Last edited Sat Mar 30, 2013, 05:17 PM - Edit history (1)

"My faith is a source of strength and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are to hundreds of millions of people around the world."

To mock and attack those who believe as Pres. Carter does, is to show closed-mindedness that liberalism rejects.

God bless this great man!


A true lover of all humans with compassionate hearts...






Get it here -> http://www.zazzle.com/youre_not_in_the_1_why_vote_like_you_are_bumpe_bumper_sticker-128479630785214922?rf=238107662556833486

Jimmy's 'da man!

he's a wonderful human being! I'm so glad that we have had both Jimmy and Rosalynn for as long as we have, they've been good to us and for us.

wow.

This must have been so difficult for him! but he did it.

What a brave soul. What an honest and brave soul.

One of the finest people in the world, wow.

---

At its most repugnant, the belief that women must be subjugated to the wishes of men excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime. But it also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny them fair access to education, health, employment and influence within their own communities.

Your last paragraph - crystal clear explanation.

Thank you.

I didn't realize what was coming, I am sorry.

Thanks for such a profound thought.

It is my hope that he will finally get the credit in the history books for how great a man he really is.

There are a lot of things that peaked during Carter's presidency. He deserves more credit than he gets.

is overall a good man although I'm not a religious person at all. What bothers me about ole Jimmy is the grudge he carries to this day against Ted Kennedy. There has been at least one thread about this in the past on DU. I'm crappy on doing links here, but here's just one story. If you google both of their names together you'll come up with tons of articles about it.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2010/09/21/130015737/holding-a-grudge-for-30-years-jimmy-carter-against-ted-kennedy

he should have waited for the next cycle. I guess that wasn't enough for him, he was royalty after all.

I know he did a lot of good things in his career, but this wasn't one of them.

never fully. I don't mean to beat a dead man just stating what I see as facts. Actually I've been known to voice these sames sentiments when he was still with us.
My apologies if I made anyone unhappy as thats not my intent.

Imagine that you were President of the United States and wanted to give the nation a health care plan, but Kennedy led your own party in stopping you in order to improve his own chances for unseating you in the next primary.

Next, he does challenge you. In the process, he greatly weakens your chances for re-election. Even though you are an incumbent, Reagan wins by a great deal. As a result, the Democrat ic Leadership Council forms and basically takes over your Party and changes it greatly. And Clinton, the first DLC Presidential nominee tears you and your Presidency apart to improve his chances of getting elected.

Then, the nation goes another 30 years without a national health plan. insurance companies get meaner and meaner and greedier and greedier. Premiums are sky high. So are health care costs. Health care now becomes the number 1 reason for individual bankruptcies, even for couples who both have health insurance. Meanwhile, people are dying for lack of health care and/or health care insurance.

And when the nation finally gets health care, it's a Republican plan.

Now, you're doing a book tour and an interviewer asks how come you never implemented a health care plan or some such. What would you say? What's Carter supposed to say? "Gee, I forgot. It was probably the Republicans?"

All this stuff is a matter of record anyway. So Carter answers truthfully (I assume). So what? The more we know about how things really operate, the better off we are.

It just seems slightly hypocritical that Kennedy was eulogized on DU when he passed. And if someone is truly Christian (that wouldn't be me - in the religious sense of the word), what about forgiveness and all that good bible stuff. Not saying Carter wasn't right and Kennedy wrong in this instance, it's (again) the hypocrisy.

And in the interviews I saw when Carter's book came out, HE was the one to make sure the subject came up. However, both men were/are just human and we all make mistakes. I think it's a bit unseemly to attack someone when they're not around to defend themselves. I would've like to hear Kennedy's version of the story.

I don't think health care was why Carter didn't get the nomination. I believe it had much more to do with Iran.

If someone thinks Kennedy was a good person and an asset to the country--as I do--what is wrong with expressing grief at his loss? Senate Republicans eulogized him. Why shouldn't posters on a Democratic board?

He lost most of his family to war, illness, accident and assassins much too soon. He was a surrogate parent to his bereaved neices and nephews. After his mother died, he held the extended family together. He served in the Senate for something like 40 years and was beloved by many. I only wish I could say a tenth as much about myself. Are only perfect people entitled to "unhypocritical" eulogies?

tAnd in the interviews I saw when Carter's book came out, HE was the one to make sure the subject came up.

