p.s. Liberal California critics from the Bay Area suck too!
Posted on 01/02/2007 8:51:56 PM PST by DogByte6RER
Statue of Reagan heads to Capitol as critics protest
Resolution passed in final hours of legislative session
By Robin Hindery
ASSOCIATED PRESS
January 2, 2007
SACRAMENTO – Under a joint resolution passed with little fanfare in the waning hours of California's 2006 legislative session, the statue of the man who helped preserve California's statehood during the Civil War will be uprooted from its home in the nation's Capitol.
The bronze likeness of Thomas Starr King, which has represented California in The National Statuary Hall Collection since 1931, will be replaced with one of a figure more recognizable to later generations: former President Reagan.
Critics say the measure was passed hastily Aug. 31, without allowing the public a chance to weigh in.
“This took place at the very end of the very last day of the session and there was no chance to have any public discussion about it,” said the Rev. David Sammons, acting president of the Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, a Unitarian seminary named after the influential minister.
King was born in 1824 in New York City. He came to California at age 36 to serve as minister of the First Unitarian Church in San Francisco. He was a fiery orator who spoke out strongly in favor of the Union during the Civil War and was credited by President Lincoln with saving California from becoming a separate republic.
King's statue sits alongside that of the state's other representative, the Rev. Junipero Serra, the Roman Catholic founder of nine California missions. Each state is allowed to display two statues of figures who served as leaders within the state or played a significant role in its history.
In 2000, Congress enacted a law allowing legislatures to replace their states' statues. So far, only Kansas has done so.
In California, one lawmaker voted against the decision to replace King's statute, Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Marina del Ray, who is Unitarian. Some lawmakers abstained from voting.
Bowen, the newly elected secretary of state, later wrote a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asking him to withdraw his support for the proposal. Joint resolutions do not require the governor's signature, but congressional rules mandate that a governor approve proposed changes in Statuary Hall.
On Sept. 15, Schwarzenegger gave his blessing to the resolution in a letter urging the Architect of the Capitol to carry out the statue switch.
“Californians certainly have the right to choose to honor someone else other than (King),” Bowen said in her letter to the governor. “But it's also their right to participate in the process to ensure that any decision that is made is an informed decision.”
The resolution's author, Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta, argues that lawmakers and others had ample time to speak up, but failed to do so. The resolution first was introduced in 2005 but lingered in various committees.
“Folks who have raised opposition have tried to make it sound like a last-minute thing,” Hollingsworth said. “But there were two years where the bill was able to be analyzed and scrutinized.”
Hollingsworth called Reagan “exceptionally worthy of national commemoration,” and said the former president “stands alone in California history.” Reagan was elected governor in 1967 and served two terms before pursuing the presidency.
Hollingsworth said when he came up with the idea to memorialize the “Great Communicator” in Statuary Hall, he had not heard of King. Transferring King's statue from Washington to the state Capitol in Sacramento will help acquaint other Californians with his legacy, he said.
“Now fourth-graders on school field trips will have the opportunity to get to know King better,” he said.
Sammons, of the Starr King school, said that isn't the point, and is an attempt to put a positive spin on a bad idea.
“Here's a figure extremely significant to the values and history of our state who will just get lost,” he said of King, who died of diphtheria in San Francisco at age 39.
Others object to the specific choice of King's replacement.
David Dodd, a Unitarian and a librarian in Petaluma, has tried to mobilize opposition to the resolution through Internet postings critical of Reagan. Dodd has written letters to his state and congressional representatives and encouraged others to do the same.
While King “kept California on the right side during the Civil War,” Reagan was a “ruthless governor” and an “actor posing as a statesman,” Dodd said in a Sept. 6 posting on his weblog, “Librarian in Tie-dye.”
Unlike King, Dodd said, “Reagan is not in danger of being forgotten.”
Criticism of the resolution hasn't stalled its progress. Instead, focus has shifted largely to calls for increased public involvement concerning the state's statuary representatives in the future.
Bowen in her letter to Schwarzenegger asked him to establish “a public process to ensure future decisions . . . are more carefully considered.”
Bowen has no specific plans to pursue the issue with the governor or other lawmakers in the 2007 session, her spokesman said.
The Washington, D.C.-based Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation will commission a sculptor and provide funding for the Reagan statue, expected to be placed sometime in this year, Hollingsworth said.
The foundation also will fund moving King's statue to Sacramento.
p.s. Liberal California critics from the Bay Area suck too!
For the record they can't do anything about it we have new law here in Cali that you need least two recongiable state citizen in state capitol so that other guy is for 1800s Ronnie is for this generation
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
While King “kept California on the right side during the Civil War,” Reagan was a “ruthless governor” and an “actor posing as a statesman,” Dodd said in a Sept. 6 posting on his weblog, “Librarian in Tie-dye.”
This guy Dodd sems to have issues with Ronald Reagan, too bad. Dodd sounds like a total idiot and history will prove him to be exactly that. In fact it already has.
David Dodd accidently reveals his own personal concern - that he is a nobody who will be forgotten. Dodd is sad that he is a microbe among millions of librarians, destined for obscurity. He understands that Reagan was a giant among giants and if there was room he would be on that granite wall in South Dakota. Dodd is injecting himself into this fray to garner a footnote in history.
And this is exactly what this foolishness is all about!! Build and elevate that statue of The Honorable Ronald Reagan!!
Well, there they go again.
Reagan, elected twice as California Gov.
elected twice as Pres. Broke up the Soviets and their strongholds, and that is for starters.
Dodd the librarian needs to get a real education.
the 60s are over, get over it.
btt
That's a law? Lol- do the statues have to wear helmets too? Ya know, incase they fall over and bump their noggins? Yous guys got some wierd laws I must say.
I'm sixty, born in Hollywood, raised in Long Beach, lived here in Riverside for twenty years and never heard of King. I'd bet many more native Californian's haven't heard of him either. As two statues from each state are allowed there, Father Serra and Ronald Reagan being two of the most famous names associated with California seems appropriate.
It would seem logical that Mr. King's history and contributions to California would be more recognized thus appreciated in Sacramento.
Amen!
King had a major local impact, which is very important. Governor and later President Reagan had local impact, which is very important, and also had huge international impact, which is even more important. Nobody needs to slight Mr. King while saying that President Reagan deserves to be there instead. It's an easy case to make, aside from Reagan-haters still stuck in 1986.
Reagan “exceptionally worthy of national commemoration,”
Yes indeedy.
Samuel Adams, Massachusetts William Jennings Bryan, Nebraska John Burke, North Dakota John C. Calhoun, South Carolina Henry Clay, Kentucky Jefferson Davis, Mississippi Dwight D. Eisenhower, Kansas James A. Garfield, Ohio Sam Houston, Texas Kamehameha I, Hawaii Andrew Jackson, Tennessee Robert E. Lee, Virginia Huey Long, Louisiana Will Rogers, Oklahoma George Washington, Virginia Daniel Webster, New Hampshire John Winthrop, Massachusetts Brigham Young, Utah
Oh, cry me a river. These "critics" are scumbag Democrats, and the Kalifornia legislature is overwhelmingly scumbag Democrat.
What???? No Mickey Mouse??
I drove right past Daniel Webster's birthplace yesterday.
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.