25-08-2013, 02:30 PM
The strange relationship the right-wingers have had with JFK over the last 30 years is worth an essay by itself. "Kennedy was really a conservative, he was really a hawkish anti-communist!" is still repeated today. I used to argue with a LNer named Kegeshook on Bob Harris' forum who kept insisting that Kennedy was really a hard-line Cold Warrior. He was impervious to facts.
"He cut taxes!" Well, no, his tax cut plan actually happened under LBJ, and it was still a pretty progressive tax system. The top tax rate was obscenely high at the time. Nobody should have to give 90% of their income to the government.
They still actually hate Kennedy, but they want us to think they love him. A similar thing is at work with many people on the Left - nothing really changed after JFK died, so he wasn't any different than any other Cold War President. Then you have the Chris Matthews types, who really like JFK but are more in love with this fantasy of "good government" they have in their heads.
"He cut taxes!" Well, no, his tax cut plan actually happened under LBJ, and it was still a pretty progressive tax system. The top tax rate was obscenely high at the time. Nobody should have to give 90% of their income to the government.
They still actually hate Kennedy, but they want us to think they love him. A similar thing is at work with many people on the Left - nothing really changed after JFK died, so he wasn't any different than any other Cold War President. Then you have the Chris Matthews types, who really like JFK but are more in love with this fantasy of "good government" they have in their heads.