{"id":7044,"date":"2018-04-01T21:11:39","date_gmt":"2018-04-01T21:11:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=7044"},"modified":"2018-04-19T16:24:20","modified_gmt":"2018-04-19T16:24:20","slug":"point-of-order-pat-buchanan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=7044","title":{"rendered":"“Point of order,” Pat Buchanan…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Joseph<\/p>\n

“Tail Gunner Joe<\/a>” –\u00a0McCarthy<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0immortalized the words “Point of order<\/a>, Mr. Chairman!”<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

\"Patrickjbuchanan.JPG\"It’s time to get back to\u00a0politics<\/a>.\u00a0 That’s because a couple days ago I was reading the\u00a0AJC<\/a>\u00a0– taking a morning break for an iced coffee – when something in a Pat Buchanan<\/a>\u00a0column caught my eye.\u00a0 The column-title asked,\u00a0Is Trump assembling a war cabinet<\/a>?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Which is of course a valid question these days.<\/p>\n

For once I agreed with what Pat was saying.\u00a0 Mostly.\u00a0<\/strong> (Which is pretty rare for me, when it comes to Mr. Buchanan.)\u00a0<\/em> He first noted that Secretary of Defense James “Mad Dog” Mattis now seems to be the “last man standing between the U.S. and war with Iran.”\u00a0 Buchanan also indicated that a war with Iran was a “dreadful idea,” then said Donald Trump was nominated precisely “because<\/em> <\/strong>he promised to keep us out<\/em> <\/strong>of stupid wars.”\u00a0 Then – after asking “what is Trump thinking” in apparently assembling such a cabinet – Buchanan wrote this:<\/p>\n

Truman and LBJ got us into wars they could not end, and both lost their presidencies. Eisenhower and Nixon ended those wars and were rewarded with landslides.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That’s where the\u00a0point of order<\/a>\u00a0comes in.\u00a0 That is, a point of order is a rule of parliamentary procedure<\/a>, by which an objection “may be raised if the rules appear to have been broken.\u00a0 This may interrupt a speaker during debate, or anything else if the breach of the rules warrants it.”<\/p>\n

The irony is that the term “point of order” was made famous – or\u00a0Infamous<\/a>\u00a0– by\u00a0Senator Joseph McCarthy<\/a>\u00a0during his “reign of terror” in the 1950s.\u00a0 That time in our history spawned the term McCarthyism<\/a>\u00a0– illustrated at left –\u00a0which today refers to the use of “demagogic<\/a>, reckless, and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character or patriotism of political opponents.”\u00a0 (But apparently the term is not used enough today to refresh our collective memory.)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

One\u00a0point of order<\/a>\u00a0involved Buchanan’s saying that Richard Nixon ended the Vietnam War that Lyndon Johnson “got us into.”\u00a0 Now, just when<\/em><\/strong> the Vietnam War started is a matter of heated debate, but one thing is clear:\u00a0 Lyndon Johnson wasn’t the one who “got us into” Vietnam.\u00a0 Another point?\u00a0 We now<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0know that it could have ended in 1968.\u00a0 And it could have been ended by<\/em> <\/strong>Lyndon Johnson, but for Nixon’s intervention.\u00a0 So it’s hard to say that Nixon “ended” the war that – but for his intervention – could have ended before he became president.\u00a0 Had he been an honorable man, the war would have ended and Nixon probably wouldn’t have been elected.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Briefly, LBJ gave Nixon secret information about the\u00a0Paris Peace Accords<\/a>, in 1968.\u00a0 In turn, Nixon twisted the information around so that it got him elected, in the\u00a0presidential election of 1968<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"VNAFThe cost?\u00a0 18,000 Americans died in Vietnam between 1968 and\u00a01975<\/a>.\u00a0 (When the war ended in American humiliation.)\u00a0<\/em> I covered the issue in\u00a0Another \u201cdeja vu all over again<\/a>?”\u00a0 That post – from November 2016 – noted that the charge of Nixon’s “treason” is backed by sources including the\u00a02012 book\u00a0The Presidents Club<\/a>,\u00a0and<\/strong> <\/em>by conservative columnist\u00a0George Will<\/a>.\u00a0 (See\u00a0George Will Confirms Nixon\u2019s Vietnam Treason<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

So here are the\u00a0points of order<\/a>, Mr. Buchanan:<\/p>\n

First, Lyndon Johnson inherited<\/em> <\/strong>the war in Vietnam from past presidents including – but not limited to –\u00a0Dwight D. Eisenhower<\/a>.\u00a0 And he could have ended it in 1968, but for Nixon’s treason.<\/p>\n

And about Harry Truman “getting us into the Korean War<\/a>:”\u00a0 The facts – Mr. Buchanan – are that the\u00a0(North) Korean People’s Army<\/a>\u00a0invaded South Korea at dawn on June 25, 1950.\u00a0 The Truman Administration hesitated to respond at first.\u00a0 They weren’t sure whether\u00a0the invasion “was a ploy by the Soviet Union or just a test of U.S. resolve.”<\/p>\n

