THE BEATEN PATH: One Bicentennial and Counting

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mymatedave10 said:
Dear god, what have you wrought? He's in the Bill Murray role isn't he? Have you destroyed Bill Murray's career? You monster!!

I may be slightly over reacting, but that really is a touchstone movie for me.
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Don’t worry, Bill Murray’s career is fine! It’s just that Bill is doing other projects and John Belushi makes it to the 00s at least.
 
mymatedave10

mymatedave10

Enigma-Conundrum said:
Don’t worry, Bill Murray’s career is fine! It’s just that Bill is doing other projects and John Belushi makes it to the 00s at least.
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Good, I suppose, I’ve never been a snl fan being a brit, but OTL’s Ghostbusters really is thing of beauty. Just tell me you didn’t butterfly Groundhog Day and all is forgiven. 🥺🥺🥺
 
volantredx

volantredx

I am actually really curious how different the film would turn out. Murry and Belushi are very talented, but dramatically different comedians. Belushi is far more physical and often comes off playing characters who are socially maladjusted.
 
Enigma-Conundrum

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volantredx said:
I am actually really curious how different the film would turn out. Murry and Belushi are very talented, but dramatically different comedians. Belushi is far more physical and often comes off playing characters who are socially maladjusted.
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We shall see, certainly. It’s still a successful movie, though, given that the role is more tailored to Belushi. But a very different movie for sure.
 
INTERMISSION 2: Elections & Music
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    1976 West German Election Results
    Union: 256 (+22)
    Social Democratic Party: 222 (-20)
    Free Democratic Party: 40 (-2)


    HAYDEN DEFEATS WHITLAM IN LEADERSHIP SPILL

    THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, June 1st, 1977


    1977 Australian Election Results
    Coalition: 76 (-15)
    Labor: 48 (+12)


    1978 French Legislative Election Results
    Rally For the Republic: 150 (-33)
    Union For French Democracy: 121 (+2)
    Socialist Party: 104 (+2)
    French Communist Party: 86 (+13)


    ATTEMPT TO KIDNAP FORMER ITALIAN PM ALDO MORO STOPPED BY BODYGUARDS

    LE MONDE, March 17th, 1978


    1979 Italian General Election Results
    Christian Democracy: 257 (-6)
    Communist Party: 231 (+4)
    Socialist Party: 59 (+7)
    Social Movement: 27 (+2)
    Democratic Socialist Party: 8 (-7)


    Billboard Year-End Top 10 Songs For 1977

    1.Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright) - Rod Stewart
    2. I Just Want to Be Your Everything - Andy Gibb
    3. Best of My Love - Emotions
    4. Love Theme (From "A Star Is Born") - Barbra Streisand
    5. Angel In Your Arms - Hot
    6. I Like Dreamin' - Kenny Nolan
    7. Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
    8. (Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher - Rita Coolidge
    9. Undercover Angel - Alan O'Day
    10. Torn Between Two Lovers - Mary MacGregor


    Billboard Year-End Top 10 Songs For 1978

    1. Night Fever - The Bee Gees
    2. Shadow Dancing - Andy Gibb
    3. You Light Up My Life - Debby Boone
    4. Stayin' Alive - The Bee Gees
    5. Kiss You All Over - Exile
    6. Baby Come Back - Player
    7. How Deep Is Your Love - The Bee Gees
    8. (Love Is) Thicker Than Water - Andy Gibb
    9. Boogie Oogie Oogie - A Taste Of Honey
    10. Three Times a Lady - The Commodores


    Billboard Year-End Top 10 Songs For 1979

    1. My Sharona - The Knack
    2. Bad Girls - Donna Summer
    3. Le Freak - Chic
    4. Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? - Rod Stewart
    5. I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
    6. Reunited - Peaches and Herb
    7. Hot Stuff - Donna Summer
    8. Y.M.C.A. - Village People
    9. Ring My Bell - Anita Ward
    10. Sad Eyes - Robert John


    Billboard Year-End Top 10 Songs For 1980

    1. Another Brick In the Wall - Pink Floyd
    2. Call Me - Blondie
    3. Magic - Olivia Newton-John
    4. Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen
    5. Rock With You - Michael Jackson
    6. Do That to Me One More Time - The Captain and Tennille
    7. Coming Up - Paul McCartney
    8. It's Still Rock and Roll to Me - Billy Joel
    9. Funkytown - Lipps, Inc.
    10. The Rose - Bette Midler
     
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    Author's note: that's probably about it on the intermissions, expect more of those extra fun details on Act Two soon, figured we needed a good staging ground for that sweet, sweet electoral granularity (and Berlinguer!)
     
