1. This thread by Prof. @KevinMKruse unfortunately presents a misleading & oversimplified history of John F. Kennedy & his presidency. Let's dig in and explore why, moving from the general to specifics. https://twitter.com/KevinMKruse/status/1104826912445206529 …
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8. 1960 was a zigzag race: in the primaries, JFK got to the left of LBJ, then seen as more conservative, but added LBJ as his VP. He navigated a breach w/Harry Truman, who resigned as a convention delegate in protest. On issues he & Nixon were barely distinguishable.
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9. Following the closest general election in 44 years, JFK governed with one eye on both wings of his party. That’s one reason why it’s common to find him saying things that cater to both conservative & liberal sentiment. Prof. Kruse elides that, but it's crucial context.
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10. One example of that dynamic is this: JFK's invocation of separation of church & state was *defensive* because he was trying to reassure fears about a Papist president that had led Al Smith in 1928 to lose must-win Democrat base states in the South. https://twitter.com/KevinMKruse/status/1104826913342849031 …
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11. And it is tendentious to just say that “JFK was, after all, the president who coined the phrase "affirmative action.” https://twitter.com/KevinMKruse/status/1104826917235163137 … The actual text of the EO says "without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/history/35th/thelaw/eo-10925.html …pic.twitter.com/DympGeak5D
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12. On the specific issue of race-conscious remedies, JFK took a stance rather different from the one Prof. Kruse implies - a position that would get him condemned by today's Ds & embraced by today's Rs: https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-press-conferences/news-conference-60 …pic.twitter.com/BpQ2g69W3H
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13. One, religious liberty is a conservative cause today, not a liberal one. Two, if you actually watch the video, JFK never endorses the decision, implies he disagrees, waffles on a Congressional response, & tells everybody to go pray with their kids. https://twitter.com/KevinMKruse/status/1104826914127134726 …
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14. This is a distinction without a difference. JFK pushed to cut marginal rates across the board, like Reagan or W, & corporate taxes, like Trump. Like Reagan, W & Trump, he defended this with both supply-side & demand-side rhetoric. https://twitter.com/KevinMKruse/status/1104826920653504512 …
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15. There is no reasonable universe in which you can dispute the fact that JFK's arguments for lower taxes were conservative arguments or that marginal & corporate tax cuts are conservative, not liberal policy. He explicitly argued that cutting taxes would raise revenue!pic.twitter.com/ZZyWvoRWuO
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16. Prof. Kruse excuses this by noting that JFK left rates a lot higher than they are today. True! But he also pushed to increase defense spending, even though he inherited a *vastly* bigger defense budget than we have today.
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17. JFK pushed defense spending to almost 10% of GDP and 50% of federal spending; today it is roughly 3.5% of GDP & 16% of federal spending. He also ran on fears of a "missile gap" - that Eisenhower, of all people, was soft on nukes - & expanded our nuclear arsenal.
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18. Like many aspects of JFK's policies, his expansion of defense spending was clawed back some, & he built more missiles but also signed a nuclear test ban treaty. But then again, Reagan signed arms control deals, too. History is complicated!
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19. JFK urged "strengthening NATO, promoted free trade and denounced the use of protective tariffs." Yes, these are longstanding conservative positions, & are shared by many Rs in Congress today. This just shows that JFK was more conservative than Trump. https://twitter.com/KevinMKruse/status/1104826910306197504 …
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20. Tariffs are taxes; JFK cutting them was consistent with his overall orientation towards tax cuts. Also "strengthening NATO" is an understated way of saying JFK was a vocal & vigorous Cold Warrior who almost came to blows with the Soviets in Berlin.https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/standoff-checkpoint-charlie-1961/ …
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21. Prof. Kruse does the same thing here: "oh yeah, he stood up to the Russians." Tough-on-USSR was, of course, the conservative position throughout the Cold War, not the liberal one. It has remained the position of many non-Trump conservatives since. https://twitter.com/KevinMKruse/status/1104826923589554176 …
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22. Again, "JFK was really, really against Communism" is not the killer gotcha that you think for why he was more a liberal than a conservative. He wasn't a Bernie Sanders "honeymoon in Moscow" guy. He almost had nuclear war over Fidel Castro. He spoke of Communism as evil:pic.twitter.com/RFRqtv4SQy
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End of conversation
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