Only after<\/em><\/strong> he’d gotten a secret communique “indicating the Soviet Union would not move against U.S. forces in Korea” did Truman next move to the United Nations.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0United Nations Security Council<\/a>\u00a0then unanimously condemned the North Korean invasion “with\u00a0UN Security Council Resolution 82<\/a>.”\u00a0 At the time, the Soviet Union could have vetoed both the resolution and the use of UN forces to fight back against the invasion.\u00a0 (The only reason they didn’t<\/strong> veto the resolution was because they had boycotted the proceedings.)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

In turn, whether Truman would have sent U.S. troops to Korea unilaterally is\u00a0problematic<\/a>.\u00a0 But few\u00a0reasonable people<\/a>\u00a0would say that Truman\u00a0“got us into”<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0the\u00a0Korean War<\/a>.\u00a0 The North Koreans, the Russians, the Chinese and the U.N. all had a little something to do with it too.<\/p>\n

There is one thing we can<\/em> <\/strong>say, with a reasonable degree of certainty.\u00a0\u00a0Dwight Eisenhower<\/a>\u00a0never committed treason to keep a war going just to he could get elected president.<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Eisenhower speaks with men of the\u00a0101st Airborne Division<\/a>, the day before D-Day<\/a>…<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

The upper image is courtesy of\u00a0Joseph McCarthy – Wikipedia<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Re: McCarthy’s use of the term “point of order.”\u00a0 See also\u00a0Point of Order (film) \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>, about the “1964<\/a>\u00a0documentary film<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0Emile de Antonio<\/a>, about the\u00a0Senate<\/a>\u00a0Army\u2013McCarthy hearings<\/a>\u00a0of 1954.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Re “1975<\/a>,” and the Vietnam war ending<\/em>\u00a0in American humiliation:\u00a0 The caption of the photo to the right of the paragraph reads:\u00a0 “A VNAF UH-1H Huey loaded with Vietnamese evacuees on the deck of the U.S. aircraft carrier USS\u00a0Midway<\/i>\u00a0during\u00a0Operation Frequent Wind<\/a>, 29 April 1975.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Re: \u00a0\u201cPresident\u2019s Club.\u201d \u00a0The full title:\u00a0The Presidents Club:\u00a0 Inside the World\u2019s Most Exclusive Fraternity<\/a>, by\u00a0Nancy Gibbs<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Michael Duffy<\/a>. \u00a0The quotes from the book are from the \u201cOctober Surprise\u201d section, from page 236 to 249, about\u00a0Nixon<\/a>\u00a0committing treason to get elected.<\/em><\/p>\n

Another point?\u00a0 LBJ couldn\u2019t have won the election anyway.\u00a0 On March 31, 1968 \u2013 seven months\u00a0before\u00a0<\/strong>the election \u2013 he had already\u00a0withdrawn from the race<\/a>:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 <\/strong>And r<\/span><\/em>e:\u00a0 Harry Truman, as compared to Lyndon Johnson’s – “I shall not seek” – bowing out of the 1968 presidential election.\u00a0 The search-engine phrase “why didn’t truman run in 1952” indicates that technically he could<\/strong> have run, but had already served nearly two eight-year terms.\u00a0 That is, he took office\u00a0on April 12, 1945, with the death of President Roosevelt.\u00a0 (In other words, 82 days into what would have been Roosevelt’s fourth four-year term.)\u00a0 The\u00a0Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution<\/a>\u00a0– limiting presidents to two terms – made an exception for Truman, but at the time his approval rating stood at 22%.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>See e.g.\u00a0Why didn’t Truman run for re-election in 1952 – Answers.com<\/a>, and\/or\u00a0Truman Does Not Run for Re-Election, Eisenhower Elected<\/a>.\u00a0 Thus as to the wording of the phrase “both lost their presidencies,” I must say, “Well played, Mr. Buchanan!”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The lower image is courtesy of\u00a0Dwight D. Eisenhower – Wikipedia<\/a>.\u00a0 The full caption:\u00a0 “Eisenhower speaks with men of the\u00a0502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment<\/a>, part of the\u00a0101st Airborne Division<\/a>, on June 5, 1944, the day before the\u00a0D-Day<\/a>\u00a0invasion.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Tail Gunner Joe” –\u00a0McCarthy\u00a0–\u00a0immortalized the words “Point of order, Mr. Chairman!” * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * It’s time to get back to\u00a0politics.\u00a0 That’s because a couple days ago I was reading the\u00a0AJC\u00a0– taking a morning break for an iced coffee – when something in a Pat Buchanan\u00a0column caught my eye.\u00a0 The column-title asked,\u00a0Is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10,5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7044"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7044"}],"version-history":[{"count":43,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7168,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7044\/revisions\/7168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}