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    GenerousLizard said:
    thats a close result for the Union Nominee. I guess Schmitt remains chancellor for the time being
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    Yeah. Helmut Kohl (yes, it actually was him in '76!) fares a bit better TTL, but not enough to claim a majority. Schmidt's already-tough job post OTL-1976 isn't any easier here, though.
     
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    the Milquetoast said:
    So might we see Eurocommunism have more of an impact than "oh so they're commies pretending to be demosocs"? Seems very interesting...
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    It very well could. I’ll see if there’s a good place to talk about it in the actual TL, given that it’s a bit tangential to the admittedly USA-centric storyline itself (but that’s what the intermissions are for!)
     
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    COMING SOON (YES, IT'S FINALLY TIME)
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    THE BEATEN PATH: ACT TWO​
     
    ACT TWO: Part 1 - The West Wing, circa 1981
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    ACT TWO

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    "There comes a time in everyone's life when he must stand up and be counted. Being for or against something is not enough. "

    - President Jerry Litton

    ———————————————————    ​

    Chief Justice Warren Burger: I, Jerry Lon Litton, do solemnly swear...
    President-Elect Jerry Litton: I, Jerry Lon Litton, do solemnly swear…
    WB: That I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States…
    JL: That I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States…
    WB: And will to the best of my ability…
    JL: And will to the best of my ability…
    WB: Preserve, protect, and defend...
    JL: Preserve, protect, and defend…
    WB: The Constitution of the United States…
    JL: The Constitution of the United States…
    WB: So help you God?
    JL: So help me God.
    WB: Congratulations, sir.

    Transcript of Jerry Litton’s oath of office, January 20th, 1981


    Senator Mondale, Mr. Chief Justice, President Reagan, Vice President Baker, Vice President Carey, Speaker O’Neill, Senator Byrd, Reverend Graham, and most vitally of all, my fellow citizens, today is a humbling day. I believe I am stating the obvious when I say that not every day is one’s inauguration to the highest office in the land. As my first statement following the oath thirty-nine men before me have taken, I would like to salute my predecessor, for President Reagan has served the people of this nation with honor as its President.

    When our Founders outlined this great nation’s freedoms to the Lord and to the world, they knew that these winter days would be ones of renewal, ones where we reaffirmed our fundamental commitment to the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They are not just days of individuals, but of ideals. They are days to reaffirm this nation, her beliefs, and her undying hopes. Stagnation and conflict are rife within our nation, with many feeling a sense of pessimism towards our future. Despite the apparent looming twilight over this nation, no great horror will come to pass, for America has always persevered. During our revolution, when our armies were out of food and low on morale, in the bitter winters of Valley Forge, George Washington’s forces held onto the hope of freedom through it all, a warth to melt through the chill. Those brave men believed it, they fought for it, and they won the liberties we enjoy today. During the harshest days of our Civil War, our nation held onto the hope of reconciliation and healed its wounds. Our men held onto their belief in this nation and fought to bring us back together as one in those days of brothers fighting brothers. During the darkest days of the Great Depression, Americans not only held onto hope that the bleak present could become a brilliant future, but they acted upon it. They fought for it, they marched for it, and they brought it to pass.

    Today, on this day of our transfer of power and renewal, our optimism will be renewed alongside it. There is injustice, we will bring justice in its stead. There is unemployment, we will get America working again. There are Americans who cannot maintain their health without the threat of bankruptcy, we will extend a helping hand to them. There is corruption and back-room dealing, we will cleanse ourselves of it. There are Americans without a voice in their government, we will give them that voice. To right America’s course, though, we must be bold. We must invest far more in our own people and their future. And we must do so in a world in which we must compete for every opportunity. It will not be easy; it will require sacrifice. But it can be done, and done fairly, not choosing sacrifice for its own sake, but for our own sake. Through trials and tribulations, we will end this feeling of a national twilight and bring a new dawn for America.

