By Governor Gavin Newsom following the deadly wildfires in the northern California towns of Paradise and reading in 20 teen this new California vegetation treatment program will expedite approval of thinning prescribed burning and other wild lands projects in and around $35.00 particularly vulnerable communities the money comes from a $1000000000.00 aid package approved by the governor this is the latest ambitious wildfire mitigation program to be launched by a state in the West state lands officials have grumbled that their federal counterparts are falling behind them due to federal budget cuts in the u.s. Forest Service Kirk Siegler n.p.r. News has 2020 begins the race for the Iowa caucuses remains tight N.P.R.'s Daniel Kurtz Laban reports or might Senator Bernie Sanders celebrated New Year's Eve at a party with his supporters in downtown Des Moines with your how it's what it's what it will go to at the feet of those 30 drivers president is not bothered history although there are a call he's one in a large field of candidates trying to differentiate themselves with just over a month until the Iowa caucuses New Jersey Senator Cory Booker is also in the state and will have a series of events on New Year's Day former Vice President Joe Biden and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar are will be there later in the week if history is any guide there are still plenty of Iowa Democrats up for grabs in $2164.00 in 10 Democratic caucus goers said they decided on a candidate in the final month Danielle Kurtz Lavan n.p.r. News Des Moines It was a banner year on Wall Street the Nasdaq finished the year up 25.3 percent this is n.p.r. . An opposition politician is one presidential elections in going to sell N.P.R.'s either Pearl to reports that a peaceful transfer of power would be historic in this West African nation flanked by security forces the electoral commission announced results. When Morsi stuck on bhalo one with almost 54 percent of the vote the outgoing president he also gave a tearful speech last night urging peace but also reflecting on the historic nature of these elections. For the 1st time since multi-party elections were 1st held 24 years ago he said a president has reached the end of his term without a coup he thanked the military and vowed to write a new page in Guinea-Bissau is democracy Interpol to n.p.r. News Nairobi North Korean leader Kim Jong un is accusing the trumpet ministration of dragging its feet in nuclear negotiations and says his country will soon show a new strategic weapon that announcement though had very few details about what the weapon might be Kim made the statement during a major political conference he also said the North will never denuclearize until the u.s. Discards what he called its hostile policies flash floods covered large portions of Indonesia's capital and nearby towns on New Year's Day at least 9 people were killed and thousands of others were forced to evacuate their homes officials say most of the deaths were due to hypothermia the flooding also caused a temporary shutdown of the city's domestic airport I'm Dale Willman n.p.r. News in Washington support for n.p.r. Comes from n.p.r. Stations other contributors include indeed with its skills tests built for employers who want to see the deeper sense of the person behind the resume learn more and indeed dot com slash n.p.r. And the ne the foundation. Thanks for joining us for this special edition of The Political Junkie Ken Rudin we're about to enter a political situation that Americans have not witnessed since $868.00 a year that will include both a presidential impeachment and a presidential election unlike 868 when Andrew Johnson sat in the White House not because of an electoral victory but because of assassination 2020 we'll have a president under impeachment who will be seeking reelection the a Peterman efforts aimed at Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton occurred if the both President had been reelected and while the Republicans will have been impeached president said he another term to defend Democrats into a 2020 far from united on a candidate to challenge him but for this week let's leave the sniping in the vitriol in the name calling behind Let's instead at least for now honor and celebrate those we lost the Giants in the political world who are no longer with us for better or worse these people help make our lives more interesting and true and in their own way to make the world a better place we're going to spend the next hour remembering them we'll hear their lives highlights and lowlights some in their own voices will also hear from those who knew them and dreamy in this remembrance are askew Rothenberg the longtime political analyst elections guru and to learn psychologist and commentary editor at USA Today Jill and still it's a great having you this week nice to be back can't wait to be here so I have a list in front of me of some who are famous and not so famous and we'll see how many we can cover in this hour. There was a time in 1902 that perhaps the most talked about person in the world was some eccentric billionaire short with big ears and a big Texas 20 who didn't like what the Republicans or the Democrats were or for in Dallas down through the fall and he was found to say not to Democrats not Republicans somewhere out there there's an extraterrestrial has done has to us I guess and have money says I take responsibility somebody somewhere has to take responsibility for they ask now just for the record. I don't have a nice band doctor I don't have any speechwriter Obama shows. I might always charge you say on television if I tell you Julie you know there was a time when when voters were so turned off to President George Bush at his record on the economy and Bill Clinton for his own private behavior that they were willing to take a chance on Ross Perot and that's true he was the precursor of let's put a businessman in charge of a government and I He made everything in very simple terms you know conveyed it to the public who looked under the hood and you know let's let's fix the sub let's get rid of the deficit let's be more responsible and he was just a real character and probably put Clint in the White House well that's a good question is to do you think or do you get I mean do lead the business go along to debate on who Perot hurt more Bush or Clinton you know I can I tend to think that he got support from people who decided they couldn't support or wouldn't support George h.w. Bush and so they might well have supported Clinton but I think there are 2 points that I would make about Perot the 1st of all in an era of television and supposedly t.v. Looks and smoothness a boy and it could be that media