America and the Democratic Party could use a
man like Harry Truman again
By Daniel G. Jennings
web posted July 28, 2003
If the Democratic Party and the liberal movement in America want to start
winning elections again, they could use a man like Harry S. Truman.
That is, a staunch patriot who believes in America and is unwavering in
its defense; a man who cares about average Americans and will do everything
in his power to make their lives better. Truman was a true patriot who believed
in a free America that would never back down in the face of the enemy. Truman
never wavered from the defense of America and freedom around the world. He
launched the Marshall Plan to rebuild a devastated Europe and created NATO
to defend Europe from Communism. He even committed American troops to the
bloody and indecisive war in Korea to protect the poor people of South Korea
from Communist thuggery. Truman's policies laid the groundwork for America's
great victory in the Cold War, the bloodless defeat of Communism.
At home, Truman worked tirelessly to help average Americans. He was the
first President to work for civil rights: He desegregated the military, opposed
lynching and proposed some of the first civil rights legislation. He also
proposed national health care and other social programs to complete the work
of the New Deal.
More importantly, old Harry never backed down; he always did the right thing
even when it cost him political support. When Truman decided to oppose Communist
expansion, the left tried to stab him in the back. They went so far as to
run Henry Wallace, FDR's simple-minded vice president for president on a "peace" platform
in 1948 as a third party candidate. Truman refused to give in or compromise.
He wouldn't abandon the people of Europe to Communist slavery even though
it might have cost him the Presidency.
The right also tried to stab Truman in the back. Champions of the Southern
status quo angry that Truman was championing equal rights for blacks and
other non-whites and opposing Jim Crow ran Strom Thurmond on the Dixicrat
ticket. Like the far left they wanted to cost Truman the election and help
the Republican Thomas Dewey win.
The unholy alliance of Communist sympathizers and "States' Rights champions" almost
achieved its goal. In 1948 the pollsters, pundits and experts predicted that
Dewey would win. The Chicago Tribune even printed an edition verifying the
victory. Yet, Truman won. The common people rallied to his cause. Average
Americans stood by the president and the far left and far right both lost.
The far left scurried back under its rock and didn't come out again until
the Vietnam War. The far right's power and Jim Crow were broken. History
vindicated Truman's policies, America won the Cold War. The Civil Rights
movement proved racial equality worked and eventually became the bedrock
of a new American dream.
Today more than ever the Democrats need a man like Truman; someone who is
willing to take a strong stand on national defense to prosecute America's
war against terrorism vigorously and make sure the adventure in Iraq succeeds.
They need someone to do what it takes to destroy the terrorists, dictators
and warlords who are plotting to wipe our country off the map once and for
all. Democrats should find someone to stand up to the self-proclaimed peace
activists who demand that we bow down and let the fanatics destroy us. They
need a person who will give the loony left the boot and start doing what's
right for America and the world. It should be possible to find someone capable
of doing the right thing for average Americans by championing the social
programs that might make their lives better.
Unfortunately, it appears we're not going to get a Truman; we're going to
get another George McGovern, (the 1972 Democratic Presidential nominee who
campaigned for Henry Wallace in 1948) an unabashed leftist who will tell
the far left what it wants to hear to win the nomination. The American people
will sensibly vote against such a fool. Bush will win just as Richard Nixon
did in 1972, not because people liked him but because they were scared of
George McGovern. Until the Democrats are willing to run a man like Truman
for President again, they'd better get used to a permanent role - as the
minority party and the opposition.
An interesting aside here, while George McGovern campaigned for Henry Wallace
in 1948, Ronald Reagan campaigned for Harry Truman. Reagan even organized
rallies for Truman in Hollywood. When the Democrats started listening to
the McGoverns and Wallaces, Reagan and many other average Americans couldn't
change parties fast enough.
Daniel G. Jennings is a freelance writer and journalist who lives and works
in Denver, CO. He has worked as a reporter and editor for daily and weekly
newspapers in five states.
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