7. And *listen* to that speech! JFK denies being "someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of 'Liberal.'"
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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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The most heated time of the Cold War was obviously a very different time than today as far as defense spending.
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