David Hume Kennerly resigned in protest from the Gerald R. Ford Foundation.
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| Kennerly |
“I can’t in good conscience stay on the board of an organization representing Gerald R. Ford that doesn’t manifest his kind of guts. It’s now a place whose leadership is cowed by a demagogue creating and promulgating the greatest crisis our country has faced since the Civil War.
David Kennerly, winner of the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for his photographs of the Vietnam War, and close friend of Gerald and Betty Ford, resigned from the Gerald R. Ford Foundation board. He said the foundation made implausible excuses not to give its annual award to Liz Cheney. The award is given to a person who shows strength of character, sound judgment, and decisiveness "particularly during periods of crisis," and determination "in the face of adversity."
Kennerly said that Liz Cheney "checked all the boxes" and was the obvious choice.
He said the foundation grew "chicken" in the face of Trump's domination of the GOP, and that the foundation feared retribution from Donald Trump if he returns to the White House. Liz Cheney is persona non grata within the GOP for calling out Trump's effort to overthrow the 2020 election.
David Kennerly became internationally famous as a photographer for UPI, Life Magazine, Time Magazine, and as the in-house photographer of Gerald Ford during his presidency. Kennerly was born in Roseburg, Oregon, and his first published photograph was at age 15 in the Roseburg high school newspaper.
I met Kennerly In 2015. He and I attended a small outdoor event for Chris Christie in New Hampshire while Christie competed for the Republican nomination for president. Kennerly took this photo. Somehow both Christie and I, plus Christie's wife Mary Pat, who is standing well behind us, are all in focus.
President Gerald Ford's pardon of Nixon in 1974 was controversial at the time and remains so. Ford knew it would hurt his chances of election in 1976. Ford took the political hit in order to put the "long national nightmare" behind us. The foundation's annual award for courage honors similar acts of sacrificial courage.
Kennerly called that a "fig leaf." Kennerly said the real reason is that the foundation was afraid of Trump. In a letter to the foundation, he said:
A key reason Liz’s nomination was turned down was your agita about what might happen if the former president is reelected. Some of you raised the specter of being attacked by the Internal Revenue Service and losing the foundation’s tax-exempt status as retribution for selecting Liz for the award.
The historical irony was completely lost on you. Gerald Ford became president, in part, because Richard Nixon had ordered the development of an enemies list and demanded his underlings use the IRS against those listed. That’s exactly what the executive committee fears will happen if there’s a second coming of Donald Trump.
Trump has said he would end the independent Civil Service and replace "career" people in the departments, including the IRS, with Trump loyalists. Kennerly said the foundation was ducking for cover, but, in doing so, was enabling and empowering Trump.
Those of you who rejected Liz join many "good Republicans" now aiding and abetting our 45th president by ignoring the genuine menace he presents to our country.
During the Watergate hearings and investigations of President Nixon, there was a body of "good Republicans" who wanted to examine and act upon the facts. "What did the president know, and when did he know it?" was a question both Democrats and Republicans asked. The American constitutional system of checks and balances depends upon people willing to hold their own party members up to the bright light of facts and the law.
Trump brought the GOP to heel, and that accountability is missing now within the GOP. The country is worse because of it.
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12 comments:
There was a time when adhering to one’s oath of office was expected. But Trump has his party waging war on truth and honor, so those who take their oath seriously become Whackos in Name Only.
Believe it or not, some people blame Trump’s rise to power on liberals rather than on those who voted for him. Their logic is convoluted, but goes something like this: If Democrats hadn’t elected a Muslim from Kenya in 2008, then Republicans wouldn’t have had to get back at them in 2016 by electing the biggest blowhard in the Birther Movement. So, the Republican Party being taken over by a racist criminal is all the Democrats fault.
These are people who think the greatest threats we face are globalization and ‘wokery,’ and are more concerned about which bathroom schoolkids use than whether they get shot. They apparently agree with Trump that climate change is a hoax and don't care that Trump and his party are undermining democracy and the rule of law.
It just shows the U.S. electorate isn’t politically polarized. What we have are separate realities, and one of them is totally bonkers. For a clue which one: not knowing the current president is a classic sign of dementia.
"Adhering to ones Oath of Office was expected."
It was accepted as a normal part of Public Life, just the peaceful transfer of power was accepted as "Normal".
And now, the norms have been shattered. I hope I'm wrong in thinking the Republic I grew up in May not survive past this year.
"What did the President know and when did he know It?" was a question asked repeatedly by Howard Baker Jr. (R-Tenn), vice chair of the Senate Watergate Committee. My memory is that only he asked that question during those hearings and, while the question has been paraphrased and reused many times since, that question was his alone during those hearings.
Kudos to David Kennerly for resigning. Liz Cheney was the perfect choice, as he stated. The Republicans who honestly looked for answers during Watergate look today like they were just doing the right thing, but it took bravery then. Some day Ms. Cheney's actions will look normal again and people will forget how brave she's been.
"The Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service recognizes outstanding public contributions by individuals who reflect the qualities demonstrated by President Ford during his public service career: Strength of character, Integrity, Trustworthiness, Fidelity to principles in decision making, Sound judgment, Decisiveness (particularly during periods of crisis), Determination in the face of adversity, Diligence, Self-confidence balanced with respect for the views of others, Self-discipline in personal life."
My vote: George Santos
As usual, Mike Steely misinterprets my positions through the lens of his own preconceptions and prejudices. He could ask me what I think, but then that would require an open mind on his part to understand what I said in response. There has never been any indication from him of that sort of openness.
Trump has risen to power because he appealed to a segment of the population which has been abandoned by cultural liberals and the elite globalist left. If Democrats had continued to take those folks into account and protect their interests, there would have been for far fewer voters for Trump to appeal to and he might not have won in 2016.
Instead, the Democrats seem to be continuing to follow Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” strategy, which lost in 2016 and could easily turn out to be every bit as successful this year. Ruy Teixeira, a prominent Democratic strategist and Trump opponent, has laid all of this out very clearly over the past few years. All it would take is open minds to follow his suggestions.
There's a Gerald Ford award for courage? Is there also a Bill Buckner award for fielding?
Ford showed no courage in fulfilling his part of the quid pro quo that led to his appointment to VP and Nixon's resignation. ZERO.
Ford lost his election because he was part of the problem.
This Ford group is another attempt to rewrite history.
I suggest President Biden give Loz Cheney a Medal of Honor.
Just to clarify, although it should be obvious: My comment referred to positions commonly held by the MAGA cult and made no mention of Michael Trigoboff.
I'm agreeing with Mc. If the Ford Foundation is to cowardly to give Liz Cheney her rightful due, The President should reach across the Aisle and give her The Medal of Freedom. Rush Limbaugh certainly never earned one, melt his down and recast it before draping it Cheney.
I also think Vindman, the guy who blew the whistle leading to TFG's first impeachment, deserves a medal of honor.
No, Mike, you didn’t mention my name. You just quoted directly from my previous message, referring to me as “some people“.
It’s amazing how smart I had to be to see through that.
Yup, it's all about me. But back to the far more fascinating subject at hand, I think the award should go to the Lincoln Project. They were speaking out long before Liz Cheney.
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