I did not know about this.
I was only 12 when Kennedy was elected. At that point it for me, it was about good-looks, Catholic, young ( based on Eisenhower, I thought Presidents mostly golfed!), beautiful wife, sense of newness and youth and possibilities . As a Catholic in Maine, I was in the minority in a all-white public school. And now my Catholic guy was President. Times..and my thoughts....were simpler then!
Not a memory, but a realization……modern day Democratic Presidents do far more to make this world a better place than Republican Presidents, both during, and even after they serve as President. All past Presidents continue to serve as advisors to their parties and give speeches, etc. However, what they do with the rest of their time is very telling. A very quick check shows the following.
From Nixon on back, every President pretty much retired to their home towns following their presidency.
Ford (R) retired to Palm Springs to play golf
Carter (D) set up the Carter Presidential Center that worked on curing River Blindness throughout the world, among its many accomplishments to help the poor. He also has worked tirelessly for Habitat for Humanity, and has participated in various peace negotiations around the world.
Reagan (R) retired to his home and his ranch.
H W Bush (R) retired to his home.
Clinton (D) set up a foundation that, among other things, works to stop HIV/AIDS throughout the world
W Bush (R) retired to his ranch to paint
Obama (D) started a foundation to help young Black men in America and young leaders throughout the world, and he and Michelle are also beginning to produce films and docu-series on race and class.
I grew up in Northfield MN, and also raised my kids there. Paul Wellstone was a Carleton professor with a fiery spirit, and can-do attitude. He traveled the state in an old green bus when campaigning for his US senate seat, reaching all who would listen with his message of: We all do better when we all do better. That has been inspiration in leading my life and all that I do.
1960 election, my Mom was Chairperson of Republican Town committee & campaigning vehemently for Goldwater. My Dad WW 2 Navy veteran (Mom also WW2 exMarine Tech Sgt) he told her Election Day he voted JFK & canceled out her vote. Coming home 11/22/63 from 2nd grade to my Mom crying over his death. Btw her sister needed $ and poll checked for Democrats (=friction!). My Aunt eventually became a MA State Representative! Both women WAY ahead of their times!
Wow. Would love to learn more about why your mom supported Goldwater and your dad JFK. That's an unusual split in that time. Also about your aunt. Women are key in the D party way earlier than I thought.
Think my Mom thought Republicans were elite, was 100% Irish. Her parents were class Valedictorian & Salutatorian Peabody MA HS ~1900 when, Irish need not apply! WW2 enabled her elite attitude. She was in charge (TechSgt) of a Women’s Barracks in the Mojave Desert. My Dad was a good but common man, had 6 older sisters family of 10 -had no grand illusions. Dad was our caregiver! My Aunt started with school committee, city Alderman then lost her run for Mayor, 1982 shot the moon as State Representative. Grew up in Essex County MA.
Also our neighbor knew Gov Volpe! Mom for her Republican Committee work got a low # license plate MA: L-296.
but didn't Goldwater run against Johnson in 1964?(Kennedy ran against DDE's VP Nixon)
Yes. in 1960 Republican candidate was Nixon with VP Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. Goldwater would have been 1964 against Johnson.
In the summer of 1984 I was approached by a coalition -teachers, environmentalists, seniors-- to be a candidate in the Democratic primary for then Florida Congressional District 4 against a long time incumbent. ( Granstrom vs Chappell). I had been in TV News in part of the District so already had name recognition and my background --ex-Nun, MA in Education, Florida grown--was hard to attack. I had had no political aspirations but I answered the call. We ran a true grassroots campaign--low on money big on volunteers.
It was the time of Mondale and Ferraro. As a young woman I got caught in some of the same flak Ferrarro got-- Catholic women and abortion, attacked not on our own experience but on our husbands' presumed business aspirations. I had to remind viewers on a PBS Candidate program that it was my name on the ballot not my husband's.
I was 38 years old. My 74 yr old opponent said of himself, "If this were a beauty contest I would lose,"-- a comment meant to get a laugh but our audiences did not laugh, bless them. When I spoke they realized I had a brain and this was not simply a vanity run.
My opponent was a Boll Weevil, a Southern Conservative Democrat (more Republican than Democrat) and, being an ex-Navy guy brought big money into the defense industry in northeast Florida. I had an Army Doctor brother who was that very summer training in desert sands in computerized tanks that did not work so I was pushing for less big armament spending but better R&D defense, clean energy and term limits, etc.
