Angry Politics

I’m not sure why, but I really thought the hate might begin to dissipate by now.  I have been observing elections since the 1952 election.  I was too little and way too ignorant to understand or even think about the Roosevelt and then Harry Truman years.  So I don’t have any understanding of our republic’s politics during and just following WW II.  It seemed like the public loved Roosevelt, even to the point of electing him to a third term. Now, to be fair, the country had gone through a Hellscape from roughly 1929 and the crash, until the end of World War II.  Maybe republicans went along because the alternative was too much to bear thinking about.

And then they nominated our Hero First Class, Dwight Eisenhower. However good and however smart might have been Adlai Stevenson, he was never going to beat Dwight Eisenhower, the man who had led the Nation to victory.  Yes, we had a President during that same period, and folks loved him, but Ike was the War Hero.

And so, we switched from a Democrat to a Republican. But after his second term, the republicans ran out of gas, and we had run into the 1960s. Remember the 60s?? Yeah, and John F. Kennedy. Although elected by a very small majority, he was young and smart, and the Nation looked to him to lead.  In his inaugural address he dazzled the Nation. From the JFK Library:

“What many consider to be the most memorable and enduring section of the speech came towards the end when Kennedy called on all Americans to commit themselves to service and sacrifice: “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” He then continued by addressing his international audience: “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”

Having won the election by one of the smallest popular vote margins in history, Kennedy had known the great importance of this speech. People who witnessed the speech or heard it broadcast over television and radio lauded the new President. Even elementary school children wrote to him with their reactions to his ideas. Following his inaugural address, nearly seventy-five percent of Americans expressed approval of President Kennedy.”

And then, the troubles began anew. 1963 . . . I remember it well. Here, again from the JFK Library, a brief summary of that awful event:

“The president (had) addressed Democratic gatherings in Boston and Philadelphia. Then, on November 12, he held the first important political planning session for the upcoming election year. At the meeting, JFK stressed the importance of winning Florida and Texas and talked about his plans to visit both states in the next two weeks. 

Mrs. Kennedy would accompany him on the swing through Texas, which would be her first extended public appearance since the loss of their baby, Patrick, in August. On November 21, the president and first lady departed on Air Force One for the two-day, five-city tour of Texas.

President Kennedy was aware that a feud among party leaders in Texas could jeopardize his chances of carrying the state in 1964, and one of his aims for the trip was to bring Democrats together. He also knew that a relatively small but vocal group of extremists was contributing to the political tensions in Texas and would likely make its presence felt—particularly in Dallas, where US Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson had been physically attacked a month earlier after making a speech there. Nonetheless, JFK seemed to relish the prospect of leaving Washington, getting out among the people and into the political fray.

The first stop was San Antonio. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Governor John B. Connally, and Senator Ralph W. Yarborough led the welcoming party. They accompanied the president to Brooks Air Force Base for the dedication of the Aerospace Medical Health Center. Continuing on to Houston, he addressed the League of United Latin American Citizens, and spoke at a testimonial dinner for Congressman Albert Thomas before ending the day in Fort Worth.

Morning in Fort Worth

A light rain was falling on Friday morning, November 22, but a crowd of several thousand stood in the parking lot outside the Texas Hotel where the Kennedys had spent the night. A platform was set up and the president, wearing no protection against the weather, came out to make some brief remarks. "There are no faint hearts in Fort Worth," he began, "and I appreciate your being here this morning. Mrs. Kennedy is organizing herself. It takes longer, but, of course, she looks better than we do when she does it." He went on to talk about the nation's need for being "second to none" in defense and in space, for continued growth in the economy and "the willingness of citizens of the United States to assume the burdens of leadership."

The warmth of the audience response was palpable as the president reached out to shake hands amidst a sea of smiling faces.

Back inside the hotel the president spoke at a breakfast of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, focusing on military preparedness. "We are still the keystone in the arch of freedom," he said. "We will continue to do…our duty, and the people of Texas will be in the lead."

On to Dallas

The presidential party left the hotel and went by motorcade to Carswell Air Force Base for the thirteen-minute flight to Dallas. Arriving at Love Field, President and Mrs. Kennedy disembarked and immediately walked toward a fence where a crowd of well-wishers had gathered, and they spent several minutes shaking hands.

The first lady received a bouquet of red roses, which she brought with her to the waiting limousine. Governor John Connally and his wife, Nellie, were already seated in the open convertible as the Kennedys entered and sat behind them. Since it was no longer raining, the plastic bubble top had been left off. Vice President and Mrs. Johnson occupied another car in the motorcade.

