Give Carter a more "countercultural" presidency/image

[overoceans]

Carter was the first Democratic president since the end of the 1960s. But off the top of my head, pardoning the draft-dodgers and then Peter Yarrow(that one on his last day in office, can't imagine why) are about the only liberal stances he took on issues specifically related to the 60s youth culture.

On a personal level, he was known to occassionally hang out with people like Willie Nelson, and there were some eyebrows raised about an acquaintance with Hunter S. Thmposon(see his Playboy interview), but no associations much more radical than that.

So, is there anything else Carter could have done to cultivate a more "60s" image? I'm looking for things within the realm of plausibility, ie. the kind of stuff people might have been suggesting at the time, but he avoided doing. (eg. legalizing pot would fit the bill, but not acid. And he can be seen chatting with Bob Dylan, but not William S. Burroughs.)

 

[marktaha]

Peter Yarrow?

 

[overoceans]

Peter Yarrow?

The guy from Peter Paul And Mary. Did three months in the early 70s for a sex-crime involving an underaged girl.

 

[GeographyDude]

. . . I'm looking for things within the realm of plausibility, ie. the kind of stuff people might have been suggesting at the time, but he avoided doing. (eg. legalizing pot would fit the bill, but not acid. . .

[#TBT] Jimmy Carter as a Spokesman for Pot Decriminalization, 1979 - Osocio

My friend and colleague Kerry shared this find with me. It’s from a March 1979 issue of Playboy, and it reveals an interesting moment in United States drug history. In the late ‘70s, decriminalization of marijuana seemed to be a natural next step in the liberalization of laws in the West. On...

osocio.org

This is a message from Carter to Congress on Aug. 2, 1977, which I’m thinking is a written message as presidents and their administrations often do.

And the text was used for an ad in Playboy magazine about a year and a half afterwards

So, the marijuana reform group NORML, I tend to think the creative spelling works against, but I might be wrong on this point. A little bit of playfulness might be well received!

 

[marathag]

A more counterculture Peanut would have never made Governor in Georgia

 

[overoceans]

A more counterculture Peanut would have never made Governor in Georgia

Sure. And a Bill Clinton who supported gay-rights would never have gotten elected Governor in Arkansas. But I'm talking about what Carter does once he's firmly ensconced in the White House, responding to national issues brought forth, in part, by the Democratic coalition.

 

[overoceans]

@GeographyDude

I think the spelling of NORML worked just fine for their purposes. I don't think it conveyed any unintentional message of "We're too stoned to spell properly."

And anyway, there woulda been no real way to justify the addition of an "A" into the acronym, unless they smuggled it in as the second letter of "marijuana".

 

[overoceans]

Wow. Just reading up on the history of NORML's relationship with the Carter admin.

Long story short, NORML objected to the continued spraying of Mexican weed with paraquat, and when Carter's main drug advisor Peter Bourne refused to cancel the policy, NORML's director Keith Stroup claimed publically to have seen Bourne snorting coke at a NORML party.

Suffice to say, no one came out of that looking too good. Wonder if it influenced Carter's decisions on liberalization.

 

[marathag]

Sure. And a Bill Clinton who supported gay-rights would never have gotten elected Governor in Arkansas. But I'm talking about what Carter does once he's firmly ensconced in the White House, responding to national issues brought forth, in part, by the Democratic coalition.

Did he run on that platform?
No, he did not, but reducing pollution and education reform, and economic development

 

[overoceans]

Did he run on that platform?
No, he did not, but reducing pollution and education reform, and economic development

Sorry. Does "he" refer to Clinton? And if so, does "running on that platform" refer to his run for Governor of Arkansas?

 

[marathag]

Sorry. Does "he" refer to Clinton? And if so, does "running on that platform" refer to his run for Governor of Arkansas?

Since I was replying to your post about Bubba, who else?
And yes, it was referring Bubba getting elected in Arkansas

 

[overoceans]

Since I was replying to your post about Bubba, who else?
And yes, it was referring Bubba getting elected in Arkansas

Okay. So he didn't campaign on a gay-rights platform in Arkansas. But he did campaign on a gay-rights platform when running for POTUS, because the issues are different at the national level.