    Excerpt from President Jerry Litton’s inaugural speech, January 20th, 1981


    While most selections were handled by those who weren’t in briefings with the outgoing Reagan White House, there was one region where the President-Elect and Vice President-Elect wished to be very deeply involved: the executive offices. The two of them wished to decide it directly, and asked for my help as “someone who’s worked with all of these folks.” Also, Jerry added, “if we ask Ed Turner and Tim Kraft to figure out who gets to be Chief of Staff, there isn’t going to be enough left of either of them to give the job to.” So it was that the three of us sat down for lunch in my recently-rented Georgetown townhouse to start that procedure.
    The very first thing mentioned was the job of Press Secretary and specifically the fact that Jerry wanted me to fill those shoes. “Look, the beltway press corps know you from the campaign, and we need a familiar face for them to talk to.” Of course, I agreed, and that was that. Next, though, was the difficult decision: where to put Ed and Tim. Ed had been Jerry’s Chief of Staff since he first ran for Congress, and honestly even since college. There was no way Jerry wasn’t going to give him the job. The issue was Tim, who clearly seemed to think he’d take the job instead, despite his loose lips and certain habits. Multiple ideas were thrown around: counselor to the President, special aide, Communications Director, all of it. Eventually, though, Hugh piped up: “Jerry, if you want Tim in the White House but don’t want him to have the high profile of the Chief of Staff and especially want a leash on him, why not make him Ed’s deputy?” That thought quickly settled the debate and brought us through to easier times from there. There was no contest, the dour Bob Morgado would continue as Hugh’s Chief of Staff. With Tim out of the running, another Carey man seemed perfect: James Vlasto, a seasoned pressman who joined us at the convention. Finally, and what I must confess was further out of my wheelhouse, the National Security Advisors. It already seemed that both Jerry and Hugh leaned towards Dr. Brzezinski as Jerry’s National Security Advisor, but they still asked me if he should gain an official position instead. Effectively, I told them that in my experience, he’s brilliant on those matters, but he is not someone who should be given control over a whole Department for a whole host of reasons. This seemed to confirm their existing beliefs, and the decision was made - with Brzezinski’s longtime friend and deputy David Aaron acting as Hugh’s advisor. While I may have described it as one rapid-fire meeting, this process took several hours and Jerry used nearly a third of a pack of three-by-five index cards just to fill out the White House staff, laying them out neatly on the table in front of us to form something of an organizational structure.

    TURNING HOPE INTO CHANGE, My Time in the Litton Administration, by Bonnie Mitchell


    Our first concern, as shown by the entire Litton campaign, was the dismal economy. Unemployment and inflation was both at highs that we simply couldn’t afford to maintain. As such, our first discussions during the transition were about staffing our economic team. Though we (referring to the Administrative Selections Board composed of myself, Ed Turner, Tim Kraft, Ken Curtis, James Vlasto, and nominally the then-President-Elect, Vice President-Elect, and Zbigniew Brzezinski when they weren’t in briefings with the outgoing Reagan administration) looked over multiple candidates, two of my connections from my time with the Vice President-Elect in New York gained positions first. First among them was the literal giant of the New York Federal Reserve, Paul Volcker. He had served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, particularly leading the charge to remove the gold standard. He was a noted inflation hawk as well, which was something we very obviously required in a period with sky-high inflation. So it was that we decided to send Mr. Volcker to the Department of the Treasury. Next was Felix Rohatyn, the chair of the Municipal Assistance Corporation and an economic advisor to the campaign. He had been a partner of ours in turning the New York City financial crisis around, and his tough managerial style had drawn fire from some organizations but had also been essential to fixing the city budget. We all agreed that we needed him to tell us what we could and couldn’t do with our budget, even if the President already had a keen awareness of limits on funding. The Office of Management and Budget was practically designed for him. Finally, as if we didn’t have enough brilliant economists on tap, Volcker’s selection drew one more. Though he wasn’t as forceful as he would be within the West Wing, during early discussions with him about the post of Treasury Secretary he expressed severe concern about Alan Greenspan’s monetary policy. In fact, he all but asked us to commit to firing Reagan’s appointee on day one, saying that “his waterfall of money is going to drown us all if we don’t cut it off.” So we started looking, and found another amenable macroeconomist from the Johnson era - Gardner Ackley, who had taken up the impossible task of convincing Lyndon Johnson that a tax hike was necessary to pay for both the Vietnam War and Great Society. Ackley’s warnings on resultant inflation proved prophetic, and our general consensus was that we needed someone who understood the crisis from day one handling the response. After a house call by Ed Turner and Felix Rohatyn to Ann Arbor, Ackley agreed to take up the monetary reins upon Greenspan’s removal. Already mildly behind schedule due to the detour to the Federal Reserve, we had a major accomplishment - our immediate economic response and recovery team, in its broadest form, was assembled. All that was left was the task of constructing an administration that would please the party at-large and would expend the President’s stockpile of political capital in the direction he wished. It’s a wonder we even had a full cabinet by January.

