oh btw: RIP

"He's barely cold - so hush for a little while."

Yes, RIP.
(His obit or some other source ought to tell us who ran against him recently.)

we need to do the same!

since the day he entered the hospital.

Now that he's passed on, there will be an interim election, and that may scramble the foregone conclusions.

ran against him last time. Charlie Justice ran against him before that. Charlie is a county commissioner now, but has hinted interest.

I read that the district has tended blue in recent years.

they had this this morning. then they said he wasn't dead.

RIP Bill Young.

Always seemed like a pretty good guy and approachable. His re-elections were a sure thing.

RIP, Mr. Young.

Bear with me; I'll go back to internet casual in a minute.

Isn't it too bad we gnash and gnaw at one another, when life ends? It's so brief, and so tough. Wouldn't it be fine if we could work together to make it as good as it can be for all of us?

*sigh*

and probably one of those "government is bad" Repukes

Rest in Pieces.

Whew. Now I feel better

I'm sure he was a "great guy" and all. But Donne's 'no man is an island' notwithstanding, the simple and literally brutal truth is that he never bucked his party meaningfully. And so he shares responsibility, maybe more than most, for the slide of Congressional Republican politics into what it is today.

If his death results in a D pickup, and not by some watered-down blue dog, who am I to say that's a bad thing? We all have to go. See ya, Bill. I hope a Dem gets your seat and meets with Hilary in your old office.

The AP reported during the 1976 GOP convention:

I live in St. Pete, regardless of his political beliefs, he did what HE thought was the right thing to do. Not like some scum sucking tea party idealogue. He was an honorable man as far as republicans go. I could go on about him and his wife. Just leave it at that.

RR

nor will I respond to such an open ended BOT statement.

I will respond, first I have a question? Have you ever been to Florida, St. Petersburg to be more exact? I have been to SOCAL, I have been to a lot of places, both in this country and around the world. I have learned the meaning of tolerance and acceptance. He may have been a very old school republican, however he was an honest republican. Thats what sets him apart from the Palins, Ryans, Cruz's,Bachmans and any number of tea party perverse assholes. Thats the problem with this country right now, no one can tell the goddamn difference between someone who really cares about this damn country and who does not, both sides.

I lived in various places in the deep South for about 5 years. My in-laws live in Tampa. They are the most vile racists and right wing nut jobs, spouting Limbaugh talking points when they are among their friends in their gated retirement community, which seems filled with their clones. However, they are sweet as pie to their family. Kinda hard to hate them them. But, they are still wrong. I'm guessing Bill Young was the same way.

I've also lived 6 years in Europe, a few years in Canada, briefly on the East Coast but have lived on the West Coast the longest. I've traveled extensively, from Australia to Sweden. Not sure what difference that makes, other than that having been all over the world has confirmed to me that I love my country dearly. All of it. I see all of the people here as people, deserving to be here and just as American as me. My in-laws love America too, but not all Americans. Like Palin, they think some people aren't "real" Americans and they would just as soon ship them off somewhere. I feel most comfortable in So Cal. It really is the most diverse and tolerant place I have ever lived. And the weather is awesome.

I didn't mean to piss you off. I guess I should have followed the old rule of only saying nice things about the dead. But since you've learned the meaning of tolerance and acceptance, I am sure you'll forgive me.

Tampa and St. Pete are worlds away, they may be your in-laws but they are the family you accepted for the love of your significant other.

Hate begets hate, you should read Don Redwoods accounts since he is a neighbor of your yours so to speak.

You did not piss me off, you only brought up a good discussion and debate. Check out Dons posts, if you ever wanted to hear a tale of tolerance, his is a story to follow.

Like Don Redwood, I am kind to them and don't discuss politics with them. I "survive" my visits with them the same way Don does his visits with his Red State in-laws.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023335034

Young may have been a nice man, but he was still a Republican, with all that implies. Republicans have sexism, racism and homophobia built right into their party platform, along with a steadfast protection of the interests of the rich against that of the poor and vulnerable: women can't control their bodies; immigrants are treated like a virus; gay people can't marry; and if you can't afford healthcare, you die. I suggest you direct your lectures on tolerance toward your Republican buddies in St. Pete.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/martin_luther_king_jr.html

Would you like more with your vague comment?

