“But Kennedy was mythologized for many years as a martyr by a large number of liberal writers and other opinion-makers, who insisted that sinister right-wing forces were behind his demise, therefore validating their narrative and cementing the image that America is a bad and evil place.”
Source: Blog: The origins of extreme political polarization
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Virtually everything that essay has to say about President Kennedy and his legacy is wrong. Arguing that Kennedy would be a “raging conservative” today because he cut taxes ignores the fact that the actual conservatives of the day, including Barry Goldwater, opposed Kennedy’s tax cuts. Kennedy’s tax cuts were demand-side, as opposed to the supply-side cuts passed much later by President Reagan. He was a Keynesian, which means that he was more of an economic liberal than almost any prominent Democrat today. As for believing in “a strong national defense” and America as a “force for good,” every single president since Kennedy has loudly trumpeted the importance of those things.
It is equally false to say that those who questioned the Warren Commission Report believed that “sinister right-wing forces” had struck down the president. Most theories about Kennedy’s death do not involve independent right-wing groups such as the John Birch Society, but rather institutions of the government such as the CIA.
The “left”? has Chomsky. Now the right has Pierson. Kids, take a look at how much goes into character assassination and cover up. Why does it mean so much?
C-Span has recently replayed a talk by this author in 2007 when he published an earlier version of this book. His thesis is predicated on the Warren Report conclusion being an accurate description of events surrounding the JFK assassination. If the Warren Report account is not accurate, then his thesis collapses. He was asked in the Q&A on C-Span about the possibility of conspiracy, and he dismissed it out of hand.