Andrew Sullivan’s “quote for the day.”
“In that third year of the Kennedy Presidency a kind of fever lay over Dallas County. Mad things happened. Huge billboards screamed “Impeach Earl Warren.” Jewish stores were smeared with crude swastikas. Fanatical young matrons swayed in public to the chant, “Stevenson’s going to die–his heart will stop, stop, stop and he will burn, burn burn!” Radical Right polemics were distributed in public schools; Kennedy’s name was booed in classrooms; junior executives were required to attend radical seminars. Dallas had become the mecca for medicine-show evangelists of the National Indignation Convention, the Christian Crusaders, the Minutemen, the John Birch and Patrick Henry societies . . .
In Dallas a retired major general flew the American flag upside down in front of his house, and when, on Labor Day of 1963, the Stars and Stripes were hoisted right side up outside his own home by County Treasurer Warren G. Harding–named by Democratic parents for a Republican President in an era when all Texas children were taught to respect the Presidency, regardless of party–Harding was accosted by a physician’s son, who remarked bitterly, “That’s the Democrat flag. Why not just run up the hammer and sickle while you’re at it?” – William Manchester, Death of a President.
Echoing Jonah, I wonder: Does Sullivan not know that Lee Oswald was a Communist? Or is he hereby laying the groundwork for an endorsement of his pet JFK assassination theory?
UPDATE: On cue, Ross Douthat steps up with the antidote. Well worth the read, as always.
I guess Sarah Palin wasn't born then, or Andrew would believe she shot Kennedy. Wait, maybe he thinks she's lying about her birth year....
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLet's not forget the rest of the 60's too--SDS, the Weathermen, Bill Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn, and the rest. Talk about a culture of violence...
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThat Andrew Sullivan's knowledge of Dallas, Texas in 1963 is based on the William Manchester book is likely revelatory about the depth of Andrew Sullivan's knowledge about Texas and Dallas at any time in their history, about the South and Southwest as regions of the country, about fundamentalist and evangelical Christians, and about any Americans at all who live outside the Washington D.C.-New York City-Provincetown milieu or Americans who do not spend their time watching Bill Maher.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI grew up in Dallas and remember the day Kennedy was assassinated. I was ten years old. I recall numbskulls like Eric Severid and Manchester blaming the city of Dallas for Kennedy's murder. I never saw the things they claimed, but perhaps I missed them as I was a child.
For years after the assassination, whenever I told someone I was from Dallas I was always reminded that Kennedy had been murdered there. When I first visited Europe as a 17 year old, I even had a hotel clerk in Italy ask me if "you have killed anyone else lately?".
I merely write this to remind people that the liars, partisans and idiots will always be with us. There is a fine line between paying too much and too little attention to them, but in defense of honesty, we need to find it.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe quote is from William Manchester -- are you implying the HE did not know of Oswald's affiliation?
Manchester's point is that an atmosphere of violence existed in Texas around the time of Kennedy's assassination -- and that atmosphere serves to enable and focus unstable elements such as Oswald. Sullivan reprints it because of obvious similarities to today's situation in Arizona.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI did not realize there were Republicans in Texas in 1963. Someone is trying to impose a imagery of today's politics into a by-gone era in which the entire south was dominated by the Democratic party. They might not have liked Kennedy in Dallas, but the people not liking him were all members of his party!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseOn the other hand, in that era I had the misfortune to be attending an eastern Catholic school run by, and for, the Irish. Hint: Its team was "Gaels," which is basically Irish for "Irish."
There were two educational tracks: Been in that community and knew the right people (which was mostly, but not exclusively, Irish), and Brand X. Race was not a factor. The courses offered were different. Placement tests did not matter much. Results on SAT tests did not matter much.
Kennedy was perfect because, of course, he was Irish (and Catholic). When he was shot, the Irish freaked out, blaming those who were not Irish.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThat unnamed "retired major general" was Edwin Walker, who was the target of an attempted assassination by *the same man who killed Kennedy.*
Sheesh, how low and dumb can some people get?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAtmosphere of violence? You might want to back that up with some facts. People exercising their right to free speech by asking their gov't to enforce illegal immigration laws is not an atmosphere of violence. I'm unaware of any reports citing widespread threats of violence (rising to the level of an atmosphere) against politicians in AZ. Your comment is as despicable as that sheriff's.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAndy S: How on earth did this "atmosphere of violence"--right-wing of course--"enable and focus" Oswald? How do you prove that sort of causation? More likely sources were his Communist affiliations and his own mental state.
Similarly, you could just as easily (actually more easily) blame Karl Mark (the killer listed The Communist Manifesto as one of his favorite books) or Rosie O'Donnell (the killer was a 9/11 truther) than Sarah Palin or Glenn Beck. But of course that doesn't serve the self-serving liberal scapgoating agenda.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLynnette "Squeaky" Fromme; John Hinckley, now this guy in AZ. All seem to have one thing in common; they are nut jobs!!! Two went after Republicans and one went after a Democrat. Remember, they are all nut jobs! I don't recall the MSM lamenting "Squeaky's" or Hinckley's political backgrounds or beliefs. They were nut jobs. So let us recognize that at this point facts seem to support that this Loughner fellow is a nut job. Back off the assignment of political motives is the best advice, but sadly, that horse is out of the barn.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAndrew Sullivan jumped the shark long before the Trig Palin episode, and why NRO continues to even comment upon his hallucinatory ravings about an inchoate right wing cabal that's out to get everyone is beyond me. At this stage in his decline, any publicity is good publicity for him.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse" 'Why not just run up the hammer and sickle while you’re at it?' "
Nowadays the far left would say, "Why not just run up the Nazi flag while you're at it?"
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse