Jeane Kirkpatrick -- This post is intended to serve as a follow-up to the previous post. Republicans, you are welcome to join us in moving forward.
From The New York Times:
IN the days since Jeane Kirkpatrick’s death, much has been written about her tenure at the United Nations, her foreign policy outlook and her indelible personality. But not a lot has been said about Jeane Kirkpatrick, ardent Democrat — and what that meant to the success of Ronald Reagan [a former Democrat] in international affairs.
One important bridge between Ronald Reagan and Democrats like Ms. Kirkpatrick was an organization called the Committee on the Present Danger . . . . The aim of the group was to make Americans aware of the growth of Soviet military power and the risks posed by the SALT II treaty.
Over the course of the campaign, many Democrats on the committee met with Mr. Reagan. These off-the-record briefings in California and Washington dealt for the most part with arms control, a favorite subject for Mr. Reagan, who did not believe in merely limiting the rate of growth of weapons of mass destruction, but was instead looking for ways to reduce their numbers and eventually do away with them altogether.
Jeane Kirkpatrick had, in a real sense, cleared the way for Democrats to cross the bridge to the Reagan administration. Mr. Rostow became the director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and Paul Nitze was appointed Mr. Reagan’s chief arms negotiator. Myer Rashish became under secretary of state; Charles Tyroler served on the Intelligence Oversight Board; Lane Kirkland, president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., joined the National Endowment for Democracy; and Edward Bennett Williams, the prominent Washington lawyer, became a member of the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. Max Kampelman was re-appointed ambassador to the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Bipartisanship personified.
Others followed, of course. And all of them played a role in sending communism over the edge. But Jeane Kirkpatrick, as she was in so many ways, was the first.
IN the days since Jeane Kirkpatrick’s death, much has been written about her tenure at the United Nations, her foreign policy outlook and her indelible personality. But not a lot has been said about Jeane Kirkpatrick, ardent Democrat — and what that meant to the success of Ronald Reagan [a former Democrat] in international affairs.
One important bridge between Ronald Reagan and Democrats like Ms. Kirkpatrick was an organization called the Committee on the Present Danger . . . . The aim of the group was to make Americans aware of the growth of Soviet military power and the risks posed by the SALT II treaty.
Over the course of the campaign, many Democrats on the committee met with Mr. Reagan. These off-the-record briefings in California and Washington dealt for the most part with arms control, a favorite subject for Mr. Reagan, who did not believe in merely limiting the rate of growth of weapons of mass destruction, but was instead looking for ways to reduce their numbers and eventually do away with them altogether.
Jeane Kirkpatrick had, in a real sense, cleared the way for Democrats to cross the bridge to the Reagan administration. Mr. Rostow became the director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and Paul Nitze was appointed Mr. Reagan’s chief arms negotiator. Myer Rashish became under secretary of state; Charles Tyroler served on the Intelligence Oversight Board; Lane Kirkland, president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., joined the National Endowment for Democracy; and Edward Bennett Williams, the prominent Washington lawyer, became a member of the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. Max Kampelman was re-appointed ambassador to the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Bipartisanship personified.
Others followed, of course. And all of them played a role in sending communism over the edge. But Jeane Kirkpatrick, as she was in so many ways, was the first.
posted by Sid Cottingham | 11:50 AM
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