I just don't think it's seemly to attack someone when they're not around to defend themselves.

I would've like to hear Kennedy's version of the story.

I don't think health care was why Carter didn't get the nomination.

I believe it had much more to do with Iran.

and the Dems could really use a bunch like him now. Carter is the epitome of what our leaders SHOULD be. I well remember being a junior high kid, passing out literature for JFK when he was stumping across the country. My mom was one of the few active Democrats in our very Republican town and was up on stage with Jack, hosting him. Ted was wandering around down in the crowd seeking out the kids, too young to vote, but working for his brother. There was no shortage of "Kennedy Girls," even though their parents were definitely voting for Nixon. "Teddy" shook my hand, as he did many others, and said, "I'm Jack's brother, Ted. Thank you for helping us out." A few years later. I saw Bobby in a D.C. parade, so personally saw the three existing Kennedy brothers, although only actually meeting Ted. That sort of political interaction has no longer existed for a very long time.

I saw Shrum on TV at some point within the last twelve months, but cannot recall the context. I vaguely think he was on PBS, rather than MSNBC or a network, but I am very unsure.

Anyway, Shrum was telling Ted Kennedy stories. One of them was how far out of his way Ted would go to make contact with people. (Shrum kind of contrasted Kennedy's personality with Kerry's, though he had nothing bad to say about either of them, just that Kerry was more reserved and less spontaneous.)

During the TV coverage of Kennedy's journey from Cape Cod to Boston to D.C., the anchor said "Everybody has a Ted Kennedy story because he reached out to and helped so many people." During that coverage, there were so many stories of his kindness. And I especially remember his son, Patrick, relating how his father scolded them when they were kids for messing up their hotel room after it had been made up, but before they checked out, because "making beds is backbreaking work."

How unusual for a son of privilege of his age to even realize that!

Supposedly, Joe Kennedy was away from home a lot, which means Rose pretty much raised them. What a job she did!

the past fifty years and in moving around the country. Old Joe Kennedy was pretty much out of it before his sons started realizing his dreams. Apparently a truly nasty SOB. However, he was shrewd enough to know, if non compassionate himself, what " the people" needed and what worked with them. No need to be unnecessarily greedy. Something Mitt and the Republicans have never figured out. Old Joe may have clawed his own way up, but he obviously never forgot what went over with the ordinary public. Rose was definitely a saint, but she was a product of her times, although raised rich enough to have no normal idea beyond being VERY CATHOLIC..

I remember hearing--don't remember where--that every evening at dinner, each kid had to have learned something interesting that day and be ready to share it with the family. They were loyal to each other, kind to others, intellectually curious, all desirous of serving their country. I read one of them used to listen to Shakespeare while showering.

To raise one kid like that would be remarkable. But, all of them?

Carter did get the nomination in 1980. He lost to Reagan. After that he never ran for nomination.

ignoring Jimmy on the stage, making the PRESIDENT chase after him.

NOT Kennedy's finest moment, never mind his "the dream will never die" oration.

He is a real mensch.

Taking a stand. I hope you don't get too much crap for this, Mr Carter.

honorable man! Glad Wash DC didn't take that from him!

I love that.

Too honest for politics

Thank you Jimmy

K&R

who still associate and identify with religions with such official positions.

If Jimmy Carter can do it after six decades, anyone can. He decided to stop being intellectually dishonest with himself and ceased his cognitive dissonance, and he'll be happier for it. And, there are plenty of progressive religions out there for him to join if he so chooses.

It used to be "normal" to oppose gay marriage and even assoicate with virulent homophobic institutions just a decade ago. Heck, the KKK was quite a respected establishment back in the day. But tradition and social functions cannot be excuses for prolonging these bigoted ideologies by identifying and supporting them, however indirectly. As soon as people demand the religions/groups they associate with (think Boy Scouts of America for a recent example) to stop holding such bigoted beliefs by withholding support or walking out and joining progressive organizations, things change in a hurry.

Good job President Carter.

I'm sure he can find another church that will be worthy of his gifts.

Perhaps it will encourage more to do the same.

And I say this as an atheist: Jimmy Carter is a good man.

