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Country Roads
Country Roads
The death of Mao Zedong in July 24th, 1970 would send ripples throughout China and the East. Mao's second in command and named successor, Vice Chairman of the Communist Party and Marshal of China Lin Biao would move to take command of the country. He would quickly ally with Mao's wife, Jiang Quing, better known in the west as Madame Mao, to establish complete control over China. Purges would soon commence, and would include former allies of Mao such as Hua Guofeng, and Deng Xiaoping. Biao would delcare his "continuous support for Mao's Cultural Revolution, and preservation of his dream of China".
Chairman Lin Biao was one of the most vigorous supporters of the Cultural Revolution. His believe in the superiority of Maoism over Marxism-Leninism was shared among many in the years before Mao's death, and had contributed greatly to the split between China and the USSR. In 1969 the two countries had almost gone to war, and Biao ascension seemed only to make the situation more dangerous.
The government of the United States did not recognize the People's Republic of China as the legitimate chinese government. This, of course, put a great limitation on Sino-American relations. PResident Kennedy would, notheless, send messages to Chairman Biao regarding his stances concerning a number of topics, including the USSR. The responses were often short and direct, and rarely positive. Biao was clearly no friend of Soviet Russia, but his positions towards the west were much more hostile.
Chairman Lin Biao, Paramount Leader of China
China Alone- A history of the Cultural Revolution, Anne Long
............
November 1970 marked a very interesting Midterm election cycle. The Democratic party was showing fractures, the Republicans were focusing on a more progressive stance and seemed to have abandoned(if only for the moment) what they perceived as Nixon's flawed Southern Strategy, and the American Independent Party was gaining popularity fast in the Deep South.
Regardless of the ideological fracture in the Democratic household, they would fare remarcably well on the elections for the House, taking 15 seats in total. The Republicans would lose 20 seats in the election, placing the minority party further in the minority. The American Independent Party would achieve 8 seats in the house, a historical victory. This in total ammount to 263 seats for the Democrats, 172 seats for the Republicans, and 8 seats for the American Independents.
In the senate the democrats would not have the same luck, losing 5 chairs, while the republicans would win 3. New York Conservative James L. Buckley would take a seat from the republicans and Independent Harry F. Byrd Jr would take one from the democrats in Virginia. The total take would ammount to 53 Democrats, 45 republicans 1 New York Conservative and 1 Independent.
When it comes to governors seats, the democrats would gain major victories, taking no less then 11 new states while the republicans lost 12. Two elections in particular were, and that's using the definition of the term lightly, historic.
George Wallace, former American Independent Party candidate in 1968, and famous figure for segregation in the south would take Alabama. With 65% of the vote over democrat Albert Brewer, his landslide victory can be easly traced to the discontent of the south with the current Democratic policies. Wallace would proclaim his victory a great step foward for the "Southern american ideals". He would not get a lot of press coverage, however, considering the outcome in neighboring Tennessee.
Elvis Presley, once the world most famous singer, was now a Governor. Beating republican Winfield Dunn with over 78% of the vote, Presley would receive more news attention then any other governor combined. In his innaugural speech, Elvis would proclaim that:
"We need better Schools in Tennessee. We need better Hospitals, better law enforcement, better transportation and better leadership. I believe i can easly provide the later, and with your help, i will provide the rest. It's time for the state to look foward. In full cooperation with the federal government, i do believe we can make Tennessee a symbol for the rest of the country."
Shortly after his election Presley would fly to Washington were he would meet the President and discuss the future of his state. Today it's easy to see that President Kennedy wanted to be seen with Elvis, and most certaily vice-versa. The meeting would be heavily followed by reporters from great newspapers and TV networks to tabloids. These were, after all, two of the most popular figures in U.S. politics.
View attachment 330198
In the end, the elections proved to be a major victory for the Democratic Party. With gains in both, the House and The states, and minor losses in the Senate, things were looking up. Kennedy would try to take advantage of these victories in the incoming year to pass his Guaranteed Minimal Income Bill and increase funds for multiple programs and organisations that varied from social welfare to NASA. The Southern Democrats stubborn stance against his administration would also have to stop, and Kennedy would quickly learn that negotiating was not optional if he was to keep the party whole and stop the growth of the AIP.
But of course, the southerners were not against all of RFK's policies. Welfare was something many southern democrats supported. Even so, they had proven paramount in deadlocking Kennedy's Healthcare Bill in 1970, even as such bill was popular among many in the south. By early 1971 they were realising that RFK stance would not change, and that fighting the man non stop would only hurt them in the long run. If Kennedy negotiated, they could stop the deadlock.
View attachment 330209
President Robert F. Kennedy in 1971
View attachment 330210
Governor Presley and his wife Priscilla, 1971
History of the Democratic Party, from Jackson to Clinton, Michael A. Cormack
.............
And those were the midterms, and a little extra with China. Next weekend i will finnaly talk about 1971. Kennedy's policies, some world events, and the beggining of the 1972 race. Who will run? Who will not? Stay tuned to find out.
