01/27/2020 "Nostalgia isn't what it used to be." - Peter De Vries **************************************************************** I was thinking the other day about Nelson Rockefeller. Remember him? - Of course you don't - that was a trick question. He was the grandson of John D. Rockefeller, the world's first billionaire back in the 19th century and, when adjusted for inflation, possibly the richest man who ever lived - EVER, EVER, EVER. Anyway, in the 1960s Nelson was the Governor of New York State and ran against Richard Nixon in the 1960, '64 and '68 Republican presidential primaries. I think I only remember him because my oldest brother was a volunteer for his campaign here in Minnesota in 1968 - a very low level volunteer - but about as "political" as anybody in my family ever got. I still have a few "Rocky!" bumper stickers. "Rocky" was a liberal Republican. Back then there were such things - the two parties slopped over the center a lot more than they do now. You could be a liberal Republican - a "Rockefeller Republican" - especially in New England (the "Eastern Establishment") or you could be a conservative Democrat - a "Dixiecrat" - especially if you were from the "Old South" (the "Confederacy"). Anyway, the one, single, major issue that killed Rocky's presidential bid was that he was divorced and remarried. The "Religious Right" (they didn't call it that back then - but those people) absolutely wouldn't stand for it. ABSOLUTELY NOT! If a man can't be trusted to be true to his marriage vows how can he EVER be trusted with the presidency of the United States? ABSOLUTELY NOT! You see, Rocky's first wife wasn't "Happy" - (Okay, that's a joke, Rocky's second wife went by the nickname "Happy", so you see - his first wife wasn't "Happy" ... well ... hey, cut me some slack - I've been waiting 50 years to use that joke :-) Actually, I think they just didn't like the fact that he was liberal, but the divorce thing was what they really howled about. And so in 1968 we got Nixon for president instead. As you may know, Nixon's Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned in disgrace after corruption and bribery charges steming from when he had been the Governor of Maryland. Nixon got Gerald Ford appointed, who became president when Nixon resigned in disgrace after the Watergate scandal and, guess what, Ford got Rocky appointed to be his Vice President. The "right" still hated Rocky with a passion, so in 1976, when Ford ran for president, he had to dump Rocky off the ticket and picked Sen. Robert Dole of Kansas for V.P. instead (and went on to lose to Jimmy Carter). Rocky died of a heart attack in 1979 in bed in the apartment of a young female staffer. I'm sure he was only there on business (monkey business?). I guess she wasn't "Happy" either. So much for Nelson Rockefeller. Okay, so jump ahead to 1980 and Ronald Reagan runs for president. Ronald Reagan was divorced and remarried. Nancy wasn't his first wife, that was actress Jane Wyman. I used to joke that if Nancy was called the "first lady", then Jane Wyman should be called the "first divorcee" (you see she actually WAS the first "divorcee" - hey, I've been waiting 40 years to use that joke - at least be glad my jokes are getting newer :-) So the "Religious Right" was ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGED over this, right? If a man can't be trusted to be true to his marriage vows how can he EVER be trusted with the presidency of the United States? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Right? No, ... not a peep. I don't recall Reagan's divorce even being mentioned much back then let alone as an issue. Not a peep. Not a PEEP! Okay, so jump ahead to 1992, (are these always in 12 year increments? No maybe not) and Bill Clinton runs for president. Bill Clinton never divorced his wife, in fact he's still married to Hillary, but he had a little different problem. He evidently had, as my Dad might have said, "the morals of an alley cat". Now, I'm not exactly sure what the means, but ... ya, okay, I DO know EXACTLY what that means ... Anyway, Gennifer Flowers came forward and said she'd been his mistress for over ten years when he was Governor of Arkansas. People elected him anyway. Then there was a series of what were called at the time "bimbo eruptions", Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey and of course Monica Lewinsky with her infamous blue stained dress (the dress was blue - not the stain - that would be really weird :-) Juanita Broderick even claimed that "Slick Willie" had raped her back in the 1970s. Well of course the "Religious Right" was ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGED! If a man can't be trusted to be true to his marriage vows how can he EVER be trusted with the presidency of the United States? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Right? So much so they even got him impeached in the House. He was accused of lying under oath and obstructing Congress's investigation of it. Clinton survived his trial in the Senate. So that brings us to Donald J. Trump. He's been divorced TWICE, Melania is his third wife and some 17 women have accused Trump of "sexual misconduct" (or is it 24 now) - including a porn star and a Playboy Playmate. So the "Religious Right" is ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGED, right? If a man can't be trusted to be true to his marriage vows how can he EVER be trusted with the presidency of the United States, right? ABSOLUTELY NOT! No, ... not a PEEP! Not a peep. Now personally, I don't care about a president's personal life, I figure that's his business as long as he does his job alright. I don't expect him to be Mother Teresa. I don't approve of it, I just don't care about it. But if the "Religious Right" doesn't at least criticize Trump, and I agree they don't have to, but if they don't, I think they look like flaming hypocrites. They look like all that selective moral indignation in the past was really just a cheap political gimmick - they don't really care about this - it's just about political power and they can turn it on or off as needed. Don't they realize this undercuts them on other issues they say they care about like anti-abortion and anti-gay rights? If they can look the other way with President "Caligula" then they really have no credibility and better shut up about this sort of stuff in the future. Caligula was an ancient Roman emperor who was famous for ... well, Google him. Let's just say it made for a great porno movie - I mean an "erotic historical drama film" - back in 1979 :-) Poor old Rocky! He must be turning over in his grave. (Please! No Rocky and Bullwinkle jokes - unless they're really good :-) Nelson Rockefeller From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Rockefeller The Life and Strangely Sexual Death of Nelson Rockefeller https://www.ozy.com/flashback/the-life-and-strangely-sexual-death-of-nelson-rockefeller/85390 Jane Wyman From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Wyman Bill Clinton sexual misconduct allegations From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton_sexual_misconduct_allegations Monica Lewinsky From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monica_Lewinsky List of Trump's accusers and their allegations of sexual misconduct https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/list-trumps-accusers-allegations-sexual-misconduct/story?id=51956410 Caligula (ancient Roman emperor) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caligula Caligula (film) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caligula_(film)