Posted on 09/07/2004 2:05:44 PM PDT by VMI70
The text of a letter former President Carter sent to Zell Miller over the weekend ...
You seem to have forgotten that loyal Democrats elected you as mayor and as state senator. Loyal Democrats, including members of my family and me, elected you as lieutenant governor and as governor. It was a loyal Democrat, Lester Maddox, who assigned you to high positions in the state government when you were out of office. It was a loyal Democrat, Roy Barnes, who appointed you as U.S. Senator when you were out of office. By your historically unprecedented disloyalty, you have betrayed our trust. Great Georgia Democrats who served in the past, including Walter George, Richard Russell, Herman Talmadge, and Sam Nunn disagreed strongly with the policies of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and me, but they remained loyal to the party in which they gained their public office. Other Democrats, because of philosophical differences or the race issue, like Bo Callaway and Strom Thurmond, at least had the decency to become Republicans.
Everyone knows that you were chosen to speak at the Republican Convention because of your being a “Democrat,” and it’s quite possible that your rabid and mean-spirited speech damaged our party and paid the Republicans some transient dividends.
Perhaps more troublesome of all is seeing you adopt an established and very effective Republican campaign technique of destroying the character of opponents by wild and false allegations. The Bush campaign’s personal attacks on the character of John McCain in South Carolina in 2000 was a vivid example. The claim that war hero Max Cleland was a disloyal American and an ally of Osama bin Laden should have given you pause, but you have joined in this ploy by your bizarre claims that another war hero, John Kerry, would not defend the security of our nation except with spitballs. (This is the same man whom you described previously as “one of this nation's authentic heroes, one of this party's best-known and greatest leaders -- and a good friend.")
I, myself, never claimed to have been a war hero, but I served in the navy from 1942 to 1953, and, as president, greatly strengthened our military forces and protected our nation and its interests in every way. I don’t believe this warrants your referring to me as a pacificist.
Zell, I have known you for forty-two years and have, in the past, respected you as a trustworthy political leader and a personal friend. But now, there are many of us loyal Democrats who feel uncomfortable in seeing that you have chosen the rich over the poor, unilateral preemptive war over a strong nation united with others for peace, lies and obfuscation over the truth, and the political technique of personal character assassination as a way to win elections or to garner a few moments of applause. These are not the characteristics of great Democrats whose legacy you and I have inherited.
I contacted President Carter's office for comment and his press spokesperson Deanna Congileo told me that the letter was a private communication and that President Carter would not be issuing further comment.
-- Josh Marshall http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/
Carter is a shrewd old political bastard.
This letter was NEVER intended to be private. Carter wants this letter out in the open because he wants/has to discredit Zell.
Carter is a phoney. His carter institute was supposed to tap into his appointees into the state department and is dependent on insitutional inertia to keep his Carter era philosophies going. Carter was the begining of the end of the democrat party. Clinton just looted what was left.
Zell stands FOR something, Carter was and is a wimp.
Zell just responded to Carter with.
GET OUT OF MY FACE.
Zell knows a loyalty Carter has never dreamed of. The Sunday School teacher is loyal to the party of abortion and radical homosexuality, but bolted his long term affiliation with the Southern Baptists when they merely came out with a balanced, nuanced statement on male leadership of the family. He accepted a Nobel Prize knowing it was intended as a "kick in the legs" to President Bush. A true hypocrite, Carter. What a disgrace to our nation.
29 Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake,
30 but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.
You mean when Carter was running for re-election and we had hostages?
Hmmmmmmmm, I'm thinking Carter wasn't acting on principles or the best interest of the country. I base this deduction on having an accurate perception of the old bastard.
If I were Miller I wouldn't dignify this screed with a response.
So Jimmy didn't like Zell's speech because it told the truth? Figures! This isn't about loyalty to a bunch of liberals that have taken over the Democrat Party, this is about national security but then Carter is the one who negotiated with the North Koreans during the Clinton years! Carter has the credibility of a gnat as far as I am concerned.
BINGO!!!!! WE HAVE A WINNER
Until I heard Zell, in an interview before the RNC, I didn't think there was one Democrat with an ounce of integrity. All I ever saw were Democrats stonewalling everything, not based on principal, but based PURELY on partisan politics. Zell Miller confirmed everything I have seen. He has not left the Democrat Party, the Democrat Party left him.
When I was growing up, I was taught to be a Democrat. I was fed the Democrat KoolAid. But Ronald Regan switched me to a conservative (note: not a Republican). My thought for a period of time was that Party didn't matter. Character of the individual mattered. And then I realized that an individual politician has to be backed by a party in order to accomplish anything. Thats when I became a Republican. In todays Parties, I believe there is still one Party, that for the most part clings to ideals, the Republicans. And one Party that clings to partisanship and power, the Democrats.
Zell has been a Democrat his entire life. Back when some politicians still valued character and integrity. He was away from the national Democrat Party for about 20 years, I believe. When he came back, it wasn't the same as when he left. Zell feels his Party was hijacked, and he wants it back to what it was. I wish it was to. I might disagree with alot of their stances, but at least it would be two parties trying to accomplish something to benefit this still great country, instead of one trying to benefit only their Party, and its socialist cause.
The Jimmy Carter who sent a warm letter of regards to the Ayatollah Khomenei, praising him as a man of God? That Jimmy Carter? And anyone should care what come out of his mouth because?
Jimmy Carter said, "Blah, blah, blah."
This from the traitor sob that spoke against his country from communist Cuba. Carter is more disgusting than Clinton ever was
Zell is a loyal American first, and a Democrat second. The Kool-aid drinkers don't get that.
Carter claims to have strengthened our military when he was president. I beg to differ. We had airplanes that couldn't fly, because they were canabalized to keep other planes flying. During a joint forces war games, in Germany many of the tanks needed were not available because they had been canabalized to keep other tanks going. He is not telling the truth about keeping our military strong. He like x42 weakened our military and enlistments were down. Poor carter is tooting his own horn afraid one of us will use it for a funel.
Carter is one of the main reasons I'm fighting so hard for Bush.
Another is Clinton.
This nation cannot afford to have another Democrat as president. Ever.
Earth to Jimmy Carter!!!!!
"President Carter just validated Zell Miller's view of the current Democratic party. Party first, Country second."
--Spot-on comment...
And actually, I just looked at the chart in inflation adjusted dollars. Carter's military spending increases were nominal in inflation-adjusted dollars. I knew something seemed fishy about that.
Our entire nation was held hostage under Jimmy Carter.
Zell has loyalty to the USA before the dimocrap party.
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