1994: the non-crossover #1s, AC and RB
11 hours ago
I've moved the blog, but here is the blogroll, mine and others I follow.
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3 comments:
Yeah, right -- there were "moderate Republicans". Next thing you'll be having us believe that Republicans used to nominate statesmen like Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln!
What makes your post especially affecting to me is your introspective tone in describing your early feelings, and the unassuming way you express your evolving view.
The first candidate for public office for whom I ever volunteered was a fellow named George R. Metcalf. He was the Republican challenger for the seat in Congress held by Democrat Samuel S. Stratton in the Rochester, N.Y. area. Although Rochester was a large part of the 35th Congressional District, it was a mostly rural part of the state. That was in 1968. Like most of my friends, I had supported President Johnson until earlier that year. I had turned against the war when I came across a tract by Richard Goodwin explaining why false assumptions made the effort counter to the security interests of America.
I met Metcalf as he was walking through the neighborhood trying to gin up interest in his campaign. He was a creature that is pretty much extinct these days, but was not even considered an oddity back then. He was a liberal Republican. He was decidedly pro-Civil Rights, having written books about racial injustice. And he had eventually come out against the war.
It was an extraordinarily conservative area, and so he lost.
I never regretted the effort and it was my hope that Metcalf did not either.
I liked Kennedy a lot. And I liked him for a bit before you did.
I enjoyed your thoughts. Thank you for your post.
There was a Sam Stratton who was mayor of Schenectady and later member of Congress - the same one? I worked against Sam in a primary; totally pointless.
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