As we got closer to the vote he pulled out all the stops. He threatened local media if they interviewed me. He upheld a long tradition of paying the African American community for votes and found multiple ways to diminish and demean me and our campaign. His handlers even viciously, verbally attacked my Mom who was working for my campaign. I knew personal derogatory things about him that I refused to use because it would have hurt his family. I remember with some amusement the time a young man came up to me during a nightime, lightning laced outdoor rally to say that if he were not the son of my opponent he would vote for me!
I lost the Democratic Primary but we managed to get somewhere near 39% of the vote. A Democratic operative who had been tracking us said if we had had a few more weeks we would have gotten even closer. But we accomplished one goal which was to force the incumbent to campaign in a Congressional Primary he thought he would win without having to appear or campaign in the district. And our campaign kept some issues alive that he would have ignored. For me, it was one of the best educations of my life. As a woman I felt proud to be there in 1984, a year that saw a woman, Gerardine Ferraro, on the Democratic ticket. I also was reminded, once again, thanks to my opponent, that the Democratic party is not a monolith but a spectrum.
That was 36 years ago, some things have not changed, some have. In retrospect I would have done some things differently but given the moment, the time frame and the context I am proud of what we all accomplished together. It was a Congressional Democratic Primary but a democratic exercise on the local level of what coalitions of active citizens can do together. I hope that exercise can be activated even during a pandemic.
Carol Stanton (Granstrom)
Orlando, Florida
I love driving on the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut where the bridges and overpasses are all different Art Deco designs. It was built as part of the WPA and I love that in the New Deal attention was paid to supporting art and artists in our public infrastructure. That detail is sorely lacking in our infrastructure today.
At 12, JFK, Irish heritage AND CATHOLIC LIKE ME , YOUNG, smart, handsome with a beautiful wife and family and was elected President if the United States‼️
At 20, the draft of men that were my age.
At 21, spending a summer studying in France, and realizing for the first time how young America was and how many non-Americans regarded it as a “grand experiment for which the jury was still out.” America-democracy- could FAIL??!
At 22, a senior in a small college, the bombing of Hai Phong harbor. That was the day I became more politically active.
At 42, seeing Governor Bill Clinton at Portland Head Light Campaigning in August 1990 and thinking: “He doesn’t have a chance in 1992!”
At 43, meeting him in a small group before he did a “town hall” at Portland High (one of the oldest continuing public schools in America!). He Took the time to greet the small group Gathered and then walked across the large hall to introduce himself to a friend and me. I thought “Man, does he know how to work a crowd or what?! If he loses, it won’t be for lack of trying! He looked right into our eyes to talk to us. Then going upstairs to conduct The Town Hall in a relaxed, intelligent , non-defensive way...even when a heckler would not end his rant. Bill let him speak, then answered all his points.
At 32, in 1980, applying for heading up the U S Census work in Maine and learning that I was not considered for the job because I supported Teddy Kennedy instead of Jimmy Carter. ‼️
“Oh, that is how it works!”
1971-89: a Republican ACTOR was President??!!‼️
OBAMA-2008-16: FABULOUS!
November 8-10,2016. Unable to get out of bed for two days. PRESIDENT Donald Trump ??‼️😂😂😂😂
“grand experiment for which the jury was still out.”
The lack of awareness of how young and how fragile the Great American Experiment remains is a topic I've been trying to articulate for a while.
(See http://zogprime.blogspot.com/2020/01/has-great-american-experiment-ever.html, doing research for this post was what first led me to Heather)
As a trained political scientist, I have been extremely concerned by the behavior and tendencies of Trump since early 2017. That year I testified before and submitted language to the Massachusetts Democrats’ platform committee regarding the “authoritarian tendencies” of the president for inclusion in the party platform that would be voted on at the state Democratic Convention in June. Unfortunately, my language was not added to the party platform, so I followed the alternative route available to me and submitted the following amendment on the floor of the Convention:
A healthy democracy is a precursor to achieving all elements of the Massachusetts Democratic Platform, yet the Executive Branch of our national government is exhibiting authoritarian tendencies. Massachusetts Democrats will resist these tendencies and support and protect our democratic institutions to prevent the erosion of our democracy.
We will:
• Stand with our immigrant, refugee, and minority communities
• Protect journalists from intimidation and resist efforts by the administration to marginalize mainstream media
• Protect judges from intimidation and resist efforts by the administration to marginalize the judiciary
• Work with the Democratic Party at the national level to resist the current administration’s efforts to erode the fundamental institutions of our democracy
The proposed amendment was met with resounding applause from the Convention attendees and ultimately added to the first page of the party platform. I originally developed this language because I know it is too easy for all of us to sit back and let awful things happen as our country slides into fascism. This is part of the model that fascists depend on as they grab a foothold.