The death of Mao Zedong in July 24th, 1970 would send ripples throughout China and the East. Mao's second in command and named successor, Vice Chairman of the Communist Party and Marshal of China Lin Biao would move to take command of the country. He would quickly ally with Mao's wife, Jiang Quing, better known in the west as Madame Mao, to establish complete control over China. Purges would soon commence, and would include former allies of Mao such as Hua Guofeng, and Deng Xiaoping. Biao would delcare his "continuous support for Mao's Cultural Revolution, and preservation of his dream of China".
Chairman Lin Biao was one of the most vigorous supporters of the Cultural Revolution. His believe in the superiority of Maoism over Marxism-Leninism was shared among many in the years before Mao's death, and had contributed greatly to the split between China and the USSR. In 1969 the two countries had almost gone to war, and Biao ascension seemed only to make the situation more dangerous.
The government of the United States did not recognize the People's Republic of China as the legitimate chinese government. This, of course, put a great limitation on Sino-American relations. PResident Kennedy would, notheless, send messages to Chairman Biao regarding his stances concerning a number of topics, including the USSR. The responses were often short and direct, and rarely positive. Biao was clearly no friend of Soviet Russia, but his positions towards the west were much more hostile.
Chairman Lin Biao, Paramount Leader of China
China Alone- A history of the Cultural Revolution, Anne Long
............
November 1970 marked a very interesting Midterm election cycle. The Democratic party was showing fractures, the Republicans were focusing on a more progressive stance and seemed to have abandoned(if only for the moment) what they perceived as Nixon's flawed Southern Strategy, and the American Independent Party was gaining popularity fast in the Deep South.
Regardless of the ideological fracture in the Democratic household, they would fare remarcably well on the elections for the House, taking 15 seats in total. The Republicans would lose 20 seats in the election, placing the minority party further in the minority. The American Independent Party would achieve 8 seats in the house, a historical victory. This in total ammount to 263 seats for the Democrats, 172 seats for the Republicans, and 8 seats for the American Independents.
In the senate the democrats would not have the same luck, losing 5 chairs, while the republicans would win 3. New York Conservative James L. Buckley would take a seat from the republicans and Independent Harry F. Byrd Jr would take one from the democrats in Virginia. The total take would ammount to 53 Democrats, 45 republicans 1 New York Conservative and 1 Independent.
When it comes to governors seats, the democrats would gain major victories, taking no less then 11 new states while the republicans lost 12. Two elections in particular were, and that's using the definition of the term lightly, historic.
George Wallace, former American Independent Party candidate in 1968, and famous figure for segregation in the south would take Alabama. With 65% of the vote over democrat Albert Brewer, his landslide victory can be easly traced to the discontent of the south with the current Democratic policies. Wallace would proclaim his victory a great step foward for the "Southern american ideals". He would not get a lot of press coverage, however, considering the outcome in neighboring Tennessee.
Elvis Presley, once the world most famous singer, was now a Governor. Beating republican Winfield Dunn with over 78% of the vote, Presley would receive more news attention then any other governor combined. In his innaugural speech, Elvis would proclaim that:
"We need better Schools in Tennessee. We need better Hospitals, better law enforcement, better transportation and better leadership. I believe i can easly provide the later, and with your help, i will provide the rest. It's time for the state to look foward. In full cooperation with the federal government, i do believe we can make Tennessee a symbol for the rest of the country."
Shortly after his election Presley would fly to Washington were he would meet the President and discuss the future of his state. Today it's easy to see that President Kennedy wanted to be seen with Elvis, and most certaily vice-versa. The meeting would be heavily followed by reporters from great newspapers and TV networks to tabloids. These were, after all, two of the most popular figures in U.S. politics.
View attachment 330198
In the end, the elections proved to be a major victory for the Democratic Party. With gains in both, the House and The states, and minor losses in the Senate, things were looking up. Kennedy would try to take advantage of these victories in the incoming year to pass his Guaranteed Minimal Income Bill and increase funds for multiple programs and organisations that varied from social welfare to NASA. The Southern Democrats stubborn stance against his administration would also have to stop, and Kennedy would quickly learn that negotiating was not optional if he was to keep the party whole and stop the growth of the AIP.
But of course, the southerners were not against all of RFK's policies. Welfare was something many southern democrats supported. Even so, they had proven paramount in deadlocking Kennedy's Healthcare Bill in 1970, even as such bill was popular among many in the south. By early 1971 they were realising that RFK stance would not change, and that fighting the man non stop would only hurt them in the long run. If Kennedy negotiated, they could stop the deadlock.
View attachment 330209
President Robert F. Kennedy in 1971
View attachment 330210
Governor Presley and his wife Priscilla, 1971
History of the Democratic Party, from Jackson to Clinton, Michael A. Cormack
.............
And those were the midterms, and a little extra with China. Next weekend i will finnaly talk about 1971. Kennedy's policies, some world events, and the beggining of the 1972 race. Who will run? Who will not? Stay tuned to find out.