consultant in knowing right knowing how to present your argues he had Bill Clinton you have you had George Bush here comes Ross Perot this short guy funny looking guy with a 29 it was just so. Different that made it that much more interesting also in a time when we talk about style he was a person of substance now you could disagree with his substance a robot he wanted to know the numbers and he had charts and he had graphs and it was so strange and the 3rd thing it is one more thing that made him different I think is you look back and compared to the Republican Party now the Republican Party used to be the party of anti deficits and anti debt. And that's what he stressed and now the party of course has given up totally on that and they don't care about that at all whether the Democrats fundamentally care is another question but Perot really was a policy guy about one issue that looking back. 2025 years that issue is kind of faded from the public's mind still Could you imagine if a parolee like figure reign in $26.00 team when there was so much joy and happiness with both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton that I wonder would somebody like a parole who had money who had on the ballot all $50.00 states what he could have done he or she could have done well that he did he was the high water mark for 3rd party candidate but I'm not sure he would have done as well in a situation where people were looking for kind of a calming stable reliable presence as an alternative to what Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are offering but you know I mean I wouldn't I know a lot of people are thinking about it this year you know there are people who wonder why Michael Bloomberg didn't run as an independent but pro was the most successful and he did not succeed so it's not a pass even with $65000000.00 that he spent on his campaign which was a lot you know it's. It's not the past so I don't know what he would have done I agree with. What he get 90 percent of the line away 19 percent of the vote and 0 electoral votes there is just running as an Independent is very difficult and yes there was a moment where I believe he was leading the race in the 3 way ballot but. Then some of his quirkiness had as I recall and there were talk about his daughter's wedding or whether there were directives aspies or whatever so he was a quirky figure in American politics but I think it does point out the difficulty in running as an independent or 3rd party candidate will have the Perot died last summer we had Ron Rapoport professor emeritus of the College of William and Mary who's an expert on Perot and 3rd parties and he was on the Political Junkie I think he shame. The dynamics in ways we really can't tell I think when you got to Election Day I don't think you made a difference at all over the 90 percent of the vote and you know 120000000 voters that's that's not chump change it's not at all but they seem to split pretty evenly you know they were people really it rejected both parties and I think 3rd parties sort of require that the you know reject the major parties and then I go with with the 3rd party or not and I think in 1902 there was a lot of rejection of the major parties and I think offer a very different alternative. Than say John after 80 you know run for all the Ross Perot accomplished and you know the on the ballot in all 50 states and he raised you know he spent a ton of money and he got more votes and and than any 3rd party candidate in history and you know the highest percentage since Teddy Roosevelt but he didn't win he didn't get it was a single electoral vote he didn't get even so obviously he had no chance of getting president so I think when all is said and done for all the that Ross Perot accomplished what does what does it say about a 3rd party candidate who has a reputation who had money who had ballot access and still couldn't get close to winning the result of this is is that people who are potential 3rd party candidates now find themselves running within the parties Bernie Sanders Donald Trump That was Ron Rapoport professor emeritus at the College of William and Mary and an expert on 3rd parties we were talking about Ross Perot the Texas billionaire who ran for president as an independent in 1902 and again in 1906 as a Canadian the Reform Party Perot died on July 9th he was 89 years old. Ross Perot was abysmally eccentric and sometimes odd but at least he was born on earth I'm not sure that was the case with another presidential hopeful Lyndon La Rouche who died February 12th of the age of 96 he ran for president 8 times 1st in 1906 as a member of the u.s. Labor Party and then the Democrats although he had little to do with the Democratic Party and was chosen by its leadership he ran as an extremist sometimes sounding left wing sometimes right wing who often express bizarre conspiracy theories Mondale is not simply a k.g.b. Agent of the ordinary sense because. Mondale is jointly owned by the left wing of the so he's in the national and the growing cartel interests. Story not a giggling here on any given wing on your part when my dad was a k.g.b. Agent you know maybe that's a precursor to today's politics I didn't recognize that until right now. That's a bit like I mean we're talking fans are saying. A little bit of out of touch with reality here in the needs to say that the Queen of England was involved in drugs they were a stunt running drug running out of but Ken the fact of the matter is if you think back there was a time when Democrats were concerned about Lyndon rural Roche Democrats winning Democratic primaries and that and they want to have 4 primaries and suddenly the races and Lyndon Larouche was being talked about in congressional action I don't do a quick pivot to the 2 members of Congress we lost in 2019 Walter Jones was an iconoclast the maverick Republican from eastern North Carolina a conservative who was skeptical of war and who was for broke with his party he died of February 10th of Lou Gehrig's disease at the age of 76 and we also say farewell to a larger Cummings of Maryland Democrat who headed up the House Oversight and Reform Committee still alive to Cummings was became well known in 2018 he sure did and he was kind of the the conscience of America after. Because the conscience of Congress he was a person who talked about building up communities working together getting things done about the past discrimination racism poverty wonderful speaker a Democratic insider without being defined by insider ness he was always seen as someone who was connected to Baltimore and those voters back home and he got quite as well deserved send off and it was kind of one of the sad political days of the year I thought when