JBG
03-05-2007, 10:20 PM
Thomas Eagleton, former US Senator from Missouri (1968-86) and Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate for about one month of the 1972 campaign died today at age 77. He was sought after and accepted the VP nomination in an atmosphere where the Democrats in general and McGovern, the Presidential nominee were being ridiculed and in some cases subjected to criminal treatment by the Nixon White House. He is most famous for the inglorious betrayal at the hands of the "peace, love and helping-hand" liberals in the US, who supposedly cared about people.
The excerpts from the New York Times obituary (link) (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/05/washington/05eagleton.html?ref=obituaries) show the depravity of these people.
After others were considered, the campaign settled on Mr. Eagleton, at 42 a young, Roman Catholic senator with a liberal voting record and the good opinion of labor. That afternoon, on July 13, 1972, Frank Mankiewicz, a top McGovern aide, asked Mr. Eagleton if there was anything in his background that might embarrass the campaign.
Mr. Eagleton said there was not. He did not tell Mr. Mankiewicz that he had been hospitalized three times for depression and that his treatment twice involved electroshock therapy.
But rumors began circulating among politicians and journalists. Mr. Eagleton held a news conference on July 25 in Custer, S.D., where he had just briefed the vacationing Mr. McGovern over breakfast. Mr. Eagleton told reporters that he had been treated for "nervous exhaustion." But in response to questions, he acknowledged that the treatment had included psychiatric counseling and electric shocks.
That day Mr. McGovern said, "I think Tom Eagleton is fully qualified in mind, body and spirit to be the vice president of the United States and, if necessary, to take on the presidency on a moment’s notice." As objections to Mr. Eagleton mounted, Mr. McGovern insisted that he was "1,000 percent for Tom Eagleton."
But the pressure from party leaders, campaign contributors and members of Mr. McGovern’s own staff was unrelenting. On July 31, the candidates met again, this time in Washington, and Mr. McGovern forced Mr. Eagleton to withdraw. He stepped down after 18 days as the nominee, saying he had done so for the sake of "party unity."
This sorry episode is part of what started my path away from believing that liberals are necessarily good people. I had thought they really believed in love, help and compassion before that. I was 15 at time, and had bought into the "peace, love and helping hand" myth the liberals and Democrats presented themselves as adhering to. I believed strongly then, and still do believe, that people are capable of making something of themselves after facing obstacles. To have unceremoniously tossed such a person off the ticket showed a total lack of spine and leadership we see all too often.
My feelings on the rights of people who have undergone treatment to be given the benefit of the doubt is deeply personal, and is at the core of my personal and religious beliefs in people taking charge of their destiny, in their ability to improve and make something of themselves. If anyone wants details on my feelings, my PM, e-mail and MSN are often open.
The excerpts from the New York Times obituary (link) (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/05/washington/05eagleton.html?ref=obituaries) show the depravity of these people.
After others were considered, the campaign settled on Mr. Eagleton, at 42 a young, Roman Catholic senator with a liberal voting record and the good opinion of labor. That afternoon, on July 13, 1972, Frank Mankiewicz, a top McGovern aide, asked Mr. Eagleton if there was anything in his background that might embarrass the campaign.
Mr. Eagleton said there was not. He did not tell Mr. Mankiewicz that he had been hospitalized three times for depression and that his treatment twice involved electroshock therapy.
But rumors began circulating among politicians and journalists. Mr. Eagleton held a news conference on July 25 in Custer, S.D., where he had just briefed the vacationing Mr. McGovern over breakfast. Mr. Eagleton told reporters that he had been treated for "nervous exhaustion." But in response to questions, he acknowledged that the treatment had included psychiatric counseling and electric shocks.
That day Mr. McGovern said, "I think Tom Eagleton is fully qualified in mind, body and spirit to be the vice president of the United States and, if necessary, to take on the presidency on a moment’s notice." As objections to Mr. Eagleton mounted, Mr. McGovern insisted that he was "1,000 percent for Tom Eagleton."
But the pressure from party leaders, campaign contributors and members of Mr. McGovern’s own staff was unrelenting. On July 31, the candidates met again, this time in Washington, and Mr. McGovern forced Mr. Eagleton to withdraw. He stepped down after 18 days as the nominee, saying he had done so for the sake of "party unity."
This sorry episode is part of what started my path away from believing that liberals are necessarily good people. I had thought they really believed in love, help and compassion before that. I was 15 at time, and had bought into the "peace, love and helping hand" myth the liberals and Democrats presented themselves as adhering to. I believed strongly then, and still do believe, that people are capable of making something of themselves after facing obstacles. To have unceremoniously tossed such a person off the ticket showed a total lack of spine and leadership we see all too often.
My feelings on the rights of people who have undergone treatment to be given the benefit of the doubt is deeply personal, and is at the core of my personal and religious beliefs in people taking charge of their destiny, in their ability to improve and make something of themselves. If anyone wants details on my feelings, my PM, e-mail and MSN are often open.