send John Eisenhower's letter to your Republicans

[grasswire]

http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=44657

THE Presidential election to be held this coming Nov. 2 will be one of extraordinary importance to the future of our nation. The outcome will determine whether this country will continue on the same path it has followed for the last 3½ years or whether it will return to a set of core domestic and foreign policy values that have been at the heart of what has made this country great.

Now more than ever, we voters will have to make cool judgments, unencumbered by habits of the past. Experts tell us that we tend to vote as our parents did or as we “always have.” We remained loyal to party labels. We cannot afford that luxury in the election of 2004. There are times when we must break with the past, and I believe this is one of them.

As son of a Republican President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, it is automatically expected by many that I am a Republican. For 50 years, through the election of 2000, I was. With the current administration’s decision to invade Iraq unilaterally, however, I changed my voter registration to independent, and barring some utterly unforeseen development, I intend to vote for the Democratic Presidential candidate, Sen. John Kerry.

The fact is that today’s “Republican” Party is one with which I am totally unfamiliar. To me, the word “Republican” has always been synonymous with the word “responsibility,” which has meant limiting our governmental obligations to those we can afford in human and financial terms. Today’s whopping budget deficit of some $440 billion does not meet that criterion.


lots more at the link.

This seems like the perfect document to send to people in your lives who are wavering Republicans. The last paragraph is a real stunner.

[DeepModem Mom]

1. This is excellent -- thanks for posting!

[Droopy]

2. Great article

And I think that if most Republicans were honest with themselves they would see that Bush does not represent the best interests of the nation.

[Bundbuster]

3. Thanks grasswire - beautiful find

and don't forget Ron Reagan's contributions:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/073104Y.shtml

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/S072704C.shtml


and views of former bush 1 and Ronald Reagan officials:

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0617-07.htm

[Serial Mom]

30. Another Ron Reagan article from this week!

http://www.sundayherald.com/45046

Reagan junior warns Bush: ‘stop hijacking my father’s reputation’

In an exclusive interview, Reagan has spoken frankly to the Sunday Herald about his anger and deep resentment of the Bush administration for “hijacking” his father’s legacy through the campaign.

<snip>

“This is an administration that has cheated to get into the White House. It’s not something Americans ever want to think about their government. My sense of these people is that they don’t have any respect for the public at large. They have a revolutionary mindset. I think they feel that anything they can do to prevail – lie, cheat, whatever – is justified by their revolutionary aims.”

[nightperson]

4. Plus it's in The Union Leader,

which is traditionally very conservative, for that double whammy, the times they are a'changin' effect. Hope a lot of people see this.

[Jack from Charlotte]

43. Does John Eisenhower live in New Hampshire?

The reason I ask is that I firmly believe that people in New England will increasingly leave the Republican Party as it has become taken over by Southern, bellicose racists, bigots and religionists.

Just like the South has become Republican because Southerners could not tolerate support for Civil Rights for African Americans. I could see more and more New Englanders switching parties.

[VOX]

5. Wow. This is great, grasswire.

The article is beautifully written and clearly thought through.

I've bookmarked it. Thanks.

[colonel odis]

6. i look forward to seeing how they'll discredit him.

the rove gang has been having to do so much of it this summer, they're probably running out of ways to paint someone as un-american.

[Onlooker]

7. That should be an ad

That's a brilliant piece of writing by John Eisenhower in that it makes a completely Republican case against Bush. Also, the author is 82 years old!

[Skinner]

8. Thanks for posting this.

I think I might forward it to a few republicans I know.

[chelaque liberal]

9. Love this :

Sen. Kerry, in whom I am willing to place my trust, has demonstrated that he is courageous, sober, competent, and concerned with fighting the dangers associated with the widening socio-economic gap in this country. I will vote for him enthusiastically.

[Leilani]

10. A wonderful editorial, well worth reading

& passing on.

Eloquent words from one of those old-fashioned Republicans.

[Norbert]

11. Great find. Well worth reading

If Ike were alive today would he be in today's Republican party? I sincerely doubt it.

[B3Nut]

12. He'd be tossed...

The current GOP would toss him out on his ear. The Republicans have made it clear that they don't want anyone in their ranks that doesn't toe the official line. I have a hunch there are increasing numbers of ex-Republican ship-jumpers. The specter of Ashcroft made me jump overboard with a running start! :D

Kerry/Edwards '04 - re-elect Russ Feingold

Todd in da land of cheese, brats, and beer

[Kierkegaard]

32. Hey dair, Tahd.

Welcome to DU! :hi:

I was polled last night by the local Dem HQ. The woman sounded surprised when I told her I was voting for Feingold. What's up with that?

