Quote:
Originally posted by bilmore
Many young activists cut their teeth, and made their reps, on this exact same philosophy back then. The antiwar crowd was huge, and it ultimately won, and those pols who represented it are today's leaders on one side. I think he truly was anti-war, so I won't say he deliberately made this political calculation in order to become attractive, but everyone knew it wasn't a bad place to be.
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Every political movement assumes history will judge it right. But it's an extremely risky bet for individuals who plan to have an actual career in mainstream politics during their lifetimes. In 1986, Randall Terry probably thought someday he'll be hailed as a hero, but if he had secretly confided to any thinking person in 1986 that that he wanted to be POTUS, they would have told him not to found Operation Rescue. He should, you know, work on the Hill, for Gramm or Helms --- work his way up from the inside.
Bottom line: joining the counterculture is a really shitty way to become POTUS. Which is why we're hearing more about what preceded Kerry joining VVAW (i.e., Yale & Viet Nam) than what he did after.
