DBWI: No President Jackson in 88.

[Igeo654]

OK, so Rev. Jesse Fucking Jackson. The best thing to come out of South Carolina since Mt. Rushmore. One of the U.S.'s best fucking Presidents, and not just because he became America's first AA leader just 24 years after the Civil Rights Act was passed. He and VP Ted Kennedy (RIP) did some wonderful shit. Persuading Tim Berners-Lee to release the Internet to the public in 1990, Fighting and winning battles for LGTBQ rights throughout his Administration, Putting taxes on the 1% and building the kind of infrastructure that hadn't been seen since The New Deal, putting diplomacy ahead of war and just being an all-around, likeable, caring, empathetic human being. Jackson was basically like the Anti-Regan for a lot of people and it's not hard to see why. He was basically the guy who put an end to the whole GI Joe, Greed is Good mentality of the 80s and Showed that for the 90s and ever after, economics needed to pour down, not trickle.

This is the guy who shaped America throughout most of the 90s. And considering what he had to go to do all that, it's a wonder he lasted two terms or even got the Democrat nomination at all. GOP bringing up his past affairs, the Democrats wanting to push Michael Dukakis, Biggots from the Bible Belt doing everything to derail him at every turn. America never had a more persecuted Pres than Jackson. And yet, in the end, they failed. Jackson defeated George Bush in 88 and went on to lead America through the Initial years of Gen X until 1996. When the conservatives finally did get back into the White House in 97 to 04 with Steve Forbes (Who, as Avenue Q once put it, was only ''for now.'') and his running mate, Ron Paul, They were only able to reverse about 1/8 of what JJ do for his country.

The thing is though, as I said, Jackson's road to even being Nominated as the Democratic Ticket was an uphill climb in of itself, so what would have happened if Jackson never got elected? Never even made it to Nominee status? Would Dukakis have become No:41, or would George Bush have won out as the GOP hoped? Tell me your thoughts below and feel free to share your memories of President Jackson and VP Kennedy.

 

[GeographyDude]

No question Jackson’s pro-middle class economics would strike a responsive chord.

The hinge issue was always whether Jackson himself would be perceivable as middle-of-the-road enough and as a reliable guy. A neglected POD is his 1983 mission to Syria, as a private citizen, to retrieve a downed American pilot. Of course the Syrians used him as a way to save face and still release the pilot. Pres. Reagan even hinted as much.

But the fact that Jackson didn’t crow and instead was very statesman convinced wide swaths of the American public.

* before this, I remember even some older African-Americans wonder aloud if Jackson was too radical, but afterwards, pretty much only Republican operatives. I mean, most black, white, Hispanic, Asian voters believed he was solidly in the mainstream, even if they voted Republican.

 

[David T]

OOC: Jackson had almost no chance of winning the Democratic nomination in 1988, no chance of getting Perot to be his running mate, and no chance of beating Bush if he did get nominated (with or without Perot as a running mate). Also, he wasn't from Florida.

 

[Igeo654]

OOC: Jackson had almost no chance of winning the Democratic nomination in 1988, no chance of getting Perot to be his running mate, and no chance of beating Bush if he did get nominated (with or without Perot as a running mate). Also, he wasn't from Florida.

OOC: Edited the right state in and changed the VP, but the rest still stays. 2nd of all, considering the fact that Jesse came in 2nd to Dukakis, I believe that it is incredibly possible that he could have become the democratic ticket.

 

[GeographyDude]

Rev. Jesse Jackson and Cdr. Robert Goodman Reunite - JetMag.com

Marking the 30-year anniversary of Robert Goodman's release from Syria, Jesse Jackson and Goodman recount the historical event.

www.jetmag.com

Lt. Robert Goodman’s plane went down over Lebanon Dec. 1983, and he was captured by Syrian soldiers. As a result of Jackson’s mission (or the Syrians using it as an occasion), Lt. Goodman was released on Jan. 4, 1984.

