Could Ted Kennedy have won the 1980 Presidential election?

[denem]

I have no idea. I wasn't around at the time, but re-reading through Kennedy's 1980 convention speech, I remain impressed with his strategy:

Jobs First: "Let us pledge that there will be security for all those who are now at work, and let us pledge that there will be jobs for all who are out of work; and we will not compromise on the issues of jobs."

Stop the Misery: "Let us pledge that we will never misuse unemployment, high interest rates, and human misery as false weapons against inflation."

(Kennedy, in truth could not promise lower interest rates, but certainly could argue that bigger deficits 'increase pressure' on interest rates, clawing back the fist full of dollars Reagan was offering. Volker surely obliged in 1982)

Smarter Government: "The demand of our people in 1980 is not for smaller government or bigger government but for better government... It is surely correct that we cannot solve problems by throwing money at them, but it is also correct that we dare not throw out our national problems onto a scrap heap of inattention and indifference."

Reconstruction: "To all those who doubt the future of our economy, let us provide new hope for the reindustrialization of America. And let our vision reach beyond the next election or the next year to a new generation of prosperity. If we could rebuild Germany and Japan after World War II, then surely we can reindustrialize our own nation and revive our inner cities in the 1980's

Fair Taxation: "And to all those overburdened by an unfair tax structure, let us provide new hope for real tax reform. Instead of shutting down classrooms, let us shut off tax shelters. Instead of cutting out school lunches, let us cut off tax subsidies for expensive business lunches that are nothing more than food stamps for the rich.

The tax cut of our Republican opponents takes the name of tax reform in vain. It is a wonderfully Republican idea that would redistribute income in the wrong direction. ... But the Republican tax cut is bad news for the middle income families. For the many of you, they plan a pittance of 200 dollars a year, and that is not what the Democratic Party means when we say tax reform."

Progress: "The great adventures which our opponents offer is a voyage into the past. Progress is our heritage, not theirs. We are the Party of the New Freedom, the New Deal, and the New Frontier. We have always been the Party of hope. So this year let us offer new hope, new hope to an America uncertain about the present, but unsurpassed in its potential for the future."

EMK's election strategy was to offer an alternative version of Reagan's 'Hope and Optimism'. Carter could say -'We won't make the same mistakes twice and we didn't make them once'.

Yes, I know this is 'what if' nonsense. EMK had little chance, if any, of a convincing victory in the primaries, and arguably damaged Carter's chances of re-election. But as Ted launched into his famous frontal assault on Reagan, more than a few of Carter's delegates, sullen and perplexed, seemed to be wondering if they had chosen the wrong man.

What do you think?

The 1980 Republican convention was awash with crocodile tears for our economic distress, but it is by their long record and not their recent words that you shall know them.

The same Republicans who are talking about the crisis of unemployment have nominated a man who once said, and I quote, "Unemployment insurance is a prepaid vacation plan for freeloaders." And that nominee is no friend of labor.

The same Republicans who are talking about the problems of the inner cities have nominated a man who said, and I quote, "I have included in my morning and evening prayers every day the prayer that the Federal Government not bail out New York." And that nominee is no friend of this city and our great urban centers across this nation.

The same Republicans who are talking about security for the elderly have nominated a man who said just four years ago that "Participation in social security should be made voluntary." And that nominee is no friend of the senior citizens of this nation

The same Republicans who are talking about preserving the environment have nominated a man who last year made the preposterous statement, and I quote, "Eighty percent of our air pollution comes from plants and trees." And that nominee is no friend of the environment.

And the same Republicans who are invoking Franklin Roosevelt have nominated a man who said in 1976, and these are his exact words, "Fascism was really the basis of the New Deal." And that nominee whose name is Ronald Reagan has no right to quote Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/tedkennedy1980dnc.htm