We defeated the SMCR, now the next step is the Clean Water Act which is due to be passed next week. Right now there is precious little to do except watch the media count down our “first 100 days” of the term, made more difficult with a divided Congress. In mid-month I will have to sign off on the final agreement with Hua to exchange embassies at the end of next year, the vote to repeal the MAT with Taiwan is scheduled for the fall. Already their ambassador here is intensely lobbying the ultras like BG to pressure us, but it will pass easily because the Democrats will vote en bloc. There is no point in denying reality anymore: the PRC is the legitimate Chinese government & ROC will never again hold jurisdiction over mainland China. Another foreign policy issue that’s extremely sensitive (apart from Iran) is the Mideast peace process between Egypt & Israel. The 2 parties are only talking to each other indirectly through us, though an election is due in Israel soon & it is looking like for the first time since Israel’s founding that Likud has a real shot at forming the government. Of all things, an F-15 landing on Saturday set off the non-confidence motion, but the end has been a long time in coming given the amount of corruption that has been uncovered in the Labour Party. Other than that it is G8 prep, which will be hosted by Jim Callaghan in London & focus mostly on the anaemic European economies again. For the 1st time the EC President has been invited to join us, a concession that VGE & Schmidt were quite insistent upon last time. I don’t see the harm in it, it isn’t like they are actively involved in determining our collective strategy on these matters, as much as I don’t like this political creation & never will, we have to play nice for diplomacy’s sake.
- Bush Diaries, Apr. 1
Not too much going on abroad other than the fact that among the things GB will be doing when he leaves for the G8 in London tonight is call on HM for the Silver Jubilee, plus the Summit itself. Later today is another meeting with the leadership to clear up the schedule: I’m in charge for 48 hours while GB is at the Summit. The Democrats are going to reintroduce the SMCR, led by Robert Byrd of WV who sees it as absolutely necessary. I feel that some of the regulatory burden placed on the mines is over-stringent & therefore GB will veto it unless they remove some of them. It looks like it will head to a standoff & we will not be the ones to back down on this. Then there’s ethics legislation to take care of, more transparency & expansion of the Freedom to Information Act that was passed last year. We believe in transparency, unlike Nixon, LBJ & the Kennedys. It will be a measure of contrast on our records during next year’s midterms. Later in the spring is the APEC summit, after that smooth sailing until November’s Summit of the Americas, always a talk shop where nothing of note is accomplished. We defeated the Medicaid funding bill on a bipartisan basis, 366-69 in the House, & 90-10 in the Senate. Right now what the RNSC is trying to do is recruit candidates to go against vulnerable Senate Democrats next year & reclaim the majority so that for the remainder of the term & next term we will be firmly in the driver’s seat without having to worry about the Democrats’ constant carping on domestic policy. On Thursday there is due to be the first convention of Focus on the Forgotten, a RL counterpart to the RR’s Focus on the Family, founded by Dobson. It should be interesting when the Dems have to inevitably make a choice about which convention to attend or endorsement to seek.
- Baker Diaries, Apr. 30
The Kings at the White House shortly before President Bush presented Dr. King with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, May 9.
We got a good summit declaration out, one that promises to continue to work on economic remedies throughout this year into the next summit but short on specifics due to disagreement. No one with the possible exception of Trudeau is in election danger at the moment, so the subject can be revisited later. I got back to find out that the Dems defeated the Full Employment Act in conference but as a compromise sent me the Clean Water Act, which I am quite happy to sign into law. Otherwise everyone seemed to be in a good mood at the summit, quite naturally given that we’re all sailing fairly smoothly domestically & the international horizon is clear for the moment. You never know when a crisis can erupt that throws the entire equilibrium off. At month’s end I have a meeting with Dr. King scheduled since his PMF is long overdue, something that LBJ neglected to do. Now that the passions of the last decade have cooled off it is a prime opportunity. While being under absolutely no illusions as to any improvement of GOP standing among blacks, it will be recognition of his vast services to our nation. I’ve scheduled it for the next ceremony which is due to take place late next month, before the summer heat takes hold here in DC & makes it absolutely unbearable to conduct any lengthy outdoor ceremonies. Another visitor due before year’s end is the Shah, another longtime friend of ours but not one too popular amongst the masses. CIA reports say that he’s quite ill & only has 18 months to live at most. Update: another call from Cap Weinberger about the planning for our exercises in the Persian Gulf which are scheduled for November, all is A-OK. [REDACTED} will see the Gulf States participate for the first time, along with the UK.
