Posted on 08/20/2020 7:06:31 PM PDT by rintintin
At the 1952 GOP Convention, the outcome of the nomination battle been Sen Robert Taft of Ohio and General of the Army Dwight D Eisenhower would turn on whose delegates would be seated from three Southern states — Georgia, Louisiana and Texas.
In this memorable speech, Taft ally Sen Everett Dirksen deployed all of his renowned eloquence for 30 minutes - apparently without notes or teleprompter! - to make the case for the Taft delegates ( and to take a famous swipe at NY Gov Tom Dewey, who was managing the Eisenhower floor campaign, but had “led us down to defeat” in the two previous elections).
Of course, Ike’s forces won out and he was a great Republican President. But Dirksen’s speech stands as a monument to the kind of soaring oratory that Americans once admired and even thrilled to.
https://youtu.be/SrR-34t7P0U
(Excerpt) Read more at youtu.be ...
Yes, the Republican party breaks the rules in picking their presidential candidates as well. That’s surely what happened in 2008 with the Ron Paul campaign, and I also believe that it happened in 1996 with the Pat Buchanan campaign. Delegates duly elected were simply ignored in the former case, in multiple states. Not saying that Paul or Buchanan would have received the nomination, but rules were broken. And some people here supported the cheating.
The GOP nominated the WRONG man in 1952. Should’ve been Sen. Taft and Gen. MacArthur.
He certainly knew politics. What he didn't know too well was his Bible. He ascribed a quote to the apostle Paul that's actually found in the book of Isaiah.
I only remember the Sen. Dirksen with the frog croak of a voice so it was a treat to listen to him with a full voice. Now I understand the esteem he had as a speaker.
To be honest, this reminded me of the 2016 convention. Gen. Eisenhower was the outsider who had no political experience, just as Trump was in 2016 whereas Robert Taft was the establishment politician with all the Washington connections.
The difference is that the Republicans had become more populist by 2016 and less able to control an outsider candidacy than they would have in 1952. Further, Ted Cruz was not a favorite of the Washington establishment much more than was Trump. Be thankful that Trump won the party’s nomination so convincingly such that a person like Bush or Rubio had no chance to own enough delegates to secure the nomination.
Good catch on the biblical citation. I know the Book of Acts says Paul “reasoned with” people, but I had forgotten that the actual statement, “come let us reason together,” is from the Old Testament. It’s a wonderful phrase
It didn’t stop me from voting for Ron Paul in Nov 2008! That act allows me to sleep well , without the stain of a McCain vote on my conscience
I think Dirksen enjoyed being in the miinority, an attitude that prefigures the "stupid party" politicians we have today.
Eisenhower/Nixon beat Adlai Stevenson/John Sparkman. As wishy-washy as Ike was politically (he was asked to run as a Democrat as well, if memory serves, but ran as a Republican because he was concerned about the survival of a two-party system), he took 457 votes in the Electoral College, vs 73 for Stevenson. I doubt Taft would have won, or at least not by that kind of margin.
Eisenhower won reelection in 1956, again taking 457 electoral votes. He was only the second Republican POTUS to win two terms in his own right and serving both of them out -- the first was Ulysses Grant. The second to do it was Ronald Reagan. The third one was Bush Junior.
the ev and jerry show
Taft died a year later of colon cancer
Taft is the best President we never had.
It was stolen from Taft.
Taft would have won easily.
He should have been the nominee in 1948 instead of the already-failed Tom Dewey.
Sen. Dirksen learned his Bible verses in German so it may have just been the a difference in the translation.
I first read the Bible in Spanish. I’m fairly certain that “Come, let us reason together...” is in Isaiah 1:18 in every language (perhaps not in every version, though; the Reina/Valera is in sync with the King James).
Bush Jr is one illustration of why two terms for a Republican President can be a bad thing.
Three words — Taft Hartley Act. Taft wouldn’t have won easily, if at all. Ike’s Electoral vote totals were close to those of FDR’s (472, 523, 449, 432). Taft was nearly beaten in his Senate reelection campaign in 1944. By 1952 he was suspected by fellow conservative Republicans of being soft on socialism, which is ironic, because turncoat Democrat and “me-too” politician Willkie had beaten Taft in the 1940 race to the Republican nomination. Had Taft won the nod in 1952, and then won election, his Vice President would have been President by end of 1953, when Taft died.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_A._Taft#Distrust_by_Old_Right
GWB didn’t get Social Security reform passed, which would have been his signature legislative legacy. He thought it would be a better idea to knock out the Taliban, then knock off Saddam Hussein, and then leave our troops in place instead of bringing them home.
He would’ve been President for about 6 months. Gen. MacArthur would’ve been his VP and succeeded him. Preferable to the RINO Eisenhower who obliterated the GOP as a majority party on his watch and failed to roll back decades of big government. Set the stage for GOP failures for the next 65 years.
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