he passed in the coverage of oh my gosh you know all this now we've lost allies are coming so kind of was a bedrock with somebody who who could talk about a vision that was inclusive rather than an exclusive even though he was a progressive Democrat real I mean focusing on what to do just that he was a progressive Democrat a passionate liberal and yet he had friends on the other side of the aisle Republicans adored him he ought he had some kind of a moral authority that you don't find too often or you don't associate you walking with Congress he talked a lot about calling people to higher ground and his staff said that he would interview them and for a job and at the end he would say what feeds your soul and they would leave in tears you know he just kind of had that effect on people in fact one of the most memorable parts of the oversight that Democrats were attempting in the past few years was saw at the end of a hearing or Cummings was presiding in Michael Cohen the president's former lawyer was testifying and by the end you know he was he was trying to comfort Cullen who had been convicted then was headed to jail and you know he had come on come on in tears that he had a lot of us into Didn't it was very emotional yeah yeah he said you know he basically gave him credit for good intentions like you're crying out for us to get back to normal like you want to make sure our democracy stays intact and he was giving a vote of confidence to a guy who just had ruined his own life especially you know when he was treated as chairman of the. House Oversight Reform his committee had a lot to do with the early days of the trumpet between inquiry but when we talked to Jim Rose about who's a Maryland state senator and a close friend of Cummings who spoke to him back in October he said the congressman's greatness went far beyond impeachment I think the important thing for people to see about allies is not the positions and frankly frankly not impeachment because I remember talking with allies up after Trump selection. And about his role in the house because he was chair he was the ranking Democrat on his oversight committee before he became chair this time and during the Obama administration he would say that he was the leader of President Obama's defense team in the house looking out for President Obama as the Republicans were trying to find dirt on President Obama which is hard to do because there wasn't much but he saw his role as the the lawyer for the defense he was there during Benghazi as well right exactly during all those things yeah exactly it was in his committee and it was his job to lead the effort to defend the president and his administration from the unwarranted attacks from the Republicans anyway so I remember after the election of Trump I said so I guess say you're still a job he said Yeah but I don't think I'm on the defense anymore. And I think that's what I have that's what you see right out is now he's a situation where he's part of the part of the lead of showing what's been going wrong in the in the probably missed ration articulate or what the bigger point to make was that's a fall 'd part of a lies his legacy the big part of Eliza's legacy again Baltimore 1st Maryland 2nd United States 3rd world 4th because he was better known Baltimore that he was a child as for the world is he understood as frankly very few elected officials do . That he got the skills that allies does your major role is public leadership your major role is moral leadership your major role is leadership by example and the best example of that was during the riots in Baltimore in 2015 there was one person in the world who could go out on the streets of Baltimore. And calm people down and say yes there's been a terrible tragedy yes there's terrible injustice Yes I know that I grew up in this neighborhood but we're not going to tear down our neighborhood to make that point this is the Freddie Gray murder correct Yes exactly and people went home. People calm down and that was an extreme case but it was an example of what he did in less extreme situations all the time and I saw him in meetings of elected officials in the House of Delegates where people get mad at each other and he had the ability to say look folks this isn't about us. This is about the people we represent This is about we got to come out of this room with an agreement that's going to help folks so that's called out a little bit and he did that repeatedly and very well whether it was on the streets of Baltimore or in the corridors of Annapolis and I'm sure he did the same thing in the corridors of the Capitol Alija Cummings with a 23 year Democratic member of Congress from Maryland who headed up the House Oversight Reform Committee he died at the age of 68 on October 17th. More of my conversation with Stu Rothenberg and Joe Lawrence is coming up in just a moment stay tuned. On the next fresh air we start the new decade with excerpts of some of our favorite concerts from the last decade with John b. Teased bandleader of The Late Show with Steven Kull bear singer Catherine Russell who specializes in early jazz songs and the Carolina Chocolate Drops with me and Givens playing music in the black string band tradition joining us today at noon. A new special from the Kitchen Sisters are. Stories of this arc this. Roguelike curators collectors and historians keepers of the culture and the clear terms and collections they keep. Frances McDormand trying to keep coming. Join us this afternoon at one. I'm Ken Rudin and this is the 2019 Political Junkie remembrances special together with political analyst Stu Rothenberg and USA Today columnist Joe Lawrence with taking an hour to remember the political giants and headline makers we lost this year. A number of former senators died this year including Florida Democrat Dick stone Mississippi Republican Fed cut going Pennsylvania Democrat Harris Wofford and North Carolina Democrat k. Hagan 3 other former senators Birch by Dick Lugar and Fritz Hollings also sought the presidency they didn't get too close to the White House but they made a big difference in the Senate what strikes me about particularly Berge by Dick Lugar in that car going to they were really old school compromise oriented people who believed in coins Yani in the Senate and you know they weren't rabble rousers Dick Lugar of schools Barack Obama and nuclear proliferation and fact was on the Agriculture Committee and part of compromises on farm bill you know it was. Just a you know emblematic of a different era I echo Jill's thoughts they were all institutional lists and they thought about the body and they thought about compromise they thought about getting things done it's funny I used to give speeches probably