I was able to listen to Thom Hartman today through most of the show and caught part of a segment where he replayed some tapes that were recently released (December 2008) from the Lyndon B. Johnson library. The tapes were quite explosive. Thom Hartman played the tapes as a prelude to a discussion of an article written by Robert Parry and posted on AfterDowningStreet titled Democratic Battered Wife Syndrome.
Follow below the fold for more on this very interesting article.
The tapes that were played on Thom Hartman's show today were of conversations between LBJ, Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Defense Secretary Clark Clifford from late 1968. Johnson had discovered that Nixon had effectively sabotaged the Paris Peace talks during the campaign with Hubert Humphrey in 1968.
Nixon, who was getting classified briefings on the talks’ progress, feared that an imminent peace accord might catapult Vice President Hubert Humphrey to victory. So, Nixon’s team sent secret messages to South Vietnamese leaders offering them a better deal if they boycotted Johnson’s talks and helped Nixon to victory, which they agreed to do.
The author Robert Parry writes that this is the beginning of Democratic Battered Wife Syndrome as Johnson decides to not reveal what he knows after Clifford advises him to stay silent for "the good of the country".
The beginning of the article is pretty stark in its assessment of the Democratic Party and its well documented acquiescence when faced with Republican temper tantrums, stonewalling, and general my way or the highway form of politics.
In recent years, the Washington political dynamic has often resembled an abusive marriage, in which the bullying husband (the Republicans) slaps the wife and kids around, and the battered wife (the Democrats) makes excuses and hides the ugly bruises from outsiders to keep the family together.
The history of this becomes more apparent when reviewing the campaign between Carter and Reagan and the Iran Hostage Crisis, the Iran Contra Scandal and the lack of any real consequences showed just how interested the Democratic Party was in standing up to the Republicans.
So, when the Republicans are in a position of power, they throw their weight around, break the rules, and taunt: "Whaddya gonna do ‘bout it?"
During the Clinton years the other side of this sick relationship reveals itself.
Then, when the Republicans do the political equivalent of passing out on the couch, the Democrats use their time in control, tiptoeing around, tidying up the house and cringing at every angry grunt from the snoring figure on the couch.
It is unfortunate that as soon as I heard Thom Hartman outline this syndrome on his show today and then reading the article for myself tonight, I can see just how closely this description fits with what has been played out every single day throughout the campaign and since the inauguration.
The author, Robert Parry has quite a lot of information on the manifestation of this syndrome over the past 40 years along with some very interesting history that has only recently come to light. He does not foresee a change in this pattern anytime soon. However, with the news today of the request for a special prosecutor maybe the times they are a changing.