Posted on 12/08/2006 6:23:57 AM PST by untenured
R.I.P. I just heard the news that Jeane Kirkpatrick passed away last night. More to follow, I'm sure.
"What takes place in the Security Council more closely resembles a mugging than either a political debate or an effort at problem-solving."
"Neither nature, experience, nor probability informs these lists of 'entitlements', which are subject to no constraints except those of the mind and appetite of their authors." -- Jeane Kirkpatrick talking about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which she termed "a letter to Santa Claus".[1]
"When our Marines, sent to Lebanon on a multinational peacekeeping mission with the consent of the United States Congress, were murdered in their sleep, the "blame America first crowd" didn't blame the terrorists who murdered the Marines, they blamed the United States. But then, they always blame America first. . . . The American people know better." - Speech delivered at the 1984 Republican National Convention
"Because the miseries of traditional life are familiar, they are bearable to ordinary people who, growing up in the society, learn to cope and therefore accept the fact that wealth, power, status and other resources favor an affluent few while traditional autocrats maintain the masses in misery. So therefore our lack of concern is quite proper; indeed, quite decent and moral because the lower orders feel no pain." - 1979
"When Marxist dictators shoot their way into power in Central America, the San Francisco Democrats don't blame the guerrillas and their Soviet allies. They blame United States policies of 100 years ago. But then they always blame America first." [2]
"Vietnam presumably taught us that the United States could not serve as the worlds policeman; it should also have taught us the dangers of trying to be the worlds midwife to democracy when the birth is scheduled to take place under conditions of guerrilla war." [3
Loved that Lady! Prayers up for all.
AEI senior fellow Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, who joined the Institute in 1978, died yesterday. As a young political scientist at Georgetown University, Kirkpatrick wrote the first major study of the role of women in modern politics, Political Woman, which was published in 1974. Her work on the McGovern-Fraser Commission, which was formed in the aftermath of the Democratic Party's tumultuous 1968 convention and changed the way party delegates were chosen, led to Dismantling the Parties: Reflections on Party Reform and Party Decomposition, which AEI published in 1978. Yet it was an essay written for Commentary magazine in 1979, "Dictatorships and Double Standards," that launched her into the political limelight. In the article, Kirkpatrick chronicled the failures of the Carter administration's foreign policy and argued for a clearer understanding of the American national interest. Her essay matched then-governor Ronald Reagan's instincts and convictions, and when he became president, he appointed her to represent the United States at the United Nations. Ambassador Kirkpatrick was a member of the president's cabinet and the National Security Council. The United States has lost a great patriot and champion of freedom, and AEI mourns our beloved colleague.
Source: AEI
Her changing parties along with Reagan was the catalyst for me changing parties but I contend neither her or I changed, the Democrats left their core values behind.
Ms. Kirkpatrick....please say hello To President Reagan for all of us.
Sympathy and prayers for a fine lady...and another example of why Reagan was a great president!
That's too bad about Jeanne Kirkpatrick.
She was suppose to be the speaker at my graduation at the Univ of Oklahoma in 1984 until they dumped her late in the game so the governor, who just happened to be running for reelection and happened to be a demoncrap, could give the address...
I was really looking forward hearing her that year...
We acknowledge the passing of a great American. Many thanks, Jean Kirkpatrick.
In the mold of Maggie Thatcher......... Not many women of this caliber. RIP
This is the ONLY woman I would have considered for President. She had a great mind, was articulate, "a lady" (something Hillary isn't) and had a good handle on world affairs.
She and I attended the same college (a few years apart!), and she came back one year to speak when I was a student. It was a great speech. There was a very elderly alumnae in the audience who kept interrupting her with praise and applause,and she handled with class and humor.
needed now more than ever.
God Bless, Jeanne Kirkpatrick. May she rest in peace.
Here's another quote from that wonderful speech, actually it's her quoting the late French intellectual Jean Francois Revel (author of "How Democracies Perish"):
"Clearly, a civilization that feels guilty for everything it is and does will lack the energy and conviction to defend itself."
Those words apply even more today than they did a generation ago.
One of the great ones, along with Lady Thatcher and the greatest President in U.S. history save Washigton and perhaps Lincoln.
Don't they though.
I expect another typical mediocrity will soon be named to the UN ambassadorship instead of someone like Kirkpatrick or Bolton to appease the Dems. Republicans appease the Dems and the Dems appease our enemies.
R.I.P.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.