over 8 or 10 year period down in the delta of Mississippi and I'd fly down there and there was Thad Cochran this and that Thad Cochran that that that Cochran this that that Cochran you know catfish laboratory a cleaner versity or whatever and when I when I saw that I always reminded myself about kind of what Southern senators used to do and now Republican Southern Republican senators on master of Southern senators in particular it's all about cutting spending and cut you know but back then it was bringing back stuff for the folks back home Dick Lugar was defeated in a primary even though voters start off loving him when he was redefined you remember that was Richard Murdock and with a lot of money from the Club for Growth and outside conservative groups redefining Dick Lugar from from someone who had to kind of work for the for the country and sought compromises to kind of a left wing activist that So what of what of John. In change we've had these people even for you know Fritz Hollings used to say I believe correct me if I'm wrong he's a saint or an election nobody's going to get to the right of Fritz Hollings and an election year but other than that Fritz Hollings was an institutional s. He was not going to have John Eastland or James and James East our John Stennis or people like that oh so when I saw this list can it made me doubly sad that we were hit we went with Congress and we with fat I'm sorry but. This less the people who you know maybe they weren't conservative enough for maybe they were too liberal or whatever but the way they saw their job was totally different than to nice guys which is in particularly the Republican side and it made me sad I missed the more well the libs saith of the quick things about the 3 1st which are Birch by he was elected in 626874 beat Dick Lugar in 74 and they lost to Dan Quayle 980 but he also authored 2 constitutional amendments the 25th regarding presidential succession and if it is for office of the 26 which lowered the voting age to 18 and a somebody who can offer 2 constitutional amendments in a career is pretty remarkable but I think Lugar you were talking about Richard Burr doc he lost the bird like in the 2012 Republican primary in 2006 he ran unopposed nobody opposed him but the Democratic or the Republican side and he gets beaten 6 years later and of course Fritz Hollings it was a character let me just allow me one favorite story about Birch by the last times I saw him I was many years ago I was getting on the Metro in Washington after work and I was making a beeline to an empty seat and which I immediately donors was right next to bird crying so I sit down and we're both looking straight ahead neither of the looking at each other without looking in at all I said Homer capered 1952 we wrote was House 968 Dick Lugar 174 this is the list of the Republicans he defeated and but I was also. Straight ahead not at me and he said thank you for not saying Dan Quayle 1900. Did not think that only in Washington but and the plug or my goodness you know he was he had the misfortune of announcing for president just a few hours after the Oklahoma City bombing so his whole announcement for president got obscured and covered by by the horrific events of that day and after he died in April I had former Senator Sam Nunn on the Political Junkie to talk about Lugar the 2 had worked together closely on nuclear disarmament of course the Soviet Union was coming apart and they had some 30000 nuclear weapons about 10000 of which were pointed as United States they had tons and tons of chemical weapons that had been put in the artillery tubes louver novices or psych with $2000000.00 artillery tubes for nerve gas like had biological materials so we have them power coming apart with whole have a lot more weapons on a larger arsenal weapons and materials and any time in history and so there was nurtured situations that call for bold actions some would say wacky wacky ideas and we had a wacky had there fortunately we got it passed Well it was wacky if you talk to a lot of Republicans because they were steadfast against it and I believe at the time President George Bush was against it as well but but I think that was part of the greatness of Dick Lugar the fact that he was able to work across party lines and convince maybe the better interest in his party that that that sometimes is more important to do things for the world instead of thinking a party only Well that's right and it was unusual in the sense that there was originated in the Congress also most originate in the executive branch or at least that's what people in the executive branch think should happen so Lugo was a. A friend I trusted Bardon and I had a body oil we when agree on everything but we always were totally honest with each other but cards on the shuttle we worked things out so he could not a venerable magnificent bargain in addition that he was a wonderful human being and 2 years ago I had Dick Lugar himself on the program it was the 50th anniversary of his beginning of politics is elected as mayor of Indianapolis in 1967 and I started the interview just reminding him that back then he was widely known as Richard Nixon favorite mayor was a matter of fact I was pleased to have opportunities to visit the White House from some frequency and that's what led they the rotor of Washington Post to say muggers in and out of the White House the Waffen need 30 must be next in spirit Mayor let me just indicate that one reason why I was in and out was that I had been elected president of the National League of Cities and likewise vice chairman of the 3 governmental Advisory Board Nelson Rockefeller as I recall was the governor who was chairman of that at that time and it was a busy time in terms of inner governmental relation to say the least and one great activity at the local state and then the federal levels his national stature led him to the 154 Senate race where he lost the birds by and then election of course was in the middle of Watergate the anti republican fervor that that took that Richard Nixon it turned out that that campaign was one in which I was able to establish a statewide identity which certainly would not have I was well known within 50 miles and then yeah plus at that time but statewide not so so that this meant the campaign against serve as hard he and 76 was much easier and we won really fairly easily at that point I will say that was a landslide election you know I was but the 1st convention I ever attended with the 1980 Republican. Convention in Detroit and I don't know why I was convinced that you're going to be Ronald Reagan's running mate did you think you want a shot did you did you meet with Reagan about the possibility of being his running