The procession left the airport and traveled along a ten-mile route that wound through downtown Dallas on the way to the Trade Mart where the President was scheduled to speak at a luncheon.

The Assassination

Crowds of excited people lined the streets and waved to the Kennedys. The car turned off Main Street at Dealey Plaza around 12:30 p.m. As it was passing the Texas School Book Depository, gunfire suddenly reverberated in the plaza.

Bullets struck the president's neck and head and he slumped over toward Mrs. Kennedy. The governor was shot in his back. 

The car sped off to Parkland Memorial Hospital just a few minutes away. But little could be done for the President. A Catholic priest was summoned to administer the last rites, and at 1:00 p.m. John F. Kennedy was pronounced dead. Though seriously wounded, Governor Connally would recover.

The president's body was brought to Love Field and placed on Air Force One. Before the plane took off, a grim-faced Lyndon B. Johnson stood in the tight, crowded compartment and took the oath of office, administered by US District Court Judge Sarah Hughes. The brief ceremony took place at 2:38 p.m.”

I was traveling from our home in San Francisco to my headquarters office in Cambridge, MA that day. As I left the plane, I rented a car and began driving from the Boston airport to Cambridge. As I arrived at our Cambridge HQ, the announcer spoke those fateful words. “The President is dead!” And I sat in the parking lot, unable to move. Eventually, I entered our offices, and found that no one was even able to speak, so shocked were they all.

And, for me, that marked the end of a period of non-hostile politics in America.  As we moved into the Johnson era, Vietnam appeared on our radar screens.  And Left and Right politics began becoming angrier. Marches, and riots began to define our politics.  And we entered a period of divisive leaders—think Johnson, Nixon, Reagan, and the Bush boys.  Yes, we had Jimmy Carter for a brief period. But Jimmy was seemingly too mild—bright, sunny even, but not up to capturing the mood of the American public.  He stood no chance against Reagan, who divided as only Donald Trump has done since that time.  Yes, we managed to get a bright, honest, ethical guy in the form of Barack Obama. And he inspired many millions. But he also angered millions. He was Black, remember?? And our Nation’s pool of angry White folks was growing every year. Mainly, I think, the pool of angry white folks grew because they perceived a loss of power by White people.

And then we acquired The Donald as President—yeah that Donald, the Trump.  And the evil and the Hate began pouring out of every pore in America.  And that dark mood began permeating our political system, mainly I think by corrupting the language and the mood of one of our parties—the Republicans.  Hate began defining the actual ideology of the entire party.  And the people who hated voted their consciences by electing folks like Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Bohbert, Josh Hawley, and Steve Gaetz, and the list goes on and on. Republicans like Liz Cheney who want to hold the powerful to account, regardless of which party they represent, began to be the exception.

And we entered a period that now begins to resemble 1936 Germany, that period when Germany folded up its Democracy and elected Adolph Hitler.  America now seems poised to repeat that sad story. It is not necessarily the case that we seem bent on electing another literal Adolph Hitler, i.e., someone who will authorize the murder of millions of Jews or other people deemed undesirable. But instead, we seem bent on nominating and (ugh) electing more people of the Donald Trump ilk--i.e., ignorant, corrupt, full of Hate. Think Herschel Walker, or Mehmet Oz, or Kari lake—people who will deny the legitimacy of the election should they lose, and even mount campaigns of violence to overthrow legitimately elected people.

And then we have the various conspiratorial agents, like QANON that spew lies and hate, in attempts to organize otherwise normal Americans into cabals practicing hate and even thuggery.  Think the attack on Paul Pelosi in San Francisco. Think also the sudden arrival at polling places of armed thugs who intend to frighten away legitimate voters.

All of these actions could be stopped by the Republican Party, except that the Republican Party is now a dead institution. That party of Dwight Eisenhower no longer exists. In its place, and claiming the name Republican, is an institution led by the equivalent of an organized crime gang, with Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, and dozens of equivalents. That someone like Liz Cheney, a republican of the old school, could actually take on this crowd never ceases to amaze me. She is a wonder. But she is also increasingly a loner.

Should this group take control of our government, America may be finished as a functioning Democracy. Remember they seem to already control SCOTUS.

So please do VOTE folks. It is your right, and your duty as Americans. VOTE these thugs out of power. Then perhaps America can begin to work on “fixing” SCOTUS—12 justices anyone???

So VOTE ON PLEASE.