    THE LONG EIGHTIES: A Memoir, written by Robert Morgado

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    Above: Secretary of the Treasury Paul Volcker at a Senate hearing.


    Defining Litton-era foreign policy must begin by examining the circumstances which brought Jerry Litton to power. In particular, foreign policy was not a major focus of his campaign or indeed, the election. As such, the people he selected to manage the policy-making levers appear to be more focused on striking compromises with the various wings of the Democratic Party and containing the hawkish anticommunism emblematic of National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski. In the Department of Defense, the omnicompetent former Air Force Secretary and President of CalTech Harold Brown was given control. Generally, the reasoning behind this choice is given that Brown was palatable to all within the Democratic Party and would be able to resist a Brzezinski-led takeover of the Pentagon. In the State Department, though, conflicts brewed. According to former Deputy Chief of Staff Timothy Kraft, “the debate over the State department turned into two dueling debates: on one hand, Brzezinski saw it as the moment to push Scoop Jackson, while the Vice President suggested Sarge Shriver, the Kennedy-in-law and George McGovern’s running mate. He believed that it could help to mend the rift between the President and Ted Kennedy. Funny that we didn’t select either of them.” Ultimately, the fierce debate over the highest foreign policy position in the nation was given to the liberal wing of the party through George Ball - Johnson’s UN Ambassador and the highest-profile dissenter against Vietnam within the White House. With this triangle of the outspoken dovish George Ball in State, a fiercely independent Harold Brown manning the Pentagon, and to top it all off the “Democratic Kissinger” Zbigniew Brzezinski and his longtime friend David Aaron acting as National Security Advisors to the President and Vice President respectively, early conflict over the stance the Litton administration took towards the rest of the world seemed inevitable.

