Happy 100th Birthday to James Earl Carter, the 39th President of the United States.
This op ed piece in the NY Times says it better than we can.
I hope you know what it means to white Southerners like me, then and now, to have had your example at a time when there were vanishingly few role models among white Southerners. Or what it means to white Christians like me, then and now, to have had your example of what living by the Gospels really means.
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You are a child of the Jim Crow South who grew up on a farm at a time when Black sharecroppers were hardly more than slaves. But even raised in that world, you understood the injustice of it. “The time for racial discrimination is over,” you said at your gubernatorial inauguration in 1971. Your audience audibly gasped, but for the rest of your political career, you worked to even the playing field for Black Americans.
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Your presidency was doomed by wars and unrest in the Middle East that led to oil and gas shortages here and to a hostage crisis in Iran that broke your heart and ours. But you recognized the looming threat of climate change even then, understanding that reliance on foreign oil was not the real danger we faced. I can’t help but wonder where the world would be now if Americans had embraced the environmental policies you initiated nearly 50 years ago.
Much of what you worked to do for the environment during your presidency was nothing less than visionary. Using executive powers, you protected a vast swath of the Alaskan wilderness, in the process doubling the size of the national parks system. You directed federal funds toward the development of renewable energy and installed solar panels on the White House. You began an enormous federal effort to bring the country to energy independence and tried to lead us by calling on our own better angels to make it through the crisis in the meantime.
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The Times as usual is way off the mark. They ignore an enormous economic accpomplishment of the Carter Adminstration. In a word, deregulation. His policies in this area were more responsible for the econmic boom of the 80's than Reagan's tax cuts (which helped a lot too). Consider, airline prices eventually declined 33%, railroads 50%, trucking 35-75%, natural gas 30%, telecommunications long distance rates 50%. Source: Winston (1993) and (1998); Crandall and Ellig (1997). The effects of these policies did not kick in until the 80's and combined with the reduction of marginal tax rates, led to an economic boom that we are still experiencing. So today, thank Jimmy Carter for having the foresight to do the right thing in the face of union opposition. Sometimes it takes 50 or more years for the truth to be revealed.
A few facts on Jimmy Carter :
During his 1976 presidential campaign, he made statements that rational people interpreted as racially charged or appealing to Southern racist sentiments. Here are specific quotes:
1. "Ethnic Purity" (April 1976)
In an interview with the New York Times, Carter discussed urban renewal and housing policies, using the term "ethnic purity":
"I see nothing wrong with ethnic purity being maintained. I think this is inherently desirable."Ethnic purity refers to the idea of maintaining or promoting a homogeneous ethnic or racial composition within a group, community, or nation. This concept often implies a desire to preserve a perceived "pure" or "authentic" cultural, linguistic, or biological identity.
2. "Community Integrity" (May 1976)
Carter spoke about neighborhood integration, stating:
"I don't think it's necessary or desirable to move into a neighborhood that's already established, where the people already living there have established their own community."
3. Southern Strategy (1976)
Carter's campaign employed a "Southern Strategy," targeting white Southern voters who had historically supported Democratic candidates. Critics argued this approach exploited racial tensions. This approach was designed to win over traditionally Democratic voters who had begun to shift towards the Republican Party.
Key Components of the so called southern strategy:
1. Racial Codewords: Carter used subtle language to appeal to racial anxieties without explicitly mentioning race. Examples include:
Community integrity"
Neighborhood preservation"
And the favorite civil war code words “ states rights “
Apart from these ⬆️ southern charms , Carter was generally bad for the economy and ironically , bad for farmers. One such example was the grain embargo v Russia. The grain embargo against Russia in 1980 had a devastaing impact on American farmers. When President Carter imposed the embargo, 17 million metric tons of grain that had already been grown, harvested, and scheduled for export were cancelled. Just like the liberals do to shit talkers who make off color comments to day. But I digress ! The embargo meant a substantial loss of revenue, margins, and annual income for farmers. The embargo was intended to punish the Soviet Union for its invasion of Afghanistan, but it ultimately had ZERO effect on Soviet food supplies. Instead, the Soviets found alternative suppliers in Europe and South America, which hurt American farmers even more. The effects of the embargo were long-lasting. Even after it was lifted, the Soviets continued to rely on grain from Ukraine and South America, reducing their dependence on American grain. This shift in the global grain market had a lasting impact on American farmers and the grain industry as a whole.
And let’s not forget about the oil embargo that sent oil prices soaring. Which brings us to inflation….When Carter took office inflation was at 6 percent. When he was FINISHED inflation was close to 14 percent. This crushed the middle class.
Happy Birthday Jimmy. You have been a great man!
Jimmy nice man horrible president.
I am no Carter fan but painting him as throwing out racist whistles is wrong. He openly embraced the black community. My recollection is that the late Barbara Jordan gave the keynote speech at the convention that year. Carter was a deeply religous man. He had faults but being a racist was not one of them.
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