One surprised reporter asked some why they switched allegiance from Kennedy to Wallace; their responses were hauntingly similar to what we have heard from Donald Trump supporters in the past year: “He has guts. … He says what he means. … He is strongly critical of the political establishment.”
When there was a second Kennedy assassination, it seemed like the end of hope. Many of Bobby’s followers turned to the right and voted for George Wallace in the general election, a Southern governor who stood for segregation. What made it even worse – if humanly possible – is that there was no attempt for justice for Bobby. Everyone knew Sirhan Sirhan had fired a revolver – but the coroner made a critical finding. “The powder residue pattern on the right ear of Senator Kennedy was caused at a muzzle dis
Today, March 21, 2015, marks the 50th anniversary of the final of the three historic Selma-to-Montgomery marches protesting voting discrimination in the South.
During the first march, held March 7, the nation was shocked as it bore witness to the unchecked brutality Alabama state troopers unleashed upon peaceful marchers. The violence resulted in 2,000 U.S. troops joining 1,900 members of the Alabama National Guard to keep the peace during the final day of protest.
But in the lead up to that day, President Lyndon Johnson had to lobby Alabama Governor George Wallace to call up the National Guard. In this March 18, 1965, phone call, Wallace insists that state authorities could handle the situation, while allowing that he couldn’t promise that “nobody’s gonna get hit by a rock.”
He uses the JFK assassination to make his point (begins at the 11:00 minute mark):
One surprised reporter asked some why they switched allegiance from Kennedy to Wallace; their responses were hauntingly similar to what we have heard from Donald Trump supporters in the past year: “He has guts. … He says what he means. … He is strongly critical of the political establishment.”