The best ex President ever. Damn good President during his time too for those who can remember then.

He did not need to wait for things like transvaginal ultrasounds and insane comments about the female body shutting down fertilization in cases of genuine rape.

I cannot imagine how gut wrenching this was for him. Still, he did not need to wait for last year's total psychotic break.

He has nothing to gain from it, either, except his conscience. Not as though he is going to run for office or take money to endorse the morning after pill.

A Christian or anyone willing to change their mind about their beliefs when confronted by the facts is truly a honest person. It's hard to come by.

Your a real person Mr. Carter.

Would have probably left the Catholic church, too, maybe. That's what is being demanded of us on DU.

and appears to have been published some time ago: 25 JANUARY 2013

Numerous news sources reported on it nearly four years ago. Googling a distinct phrase from the remarks turns up lots of examples.

Here's one from The Age.

Rec

Some people call themselves Christians. Some people behave like Christians. Some do both.

I'm with you 100% on this

SEVER your ties with organizations that promote misogyny and homophobia - STOP HIDING BEHIND TRADITION AND WHAT YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS THINK......deep down you know it is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG

People will still speak fondly of Jimmy Carter long after the stench of a Ted Cruz or a John Boehner has finally subsided.

he undercut Carter's policies causing him to cancel many good initiatives, particularly in the economic sector. If Kennedy had been patient he could have run after Carter's presidencies and we wouldn't have Reagan and Bush!

I am so proud of men like him, who buck the patriarchal mentality. Advocates like him have inspired me to go beyond gender-defined roles and I've encouraged my daughter to do the same.

and didn't just talk the talk about standing up to sexism in religion.

what the world would be like had he been reelected. I think the problem with Carter was that many perceived him as just being too nice. He wasn't cowboy enough for them.

in this op-ed published in the Australian paper The Age:

over "artifical birth control" as an Only Child, by CHOICE of my parents. Plus, I had one Aunt who was Gay, and another who was Divorced, Remarried, and had a "bastard" child. This was in the early 60s. Even as a teenager back then, FAMILY meant more to me than some dumb Middle Ages religion.

and still love the man.

his life is and will be judged in the future by the great works he has done.

Standing up to the source of sexism, homophobia, etc. It's challenging the justification for shit behaviour that will bring change..

Too much of religion is the cement that holds in place our woes.

the tides are turning.

likes the social life. He simply removes the wrong from his life.

that office. That was his downfall. I'm always infuriated by the put-downs he's received. You can't really fault him for being a victim of Reagan's treason, if a brawler like LBJ could take the same from Nixon.

man of God and has all my respect. Fellow Republican Christians don't mind bashing him, blaming some policy or ideology, but the truth is that they don't like him because he is a Democrat. George W. Bush doesn't come anywhere near to all the things that Jimmy does because of his faith, yet they worship Bush and continue to elevate him as a "good" Christian.

I agree with President Carter; as I'm sure most of you do. But it's more complex than just agreeing or disagreeing with him.
I was born and raised Catholic. At one point in my life, I wanted to join the priesthood. Thank God it wasn't the "point in my life" that offered me the choice. I was too young, and then discovered other things - girls mostly.
But I admired the priests I knew, and I respected the many who chose the calling.
Now, many years fast forwarded; and I'm a fallen Catholic. I no longer attend regular, and I am ashamed and put off by the actions of many in the priesthood today; and more ashamed by many in the faith. The history of the Catholic Church is marred with shame and disgrace. The fact that the Church has ALWAYS been behind the times and dragging it's feet in the face of scientific fact, instead of accepting it and dealing with it; and then there is the satanic exploitation of the Americas and other "uncivilized cultures" through time. It's simply shameful what they are responsible for. I realize the Church has been made up of men, and men can be damned evil when give the oppportunity and the power.
But this is what we are faced with today. From the times of the Inquisition to today, the Church has been at the root of the evil that persists in our lives. Jesus would be ashamed of what his Church has done to those he died for on the cross.
And so, I have quit practice, but in my heart I will always be "Catholic", and I will always accept Jesus Christ as my savior. But I deplore how religion, primarily "American Christianity" has been corrrupted and twisted to serve the wishes of the wicked and evil in the ranks of the powerful.
President Carter made the obvious and right choice. I believe it is time for us to bring our religion home until we can accept it as "the work of Jesus", and not the work of evil, power hungry and wicked men who shame His very name.

