Thanks Jack,

It sets the bar that politicians and people don't have to be sheep its a personal choice to believe in and advocate for the power and will of the people in a democracy.

But Oregonians weren't impressed. Morse was bounced by the box-wine forced-tongue-kisser Bob Packwood. A real courageous leader he turned out to be. With that, we were on our way to Goldschmidt.

Thanks for sharing that.

Packwood was pro-choice. I remember being dragged off to a cocktail party for him sponsored by Oregon NARAL. Single issue politics leaves us with blinders on. And we're inconsistent in who we vote for.

Mark Hatfield was anti-war. But I would question much of his ethics, as well as his anti-choice stand.

Nobody's perfect, but sometimes people step to the plate to do the right thing. I think we have every right to feel proud of Wayne Morse's standing up to LBJ. Just as we have every right to feel ashamed of Goldschmidt's horrific moral failings.

"But Oregonians weren't impressed."

Wayne Morse's days were numbered when he became comfortable being the center of the universe. Edith Greene could have knocked him off in that years primary.

Just obtained his biography, and that of Tom McCall and I look forward to reading them both. Wish we could bring the man back.

Wayne "the Pain" Morse was my political exemplar when I became of age. I worked on more than one campaign for him and was disgusted when the people of the state turned him out for "new blood". In my memory, Packwood used his youth as the critical element in placing himself forward as the replacement for Morse. But then, Wayne Morse would not have lived to complete another term, anyway.

Would that we had anyone in the legislative branch with the fortitude and intelligence of Wayne Morse. The "imperial presidency" is a major blemish, bordering upon a malignant melanoma, upon our body politic.

A guest on Thom Hartmann's morning show mentioned this video and this blog yesterday morning. Might explain the youtube trouble the site is experiencing.

I worked a bit on that '68 campaign and was a paid staffer on his '72 campaign against Hatfield. In '68, he lost by about 3,000 votes, less than a vote per precinct. He had a bitter primary battle with Bob Duncan that caused some labor folks to sit it out. He spent most of August and September of that year shepherding an education bill through the Senate, which also adjourned late. A whole host of factors conspired to give Packwood the victory, not the least being the overwhelming support of Oregon's newspapers. As bad as they are today, they were virulently Republican in the 1960s.