We need to hear that every now and then.

I've noticed your name in many threads as being one who usually is NOT cursing, insulting, berating, etc, either the subject of the OP or other posters in the thread. Even if they may disagree with you. Around here, its a breath of fresh air. Its odd that on DU many of those who would scream "Tolerance!" at the top of their lungs seem to have very little of it.
A good Saturday to you, Rebellious!

...so the rest of the committee was Dems. Yes, McCarthyism was bad, and it was particularly bad in FL. Democrats were up to their eyeballs in it....and a lot worse. Corruption, vote-rigging, gerrymandering, slavery (yes, providing prisoner labor for free to political donors), and pedophilia, torture, and murder at the Boy's Camp. All in all, Bill Young might have been the most cleanest polititian in Tallahassee in that era.

Google Florida Pork Chop Gang.

how is that?

the only member of the John's Committee with an R after his name. The rest were Democrats. At least they called themselves Democrats.

The "Democrats" that joined Young on that witch hunt had as much in common with today's Democratic Party as today's Republican Party has with Republicans of Lincoln's time. The Dixiecrats who joined Young on that committee ended up joining his party as well.

I remember when Rand Paul made an ass of himself back in April, suggesting that the racist Dixiecrats of the 1950s were what we understand as Democrats today, and that today's Republicans "haven't changed" (his words) from the Lincoln Republicans. He got laughed at. The dumbass had insulted the intelligence of his audience at Howard University. Please don't do the same with your fellow DUers.

freakin' post have to end in some wise ass comment? I was agreeing with you but pointing out that Florida in the 60s was a no win state for anyone but white male conservatives. I was just a kid then but I remember the White and Colored bathrooms, the unwritten but understood laws telling African Americans to be out of certain areas by sundown and this is one of the more progressive areas of the state. Life for anyone who stood out must have been hell. Florida in the 60s was just as Deep South as Alabama and I'll bet the entire state legislature and 90% of the voters were in agreement with the John's Committee. I'll also bet the majority of today's legislature secretly are in agreement with it. Politically, Florida is the pits and as long as people can have their guns, low taxes and free government shit, they're happy as clams.

The reason Bill Young was elected over and over again had very little to do with his political beliefs-he brought the bacon home to his district in a big way and to many that's good enough. I never voted for him, BTW.

comment and contribute all you want. The babbling passive aggressive comment at the end is what I'm talking about. Ditto on the emoticon. But if it makes you feel my intellectual superior, knock yourself out.

...that two DUers would jump to the defense of a Republican by maligning Democrats. You were the second person in this thread who felt compelled to say that there were Democrats on that McCarthy panel with Young. I addressed both with the response that these were Dixiecrats, not today's Democrats. I was correcting a misleading statement that sounded like something Rand Paul would say. I was defending Democrats on a Democratic site. I was not babbling or being "passive aggressive." I was being pretty direct. And neither of you took it well. Methinks thou doth protest too much.

Do you actually talk to people like that? No shit they weren't today's Democrats-the John's Commission happened in the 60s.

fraction was dissolved after the 1948 election. So the John's Committee wasn't made up of Dixiecrats-they were just bigoted assholes.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixiecrat

It was only their breakaway party, the "States Rights Democratic Party" that was dissolved in 1948. The Dixiecrats did not go away in 1948. As the Wiki passage you site states, the Dixiecrats then "began the weakening of the "Solid South" (the Democratic Party's total control of presidential elections in the South)."

I agree, the people on that McCarthy committee with Young were "just bigoted assholes." They were not Democrats as our party is understood today. Today, they would be considered Republicans, or at least they would most identify with the Republican platform.

And yet you felt compelled to jump in and say everyone but Young was a "Democrat" on that committee. You could have just said everyone on that committee was a bigoted asshole, and that would have been correct. I would have had no problem with that. But you didn't. You said they were Democrats, even though in your subsequent post you admitted, "No shit they weren't today's Democrats."

Again, why did you feel compelled to say they were Democrats?

Unlike many on the Right, we don't have a deep rooted need to hate our political opponents just for the simple fact that we have political differences. We prefer to show respect to opponents who show good faith. RIP Congressman Young.