Tag: John Kennedy

Decisions and Consequences

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“With Black ministers leading the way, Kennedy won an estimated 68 percent of the Black vote on Election Day, 7 percent higher than Adlai Stevenson’s showing in 1956.”

What did then Senator Kennedy do to earn those votes?

After a sit in at a department store in Atlanta, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was sentenced to serve his sentence in a prison in rural Georgia,

Coretta King feared for her husband’s life.

Both the Kennedy and Nixon campaigns were asked to intervene on Dr. King’s behalf.

Senator Kenned did.  Vice President Nixon did not.

That act was crucial to the Kennedy margin of victory in the Black community, as described in a review of a new book about the nine days between King’s sentence and Election Day.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/books/review/nine-days-martin-luther-king-jr-stephen-kendrick-paul-kendrick.html

Black support for Stevenson in 1956 was less than it was in 1952.

I know this because that’s how Robert Caro begins his account of Lyndon Johnson’s role in the passage of the 1957 Civil Rights Act.

If the Southern Democrats again filibustered to death a civil rights bill, the Black vote for the Republican nominee was expected to grow again.

But Majority Leader Johnson used his legislative skills to pass a bill, the first civil rights legislation enacted since Reconstruction.

It set the stage for Kennedy’s intervention on behalf of Dr. King.

In both instances, elected officials made decisions.

Their decisions had consequences.

A Thousand Fathers and Responsible Orphans

| by delsandy | Sandy's 2012 Legislative Diary | No Comments

       I’m reminded of what President Kennedy said after the Bay of Pigs.

       “Victory has a thousand fathers, defeat is an orphan,” the President said, accepting responsibility for the mission’s failure.

       In the public’s mind, we are all at fault for our failure to fund the budget during the 90 days of the legislation session.  No branch of government or single elected official is the responsible orphan.

      The post-session finger pointing is to set the political stage for the agenda at a special session. 

      Will slots legislation be considered when we reconvene or put off until next January?

 — 

       I love the legislative process, but even I need a reminder about the impact of the bills we pass upon people’s lives.

      Matt Gonter testified for my bill imposing a 25% penalty on people who improperly obtained a homestead property tax credit. 

       Matt is a private citizen who has been working to identify people who have wrongly taken this benefit. 

       I invited him to the bill signing. 

       “I can’t wait to attend,” he responded on Facebook.

        I wrote in return, “Your enthusiasm about the bill signing and what we were able to accomplish is a great reminder to a 30-year veteran such as myself that the decisions we make in Annapolis can affect people’s lives in a very positive way.” 

             Matt suggested that I invite a friend of his who has also worked on this issue. 

            I did, but this person declined, saying that others had contributed much more than he. 

            In my response, I wrote, “Victory has a thousand fathers, defeat is an orphan.”

 

December 9-11 A love of the place and of the game

| by delsandy | Sandy's Legislative Diary | No Comments

Today, I am a tourist.

I want to get an idea of what the divided city of Jerusalem was like before the Six Day War.

We drive beside the newly operational light rail system, which parallels the old seam line that divided the modern parts of the City.

My first stop is Ammunition Hill, where a crucial battle was fought. The video ends with incredibly moving footage of soldiers at the Western Wall, singing the Shehecheyanu prayer.

The Jewish people had returned to this holiest of places.

I also wanted to enter the Old City as the soldiers did that historic day – through the Lions gate. But the gate is under repair; scaffolding and plastic sheeting render it impenetrable.

So we retreat and walk around the City’s outer wall – from Lions Gate to Dung Gate, passing closer to the Golden Gate than I ever have and providing views and photos I’ve never seen before.

For the long flight home, two books that bear upon what I’ve seen in Israel and what awaits me at home:

Shimon Peres’ biography of David Ben Gurion quotes the first Prime Minister and founder of the state on its uniqueness:

“Eretz Yisrael must be a process of repairing and purifying our lives, changing our values in the loftiest sense of the term. If we merely bring the life of the ghetto into Eretz Yisrael, then what’s the difference if we live that life here or live it there?”

Chris Matthews’ Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero reminded me why I eagerly await the start of my 30th year as a member of the House of Delegates:

“Tip O’Neill was rich in stories, each shining with a love of the game that bonded him with Kennedy.”

And I might add, with future generations.

  • My Key Issues:

  • Pimlico and The Preakness
  • Our Neighborhoods
  • Pre-Kindergarten
  • Lead Paint Poisoning