Keynoter: Retire Kennedy in '64 Taken Seriously by Grassroots

John Vargo had an excellent article in the Fall 2013 issue of the APIC Keynoter about the startings of the various movements of the 1964 election prior to the death of JFK. There are several really nice paper items put out by the RNC and pro-Goldwater forces advocating to retire 'The Kennedys'. The thinking was that if the GOP did a good job in the 1964 elections, JFK and RFK would be out of the White House and 'Teddy' Kennedy would be defeated in the Massachusetts Senate race. Two bumper stickers featuring the famous rocking chair and a RWB item from the Midwestern Regional Leadership Conference that was taking place in St. Louis, Missouri. The conference was taking place November 22-23, 1963. At similar conferences a set of three rocking chairs would be set up near the lobby of the conference for display.

Vargo's article mentions a mailer the RNC started sending out to raise funds for JFK's retirement fund. Upon some further research, it was discovered that some Republicans in the early fall of 1963 took this solicitation request seriously and were not very happy about it. The Toledo Blade covered one such Utah Republicans response to the fundraising request. The RNC wanted individuals to donate $10 dollars to help fund efforts for the party at defeating JFK in the upcoming election. A man in Utah sent back his mailer to the RNC with this response, "I think this is silly. Why can't the Kennedys live on the liberal provisions provided for upon retirement the same as Hoover, Truman and Eisenhower are managing to do? I'm not interested in contributing to any additional retirement fund for them."Sometimes things just go over our heads.

A Time For Greatness

Here is an example of a JFK Oregon campaign poster. 

This poster showed up on ebay a few months ago, and it was the first time I had ever seen this style of poster in an Oregon version. It looks to be printed on heavier cardboard stock and has the Oregon campaign information on the bottom.

JFK 50 Years Later

With the approaching 50th Anniversary since JFK's passing I went through my collection and pulled out all my JFK pins. It isn't much, but when you've been in college and working part time for the better part of the time you've been collecting you don't get much of a chance to get some of the 'good stuff', as JFK items have always been desirable.

From Carl Fisher Collection

Oregon member Grant Schott wrote up a great recap of JFK's visits to Oregon in the lead up to the 1960 Oregon Presidential Primary over at BlueOregon (one of the leading political blogs of the state). 

Veterans Day 2013

With Veterans Day 2013 soon upon us, it seemed appropriate to look at some of the political items used by and to appeal to veterans during our heated political campaigns. 2012 marked an interesting moment in American politics. It was the first time that none of the major candidates were veterans themselves. John McCain was the last veteran to be nominated by a major political party back in 2008.

McCain 2000 Pin

2008 Bumper Sticker

Political Halloween: Alf Landon Cape

I have no idea if it was the intent of the campaign to have this as a Halloween item, but a cape is a staple of our modern super heroes. What republican youngster in 1936 would have passed up the chance to be Super Landon or Super Knox for Halloween? The cape measures 23 x 37", a perfect fit for that super hero in your life. What super powers do you think you get with a cape like this?

Alf Landon of course never became a trendy enough Halloween costume to propel him to the White House. He lost to FDR by a staggering 523-8, carrying only Maine and Vermont. While FDR would go and serve and die in office just after winning his fourth term, Landon would live well into the 1980s. He passed away three days after his 100th Birthday in 1987. Perhaps longevity is a super power?

Political Halloween: Goldwater for Halloween

Here are three versions of one of the Halloween themed political buttons that pretty much ensured a tradition of a Halloween themed buttons for each candidate in every election from 1964 onward. These are actually anti-Goldwater pins issued by supporters of LBJ. APIC member Tom Peeling covers these pins on his Collectors Quest blog.


More Halloween themed items to come!

Political Halloween: McCain for Halloween!

Over the next couple of days we'll profile some Halloween themed political items. This 3" pin from Wisconsin is a take on a classic anti-Goldwater pin. 2008 saw a lot of excitement and there were several different Halloween themed items. More details on this pin can be found at politicalcollectors.com.

If you have a favorite Halloween item, send us a photo!