A C. T U. A L. L Y

Here’s a bit of political history that amounts to more than peanuts.   It’s the tale of the son of a peanut farmer, an actual peanut farmer, and the ending of a presidency. First up is Ben Barnes (above left), the son of a peanut farmer who paid for his college tuition by selling vacuum cleaners door to door.   Barnes, a Democrat, was elected to the Texas State Legislature at age 21, became Speaker at age 26, and was later elected Lieutenant Governor. He achieved these positions with the help of John Connally (above right), another powerful Texas politician who ran Lyndon Johnson’s unsuccessful presidential campaign and was himself elected Governor of Texas.   Connally and was in the limo the day Kennedy was shot.   He later switched parties but he and Barnes remained close friends for years. Next up is Jimmy Carter (above), an actual peanut farmer and the former one-term President of the United States.   His presidency was plagued by high gas prices but m...

When I saw the news clips of TFG’s CPAC speech last Saturday, the first thing I thought of was Savonarola (above).     Quickie Wiki :   Girolamo Savonarola , (1452 –1498) was an ascetic Italian Dominican friar and preacher active in Renaissance Florence . He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of secular art and culture, and his calls for Christian renewal. He denounced clerical corruption, despotic rule, and the exploitation of the poor. Savonarola and his two acolytes were eventually burned at the stake for heresy, but before Savonarola was ignited, he ignited Florentine crowds with speeches like this one given on December 10, 1494:   I announce this good news to the city, that Florence will be more glorious, richer, more powerful than she has ever been; First, glorious in the sight of God as well as of men: and you, O Florence will be the reformation of all Italy, and from here the renewal will begin and spread everywhere, b...