P.S. Da Bares still suck!

P.P.S. Like the Bruce quote.

(If I had a rocket launcher)

[othermeans]

47. Remember Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education? Warren was appointed by

Eisenhower.

[no_hypocrisy]

13. I LIKE IKE('S SON)!!!

[ronnykmarshall]

20. Me too!

[TahitiNut]

38. I wore an "I LIKE IKE" button in 1952, playing "King of the Mountain" ...

... on my elementary school's playground. While I'd like to claim some political acumen, my pre-adolescent reason was the similarity between "Ike" and "Mike" (my name).

While I clearly continue to respect much of Ike's perspective (as can be seen in my sig, below), I'm inclined to believe Adlai Stevenson may have been better for America.

Sadly, a divorced man such as Stevenson had a serious political handicap in those days.

[no_hypocrisy]

52. Then again, being an intellectual as Stevenson was a political

handicap (moniker of "Egghead") too. Kennedy rose about the bias against brains as did Carter and Clinton. Unfortunately the same suspicion against thinkers is back and will be used against Kerry (and his wife).

[brook]

14. Thanks for this.

Printed out for a Republican whom I personally like - in hopes it will help pry her loose from the 'dark side'. It's a wonderful article.

[AntiCoup2K4]

15. Not only the son of a Repub President, but the first BCE President

So now we got Ike's son and Reagan's biological kids (fuck Michael, he's an asshole anyway).

Anybody know how to get in touch with Julie Nixon? ;)

[kskiska]

16. Does this mean that David Eisenhower and Julie

may be voting for Kerry, too? Isn't John Eisenhower David's father?

[SeanOhio]

17. Yes

Very good essay.

[liberalitch]

31. yes to dave and julie voting dem or

yes to david being john's son?

[Pachamama]

35. David Eisenhower taught some classes at mine at U of Penn....

Should be very interesting to see if he came out for Kerry....My hunch is yes...He taught a great "Terrorism" Class back in 1987.

[LTR]

49. Not only that

But Julie's maiden name (for any that might not know) is Nixon.

Yes, that Nixon. She's Tricky Dick's daughter.

David is John's son, hence, he's Ike's grandson.

Double whammy.

[Lindsay]

18. Excellent.

I am distantly related to the Eisenhowers. 'Bout time that branch of the family came around!

[txindy]

19. Forwarded this great letter

to some Republicans I know. They seem to be stuck on the "but I'm a Republican so I can't bring myself to vote for a Democrat even though I don't really want to vote for Bush again but may anyway" line of thought. Or something.
:crazy: :spank:

[WI_DEM]

21. This is excellent

Ike's son and Reagan's son presumably voting for Kerry.

[rullery]

22. All major newspapers should be encouraged to run this letter

by John Eisenhower in their Guest Opinion columns. We need to do our part to bring it to the attention of our local newspapers IMO. Many Republicans would respect this endorsement of John Kerry, and might well reconsider their own votes in this election. Let's make it a landslide for Kerry, and totally discredit the incompetent neocon Bushitstas!

[no name no slogan]

23. He's definately not alone

In Minnesota, our former two-term Republican Governor Arne Carlson now officially calls himself an independent.

His ex-wife Barbara, a longtime radio personality and one of the few Republican voices in Minneapolis, has "officially" become a Democrat, too.

Both Carlsons are typical Eisenhower Republicans: moderate on social issues, and fiscally conservative. However, they also understand that getting good government means paying for it, too.

The further the Repubs drift to the right (through fear-based tactics and flirtation with millenialist "Christians"), the more the Dems have to gain.

[LTR]

50. The Carlsons flipped?

Not too surprising. Arne wa always kind of a maverick. He broke ranks and ran as an independent for governor in 1990. Then the Republican candidate, Jon Grunseth, was caught having a hot tub party with several high school girls. The MN GOP begged Arne to return to the fold and he won.

Babs' conversions isn't too surprising, either. She was always a bit on the liberal side for being a Republican. Figured it would be inevitable that she would flip.

[UTUSN]

24. Done, to My Two Wingnut Harassers

Especially to the one I've repeatedly asked, "How can a decent person, as I give you the credit of being, support the scoundrelism of Shrub and Shrubbites?" (He has never answered this.)

To John E.'s letter, I added, "At last! An answer to my question!"

[BillZBubb]

25. Wow! That's powerful. We need this to run nationally!!!!

I never thought I'd live to see a "Republicans for ..." any Democrat. Now it's really happening. That at least is one positive accomplishment of Bush*.

