JFK on divine providence:
"The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe--the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.” (Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961)
JFK on taxes:
“To achieve these greater gains, one step, above all, is essential--the enactment this year of a substantial reduction and revision in Federal income taxes. For it is increasingly clear--to those in Government, business, and labor who are responsible for our economy's success--that our obsolete tax system exerts too heavy a drag on private purchasing power, profits, and employment. Designed to check inflation in earlier years, it now checks growth instead. It discourages extra effort and risk. It distorts the use of resources. It invites recurrent recessions, depresses our Federal revenues, and causes chronic budget deficits.” (Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union, January 14, 1963)
JFK on American Intervention abroad:
"It was not General Marshall's speech at Harvard which kept communism out of Western Europe--it was the strength and stability made possible by our military and economic assistance. In this administration also it has been necessary at times to issue specific warnings--warnings that we could not stand by and watch the Communists conquer Laos by force, or intervene in the Congo, or swallow West Berlin, or maintain offensive missiles on Cuba. But while our goals were at least temporarily obtained in these and other instances, our successful defense of freedom was due not to the words we used, but to the strength we stood ready to use on behalf of the principles we stand ready to defend.” (Remarks Prepared for Delivery at the Trade Mart in Dallas, November 22, 1963)
Now, which candidate really sounds like JFK?
The answer is, of course, John Mc Cain. While modern day Democrats like to relive the memory of Camelot, John F. Kennedy would have most likely been a Republican today. That was the problem the Brady Clan had, in the late 70s, with the Democratic Party. My grandmother had two framed pictures by her front door: Pope Paul VI and John F. Kennedy. The former represented our Faith in the Church and the latter represented our trust in the Democratic Party.
Necessity dicatated that we change the former picture twice, in 1978. The JFK picture was replaced by President Reagan, sometime between 1983-1984.
The Democratic Party just got too liberal for the Brady Clan. My father and I still discuss this. He still holds his Teamsters' Card in his wallet, as "something to fall back on". He drove a truck in college, from 1957-59. Since then he's had a distinguished career as an Army officer, real estate salesperson, and sales management executive with a title company. He retired in 2003, financially independent. While he never had to rely upon the government or a union for his success, his "mindset" is such that a "union card" is far too valuable a thing to lose. That's as far as it goes.
Rights derived from our Creator. Taxes as an agent of destruction rather than good. Prepared to take decisive action to defend principles we hold dear.
That's JFK talking. That's John Mc Cain talking. That's not Barack Obama.
I can't ever see the Democratic Party ever winning the Brady Clan back.