With My Lord Jesus Christ. In keeping with the teachings of Jesus to love everyone I decided I should worship in a different congregation. I truly believe God has not made mistakes in creating women, different races and even different sexual orientations and therefore as Christians we should love them all. Jimmy Carter doesn't claim to be a Christian because it might get some votes but a real Christian every day of his life. We could all learn from this fine man, your teaching moments are still going strong.

That he did it
Google "Carter sadly turns back on national Baptist body" to find the original NYT article.

He's got the right ideas. He's not losing his religion, he and Mandela, et.al, are crafting a better one that works for more people who have a religion in this world:

You know it gospel truth. He walks the talk and compels us all to be better human beings.

in my lifetime that I have ever felt comfortable with. He's a good and principled man. No flim flam here.

Never ceases to amaze me. Years ago, my daughter chose him for a book report and he completely, totally sold her on Liberal principles. I was just a kid when he was POTUS, but this guy represents everything this site, and I, stand for - hands down. Bless you, President Carter. You have proven over and over that you are a good man.
on edit: Anyone else remember the post where he crashed the Obama rally in Atlanta?

Yay!!! Now it needs to go viral all over the world!!

As somebody who left her religion after more then 50 years, I feel for him.

It is sad that religion will not follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

real religious. Meaning he uses it as a way to justify whatever he does, good or bad. Anyways he wrote back that Nelson Mandela is a good man and was who started Ubuntu. Talk about head in the sand this man has it. No I think that should read up his wazoo rather than sand. I shit you not. Mandela is not the focus but he wanted to for some reason make it so. Crazy might be the right word here.

Here is what he wrote "Nelson Mandela, was a great man, from what I have read. I think he was a big hand in starting Ubutu, and the systems that follow along, like Mint."

There is no reaching him, I've totally given up.

It is appalling to see them scrambling for a wafer from the new pope.

Last edited Sun Mar 31, 2013, 06:23 PM - Edit history (1)

It has been interesting to read the various offshoots from the original post concerning President Carter, particularly those concerning Ted Kennedy's race against him for the 1980 nomination. In the summer of 1979 I was about enter my junior year in college and was quite active in the Draft Kennedy movement in NH. I cast my first vote for president for Carter in 1976 (and ran for state rep at age 18, only to get swamped. NH was deep, deep red back then!). But, by the summer of '79, the Carter presidency was floundering; inflation was well into the double digits, gas lines were common, unemployment was skyrocketing, and many Democratic Congressional leaders were exasperated by what they saw as an administration that was uncompromising and belligerent with them.
Healthcare was, of course, the major issue dividing Kennedy and Carter. Carter entered the White House with huge majorities in Congress. Kennedy wanted comprehensive, universal health insurance; Carter, true to his "moderate" roots, wanted something that has been accurately called similar (but hardly identical) to ObamaCare.
Tip O'Neill tried to talk Kennedy out of running, understanding what it would do to the party. Tip was also among the exasperated leaders who tried explaining to Carter that running for president as an outsider is fine, but that trying to govern as one is a guarantee of failure. Neither Kennedy or Carter listened to him.
Carter's secretary of what was then called the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Joe Califano, provides an outstanding recount of this standoff in his book, Governing America, for anyone who'd like some inside observations.
Liberal Democrats, my wing of the party, were completely disillusioned with Carter by the summer of '79. There was, by that time, no chance in hell that we were going to quietly step aside and let Carter win the nomination without a fight. And if Kennedy hadn't have run, we'd have turned elsewhere. Folks often forget that Jerry Brown was also a candidate in the 1980 NH primary.
Brown had zero chance of being nominated, but he would've served quite nicely as a vehicle for us to protest.
At any rate, that the two didn't particularly like one another is common knowledge. And both would've been better off if they'd heeded Tip O'Neill's advice.
The bottom line for me is that demonizing Ted Kennedy for running is a bit of shallow, revisionist history. Carter didn't lose to Reagan because of Kennedy; he lost the moment Reagan asked the American people "Are you better off than you were four years ago" during their debate. Few Americans could answer that question affirmatively.