- Bush Diaries, May 7
Likud won the Israeli election, which complicates matters for the peace process. Let’s not forget that Begin’s methods could quite reasonably classify him as a terrorist- or at least the people who worked under him were. That much is indisputable, but now we have to work with the SOB- & we still remember his incitement that nearly led to civil war in the mid-‘50s. Hopefully 30 years in opposition has wizened him up a bit to the realities of practical governance & especially geopolitics. July is when I head to India & the UK again, after that returning home to enjoy our time at HP. There isn’t that much on the legislative agenda apart from the usual things: this time passing the mine safety legislation over George’s veto, something that is absolutely necessary for the well being of West Virginians. A major item that is currently being rammed through the Senate is the abolition of women’s corps for the armed services, specifically WAVES & their Marine counterpart, something that is long overdue IMO. None of my kids show any particular desire to enter the military as much as I’d hoped that one of them would- nonetheless it will not be forced upon them. If everything goes according to plan K&J are going to make me a grandfather within the next few months, something that greatly pleases E & I. Which reminds me: the wedding was absolutely magnificent. The press has quite naturally made a big deal of this, hence why it was private rather than open for the whole damn world to gawk at. The concept of “privacy” seems to elude many otherwise sane people on both sides of the aisle. It goes without saying that J had to convert, but he was quite happy to: apparently for some time he was looking for the right opportunity. These things have a reason for happening that’s beyond our comprehension IMO- especially the timing. Then there’s the matter that [x] & [y] are getting hitched next year, while as Bob completes his junior year he’s confided to me that he’s waiting on an offer to head to either London or Beirut on behalf of Merrill Lynch.
- RFK Diaries, June 22
By 1977, it was apparent that the once-storied relationship between the Kennedys and Martin Luther King: so vital in the civil rights battles of the 1960s and to a lesser extent the bussing battles of the early 1970s, had drastically deteriorated. Both brothers felt that the goals had been achieved, and now the rest resided on improving opportunity and maintaining the black family structure as a cohesive unit as outlined in the Moynihan Report in 1965. Given their diametric opposition on economic and some social questions (King and the SCLC had opposed Kennedy's PRWO as too draconian), a split was perhaps inevitable. Robert Kennedy gravitated towards his longtime Hispanic ally Cesar Chavez, UAW chief Walter Reuther, and most surprisingly Malik El Shabazz, formerly Malcolm X. Kennedy's old associates were shocked at the latter: in the 1960s Kennedy had fervently opposed the Black Muslim movement, calling their proposals "self-imposed apartheid that would tickle the heart of Prime Minister Verwoerd" and had ordered extensive FBI surveillance of Malcolm and Muhammad as he had of King in 1963. But now, the two men agreed that economic self-determination and the maintenance of religion as a "moral restraint" (El Shabazz) was the path to what Kennedy, echoing his brother John, called "the final stage of emancipation." Both agreed on the need for "economic integration yes, cultural integration no." In a speech to the SCLC on June 17, 1975, Kennedy had declared "one of the biggest tragedies that could occur in the United States would be the sublimation of all the rich subcultures into one massive white suburban monoculture." The endorsement of PRWO and the CRA after a decade-long absence of contact had prompted Kennedy to call on his favourable testimony at the Urban Affairs Committee, intensely irritating Democratic progressives and Dr. King, though the latter made no public comment.
[The Unholy Alliance: Robert Kennedy and the Religious Right, 1977-19xx]
* Anyone who guesses who married who... gets a can of maple syrup and a box of Timbits.
** The cultural integration thing is paraphrased from an OTL speech in 1968. As we know, RFK was the most self-conscious of his Irish identity of all the brothers, and gladly wore the mantle IOTL.
- Bush Diaries, Apr. 1
Not too much going on abroad other than the fact that among the things GB will be doing when he leaves for the G8 in London tonight is call on HM for the Silver Jubilee, plus the Summit itself. Later today is another meeting with the leadership to clear up the schedule: I’m in charge for 48 hours while GB is at the Summit. The Democrats are going to reintroduce the SMCR, led by Robert Byrd of WV who sees it as absolutely necessary. I feel that some of the regulatory burden placed on the mines is over-stringent & therefore GB will veto it unless they remove some of them. It looks like it will head to a standoff & we will not be the ones to back down on this. Then there’s ethics legislation to take care of, more transparency & expansion of the Freedom to Information Act that was passed last year. We believe in transparency, unlike Nixon, LBJ & the Kennedys. It will be a measure of contrast on our records during next year’s midterms. Later in the spring is the APEC summit, after that smooth sailing until November’s Summit of the Americas, always a talk shop where nothing of note is accomplished. We defeated the Medicaid funding bill on a bipartisan basis, 366-69 in the House, & 90-10 in the Senate. Right now what the RNSC is trying to do is recruit candidates to go against vulnerable Senate Democrats next year & reclaim the majority so that for the remainder of the term & next term we will be firmly in the driver’s seat without having to worry about the Democrats’ constant carping on domestic policy. On Thursday there is due to be the first convention of Focus on the Forgotten, a RL counterpart to the RR’s Focus on the Family, founded by Dobson. It should be interesting when the Dems have to inevitably make a choice about which convention to attend or endorsement to seek.
- Baker Diaries, Apr. 30
The Kings at the White House shortly before President Bush presented Dr. King with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, May 9.
