Tag: alben barkley
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DC Takes the Stage: The 1950 “Amateur Hour” Benefit Show
Could you imagine one of today’s Senators on “American Idol”? In 1950, a collection of Washington VIPs appeared on a TV variety show to raise money for charity. It was… really something.
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Anybody But Estes: Truman’s Biggest Mistake?
Harry Truman was looking for a successor… as long as it was anyone but Estes Kefauver. Did Truman let a personal grudge cost the Democrats their best shot at beating Ike and extending Truman’s legacy?
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Was Jimmy Carter Kefauver 2.0?
Southern outsiders battling the party establishment: was Carter running Kefauver’s playbook? One columnist saw the similarities, but missed the key reason why Carter succeeded where Kefauver failed.
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Facing “The Face of U.S. Gangland”: The Crime Hearings
In the early 1950s, Kefauver chaired a series of hearings into organized crime. The hearings made Kefauver a household name, a Presidential contender… and Public Enemy Number One to Democratic leaders.
Estes Kefauver for President 