40th anniversary of Hubert Humphrey's death

[dflprincess]

Yes. he screwed up big time on Vietnam, but when it came to the domestic agenda and especially Civil Rights, there were few establishment politicians who could match Hubert Humphrey.

http://www.startribune.com/40th-anniversary-of-hubert-humphrey-s-death-how-would-he-view-current-events/469059673/

The 40th anniversary of Hubert Humphrey’s death on Jan. 13, 1978, finds fewer and fewer Minnesotans who remember a decent man who did great things as mayor of Minneapolis, as a U.S. senator and as vice president of the United States....

...Humphrey’s universe of caring was broad and deep, seemingly without boundaries. He got into just about everything there was to get into. He truly subscribed to, and frequently repeated, Franklin Roosevelt’s doctrine that “the test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.”

Humphrey cared about farmers and agriculture, having grown up in rural South Dakota during the Great Depression and witnessing firsthand the struggles of rural America to survive. He fought for price supports, rural loans, rural economic development and research, and creative ways to use America’s agricultural abundance to fight hunger — at home through food stamps and overseas through the Food for Peace program that he created.

Humphrey cared about the lives of working men and women. Whether the issue was fair labor practices, collective bargaining, worker safety or youth unemployment, he believed that ordinary Americans needed someone to stick up for them, and he devoted his life to doing that.

Humphrey cared deeply about civil rights. As mayor of Minneapolis — known in the mid-1940s as the anti-Semitism capital of America — he created the nation’s first equal-employment commission. He electrified the delegates to the 1948 Democratic National Convention when he proclaimed from the podium that the Democratic Party needed “to get out of the shadow of states’ rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights.”

[Wellstone ruled]

1. Wow,totally forgot.

Where has the time gone. Still remember working for his Presidential Campaign in Wisconsin.

[liberal N proud]

2. I probably met him when I was very young

All I can remember is the party my parents threw in their back yard for him when he was running for President.

[dragonlady]

3. First vote I ever cast

was for Humphrey's return to the Senate in 1970. Before that he had given a guest lecture at one of my history classes at U of M (as I recall, he lapsed into "my fellow Americans" once or twice).

[dflprincess]

5. I wasn't old enough to vote in 1970 (my first vote was for McGovern)

but I do remember his campaign slogan in 1970 was "Humphrey - You know he cares".

When he ran for reelection in 1976 while he was dealing with cancer and most of us knew he probably wouldn't live out that term the slogan was "Humphrey - show him you care".

I can't imagine any other politician getting away with that for a slogan - but I'll admit I didn't think it out of line for his campaign to use. (For that matter I can't think of many politicians today who would dare say "You know (s) he cares." - because we know most of them don't.)

[Zoonart]

4. Hubert Humphrey was a great Democrat.

I quote him often...see below>

[zeusdogmom]

6. He was a great senator and even better person

Met him when I was 16 as young 4-Her who won a leadership award trip to DC. When he and Mondale met with our MN group, he acted as if he had all the time in the world to talk with us and answer our questions. Much to my active in the repulbican party parents dismay, this started my "decline" into becoming a Democrat.

[Lifelong Protester]

7. He was a decent man.

I still treasure my photo with him and my friend. My friend died of cancer a couple years later.

[raging moderate]

8. My great-aunt knew him. He was great!

She said he was kind, steady, generous, and sensible.