We got a good summit declaration out, one that promises to continue to work on economic remedies throughout this year into the next summit but short on specifics due to disagreement. No one with the possible exception of Trudeau is in election danger at the moment, so the subject can be revisited later. I got back to find out that the Dems defeated the Full Employment Act in conference but as a compromise sent me the Clean Water Act, which I am quite happy to sign into law. Otherwise everyone seemed to be in a good mood at the summit, quite naturally given that we’re all sailing fairly smoothly domestically & the international horizon is clear for the moment. You never know when a crisis can erupt that throws the entire equilibrium off. At month’s end I have a meeting with Dr. King scheduled since his PMF is long overdue, something that LBJ neglected to do. Now that the passions of the last decade have cooled off it is a prime opportunity. While being under absolutely no illusions as to any improvement of GOP standing among blacks, it will be recognition of his vast services to our nation. I’ve scheduled it for the next ceremony which is due to take place late next month, before the summer heat takes hold here in DC & makes it absolutely unbearable to conduct any lengthy outdoor ceremonies. Another visitor due before year’s end is the Shah, another longtime friend of ours but not one too popular amongst the masses. CIA reports say that he’s quite ill & only has 18 months to live at most. Update: another call from Cap Weinberger about the planning for our exercises in the Persian Gulf which are scheduled for November, all is A-OK. [REDACTED} will see the Gulf States participate for the first time, along with the UK.
- Bush Diaries, May 7
Likud won the Israeli election, which complicates matters for the peace process. Let’s not forget that Begin’s methods could quite reasonably classify him as a terrorist- or at least the people who worked under him were. That much is indisputable, but now we have to work with the SOB- & we still remember his incitement that nearly led to civil war in the mid-‘50s. Hopefully 30 years in opposition has wizened him up a bit to the realities of practical governance & especially geopolitics. July is when I head to India & the UK again, after that returning home to enjoy our time at HP. There isn’t that much on the legislative agenda apart from the usual things: this time passing the mine safety legislation over George’s veto, something that is absolutely necessary for the well being of West Virginians. A major item that is currently being rammed through the Senate is the abolition of women’s corps for the armed services, specifically WAVES & their Marine counterpart, something that is long overdue IMO. None of my kids show any particular desire to enter the military as much as I’d hoped that one of them would- nonetheless it will not be forced upon them. If everything goes according to plan K&J are going to make me a grandfather within the next few months, something that greatly pleases E & I. Which reminds me: the wedding was absolutely magnificent. The press has quite naturally made a big deal of this, hence why it was private rather than open for the whole damn world to gawk at. The concept of “privacy” seems to elude many otherwise sane people on both sides of the aisle. It goes without saying that J had to convert, but he was quite happy to: apparently for some time he was looking for the right opportunity. These things have a reason for happening that’s beyond our comprehension IMO- especially the timing. Then there’s the matter that [x] & [y] are getting hitched next year, while as Bob completes his junior year he’s confided to me that he’s waiting on an offer to head to either London or Beirut on behalf of Merrill Lynch.
- RFK Diaries, June 22
By 1977, it was apparent that the once-storied relationship between the Kennedys and Martin Luther King: so vital in the civil rights battles of the 1960s and to a lesser extent the bussing battles of the early 1970s, had drastically deteriorated. Both brothers felt that the goals had been achieved, and now the rest resided on improving opportunity and maintaining the black family structure as a cohesive unit as outlined in the Moynihan Report in 1965. Given their diametric opposition on economic and some social questions (King and the SCLC had opposed Kennedy's PRWO as too draconian), a split was perhaps inevitable. Robert Kennedy gravitated towards his longtime Hispanic ally Cesar Chavez, UAW chief Walter Reuther, and most surprisingly Malik El Shabazz, formerly Malcolm X. Kennedy's old associates were shocked at the latter: in the 1960s Kennedy had fervently opposed the Black Muslim movement, calling their proposals "self-imposed apartheid that would tickle the heart of Prime Minister Verwoerd" and had ordered extensive FBI surveillance of Malcolm and Muhammad as he had of King in 1963. But now, the two men agreed that economic self-determination and the maintenance of religion as a "moral restraint" (El Shabazz) was the path to what Kennedy, echoing his brother John, called "the final stage of emancipation." Both agreed on the need for "economic integration yes, cultural integration no." In a speech to the SCLC on June 17, 1975, Kennedy had declared "one of the biggest tragedies that could occur in the United States would be the sublimation of all the rich subcultures into one massive white suburban monoculture." The endorsement of PRWO and the CRA after a decade-long absence of contact had prompted Kennedy to call on his favourable testimony at the Urban Affairs Committee, intensely irritating Democratic progressives and Dr. King, though the latter made no public comment.
[The Unholy Alliance: Robert Kennedy and the Religious Right, 1977-19xx]
* Anyone who guesses who married who... gets a can of maple syrup and a box of Timbits.
** The cultural integration thing is paraphrased from an OTL speech in 1968. As we know, RFK was the most self-conscious of his Irish identity of all the brothers, and gladly wore the mantle IOTL.
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