    AMERICA’S OPTIMISM: The Litton Years, published in 1994


    Translating the President’s agenda into a Cabinet was no small feat. We had to weigh the public response, as was my job, the party response, as was then-DNC Chairman Ken Curtis’ job, and of course the President and Vice President’s wishes, as was covered by Ed Turner and Bob Morgado. First on my mind and seemingly Curtis’ too was reconciling the party divisions.
    Even if the Northern Strategy had demanded that we shunt the South electorally, we still needed amenable Southern Democrats onboard with this administration. Ultimately, three names cropped to the surface here: Reubin Askew, Barbara Jordan, and Bill Clinton. Askew had run against us in the primary, sure, but he had far more common ground with us on economic matters than most. In addition, he had been a tried and true reformer in Florida, even managing to impose a corporate tax and financial disclosure for representatives. When we reached out to him, he gave us a very emphatic yes, and it was done: the fiery Floridian populist would be our Secretary of Commerce. Next on the list was Barbara Jordan. She had been on the front lines during Watergate, delivering brilliant speeches in favor of impeachment and outlining exactly what offenses Nixon had committed. In addition to this, as Ed put it, “this is one for the history books, if we go through with it.” While she had recently retired from Congress, when asked she was willing to take that same attitude to the Department of Justice. So we appointed both the first black and the first female Attorney General. Finally, Clinton, by far the cagiest of the three of them. The recently re-elected Governor of Arkansas was, for lack of a better term, utterly brilliant. Frankly, we could’ve put him in at least three departments and he would’ve done just as well. However, he was the governor of a farm state and had developed a large amount of experience in that policy realm, which Jerry was highly focused on to say the least. Plus, as a more moderate member of the Southern bloc, he could show that we cared about rural white Democrats and not just “Those Types” who vote for Askew and Jordan. While initially skeptical of our offer and claiming he needed to discuss with his wife (after meeting Hillary, I do think that was genuinely the case), he ultimately accepted his shot to move out of Little Rock and into Washington D.C. as the Secretary of Agriculture.
    We needed to find a place for the more liberal members next. While not explicitly alienated, they weren’t always very happy with Jerry’s stances - while they liked him on trade, on labor reform, and on most economic matters, in particular his moderation on certain social issues and the big sticking point, his opposition to single-payer healthcare and wariness of universal healthcare in general, made our relationship with the most liberal Democrats somewhat rocky. While designating Barbara Jordan as our Attorney General had somewhat mollified them through the historic gesture, we knew that it simply wouldn’t be enough. As such, our next decisions had careful weight placed on them. For one, the Department of Labor was one of our fiercest debates - labor leaders were all clamoring for a spot behind the king’s throne. Ultimately, though, we went to the most actively favorable and the most liberal union for that duty - the UAW and their president, Douglas Fraser. Fraser was one of the most able bargainers within unionized America, and not to mention an outspoken civil rights supporter and universal healthcare advocate. While Jerry wasn’t too pleased with the latter, the UAW’s generous support of his campaign was more than enough for him to buy into it. In addition to this, we knew we had to show that Housing and Urban Development would be active in elevating communities, not just a job of lip service as it had been in the past. This drove us down south to Atlanta, and more specifically her mayor Maynard Jackson - he had engineered the creation of Atlanta’s new airport, bringing a mountain of cash and thousands of jobs to his city. A man with that level of tenacity when it came to getting the bureaucracy to work for the people who needed it most doing so nationwide was something that made quite a few representatives from inner-city districts quite happy. While we ultimately held the rest of the major cabinet posts to ourselves, there were two minor posts that were prime opportunities to heed liberal requests. First was the CIA, where Jerry was in rare agreement with the liberal wing of the party: the CIA was running rampant with no oversight, and we desperately needed someone who’d put a damn tight leash on Langley. Our ultimate decision was a tad unorthodox, but rumor has it that Strom Thurmond tore up the newspaper with it plastered over the front page, so I would say it was for the best to place the recently-unemployed Alaska Senator Mike Gravel, the Mike Gravel who had read the Pentagon Papers into the Senatorial Record, in the position of Director of Central Intelligence. While the conservative bloc in the Senate was not kind to Gravel, the reaction we got from the Congressional left’s leaders after his hearings showed that we were effective in our goal in nominating him. Finally the United Nations. Here we found an opportunity to send a truly historic message to the world by nominating John Conyers - Detroit’s longtime Congressman, a civil rights leader in the 1960s, and one of the most progressive members of the House. Sending a black civil rights leader to represent our nation to the world would show the best of America, as Ed Turner put it.
    One notable exception to these lines of reasoning was the Department of Transportation - at first, we asked Massachusetts’ then-Governor Michael Dukakis if he would be willing to take the job, and he refused. However, he did give us a recommendation in his place: Edward King, the Port Authority Director who had narrowly failed to topple Dukakis in the primary. Looking back, it seems like Dukakis was attempting to get one of his Democratic political enemies out of the state and used a convenient opportunity when he noticed it.

    AN UNELECTED OFFICIAL’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING WASHINGTON, written by Timothy Kraft in 2010

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    Above: Director of Central Intelligence Mike Gravel in 1981.


