Tag: john f kennedy
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Legen-dairy: Kefauver’s Wisconsin Connection
Kefauver and the Badger State understood each other. In 1957, long shot Bill Proxmire stunned the world and reached the Senate using Kefauver’s playbook – with Kefauver’s help.
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A Complicated Heritage
For two decades, the American Heritage Foundation preached the importance of community and civic engagement. Their message was valuable, but it missed something important… something that Kefauver understood.
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Portrait of a Lady
Lady Bird Johnson wasn’t just Lyndon’s wife – she was a key political adviser and an astute observer. Her comments about Kefauver show that she understood his immense political gifts – and what held him back.
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No Lamb for Slaughter
In 1954, the FCC – lead by a Joseph McCarthy acolyte – went after a close friend of Kefauver’s for alleged Communist ties. Kefauver stood up for his friend and for civil liberties – even at a political cost.
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Opening Up An “All-American City”
In the final months of his life, Kefauver endorsed a newspaper’s call for Knoxville, Tennessee to be an integrated “open city.” Did Knoxville’s example offer a model for desegregation without violence?
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Keeping the Atlantic Union Dream Alive
I thought that Atlantic Union – the idea of a federation of democratic countries – was a dead idea. I was wrong. Meet Rick Biondi, the man who’s trying to “make Atlantica great again.”
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Kennedy Kicks Kefauver, Mocks Campaigning in Private 1956 Speech
Right after the ’56 election, JFK gave an off-the-record speech joking about his experience on the campaign trail. A lot of his “jokes,” though, suggested some… hidden frustrations. Or maybe not so hidden.
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Advise and Dissent: The Short, Controversial Life of the DAC
In the 1950, Democratic liberals were frustrated by conservative Congressional leaders and the ever-popular Ike. So they founded the Democratic Advisory Council to make their voices heard. Was it a success or a failure… or both?
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An Ode to Nancy, Kefauver’s Wife and “Secret Weapon”
Nancy Kefauver was the ideal partner for Estes. She was a loving wife and mother, a brilliant household manager… but also a talented artist, a capable campaigner, and a certified charmer.
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“Seventeen Days to Victory”: Democrats’ Televised Hollywood Spectacular
A couple weeks before their landslide loss, the Stevenson-Kefauver campaign held a star-studded coast-to-coast gala event. Was it a waste of money… or a preview of future campaigns?
Estes Kefauver for President 