[farmbo]

26. Read this, then read Zell Miller's RNC screed...who has credibility...

...as a 'party switcher'?

[shawmut]

27. I'm passing it all around

:)

[pdx_prog]

28. God..I love this letter...

This is one of the best endorsements yet. I forwarded it to 15 different people before I even logged in this morning!

[TahitiNut]

29. Lest anyone doubt the huge shift to the right Amerika has taken ...

... let John Eisenhower's words serve belated notice. The distinctions between the Democratic and Republican parties were once ones of how to best assure individual liberties, national security, global peace, and responsible governance. No longer. All such distinctions are now embedded within the Democratic Party, a very centrist party when viewed from a global perspective. There is no viable "left" in todays American political spectrum, a condition fostered by the predominating extreme right's enmity (they really DO "hate us for our freedoms") as embodied in the Republican Party, and by the habitual territoriality of partisan Democrats. Even Wesley Clark is slightly to the right of Ike.

John Eisenhower, a 1944 graduate of West Point, is not and has never been a fool. If anything, his epiphany is belated.

[kimchi]

33. Sent.

To my sister and an old friend. Will print one out for the neighbor.

[Pachamama]

34. Just did and sent it to family and friends - as well as Freeper's I know

...that bombard me daily with Nat'l Review articles and love referencing Ike and Reagan....I suppose they (the Freepers) will just say that its another "kid" of a good Republican gone bad, but I love the references to the "Republican Party he remembers", especially when it came to fiscal conservatism and also paying attention to privacy and the middle class.

:kick:

[DinahMoeHum]

36. Living proof the current GOP is not your father's Republican Party

:kick:

[Imalittleteapot]

37. Thanks. If voting for Kerry is good enough for Ike's

son, it may be good enough for my rw brothers, mother and assorted former friends.

[Sputnik]

39. I've been sending it to the media

It's news. Hell, I know that Bo Derek backs Bush. Shouldn't it be news that John Eisenhower will be voting for John Kerry?

[jwirr]

40. I do not have access to

Ike's military industrial complex warning but it should be listed in this thread. Like father - like son. I thank John Eisenhower for caring about our democracy.

[TahitiNut]

42. Here you go ...

<snip>
" Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations.

This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence-economic, political, even spiritual-is felt in every city, every state house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."
<snip>

This 1961 Farewell Address can be found many places on the web, one of which is http://www.eisenhower.utexas.edu/farewell.htm

[TahitiNut]

44. Be sure to read this as well ...

http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Military-industrial_complex

[Bleacher Creature]

41. This is sad

I hadn't heard a peep about this anywhere except on our own blogs -- and (obviously) none of us needs any persuading.

[grasswire]

45. kick kick kick

I wish we could spread this far and wide.

Too bad it isn't a full-page ad in some newspapers.

[Onlooker]

46. This letter should be Kerry's closing remarks at the debate

I think Eisenhower's letter can have a big impact with a lot of older and more traditional Republicans. Kerry should consider memorizing it and quoting it as the bulk of his closing remarks. I think it would have a lot of influence with Repugs and Independents, but how much would it annoy Democrats?

[faithnotgreed]

48. send this to chris matthews! he loves ike

[grasswire]

51. Judy Woodruff...

..just mentioned this endorsement on CNN.

Ha!

[Bleacher Creature]

53. I just saw his picture

He REALLY looks like his dad.

[grasswire]

54. a pic

[BayouWoman]

55. Yahoo Has It On Their Page

It's on the main page, not the news main page. Did that make sense? :)

I've printed it out and given it to a few friends. It's preaching to the choir, but one will give it to her repug father, and another may give it to her repug husband.

I plan to put it in the folder--that includes the Rockwell letter and other articles--I plan to give to my mom. I'm hoping it will sway her.

[faithnotgreed]

56. welcome to du bayou! thanks for sharing the great news

with your friends and your mom...
good luck with that

[bigpathpaul]

57. Eisenhower "Generations" Ads - PLEASE take a look!

It gives me such pleasure to post pages that are uplifting. Each of these three downloadable pages has a quote from REPUBLICAN Dwight David Eisenhower, followed by a quote from his son John Eisenhower's editorial in the Union Leader of Manchester, N.H.

Please take look and download if you'd like. The versions below are reduced-size low-resolution. See below the samples for downloading full-size versions.







The page(s) above, as well as others, is/are available as free, full-size, high-resolution JPEG or PDF downloads at http://www.bigpath.net. Please forward, print, post, handout or carrier-pigeon them to as many people as you can. If you'd like to be on my email list (alerts when there's new content or changes to the site): email to [e-mail].