Senator Brown of Ohio sits at desk #88 in the US Senate. Here he writes about other progressive Democratic Senators who sat at this desk and as is custom, chiseled his name in the desk. He was preceded by some great United States Senators.
Start with Hugo Black. He was a native of Alabama, elected to the Senate from Alabama, and appointed to the Supreme Court by Franklin Roosevelt in 1937. I need to read more about Judge Black for he is considered one of the great progressive judges in court history. I did not realize he was such a progressive, that he was such a great New Dealer. But then after all, FDR did appoint him to the court and why not if he were not such a staunch supporter.
Senator Theodore Francis Green was considered a traitor to his class, who came from money, but was a great progressive like FDR. This kind of "traitor to his class" is always intriguing. You never really know why he turned out this way.
Senator Glen Taylor is a new name. Not sure what to make of him. Lots of great progressive names in American history.
Herbert H. Lehman was a NY governor who fought for progressive causes.
As a US Senator he earned the enmity of southern legislators for his support of civil rights.
He retired in January of 1957 at the age of 78.
Digs on Ayn Rand. P. 132-33.
Were it not for Roosevelt's New Deal imagine how much worse 2008 would have been. P. 141
Senator Albert Gore, Sr. is one of the heroes of the progressive side of Southern history.
"The South's has been largely, but not entirely, a story of its betrayal by political and cultural leaders."
-Sen. Al Gore, Sr. of Tennessee
P. 143
Gore was one of only three Southern senators who did not sign the Southern Manifesto in 1956. The others were Johnson and Kefauver. P. 144
Most of the signatories had opposed anti-lynching legislation, and virtual all had opposed voting rights for black citizens. P. 145
Graduate of Middle Tennessee State Teachers College. P. 146
Played the country fiddle. P. 146
Went to night law school at Vanderbilt. P. 147
Early labor supporter. P. 148
He understood the history of the Southern Bourbons, who wanted to bring Northern capital to the South with the promise of tax benefits, cheap labor, and minimal governmental restrictions and regulations. P. 149
According to W.J. Cash, the South rested on cheap labor, limited state governmental restrictions and regulations on business, and suppression of blacks. P. 150
Gore came to Washington a true believer in the New Deal and in Progressive ideals. He political beliefs were formed by the the southern progressive populist tradition. P. 151
Bourbon racial solidarity appeals trump economic appeals. P. 152
Gore sought slow, incremental racial progress. He voted for Taft-Hartley in 1947. Taft-Hartley was the most anti-labor legislation enacted in the 20th Century. P. 156
Republicans bestowing tax cuts on the rich has been ongoing since at least the 1920's. P. 157
Let the Glory Out. P. 157
He voted agains the weak 1957 civil rights bill. P. 160
Buford Ellington. P. 160
Voted again against the civil rights bill of 1964. P. 161
He was one of the last Roosevelt Democrats to hold office. P. 161
Hatred of Nixon. P. 171
The whole secret of politics is knowing who hates whom. P. 172
Jefferson Davis Democrats became became Barry Goldwater Republicans. P. 180
Calhoun's philosophy, stripped to its minimum, was a defense of slavery and slaveholders. P. 183
Will we live to see a non-Solid South? P. 188
Then there is Senator William Proxmire. A good introduction here. I did not realize how idiosyncratic he was. P. 189
He was a relentless campaigner. He lost several times in the 50's in Wisconsin before winning a Senate race. He was raised Republican. His father quipped that Harvard made him a Democrat. He was a thorough politician, always campaigning. His job focus cost him his first marriage. He was liberal but his focus on wasteful government spending cost him some liberal outrage. In 1959 he tangled with Lyndon Johnson's strong way of running the Senate.
Twentieth-century history teaches us that major investments in public health improve the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans, and save millions of lives around the globe. The question is: Will the twenty-first-century Congress and the White House learn that lesson? P. 229
"Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of the world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country, and for ourselves." Senator Robert F. Kennedy, April 4, 1968, Indianapolis, two hours after the assassination of Martin Luther Kennedy. P. 231
As you would expect, Senator Sherrod's chapter on RFK is so poignant.
LBJ called that "little runt," but he was anything but a runt. P. 232
Robert F. Kennedy is the only politican in my lifetime who could have united left and right both then and now.
JFK chose LBJ as his running mate because he needed him to win an electoral majority. P. 232
Eleanor Roosevelt never trusted RFK. P. 233
David Brinkley said that Bobby was the only white politician who could talk to both races. P. 235
RFK was somehow different, even as a child. P. 238
Okay, so he hated LBJ, but he couldn't have risen above it for the sake of the country? P. 245
Always do what you are afraid to do. P. 247
LBJ and RFK came from different worlds. They neither understood nor trusted each other. P. 247
Johnson was not an easy man to like. P. 247
Democrats believe that government can be a force for good. P. 272
"Virtually every step forward in our history has been a liberal initiative taken over conservative opposition: Civil Rights, Social Security, Medicare, rural electrification, the establishment of a minimum wage, collective bargaining, the Pure Food and Drug Act, and federal aid to education, including land-grant colleges."
Senator George S. McGovern of South Dakota
P. 279
Though raised a Republican, it was McGovern's study of history that showed him that the Democratic Party was on the side of the average American. P. 283
McGovern learned that progress is rarely reached by consensus. His reading of Charles Beard taught him that change happened over conflict. Privileged groups seldom give up their privilege except when they are forced to. The purveyors of privilege always allege class warfare. P. 297
How can anybody read history and not be a liberal? P. 298
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