mate then and did you want the job I did not meet with him but to be truthful I was hopeful I would be selected my i staff was very active at that point and the rumors were rampant and when I came to Detroit why the press came out and chased me all the way through the airport and so forth it was one of those situations in which I remember appearing on one of the morning shows and Mrs Reagan I call was asked whether she had any thoughts about me and and she is that it didn't know me very well and I don't my that's not a good sign but it was still it was an exciting period of time I still have I still have my regular group picture buttons from a convention Bless your heart. But 8 years later when you were all your name was also mention of course you're up for reelection 188 but it was Dan Quayle of Indiana who was picked as running mate in 1908 who was fairly new to the Senate and didn't have your breath a bit depth of experience without a disappointment to you yes I was disappointed as I had heard once again as the rumors. Headed to the convention why everybody on the plane was excited and I remember heading out to various delegations meetings at the instruction of the convention managers and so forth and while I was out of one of these meetings I heard that in fact then Quayle was coming down the Mississippi River and that sort of and it was probably going to meet the president. To be on the shoreline your name right Vice President Bush Yeah well you know something you talk about the bumpy road that that Dan Quayle had when he was 1st picked as George h.w. Bush's running mate 988 let me play something from when you decided to you want to run for president as well this is 1995 your campaign announcement is 1st of the United States I will establish a new foundation for American optimism and strength. Together we will exercise and enjoy the American advantage and that advantage is our unique ability to build a new economic future for ourselves and for our families to assert strong and create American leadership in the world and to reinvigorate our traditional values of religious faith family honesty and integrity Americans want a leader they can trust. You know it goes without saying you were one of the most respected of all the senators your your knowledge and expertise in foreign policy was 2nd to none but as you know and I'm sure as you knew at that time you were giving that speech announcing your candidacy for president not long after the you know the horrific bombings in Oklahoma City that had to take away some of the luster of a campaign announcement didn't it well as attorney did you have 1st of all. Tragedy in Oklahoma City down depressed all together what might have been. At least some coverage. My rally and kind of the city county building and hapless but somebody lost in the process and many a my friends in the press felt sad about that that their stories really didn't know and not been replaced but that's the way it turned out it was just another awesome unfortunate beginning of a campaign our list of the departed also includes former governors Harry Hughes of Maryland Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana Bill Milliken of Michigan and Joel Below is a Virginia Kathleen Blanco was taken down by her response to Hurricane Katrina she never recovered from that yeah governor Samina we think too many of us think of that everything is ideology these days but actually sometimes it involves running the government and. And Kathleen Blanco was criticized for that although she survived if the 1st of the show no she did she didn't run a good Iranian again because of their numbers just toppled as did the mayor of New Orleans as did President Bush who remember look at New Orleans from Air Force One when he was flying over the dole and both sides both Republicans and Democrats suffered for the response to Katrina and Bill Bill again another body members that name he succeeded George Romney in Michigan have to run me join the Nixon cabinet but Bill look it was one of the most beloved governors in Michigan history. As I remember years ago he was the epitome of them moderate Republican the liberal liberal Republican what happen to those people now they became Democrats and they well actually he wound up indorsing Democrats but people like him and and Badreya by a lot of a those kind of Republicans would never win a Republican primary today former House members on the list include Republicans Jack Marsh Paul Finley Well you know Broomfield Jan Myers manual little one and there were also Democrats in the House John Dingell Jim moody John Conyers William Hughes Don Fraser and Ellen Tauscher route the whole of Texas served as a Democrat and a Republican and when he left Congress in 2014 he was at 91 the oldest member of the House in history but I'd like to spend a few minutes on the 2 Johns from Michigan Dingell and Conyers John Dingell was the longest serving member of House history and John Conyers served longer than any African-American in Congress in history I mean they they shared a state and a fair to say 1st name but they were very different figures very different in temperament and everything else but they were both Giants Joe did you have any run ins with John Dingell because if you did you know you still you probably still have the bruises to show for it so I didn't have any run ins with him but I was very I I covered a lot of health care battles and but not knowing can compare with him in terms of health care. I mean he was elected during the I've heard ministration answer perfectly 9 years and I was there for the passage of Medicare and Medicaid and I you know he was 20 hand when the informal Care Act asked you know. Huge swaths of history on social legislation and environmental and it was an amazing career fairs advocate for the auto industry absolutely and jobs in the kind of blue collar Democratic Party which is different that the Democratic Party has become a more somewhat of an easy pro-life or I don't know I but you might be right but I recall I had of speaking events and Michigan Charlie Cook and I had a speaking of and we got there early and and suddenly were checked in and they said oh the other people are out in the under a tent out there go and we go there and there is John Dingell and Debbie Dingell has his wife who is now a member of Congress and John Dingell began to serenade us with story after story of his life story and he treated Debbie just so gently sweetie and it was you know I thought to myself this is that John Dingell the lion who would roar at times and yeah yeah yeah yeah and he just was so sweet with this and you know as as he aged he still tweeted right up right up to the end tweets and they were not they