What did Lyndon Johnson tell us when he used the “Peace Little Girl - Daisy” campaign ad in 1964? This ad depicted a young girl learning to count as she plucked petals from a daisy. A male voice overlaps the childs voice and we hear the count down 10 - 9 - 8- 7..., then an atomic cloud is shown. Johnson’s voice is heard next, telling us “These are the stakes: To make a world in which all of God's children can live, or to go into the darkness. We must either love each other, or we must die. “ I wonder if LBJ would use an ad like this today. Would we hear him say “I approve this message” following the announcers last statement?
Some folks thought the ad meant Goldwater might use atomic weapons. After a victorious landslide election favoring Johnson the results were intrepreted as an indication of the public’s scorn for Goldwater’s conservative views.
I guess what Johnson correctly foresaw was the arrogant, Constitution haters who have taken over our Congress. conservatives, whose governing procedures can be described as for members only. The other side of the conservative aisle may as well be the other side of the world for the Democrats.
Under conservative leadership, there is no bi-partisan negotiation on bills. Democrats are often excluded from conference committees. Democrat amendments are rejected without debate by conservative chairmen. Our Congress is broken, and conservatives aren’t interested in fixing it. That is up to us.
When you vote,
Vote against exclusion
Vote against silence
Vote against arrogance,
Vote FOR humble self-respect.
Vote FOR the Constitution of the United States of America.
Vote to make a world in which all of God’s children can live and prosper.
View the ad
Recommended reading: The Broken Branch by Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein Review by publisher
