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LBJ, MLK And The Civil Rights Acts

By Big Tent Democrat

Via Left Coaster, Joe Califano's terrific piece discusses the historic partnership between LBJ and MLK. It is a great history lesson:

The greatest fairy tale of the 2008 campaign so far is the accusation that there is some tint of racism or putdown of Martin Luther King Jr. in Hillary Clinton's comment that "it took a president," Lyndon Johnson, to realize the civil rights leader's dreams. The visionary preacher and the tough-talking master politician would be the first to say that they needed each other. I know how they came to work together, in a complex partnership, to produce a social revolution that has saved this nation. . . . LBJ appreciated King's powers of persuasion and ability to attract media attention. He decided to "shove my stack of chips into the pot" to push for passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which outlawed discrimination in education, employment and public accommodations. To break a filibuster, Johnson had California Democrat Clair Engle, who was dying of a brain tumor, wheeled onto the Senate floor. Engle couldn't speak, so LBJ had him signal his aye vote by pointing to his eye.

More... Oh by the way, Barack Obama and his legion of fans may want to remember that their new favorite pol Ronald Reagan OPPOSED the Civil Rights Acts:

"Ronald Reagan, it is fair to say, was really an anathema to the entire civil rights community and the civil rights agenda,” [said] Ronald W. Walters, a professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland . . .

Full post as published by TalkLeft on January 17, 2008 (boomark / email).