tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234638383123311700.post4761262121438488109..comments2023-10-31T11:27:58.514-05:00Comments on THE SATURDAY AFTERNOON POST: LEADERSHIP WE COULD USE TODAY!Jack Jodellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02165430903903838990noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234638383123311700.post-55737208753669836492009-08-28T13:27:35.453-05:002009-08-28T13:27:35.453-05:00But, on the other hand, HHH was far more effective...But, on the other hand, HHH was far more effective in getting legislation through and passed by Congress than JFK or RFK. The only one who surpassed Humphrey in that regard was Teddy Kennedy, but, of course, he spent far more years in the Senate than did HHH.Jack Jodellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02165430903903838990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234638383123311700.post-8259843001670430042009-08-27T22:50:54.693-05:002009-08-27T22:50:54.693-05:00I'll just add one more item about HHH which I ...I'll just add one more item about HHH which I was reminded by watching the recent Kennedy footage on MSNBC. JFK clearly out classed HHH in <b>1956</b> when they were competing for Vice-President. HHH was seen as a blow-hard, old school politician, where as Jack was seen as a charismatic WW II war hero. HHH earned his creds as an early desegregator, but he was no match for the younger Kennedy talent.Vigilantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07640246609540057997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234638383123311700.post-50074321440159021432009-08-27T20:58:58.470-05:002009-08-27T20:58:58.470-05:00I second Vig. Barbara Boxer is one of the best Se...I second Vig. Barbara Boxer is one of the best Senators out there. I'm on her mailing list and am at a loss to state when I've ever disagreed with her. When she stood up to Inohofe, no longer the Chair of the Environmental Committe, Boxer raised her gavel and stated, "You don't do this anymore. Elections have consequences."<br /><br />As far as HHH, he certainly followed LBJ's example and, as Jack stated, was <b>great man with faults</b>. He took over the country during Viet Nam. I wouldn't have had the guts.<br /><br />Before you all go off about LBJ, I need to write another side of the story. Yes, he was a mean, old bastard that picked up his bloodhound by the ears. His deployment and subsequent deaths of thousands of troops in 'Nam was unspeakable. But few people are all evil (except Cheney, Woo, Rumsfeld,...well, you get the idea).<br /><br />I think it's only fair to point out that Johnson did care about Americans' well being and worked tirelessly to realize JFK's dream of equality. With Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to enact the Civil Rights Bill in 1964. His plan for the <a href="http://countrystudies.us/united-states/history-121.htm" rel="nofollow">Great Society</a> is a plan I wish we had today.<br /><br />Because of LBJ's programs:<br /><br />* Between 1965 and 1968, black-family income rose from 54 percent to 60 percent of white-family income.<br /><br />* As president, he wanted to use his power aggressively to eliminate poverty and spread the benefits of prosperity to all.<br /><br />* Johnson took office determined to secure the measures that Kennedy had sought. Immediate priorities were bills to reduce taxes and guarantee civil rights. <br /><br />* On the economic front, Johnson pushed successfully for a tax cut, then pressed for a poverty program Kennedy had initiated.<br /><br />* Medical care came next. Truman had proposed a centralized scheme more than 20 years earlier, but had failed to gain congressional passage. Under Johnson's leadership, Congress enacted Medicare, a health insurance program for the elderly, and Medicaid, a program providing health-care assistance for the poor.<br /><br />* Johnson succeeded in the effort to provide aid for elementary and secondary schooling where Kennedy had failed. <br /><br />* The Johnson administration also addressed transportation safety issues, in part because of the efforts of a young lawyer, lobbyist and consultant named Ralph Nader. In his 1965 book,<i> Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile</i>.<br /><br />I will never support the endless killing of 50,000 troops that Johnson enacted in Viet Nam. Nor can I forget the many that came home irrevocably damaged&mash;both physically and mentally. Viet Nam, like Iraq, was also a "war of choice" from which the French escaped in 1952.<br /><br />However, LBJ deserves credit for his efforts. Humphrey followed his lead, and I'm not sure the "albatross" of LBJ was necessarily a negative.<br /><br />And LBJ had the gonads to admit he was wrong and not run for a second term. Of course, he knew he couldn't win—but at least he had the common sense to recognize that fact.<br /><br />Please read the link I provided. HHH merely tried to follow LBJ's plan to heal America and follow the blueprint laid by JFK. To this day, I am still divided about LBJ.<br /><br />And I'll lay a smack down on anyone that criticizes the great Lady Bird Johnson.Stella by Starlighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16385761338190877425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234638383123311700.post-49942384606757908512009-08-22T20:19:30.462-05:002009-08-22T20:19:30.462-05:00No. Sorry, Vigilante, she definitely belongs in th...No. Sorry, Vigilante, she definitely belongs in the "A" list, too---I mistakenly overlooked her (but I'd only give Feinstein a B or B-). And I can't wait for Barbara Boxer to kick Fiorina's butt royally in the next election!Jack Jodellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02165430903903838990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234638383123311700.post-90043763137803062392009-08-22T10:06:41.444-05:002009-08-22T10:06:41.444-05:00Jack! Did you leave out my Barbie Boxer just out o...Jack! Did you leave out my Barbie Boxer just out of spite?Vigilantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07640246609540057997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234638383123311700.post-64317179454487534592009-08-22T09:54:16.076-05:002009-08-22T09:54:16.076-05:00I'm with you, Manifesto Joe. Both LBJ and HHH ...I'm with you, Manifesto Joe. Both LBJ and HHH were flawed heroes due to Vietnam, yet both did a great deal of good for humanity through the domestic legislation they pushed through. I just wish we had such forceful and vocal leadership today to help get "Medicare for All" passed! For there are far too few Russ Feingolds, Bernie Sanderses, Sherrod Browns, Ted Kennedys, Anthony Weiners and Dennis Kuciniches in Congress today to get the job done!Jack Jodellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02165430903903838990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234638383123311700.post-58911263157611619452009-08-22T03:39:53.278-05:002009-08-22T03:39:53.278-05:00Re Lyndon: By the albatross "his whole life,&...Re Lyndon: By the albatross "his whole life," I mean the years after Gulf of Tonkin. Thought I'd better clarify that.Manifesto Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06521151220297061304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234638383123311700.post-74200521239913129462009-08-22T03:34:07.462-05:002009-08-22T03:34:07.462-05:00Hubert was a flawed hero not unlike LBJ. Uncle Lyn...Hubert was a flawed hero not unlike LBJ. Uncle Lyndon (I'm originally from around his neck of the woods) wore the albatross of Vietnam around his neck his whole life; but thanks to him, an awful lot of poor boys like me got to go to college, and civil rights made a quantum leap.