I enjoy that the 1890s post provoked much discourse – on and off blog. With all the comments, I would have to agree with Liz: that the decade of most importance will be when scientists discover how to make vegetables taste like candy. I also kind of can’t believe I forgot that the 1890s was the first decade of mass-produced beer.
I’m in the thick of the Lyndon Johnson book now, and have pulled out my three favorite (and kind of prophetic) Lyndon Johnson quotes or Doris Kearns Goodwin-embodiment-of-Johnson descriptions.
ONE
“It is the politician’s task to pass legislation, not to sit around saying principled things.”
As much as I like principled things, the whole stink of the Senate in the past months, this hits me as key. However, there is a flip side to no principles aka Joe Lieberman.
TWO
“[Johnson] was convinced that an insistence on “principled platforms” would wreck the two-party system by making impossible an alliance between men of disparate convictions, and encourage the emergence of many single-issue parties. Against those who called for cohesive parties and crusading leaders, Johnson advocated “loose parties and unifying leaders.”
And really, has the Senate done anything as revolutionary and good since Civil Rights legislation under Johnson? I am at a loss.
THREE
And now my favorite, Marxist-spouting Lyndon Johnson:
“My grandfather taught me early in life that neither misery nor squalor is inevitable so long as the government and the people are one… so long as the government assumes the positive role of eliminating the special interests that cause most of our problems in America—who had the money supply and knowledge and possessions in New York, Chicago, and Boston. They’d always been paid proportionately a far higher percentage of the total end product than they deserved. They lived off our sweat, and even before air conditioning they didn’t know what sweat was. They just clipped coupons and wrote down debentures we couldn’t spell and stole our pants out from under us…
They’re leeches, cancerous, and they’d be unnecessary evils if we had the right kind of money management. And they control our banking and money system. If we ever have a revolution and throw out our system for Communism or fascism, they’ll be the prime reason for it and the first victim.”
I’m really only to the end of his Senate years, but the book is overall very fascinating and enjoyable. I really like Lyndon Johnson, although he also sounds terrible: a liar, a bully, incredibly crass. Nevertheless perhaps, the most shrewd politician, uh, ever.
Music of the day is Totsee Roll, because I was doing Tae Bo today and Billy Blanks Tootsie Rolled and it was one of the greatest things I have ever seen.
