So, my blog and my Facebook page have come to the attention of the staff of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.
Perhaps now there will be some movement in opening up to the public the recordings and notes of the meeting LBJ and his staff held with George McGovern and Sargent Shriver at the Johnson Ranch at which time LBJ endorsed the McGovern-Shriver ticket.
Now, more than ever, we need to have this discussion made available to the public.
LBJ was a "New Deal" politician who bought into the imperialist politics of "pragmatism" only to find that the Vietnam War halted his attempt to create the "Great Society."
Johnson shamefully bought into the politics of "anti-Communism" late into his political career even though he never really had his heart in it because he understood Communist were leaders and activists in labor and civil rights struggles and he found out very quickly Communists opposed his dirty war in Vietnam. But, even during the war Johnson never severed his ties with Communists which his political handlers hated to no ends.
At the end of his life, Johnson was returning to his liberal New Deal roots and the LBJ Library and Museum seeks to cover this up under the guise that this aspect of Johnson's later life after the presidency is not really of interest to the LBJ Library and Museum.
Also, the LBJ Library holds the archives of liberal populist Congressman Wright Patman and is trying to hide Patman's drafting and introduction of the "Full Employment Act of 1945" which would have made the president and Congress responsible for attaining and maintaining full employment at real living wages.
In fact, very little is available at the LBJ Library and Museum regarding LBJ's activities and allies during the period of the "New Deal."
And even less information is being made available regarding the progressive populist politics of LBJ's father from whom LBJ learned his politics.
I am glad my pushing and prodding while doing research has forced the LBJ Library and Museum to release a number of documents and materials not previously made available to researchers and the public.
It is a disgrace university professors, journalists and researchers are not joining the effort to get access to the Johnson-McGovern meeting so the American people more fully understand how squandering resources and wealth on militarism and wars robs us of a better life while creating so much misery, death and destruction in other countries.
It is time, long over-due, to find out how Johnson and McGovern discussed this issue which led to Johnson endorsing McGovern.
This is a big part of the anti-imperialist education the American people require in order to stop these dirty wars.
Quite frankly, I think the content of this discussion between LBJ and McGovern will show that LBJ would never have supported these other wars for oil in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Sudan--- nor would he have supported this jingoism and national chauvinism putting us on the path to war with North Korea which will quickly expand to World War III.
George McGovern in his book is on record as being adamantly opposed to these wars for oil and there is no doubt he would have been among the first to forcefully oppose Trump's belligerence towards North Korea.
George McGovern died vindicated in his quest for peace.
Those in power are trying to prevent LBJ's vindication after leaving the presidency. And in doing so deny the American people a powerful weapon in the fight for peace although LBJ's endorsement of McGovern should be such a vindication.
We do know that LBJ's friend and selection as Attorney General, Ramsey Clark, has long ago vindicated himself, too.
And even Robert McNamara in his dying days admitted the Vietnam war was wrong. It is interesting to note that the LBJ Library and Museum places a major focus on a meeting between Johnson and his top Administration discussing waging the Vietnam War under the same old oak tree on the Johnson Ranch where he later endorsed George McGovern.
I have heard through the grapevine, that legendary journalist Walter Cronkite engaged LBJ in conversation about the Vietnam War while interviewing him about racism and civil rights during which time Johnson pooh-poohed his opponents, many of whom were Democrats, who called him a "Communist."
While Johnson never was a Communist, he certainly maintained friendships with many Communists in the labor and civil rights movement.
Just an interesting point: The staff at the LBJ Library and Museum have told me they have never thought of trying to obtain the file J. Edgar Hoover maintained on LBJ during his long political career. I am told I am the first person to ever suggest these files be sought even though everyone has acknowledged such a "file" does exist.
Previously I have made public a vicious anti-Communist letter from a leader of the United Steelworkers Union seeking Johnson's participation in conducting a witch-hunt against Communist labor activist, organizer and leader Clinton Jencks and the Mine-Mill union which Johnson refused to participate in.
There is a whole lot about LBJ powerful people want to keep hidden from the American people.
This is the kind of information that has long been buried by the LBJ Library and Museum:
It would be helpful if the LBJ Library and Museum would make available correspondence between LBJ and Communist Party USA leader Earl Browder during the New Deal era.