Mutatis mutandis, I'm saying Carter could have addressed issues at the national level that he never would have touched at the state level. That was originally in reply to your argument that he never woulda become guv in Georgia had he been more countercultural(which I agree with).

 

[Belisarius II]

If he did then he wouldn't be Jimmy Carter. Carter was a moralistic, centrist Democrat, not a counter culture guy, he only lusted in his heart. Trying to do that would only make him seem phony, and you have to be true to yourself. His integrity was his best quality.

 

[marathag]

If he did then he wouldn't be Jimmy Carter. Carter was a moralistic, centrist Democrat, not a counter culture guy, he only lusted in his heart. Trying to do that would only make him seem phony, and you have to be true to yourself. His integrity was his best quality.

He was a terrible President, but great Human Being.

 

[Fuzzy Dunlop]

Carter was the first Democratic president since the end of the 1960s. But off the top of my head, pardoning the draft-dodgers and then Peter Yarrow(that one on his last day in office, can't imagine why) are about the only liberal stances he took on issues specifically related to the 60s youth culture.

On a personal level, he was known to occassionally hang out with people like Willie Nelson, and there were some eyebrows raised about an acquaintance with Hunter S. Thmposon(see his Playboy interview), but no associations much more radical than that.

So, is there anything else Carter could have done to cultivate a more "60s" image? I'm looking for things within the realm of plausibility, ie. the kind of stuff people might have been suggesting at the time, but he avoided doing. (eg. legalizing pot would fit the bill, but not acid. And he can be seen chatting with Bob Dylan, but not William S. Burroughs.)

Looks wise? . . . would this look do?

 

[unclepatrick]

He was a terrible President, but great Human Being.

He does Sunday School classes and volunteers for Habitat for Humanity .
I met him once.
Very nice guy.

I agree he was not a good President .

 

[SealTheRealDeal]

[#TBT] Jimmy Carter as a Spokesman for Pot Decriminalization, 1979 - Osocio

My friend and colleague Kerry shared this find with me. It’s from a March 1979 issue of Playboy, and it reveals an interesting moment in United States drug history. In the late ‘70s, decriminalization of marijuana seemed to be a natural next step in the liberalization of laws in the West. On...

osocio.org

This is a message from Carter to Congress on Aug. 2, 1977, which I’m thinking is a written message as presidents and their administrations often do.

And the text was used for an ad in Playboy magazine about a year and a half afterwards

So, the marijuana reform group NORML, I tend to think the creative spelling works against, but I might be wrong on this point. A little bit of playfulness might be well received!

So... that's a death penalty for possessing heroin?

 

[overoceans]

Marshall McLuhan on Carter's southern accent...

"It would appeal enormously more to the younger generation than to the older one, because jazz and rock come out of that country."

Interesting and quirky analysis, but also, I think, wrong. In my experience, there is a strong correlation between enjoyment of rock and jazz, and a propensity to making fun of hillbilly accents.

 

[Sam R.]

Carter was the first Democratic president since the end of the 1960s. But off the top of my head, pardoning the draft-dodgers and then Peter Yarrow(that one on his last day in office, can't imagine why) are about the only liberal stances he took on issues specifically related to the 60s youth culture.

he only lusted in his heart. Trying to do that would only make him seem phony, and you have to be true to yourself. His integrity was his best quality.

Arthur Miller (1987) "The kidnapping and assassination of James Carter as performed by the inanes of the Weather Front (High) under the direction of [unnamed 1] and [unnamed 2]." London: Penguin.

Martyrs are never too closely inspected. Consider, for a moment, Brecht on Gallileo. Historically, historians of science, have found Gallileo to be a shit cunt troll who just wouldn't quit buying into *theological debates* despite warnings that his science was tolerable, but he should shut the fuck up about God and the world. Brecht's Gallileo, by comparison, is a saint for science and truth.

Have the ultraleft kill him in a failed pissant kidnapping and you'll get a "but James was a good leftish chap," as a result.

 

[Expat]

I feel like this contemporary SNL sketch is just teetering on the edge between technocratic nerd and voice for the counterculture. Just needs a little nudge to tip it over.