So I wrote this language as a reminder to our politicians and activists that a slide into fascism is a real possibility (look around – it has happened already). It was meant as a reminder that we have to resist it every day with every fiber of our beings.
And that is the source of my disappointment with our Democratic leaders. Not one of our Democratic leaders has called it what it is, and Elizabeth Warren is the only one to prescribe remedies to what is in effect the take over of our political and economic systems. The Democratic leadership has been too passive, too interested in maintaining the neoliberal status quo, and unwilling to fight hard.
Soon it will be too late.
Barbara Jordan's address at the Democratic National Convention. Wow. I was in high school at the time. She struck every chord of hope and determination we needed. I remember thinking, "a woman could be president someday--an African American could be president." And then when Obama did his keynote address, I thought, "that's our first African American president." But back to Jordan. She is in the pantheon of great Texas women who have inspired me and continue to inspire: Ladybird Johnson, Sissy Farenthold, Barbara Jordan, Ann Richards, Molly Ivins. . . I know they're all long gone, but I have hope that more will rise.
Wendy Davis comes to mind.
I think I first became aware of politics at the age of 9 in the run-up to the 1972 presidential election. While Watergate would make its impression on me 2 years later, in '72 I was aware of the Democratic candidates. I don't remember if my parents were pro-Nixon or if just the events of personalities of George Wallace and George McGovern stood out to me. I distinctly remember Wallace getting shot that year and of McGovern becoming the Democratic candidate and losing terribly. My parents must have been pro-Nixon, because I have this vague impression that McGovern was not well liked in my house or by my mother's parents (this is all in Texas). At the time I wasn't aware of Wallace's notorious history as the Arkansas Governor and standing in doorways to stop black children going to school. Years later I wondered how Wallace & McGovern could have been in the same party. My family being Catholic, JFK was a (martyred?) saint for my grandparents and mother; the same for RFK later when he was killed. However, Teddy Kennedy's name was almost mentioned in whispers.
Fascinating about the whispers. And this is very helpful. You and I are the same age, and it was Watergate for me, too. But I'm not sure I knew much about Wallace. Our house was angrily divided between McGovern and Nixon.
It wasn't until I got to university and would call home to my grandparents that I realized how much they shaped my critical thinking about politics, because it's pretty much what we enjoyed talking about--we had such lively conversations. But for the life of me, I cannot remember what party they supported. My grandmother (being from the north) loved(!) Abraham Lincoln and books about the Civil War. And my grandfather had a disdain for all politicians ("They're all knuckleheads!"). I'd have to ask my siblings if they remember.
My sisters have confirmed that my grandparents did vote Democrat like many southerners did at the time, though my grandmother with her Irish Yankee roots claimed that black southerners still voted Republican because of Lincoln.
Just to say, Wallace was Governor of Alabama.
D'oh! You're so right--I got my 'A' states mixed up.
Alabama governor. Teddy’s “whispers” might have been because of Chappaquidick.
Teddy's "whispers": oh yes definitely
I remember the National Lampoon ad for Volkswagen that the magazine was sued over which showed a floating Volkswagen bug and was captioned: "If Ted Kennedy had owned a Volkswagen he would be President today." Alluding to Chapaquiddick and the drowning of Mary Jo Kopechine in the accident caused by Ted likely driving drunk.
I remember voting for Lyndon Johnson because he promised to get us out of the Vietnam War. He lied. I remember realizing that they all say whatever they think will get them elected, so what's the point? I didn't vote again until 2016.
I'm so very glad you are back!
Wow. This is powerful.
After July 15th I'll share more as I have a deadline. Meeting JFK in Lincoln Park as an 8 year old, a lot of Maine political stories. Nice stories about Joe Brennan, George Mitchell, Libby Mitchell and some tough stories about a ballot tampering case. Oh, a lunch with Bill Richardson at Middlebury. Later.
Sounds interesting! Looking forward to reading those stories
Yes, please!
This is a little anecdotal, but here goes: in my high school there were several classmates who were very interested in politics and actually became politicians. One of them is now in jail (guess what - he was a Republican), another got involved in NY State politics as a Democrat, but left politics a few years ago and now teaches courses in ... ethics!
In what years are we talking?
I graduated from a High School on Long Island in 1966. Not sure when my Dem friend left politics, I can find out...
Southerners were universally Democrats until 1964. LBJ was a tragic character: Vietnam destroyed his presidency and his legacy which was otherwise one of historic transformation of the Party and the country
He finally grew a conscience. He would have won.
