This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.President Dwight D Eisenhower in his Farewell Address.
Eisenhower was a Republican and a conservative of the sort that no longer survives as a force in the Republican Party. The Tea Partiers have succeeded in either silencing them or driving them out of the party.
Sadly, you're right here. The Republicans have lost the essence of what Republicans I knew have always stood for in politics.
ReplyDeleteThink of it! Bipartisan cooperation was once a reality.
ReplyDeleteI'm just wondering if there still are ones like him alive!
ReplyDeletesusan s., I honestly don't know.
ReplyDeleteI think Nixon was the beginning of the end. Ford brought it back from the brink. But Reagan nailed the coffin closed.
ReplyDelete--Scott Sullivan
And Ford could not get reelected. He was not our brainiest president, but he was, I believe, a fairly decent human being and not a compulsive liar, like the present Republican candidate.
ReplyDeleteThe last President to have a healthy skepticism of the military brass and military contractors. The last President to exercise maximum caution and skepticism about the use of military intervention; he resisted loud calls from Congress to intervene in Hungary. And, he was the last president from a career military background.
ReplyDeleteI'm one of the few people I know who thought Ford was wrong to pardon Nixon. That action, though well intended, set a very bad precedent that effectively put the executive above the law.
ReplyDeleteCorrect, Counterlight. Now with our civilian presidents, we move rather easily to fight undeclared wars, "military engagements" or "military interventions" authorized by Congress that last for years and years.
ReplyDeleteAt the time Ford pardoned Nixon, he and many of the rest of the citizens were so relieved that Tricky Dick was gone, that we didn't make a fuss. With the great wisdom of hindsight, I think the pardon was not the right thing to do. And look how successful Nixon was in restoring his reputation.