Again, without this straightforward, matter-of-fact mission — done well — Pres. Jackson doesn’t establish foreign policy credentials.

———-

The photo as older men shows Cmd. Goodman (retired) and former President Jackson in 2014.

* yes, pilots are often shorter individuals

 

[David T]

OOC: Edited the right state in, but the rest still stays. 2nd of all, considering the fact that Jesse came in 2nd to Dukakis, I believe that it is incredibly possible that he could have become the democratic ticket.

It is not totally inconceivable that he could have gotten more delegates than Dukakis if, say, Gore had done better with white voters outside the South. But that would still be a far cry from a majority and I just don't see the supporters of Gore or Gephardt choosing Jackson over Dukakis

Dukakis beat Jackson 61-35 in California, 63-27 in Ohio, 66-27 in Pennsylvania, and--despite Mayor Koch's backing Gore--51 to 37 in New York. Almost all the states Jackson won were in the South. Yes, his share of the white vote improved--from 5 percent in 1984 to 12 percent in 1988--but that's just not nearly enough. https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/13/us/jackson-share-of-votes-by-whites-triples-in-88.html Even if the white vote had continued to be split among a number of candidates, that might enable him to win more primaries but would not give him a majority of the delegates in the extra states he would have won--the days of winner-take-all primaries was over.

 

[GeographyDude]

I think it’s also highly significant that Eisenhower established a blue ribbon committee on federal funding to bring all schools up to a good level. Kennedy inherited it, and even received credit for slightly phasing it down for budgetary reasons.

Of course, we’re going to respond to Brown v. Board of Education by bringing all schools up.

I seen some dystopian timelines in which we wait until the stagnant economy of the 1970s, the Supreme Court rules we can’t make remedies between suburban and city schools, etc, . . . with resulting racial resentment. Personally, I’ve never found such timelines that convincing, but of course YMMV.

 

[Igeo654]

I think it’s also highly significant that Eisenhower established a blue ribbon committee on federal funding to bring all schools up to a good level. Kennedy inherited it, and even received credit for slightly phasing it down for budgetary reasons.

Of course, we’re going to respond to Brown v. Board of Education by bringing all schools up.

I seen some dystopian timelines in which we wait until the stagnant economy of the 1970s, the Supreme Court rules we can’t make remedies between suburban and city schools, etc, . . . with resulting racial resentment. Personally, I’ve never found such timelines that convincing, but of course YMMV.

I think you've made a misread, pal. I'm talking about Ted, not John. Sorry if you got confused.

 

[GeographyDude]

I mean, Pres. John Kennedy (1961-69) who was very much on the conservative side of the Democratic Party, and in fact, sometimes jokingly called the best Republican predident we’ve ever had.

I’m quite aware that Ted Kennedy was arguable the best Vice-President we’ve ever had. First off, he was open and matter-of-fact about his struggles with alcohol and cocaine, without glamorizing them. And then, VP Kennedy dove into middle class jobs issues. He spoke with both union leaders and corporate executives. He could summarize economic numbers in a sentence or two. He wasn’t easily rattled. All in all, transformative of what an individual in the VP office focusing on central issues can do.

 

[GeographyDude]

In retrospect, I think one of the best things Pres. Jackson did was push for legislation to raise the threshold at which salaries employees are “exempt” and not covered by overtime law. And to tie it to inflation, even though it has been raised by subsequent laws.

I think it’s currently around $230,000.

So, that if an employee makes 230K, a company can say, hey, the employee is on salary, they have a responsible job and are paid very well, and we can ask him or her to work significantly more than 38 hours a week. But if an employee makes less than this, he or she gets time-and-a-half for overtime (double for anything over 55 hours). And to me, this has been one of the most effective ways of spreading out available work.

Again, someone can say we would have gotten this anyway. But I’d much rather have it early than late.

 

[Burton K Wheeler]

This is not a DBWI.