I would have stated it as his response to the Vietnam War destroyed his presidency. The buck stopped with him. He could have told McNamara to pound sand.
I was born in 1958 and the political events of the 60s and 70s seeped into my brain even at that young age and shaped my politics - the Kennedys, especially RFK, reading his speeches in recent months makes me mourn his loss anew and inspires me to believe we can turn this country around. Martin Luther King motivates me too in these days of BLM gathering strength, giving me hope that we can finally make real steps forward on police violence. I have been both hopeful, enthusiastic, cynical and depressed over the decades by all the presidents between JFK and trump (I cannot bring myself to capitalize his name) but the greatest moment for me was standing in the voting booth in the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary with my choices being the first woman candidate and the first black candidate of a major political party. I knew the day would come for both but I had begun to believe it would not happen in my lifetime and certainly not in the same election! It was also the last primary in Texas where we had to return for the caucus after the polls closed to actually determine the selection for party candidate - I had caucused in previous presidential primaries but this one was a particularly proud moment, to stand up and be counted publicly for my choice in such a historic election.
After watching all the hate and open racism against Obama during his terms, I knew that we'd take a step backwards, I hoped against hope that Hilary really could win like the polls said but to end up with so huge a leap backwards with the election of a man who embodies nearly every fault and vice there is has been soul crushing. Both this president and the current version of the Republican party sicken me to the core, especially McConnell and his perversion of our government. The president is destroying our government as well by loading it with toadying syncophants who disdain true public service and seek only to please him and the wealthy and to benefit themselves from their time in government employment. Nowhere is this more evident and more disgusting than the desecration of the Department of Justice which no longer lives up to that title. Barr is a disgrace to his profession and should be disbarred for his work in turning the DOJ into a tool for trump, deliberately ignoring the law and even guilty pleas to please trump and help secure his reelection. Not since Hoover has federal law enforcement been perverted for personal gain at the level that Barr has done.
In the past I have considered both candidates in elections on all levels, federal, state, local, but the Republican party has so twisted itself into using any means, no matter how low or degrading, to retain power, I have reached the point where I can no longer consider voting for any Republican at any level - the Republicans running for local office will be the ones in state and federal elections in the future and my goal is to remove them from power, both federal and state - the current state of politics here in Texas is horrendous, the white, male, heterosexual, "Christian" Republicans in control of the state government work to increase divisions and racism and restrict voting to only those who will support their party, catering to the wealthy and working to kick out or kill off anyone who might oppose them.
So I hold my breath, I ignore the polls (didn't we all learn how untrustworthy polls are in 2016???) and I vote in every single election for all Democratic candidates and especially for women and people of color and I wait for November when I'll check that box for a straight Democratic party vote and pray to whatever deity may exist that our country will have found a smidgen of compassion for one another and voted out the current monstrosity in the White House.
It was November 22, 1963, and my kinda ditzy 6th grade teacher came back from lunch, bawling her eyes out, too wracked by sobs to tell us why.
It’s April 1968 and one beacon of hope is assassinated, and then June 1968 and another. Imagine what might have been different if Bobby had lived.
Clean Gene. The woefully uninspiring Humphrey. Daley, back when anti-protester brutality wore a Democratic badge.
McGovern, maybe the most decent, thoughtful candidate in decades (Adlai?). Thomas Eagleton. Nixon 49, America 1.
Sam Ervin, proving that southern Democrats weren’t all corn-pone dopes. Back when there were still southern Democrats.
Jimmy, the toothy grin, the attack rabbit, the sweaters, the malaise. Oil embargo, odd/even days, woodstoves and thermostats. Then Reagan??? (the first time I thought “no way he can get elected” - for improbable sequels see Dubyah and Trump).
Paul Tsongas, Bill Bradley, Mo Udall, Mike Dukakis. My support for intelligent candidates with depth was surely a kiss of death.
Bill Clinton. He still makes me squirm. I voted for him, but I never liked or admired him. A true politician.
Al Gore. Perhaps the most boring man on earth. Although John Kerry was a close second.
Obama. The glow will never wear off. My best Trump antidote is rewatching Obama’s White House Correspondents’ dinner spiel. He is so, so good. So good.
Hillary. Damn, so unfair. I remember an interview with Karl Rove, back in the 1990s. He was asked why he constantly attacked Hillary, given that she was just the first lady. And he replied, “Someday she’ll run for president, we have to start tearing her down now.” Karl Rove’s circle in hell cannot be hot enough.
Bernie, Kamala, Liz, Pete, Amy, Julio, et al. Any of them far more qualified and much more decent than Trump. Biden will do.
yes, yes, yes...