    As my first task as Chief of Staff to the then-President-Elect was to ensure that Congress had a bill on the President’s desk on his first day in office to authorize the creation of a Department of Energy, a cabinet-rank department to consolidate and direct national energy policy in the wake of the oil shocks of the 1970s. This measure was broadly popular amongst the Democratic, Liberal, and a sliver of the Republican caucuses, with all but the most conservative Republicans crying foul at the expansion of government. It was for this purpose that I spent the first half of December finding a suitable boss for this new department, then meeting with congressional leadership about this specific bill and holding both votes on January 21st. The Senate had no qualms with it, with Senator Mondale himself sponsoring the bill to lend it credibility, but the more conservative House was another matter. Not that it would be an issue, but no doubt Tip O’Neill would be far more cautious. It took multiple sessions with the Speaker, who was highly supportive himself but was clearly plotting out his methods of convincing the House to cast the right vote. Even if it was popular, he needed certainty. The final one of these questions about the nature of the Department of Energy was who specifically would be helming this department (by then, he had the new chair of the Energy Committee, Jim Florio, writing a bill, as O’Neill was one to always be prepared) and I told him, only to receive a look of pleased confusion - the President wished to hand the keys to the newest addition to the federal bureaucracy to his predecessor in the party, Jimmy Carter. To that, O’Neill simply said, “well, the Georgians will like that, at least.”

    CAMELOT IN CHILLICOTHE: Life With Jerry Litton, written by Ed Turner in 1997


    FORMER SOUTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR RICHARD KNEIP TO BE NOMINATED FOR INTERIOR

    THE WASHINGTON POST, January 4th, 1981


    LITTON NOMINATES MARYLAND CONGRESSWOMAN BARBARA MIKULSKI FOR HEW, PROMISES CREATION OF SEPARATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION “IN THE COMING WEEKS”

    THE WASHINGTON POST, January 21st, 1981


    DNC CHAIRMAN KENNETH CURTIS TO BECOME EPA ADMINISTRATOR

    THE WASHINGTON POST, January 22nd, 1981


    Senator Bob Packwood: Governor Askew, the question I would like to open with, and indeed probably the most obvious question, is that your tenure as governor was marked by the imposition of Florida’s first corporate tax and increases in taxation all around. Now, in your department of Commerce, would we see similar advocacy for higher taxation and fair treatment of corporations?
    Reubin Askew: We would see advocacy for fair taxation, Senator. The issue is that corporations with more money than any of us are paying tax rates that frankly, I would classify as absurdly low, while the rest of us get stuck with the burden of paying for the government. It’s high time this government, and indeed especially the Department of Commerce, bucks up and shakes some money out of the wealthiest and most powerful organizations in this nation. This does not mean wanton taxation, and this does not mean high taxes on all - this simply refers to truly proportional taxes. This means a careful review of how we could tax and how we could bring revenue in efficiently…

    Secretary of Commerce Reubin Askew’s confirmation hearing, January 22nd, 1981


    Senator Jesse Helms: Mr. Ball, you’ve been noted for your dissent related to the War in Vietnam. If launching such a war to prevent the fall of an allied nation were necessary, in Germany, for example, would you be able to act in that manner as Secretary of State, or would you oppose the use of American troops?
    George Ball: Senator, if there were tanks rolling down the streets of Berlin, we would have far larger issues than simply a will-he-won’t-he question. I am committed to the defense of our allies, just not a blind loyalty to any war whatsoever. The war in Vietnam was deeply flawed in many respects, and relitigating the unique circumstances which caused this unnecessary war to occur is something that I’m frankly not taking this job to do. Now, if the Soviets did lash out against our allies, especially NATO members, I would advocate acting in their favor without placing American men on the line…

    Secretary of State George Ball’s confirmation hearing, January 24th, 1981


    Senator Strom Thurmond: Ms. Jordan, given your active role in the Watergate scandal and subsequent demands to impeach President Nixon, can we trust that you would remain an impartial and nonpartisan stance when it came to political investigations?
    Barbara Jordan: First of all, I would prefer to be called Congresswoman Jordan, Senator, not “Miz.” Second, in that case I simply outlined the laws broken by the Nixon administration. The law is the law, Senator, and regardless of your political affiliation we need to remain agreed upon the foundations of the law, no matter who breaks it or their political affilia-
    ST: -I suppose that answers it for yo-
    Chairman Ted Kennedy: -Senator, I would remind you to maintain respect for the Congresswoman. Continue, Congresswoman Jordan.
    BJ: Thank you, Senator Kennedy. As I was saying…

    Attorney General Barbara Jordan’s confirmation hearing, January 25th, 1981

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    Above: Barbara Jordan takes questions from Senators at her confirmation hearing.