were not softball tweets off and out so he was a he was a great feisty political leader who you know as you mentioned it seems like he served forever amazing but basically when when he was elected 955 he replaced a guy name John Dingell Sr who had died in office he was elected during F.D.R.'s time so there's John Dingell from after your heart to 955 John Dingell Jr and now Debbie Dingell took his seat when he resigned so it's a it's a single it's. A little right and then there was John Conyers drove on a radio station to talk with us about. Tobar about what John Conyers meant to Detroit he was a hero he was someone who has almost always been around 1st elected back in 64 getting to Congress in 1965 he was this legit you would see him in the street and you'd have a small crowd gathering around a few decades ago you saw him on the television network news and you had this little bit of pride because you know this leader is from Detroit and if you're an African-American really just about anywhere in the country you can have this bitter pride going this leader is for me he's looking out for me but you know still there were blunt so unconscious record I mean he ran for mayor twenty's got clobbered he was forced to resign his 2017 following sexual harassment accusations Nancy Pelosi was among those telling him he just got to quit so so you know there was a lot to say with John Conyers but there are plenty of blemishes Well well and you can compare him that I took Cummings they were very different personalities although they were represented the inner city congressional the state he was Conyers was more I think confrontational bombastic self promoting but it was a different time for the minority community and an African-American legislators and he was there very early on and I think. He saw himself in that way as a true fighter and more of an idealogue rather than a lot like a comical as who was as progressive but yet at a different tone he was on the Judiciary Committee during the Nixon impeachment and the Clinton impeachment so that that shows how well John Conyers let Yeah well he 1st came in 1964 right in the high tide of civil rights movement signing you know that's the crystal ball that he was shaped in and and here he was the leader of the campaign to make Martin Luther King's birthday and national holiday with a long long effort from 19681903 I mean you know they were the Congress he took up I don't think that impeachment was the finest hour maybe the Nixon impeachment would have been if he had been consistent with Clinton but he he said this isn't Watergate it's an extramarital affair and I think a lot of Democrats felt that way Michigan lost 2 joints I mean 2 completely different people but John Dingell John Conyers long time members of Congress Democrats from Michigan. The political junkies 21000 remembrance a special will continue after this short break Ken Rudin today in Connecticut history with state historian Walt Woodward is funded by you can Harvard and see the humanities. Today in 1000 know way to listen to the Bentley was born in New Milford dubbed the red spy Queen Bentley became a spy for the Russians during World War 2 but later turned herself into the f.b.i. And 1945 her congressional testimony naming 41 Russian spies in America helped launch the McCarthy era Red Scare that followed. I make a truck or a party coming up on the next On Point New Yorker writer Geo toll in Tino explores modern culture through her experience as a millennial and how social media is shaping identity plus. As the autumn junior played Aaron Burr in Hamilton now he's out with a new album we'll talk with him about his music and his career that's coming up on the next some point from n.p.r. . The listen this morning at 10 I'm Ken Rudin and you're listening to the Political Junkie 2019 remembrance is special and I'm here with campaign analyst Stu Rothenberg and USA Today opinion editor Joe Lawrence. Still in jail I'm looking over my list and I see that not everyone on this list served in office but I think they played a role for better or worse in the political dialogue and let me just rattle of a few here Patrick Adel I thought was an interesting guy he was a political consultant who helped Jimmy Carter get elected in 1976 and then he became a Fox News regular and Donald Trump advisor and they would anybody want to explain that to make that kind of interesting poll crass there was an irreverent satirist a writer and a leader of the counterculture movement of the 1960 s. I think he was one of the founders of the hippie the Yippies I should say Stu you were the member of the league. To Jeffrey Hart was a conservative columnist and Reagan speechwriter who basically the g.o.p. After the invasion of Iraq David Koch was the Koch brothers he was the billionaire conservative and he was also the vice presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party and 180 also on my list Alan Brinkley he was a top presidential historian Edmund Morris was a top President Obama group or Joe Wilson was the former diplomat who battled with the Bush administration over the invasion of Iraq he's the former husband of the outed CIA officer Valerie Plame who is running for Congress in New Mexico. The buttons that by the way pulled mark up with a close friend of Ted Kennedy who was with the center in those moments after the Chappaquiddick tragedy was one of people who don't even speaking Mary Jo Kopechne one of the of the moments in the Kennedy legacy and this is one of my favorite about not that he passed away but John Paul Stevens was President Ford's pick for the Supreme Court who in short order became the most liberal justices in recent history just thinking about John Paul Stevens being put on the court by a Republican president or David Souter you know who was put on by President Bush could you imagine Donald Trump or any future Republican president picking somebody like that to snow. As a Jew. Well it's just out of the question of I mean there are so many litmus tests now and we know so much more about people before they are appointed I mean you know to get off the court and write a book about abolishing the 2nd Amendment the death penalty you know you just cannot even conceive of it to have somebody change their mind about a decision of a voter id decision and say he was wrong it's sad really what what's happened because people are don't seem free to follow the constitution now when they have some surprises I hope next year but you know it's there's a lot of skepticism about that and rightly so because presidents really have these people's numbers before they ever make a list. There are some major losses in the black community too I want to mention in addition to John Conyers