Thursday, December 28, 2006

In Memoriam of President Gerald Rudolph Ford



This is an unusual second posting in 2 days, but it would be irreverent of me to not mention the death of our 38th President, Gerald Rudolph Ford. As the only president not elected by the American people, he served a brief 2 and half years, the rest of Nixon's term, before losing his own re-election to Jimmy Carter. Ford had the unfortunate task of serving during the most tumultous time in history--Vietnam, Watergate, hyperinflation, distrust in government, race riots, etc., which accounts for much of his ineffectiveness. His greatest accomplishment was probably his collegial nature and knack for compromise, which enabled his presidency to be a more smooth transition, which eventually paved the way for Reagan. This is best captured by his memoirs A Time to Heal.

Just 2.5 years ago, we had 6 surviving presidents (Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush) and now we're down to four. President Ford will be remembered for filling the leadership void during America's most difficult times.

8 comments:

Federalist said...

Brandon,

Good thread on President Ford.

Anymore it seems we should tip our hats to anybody willing to take the beating they take in public office.

What is going on in Kansas with respect to active politics. Are groups meeting anywhere. I would like to link up with some folks, but I just don't know what is going on.

You seem to be somewhat in the know.

Help if you can.

SLW

Brandon said...

Federalist--
Unfortunately, not a lot going on right now. Kansas Days (the big Republican get-together in Kansas where we elect the new chairman of the KS state GOP--is coming up. It will be in Topeka at the Capitol Plaza Hotel the weekend of Jan. 26-28. Sen. Roberts is the keynote speaker, and most major statewide elected GOP officials and state reps. will be there. I'd recommend going--I'm sure Stephanie will be there, Mary will be too, and many other party activists and leaders from across the spectrum. Here's a schedule of events:
http://www.ksgop.org/images/ks/2007Calendar.pdf

Also, there's a group of Johnson County Republicans that meetup regularly every month at the Denny's off I-35 in Merriam. Next meeting is Thurs. Jan. 25 at 7 pm.

also, federalist, do you live in Shawnee or Lenexa? The reason I ask, is that I'm looking to start a Shawnee Republican club, really an offshoot of the county part. the new JoCo GOP chairman, Scott Schwab has mentioned his desire to see city parties start back up and a group of citizens are already forming a Leawood GOP club. If interested, I could use the help in forming the Shawnee GOP.

Federalist said...

Brandon,

Thanks for the information.

Who heads up the group that meets at Denny's. Everybody meets there..Optimists, Libertarians...etc.

Anyway, I have it on my calendar unless it is by invite only.

As to clubs...I live in Lenexa. I would still be willing to assist in getting one started and know some folks in Shawnee who would be interested. Let me know.

I would like to start the Lenexa club. I have been thinking about my own club for a while and had it as a goal for this year.

A thought would be to start a "combined club" and when it get's large enough....split.

Let's get this going !!!

Thanks for your responses....you are quite a resource.

SLW

Brandon said...

Paul Showen heads up the group (if you can remember, he ran in the GOP primary for 3rd District, US congress).

I would still appreciate your help in starting a club, and also in meeting some of your contacts in Shawnee who also may be interested.

Your idea for a combined club might also be good--esp. since Shawnee and Lenexa overlap when it comes to state house districts, we could start a Shawnee-Lenexa Republican club. I guess the determinant of that would be how much interest we get. If at the beginning, we have a lot of interested people in both cities, it may become so large we may just want to start separate clubs.

I think we should meet and exchange information, as well as contacts of people we know. I know a few people in my precinct that may be interested (data I collected when I walked my precinct running for precinct committee) but I'm sure there's more out there.

Federalist said...

Can you give me a web-site for Kansas Days ?

Can anybody attend Showen's group ? If so, I plan to be there.

It would be good to meet and discuss this stuff.

Brandon said...

Here are two--

First, the schedule of events:

http://www.ksgop.org/images/ks/2007Calendar.pdf

and here's the event's website

www.kansasdayclub.org

Yes, anyone can show up to Showen's group. Let me know how it goes--I wish I could make it.

Federalist said...

Brandon,

Does Mary Pilcher Cook have an active e-mail. I used to have some from her, but my Notes Janitor recently cleaned me out.

SLW

Brandon said...

Yes, Mary's email is mpcook@everestkc.net