    Chairman Edward Zorinsky: Governor Clinton, the President has spoken very highly of the need for aggressive action in favor of our small farmers, especially against encroaching large agribusinesses. He’s referred to some of these businesses as monopolies. My question is, how would your Department of Agriculture act in favor of small farmers and what form would immediate action against large agribusinesses take?
    Bill Clinton: Senator, as Governor of Arkansas I’ve seen what these businesses can do to small farmers if left untreated. I’ve seen what happens to the folks who get driven out of business in their generations-old family farm. My Department of Agriculture would immediately work to place greater supports for small farmers, building off of the Agricultural Restoration Act and the provisions therein. As for large agribusiness, we’re going to be looking at this issue from an economic angle, from a legal angle, from a political angle, and from a human angle. My goal is to fundamentally ensure that small farmers, the backbone of America’s ability to feed itself, are given the tools they need to fend off monopolization…

    Secretary of Agriculture Bill Clinton’s confirmation hearing, January 27th, 1981

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    Above: Bill Clinton at his Senate confirmation hearing.


    Chairman Gaylord Nelson: Governor Carter, you’ve spoken about the oil shocks as very serious indictments on American energy policy. Would you elaborate on what you refer to for the committee and what you believe needs to be done?
    Jimmy Carter: Certainly, Senator. Our dependence on foreign oil is one of the most dangerous things for our national economy, to be blunt. I would go so far as to refer to it as the moral equivalent of war. If OPEC and the likes control our energy supply, then there is very little we can do if they decide to hold our feet to the fire. This is because of the sheer volume of our oil imports. As for immediate action, we need to begin cutting our dependence on these imports through two main methods: first, we need greater drilling in America to boost domestic production of oil. This would supplant our imports and would decrease the power wielded by OPEC, as well as the impacts of a shift in the global oil market like we saw just last fall and whose impacts we still see in the staggering costs of a single barrel of oil. Second, we need to begin investing in alternative cleaner energy sources to cut our reliance on oil altogether. In this realm, nuclear power is a safe, cost-effective alternative, alongside greater development of biofuels, solar power, wind power, and so on…

    Secretary of Energy Jimmy Carter’s confirmation hearing, February 2nd, 1981


    THE LITTON CABINET, 1981

    President: Jerry Litton
    Vice President: Hugh Carey
    Secretary of State: George Ball
    Secretary of Treasury: Paul Volcker
    Secretary of Defense: Harold Brown
    Attorney General: Barbara Jordan
    Secretary of Interior: Richard Kneip
    Secretary of Agriculture: Bill Clinton
    Secretary of Commerce: Reubin Askew
    Secretary of Labor: Douglas Fraser
    Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare: Barbara Mikulski
    Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Maynard Jackson
    Secretary of Transportation: Edward J. King
    Secretary of Energy: Jimmy Carter

    CABINET-RANK OFFICIALS IN THE LITTON ADMINISTRATION, 1981

    Office of Management and Budget Director: Felix Rohatyn
    Trade Representative: Dick Gephardt
    EPA Administrator: Kenneth Curtis
    National Security Advisor: Zbigniew Brzezinski
    Director of Central Intelligence: Mike Gravel
    UN Ambassador: John Conyers

    WHITE HOUSE STAFF IN THE LITTON ADMINISTRATION, 1981

    Chief of Staff: Ed Turner
    Deputy Chief of Staff: Timothy Kraft
    Communications Director: James Vlasto
    Press Secretary: Bonnie Mitchell
    White House Counsel: Warren Christopher
     
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    • Wolttaire

    honestly mike gavel being cia director made my day, once again great update and it looks like we have a pretty proggessive administration which is nice, so without foreign support for mujhadden will this lead to a larger more protracted conflict in afghanistan
     
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