and Eliza Cummings there was Carey sex and Perry the 1st African-American woman to be elected mayor of a major New England city She served 3 terms at Hartford kind of Gibson was the 1st elected mayor in Newark New Jersey and 870 he beat Hugh and easy oh that was a big racial battle that I have not forgotten he also ran for governor twice and Richard Hatcher was among the 1st black mayors of any major city when he was elected in Gary Indiana in $167.00 that was the Carl Stokes in Cleveland year a big big year just yesterday Stu yesterday like to say some names associated with Richard Nixon have died one of them was his brother Ed Nixon I have a great fast as Nixon story I'm driving in Bergen County New Jersey and I 72 there's a big mix around one of the towns and it's Ed Nixon who's a master of ceremonies at this rally and he gave me one of the best Nixon buttons in my collection and so I always have on his bread Nixon Ray Price was President Nixon's main speechwriter Fred Baloch was a longtime adviser and o.m.b. Official who will forever be remembered as the guy who Nixon wants to count how many Jews there were in the Bureau of Labor Statistics it's unfortunate that I think Fred mouth was also involved in bringing baseball to you I think you're absolutely right for dent was Nixon secretary of commerce who staunchly defended him during Watergate one of the Ridgewood of the original Watergate burglars James McCord died this year and we can mention Watergate without mentioning we Ruckelshaus Nixon deputy attorney general who quit during the famous Sally Night Massacre rather than fire or you know what a gate special prosecutor Archibald Cox That was a dark day for the republic the only thing about Michael Phelps is that he was one of these people like the live our faction you know and institutionalise too was the 1st head of the Environmental Protection Agency and then later during the Reagan administration. Came back and you know it's he was an environmentalist and he believed in the mission and so you know that's another example of how the party has moved since then but he he's very well respected for his if you want tenure we had Ruckelshaus on the Political Junkie back in 25th team for the 42nd anniversary of the massacre and we repeated the interview earlier this month following his death you can hear it at k. Our political junkie dot com Does either of you recognize the name James Lavelle stooge real James Lavelle I do not know he was and your real picture his face as soon as I mention it he was the Dallas Police Department Detective handcuffed to lead Harvey Oswald when walking through the basement of the doubts police headquarters 2 days after the assassination of President Kennedy when Jack Ruby appeared out of nowhere shot Oswald at the to death and I thought think of the look on the bales face that like a horror that how can this happen we can't end our conversation without talking about the journalists who cover these politicians journalists or to under attack all around the world but especially at home by our own government. Sylvia Chase is one of the 1st women to be a t.v. Network correspondent won many awards Georgie and Geier was a reporter with the Chicago Daily News and a syndicated columnist who interviewed Fidel Castro and Saddam Hussein Tom Raum covered 3 presidents for the a.p. From died only the Big 8 people who worked for him very closely for many years in fact our desks faced each other in a.p. Is very helpful very smart and very fast rate Jenkins played a leading role in reporting on race Robert boy that was a reporter with Knight Ridder he's the guy who broke the story about Thomas Eagleton and electroshock therapy that the rails his vice presidential candidacy in 172 Russell Baker was a long time liberal columnist for The New York Times Wesley prudent rose to become a columnist on the editor in chief of the conservative Washington Times. And there were 2 people with whom I worked with whom I worked and who I adored Sandy van ogre and Cokie Roberts let me just talk a little bit about them and then I want you guys to jump in because Sandy who is in with n.b.c. News was one of the panelists on the 1st Nixon Kennedy debate $160.00 we later worked together at a.b.c. News but he asked Dixon that famous question about Ike about Ike whether he really supports Nixon member with Ike was asked about what the Nixon has accomplished if you David I think it was it was said to be a no go if the question Nixon turns a lot of colors and Cokie Cokie Roberts for better or worse was responsible for me coming to n.p.r. As its 1st political editor and back in 1901 I'd love Cokie Roberts. Well as low as a woman of a certain age and a little younger than she is but not that much and I know how hard it was to get into political journalism it was probably a little is easier for her because she came from a political family in a prominent Washington family but some women in those days it was tough you know it was a very male dominated fields and. She really was a pioneer and she she did it was grace and you know what's a lot of analytical chops and then she would then moved into writing books about the history of women that had been overlooked in American history and the Civil War history so you know she was a great moment all model for a lot of generations I just want to play a phone call that came in on the Political Junkie phone line from Mark carpeting of West Des Moines Iowa who also want to have all 3 thoughts about Cokie Roberts I can while this is not a political passing from this past year personal note for me with Cokie Roberts. Along with Linda Wertheimer Anita Totenberg in the mid to late 1990 s. These 3 women were a profoundly intelligent group in a male dominated profession of news broadcasting and I used to play n.p.r. In the car followed drive my kids to school so they could hear strong women and my daughter could hear strong women in the morning as she went to school talking about issues of importance she was a class act and I miss her type of journalism Jill that was basically echoed exactly what you said would you said I mean I mean he understood the historic and the the important nature of what she brought to the table she really did I mean when you I mean my own experience then in 1992 which wasn't so long ago no woman had had the title of a.p. Political reporter a chief political writer and I was the 1st one and that you know that that to me is what people like Cokie Roberts front brought to this that there were just very if you look at the boys on the bus now it's the girls on the bus on the campaign trail but back then there was hardly anybody and so you know very grateful for her work and others who came before and now you're on