<br /><br />I remember Hubert going to the LBJ ranch upon the 1965 inauguration, and he was wearing a sort of designer Western outfit. The two of them were on the cover of Life magazine. Well, he was doing his best. I always liked HHH, a lot. I'm as proud as punch to have been around to appreciate him.Manifesto Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06521151220297061304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234638383123311700.post-20852871530532817652009-08-21T09:27:28.772-05:002009-08-21T09:27:28.772-05:00Conceded. The Harry Reid card is trump, every time...Conceded. The Harry Reid card is trump, every time you play it.Vigilantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07640246609540057997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234638383123311700.post-51397590401653672762009-08-21T09:17:08.958-05:002009-08-21T09:17:08.958-05:00MD, you're very right to characterize HHH as a...MD, you're very right to characterize HHH as a great man with faults. He was a tremendous giant on the domestic side for the poor, working people, and minorities. And yes, Vigil, he did himself in on Vietnam, and was indeed loyal to LBJ to a fault. But I think anybody serving as VP under LBJ would have had to tow the line. Remember what LBJ said beforehand what he was looking for in a VP: "I want a man who will kiss my ass in Macy's front window and will say it smells like roses." Humphrey, having been trounced in the 1960 primaries by the wealthy JFK, knew that the only way he could ever hope to become VP or President, being of far more modest finances, would be to go along with LBJ. It didn't work out well for him, though. RFK, of course, hated LBJ all along so he would never have been his VP...<br /><br />None of this diminishes HHH's undeniably superb record on social or economic issues, though, and that was the reason for this post. Were he in the Senate today, he would lead a very vocal and public charge against the insurance industry's and GOP's ginned up rabblerousing and lying about government-run health care, and we wouldn't be in the pickle we're in right now. Limp wristed Harry Reid has not led such a charge.Jack Jodellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02165430903903838990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234638383123311700.post-12350187514560376932009-08-20T22:40:51.883-05:002009-08-20T22:40:51.883-05:00It was HHH who was self-destructive. The best you ...It was HHH who was self-destructive. The best you can say is that he was loyal (to LBJ) to a fault. Nixon lied and said he had a "Secret Plan" to end the war. The best HHH could offer against that was more of LBJ. Two assassin's bullet killed off the Progressive movement. The liberals were blood-stained.Vigilantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07640246609540057997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234638383123311700.post-65663195744831672392009-08-20T22:33:11.966-05:002009-08-20T22:33:11.966-05:00While just a kid in 1968, I remember my Dad bustin...While just a kid in 1968, I remember my Dad busting his rump to elect the Hump while the self destructive anti-war movement chanted Dump The Hump and we got Nixon. Thanks a lot for that. It worked out so well for us. HHH was a great man with faults. Nobody is perfect, except of course Noam Chomsky & Bernie Sanders. Great post, Jack.Max's Dadnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234638383123311700.post-82266251875170623422009-08-20T17:13:04.575-05:002009-08-20T17:13:04.575-05:00Guys, you raise valid points on the foreign policy...Guys, you raise valid points on the foreign policy side of HHH's coin, but on the domestic policy face of that coin, we could definitely use a man like him today. For back in 1968, we had numerous strong progressive voices in the House and Senate, even after RFK's death. Harry Reid is no Mike Mansfield, Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern, Frank Church, Abe Ribicoff, Claiborne Pell, Edmund Muskie, or (then) Teddy Kennedy. Now THOSE were the days! <br /><br />I deliberately chose to focus on HHH's strengths in domestic policy so as to tie in with the great domestic policy issue of this time, health care reform. That is why I didn't even make mention of Vietnam, which was indeed a great national mistake.Jack Jodellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02165430903903838990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234638383123311700.post-71691938897217800242009-08-20T10:02:01.764-05:002009-08-20T10:02:01.764-05:00In all due respect, I don't think we could use...In all due respect, I don't think we could use HHH's leadership today. BHO seems to be treading in HHH's footsteps in Afghanistan too much as it is.Vigilantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07640246609540057997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234638383123311700.post-31049754696964649912009-08-20T09:59:44.847-05:002009-08-20T09:59:44.847-05:00Jack, my friend, you left something out.
By 1968 ...Jack, my friend, you left something out.<br /><br />By 1968 Hubert Horatio Humphrey had become a traitor to the Progressive cause by his obsequious obeisance to Lyndon Johnson's Vietnam War. He even seem to be trying to breathe more life into it than LBJ. Perhaps he was condemned by history to play his part. Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination had already decapitated the Progressive movement. Humphrey couldn't pick up the mantle because he had - already - too much Vietnam blood on his hands. And in the election campaign of 1968, he didn't even try washing it off.Vigilantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07640246609540057997noreply@blogger.com