the Political Junkie So what is of say about the trajectory. Well all I can say is thank God things changed because I have been a political junkie since I was 10 years old so I don't know what I would have done since well several years ago I had Cokie on the program to talk about her mother congresswoman Lindy Boggs who had just died and I re posted it after copious death so you can find out as well that Kaye our political junkie dot com. As you know I get very melancholy every year when we do this and somehow I feel sadder than usual this time I think as I mourn those giants of the political work who left us I also mourning what's happening to discount tree the up ending of political norms the trashing of institutions on I don't want to break us down completely but I don't know how we're gets better I don't either can I don't I don't know how we get out of this rut that were in it's not just the politics it's the larger culture it's the nature of the media has changed how people communicate how they you know there's all this research about people siloing living in a living with people they agree with and and to autarky only those people and I think we kind of somehow need to get back to. And a broader approach to how we live together and how we. However we overcome those differences I don't see in the near term as they go through a sloppy period here luckily the country has always recovered and always found a way out and I sure it will but for the near term it's going to be so slogging all the way I think I mean I agree with Stuart I think that one of the main things is we have to find the leaders we need a personalities and the people who can do this for us and you know if we're very lucky and I have no idea how this will happen or if it will happen maybe one of the Democratic candidates will emerge and be elected but you know we don't know that and it's hard to tell I will answer 2015 and 26 and I would never make any predictions again because I assured people no last time on radio stations across Canada that that Donald Trump would never get the nomination and then he would never get elected so it is really risky to predict but I I hope that it happens faster that we get back on track faster than what Stuart is predicting and there's no way to tell unfortunately Jill Lawrence of the commentary editor at USA Today and still wrote the Berg is a long time campaign analyst I enjoyed exploring these memories with you both thank you both so much thanks Ken thank you. Thanks for listening to the Political Junkie 21000 remembrance a special Be sure to check out our website for much more political content coming this weekend my annual column with a more thorough list of political figures who passed away this year it's all on our website Ok our political junkie dot com if you've got comments questions or complaints or if you want to share any of your own special remembrance is of the past year send an e-mail to Ken at k our political junkie dot com You can also tweet us at Ken Rudin at Ken Rudin junkie or for all the show on Facebook and you can follow my button of the day on Instagram at the Political Junkie political junkie is distributed by p r x The Public Radio Exchange show was produced by Devin maverick Robins Douglas bellows our coordinating producer and bends County and he is our engineer Ken Rudin thanks for listening. Photos from many Connecticut Public Radio stories can be found on Instagram find us I w n.p.r. News. Seems the Ender's here every week on my show it's been a minute to journalist reflect on the news and culture of the week because when the news is this complicated it really helps to just talk it out catch up with us on it's been a minute from n.p.r. West and Saturday mornings that. This is Connecticut Public Media n.p.r. And. Meriden at $90.00 their peak 80. 1 at 89 point one w d w at Stanford at 88.5. 91.3. Or it's 10 o'clock. Major funding for on point is provided by Geico offering auto insurance coverage for cars trucks or S.U.V.s and providing 247 customer service more information on auto insurance at Geico dot com or 180947 audio. From n.p.r. And Boston I magnetometer Bartie this is on point. No is being called the voice of her generation the 30 year old New Yorker staff writer is currently one of the best writers out there her essays are myriad deeply engaging beautifully rendered in research adding just the right touch of the person on everything from growing up in a Texas megachurch to vaporing to feminism to the isolating collectivism of the Internet Tolentino is out now with her 1st book trick mirror reflections on self-delusion and we'll talk with her about it next in an archive edition of On Point a conversation with Geo Tolentino 1st the news. Live from n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Dale Willman u.s. Forces of fired tear gas to break up demonstrators gathered outside the u.s. Embassy in Iraq today it's the 2nd day of protests there as N.P.R.'s Greg Myre reports the demonstrators were throwing stones and calling for some 5000 u.s. Troops to leave Iraq the demonstrators slept in tents and on mattresses in the streets outside the u.s. Embassy in Baghdad they threw stones at the embassy on Wednesday morning but were met with tear gas from u.s. Security forces at the embassy later their leaders asked them to disperse saying they'd made their point and many were seen leaving the demonstrators support an Iraqi militia that's closely aligned with neighboring Iran on Tuesday They set fires and badly damaged a reception area however they did not breach the main embassy compound which is surrounded by high walls and barbed wire Greg Myre e n.p.r. News Washington the Australian Government is deploying its military in an effort to help communities hard hit by wildfires at least 12 people have died since the fires began a few months ago Michael Sullivan has more at least 10000000 acres have burned since the fires began and the military is now using ships and planes to help bring food fuel and water to communities inaccessible by road due to the fires in the state of New South Wales alone more than 100 fires are still burning and there are some areas firefighters simply can't get to and residents can't get out of Michael Sullivan reporting starting today nearly 7000000 Americans are getting a slight pay raise as N.P.R.'s Scott Horsley reports that's because minimum wages are going up in $22.00 states lawmakers in 9 states voted to boost the minimum wage this year voters or to pay raise for minimum wage workers in $6.00 states and 7 states are hiking their minimums as part of an automatic adjustment for inflation all told some $6800000.00 low wage workers are in line for a pay increase raises range from $0.10 a.