If you had a Democratic Hall of Fame, who would you include?

[UrbScotty]

If the Democratic Party had a "Hall of Fame" reserved for the best Democrats in history, and you were on the committee that elected Hall of Famers, who would you have in it?

To qualify, a candidate for the Hall would be have to either be deceased, have left politics at least several years ago, or have been US President for two terms. So, no current pols.

My hall would include, but not be limited to:

FDR
JFK
RFK
Woodrow Wilson
Andrew Jackson
Thomas Jefferson
Bill Clinton
Paul Wellstone
Harry Truman
Daniel P. Moynihan
Mike Mansfield

Future hall of Famers include:

Robert C. Byrd
Hillary Clinton
Ted Kennedy
Al Gore
Jimmy Carter
Bob Graham
The 44th President, if we win next year

[jenk]

1. George Soros

[neuvocat]

39. Yeah no kidding.

Future hall of famer at that.

[HFishbine]

2. Zell Miller

Oh, I'm sorry did you say "fame?"

[beanball]

8. was that fame or shame?

Zell the georgia rotten peach.

[K-W]

3. Andrew Jackson?

eww, he has no place in any hall of fame

Edit: I suppose his role in the formation of the party etc would kinda put him there by default, but I cant say I think he was a good democrat by my standards at all.

[UAWONE]

9. Hero

Hubert Humphrey !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[newyawker99]

43. Hi UAWONE!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[mbali]

4. LBJ, Hubert Humphrey

[Solomon]

5. Adam Clayton Powell

One of the most powerful democrats ever. Got more legislation through than anyone. A master of Robert's Rules of Order and committee chairmanship.

[ScreamingMeemie]

6. Carl Levin D Michigan

and future hall of famer-Jennifer Granholm.

[PassingFair]

7. Can we co-opt...

Thomas Jefferson? Surely it's not too late.

[K-W]

11. Important question

can we use people who existed before or outside of the democratic party, but were great examples of the ideals the party stands for?

65. we ought to--

John Dean wasn't a Democrat was he? He belongs in the hall of fame just the same.

[ScreamingMeemie]

19. I vote yes...

because I can. ;) It's all a state of mind.

[Redbear]

10. Two great Texas women

Ann Richards and Barbara Jordan

[beanball]

12. We need a little color in the hall.

is this a closed club, brothers and sisters keep out?

[beanball]

20. The hall

of all the blood,sweat,tears and downright suffering there must be one or more that are worthy to be included.(yo baby this is a WASP club)It seem to include former KKK members and segs.

[LearnedHand]

13. Barbara Jordan, Andrew Young, Anne Richards...

...and if non-elected folks, MLK, Jesse Jackson, Molly Ivins, and the woman who went to prison under Ken Starr rather than testify for his witchhunt against Mr. Clinton (don't remember her name).

[sybylla]

58. Barbara Jordan was my pick as well

in addition to all those already mentioned. She was a very motivational speaker and a strong force in the party during the 70's and 80's.

[Iverson]

60. hooray for Barbara Jordan!

I heard her speak at one of her last (maybe the last) public appearances in 1989. She was as great in person as on film.

[shance]

66. Jordan was the first person that came to my mind

She was a great lady and leader.

[kyrasdad]

63. Ann Richards... HERE HERE!!!

[Catt03]

69. Yes! Barbara Jordan

and Shirley Chisolm

[nomatrix]

70. Susan McDougal

was jailed during the Whitewater investigation.

In addition to all the political leaders,

The Internet
and
Every site that brings the truth to the people and gives me a place to vent!

Consortium-Robert Parry
Greg Palast
Tom Paine
Bartcop
Helen Thomas
Bev Harris
Joe Conason
Mike Malloy
C-Span
The families of 9/11

[quinnox]

14. Joe Trippi, Howard Dean

sorry, I was playing the role of a Deaniac.

But seriously; Franklin Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy

Future Hall of Famer for being first woman president ever: Hillary Clinton

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Deb]

15. Bella Abzug n/t

[]

[NoPasaran]

16. Tip O'Neil

[LearnedHand]

17. ...and Thurgood Marshall

The famous Supreme.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

18. Senator Alan Cranston and Bella Abzug

Favorite Bella quote:

Our struggle today is not to have a female Einstein get appointed as an assistant professor. It is for a woman schlemiel to get as quickly promoted as a male schlemiel.

[lovedems]

21. Do they have to be elected or can I include

people like Franken, Hightower, Raal, Ivins? They are good dems.

[SaintLouisBlues]

22. Stuart Symington

Four-term Senator from Missouri, most famous for his confrontation
with McCarthy during the hearings.

[tsipple]

23. Adlai Stevenson

It's not too strong to say Adlai saved the world. (So did JFK.) I'm talking about the Cuban Missile Crisis and his masterful diplomacy in the United Nations.

Could you imagine George W. Bush and John Negroponte in the same circumstances? We'd all be dead and irradiated by now.

[tsipple]

24. Future Inductee: Congressman John Lewis

A civil rights hero and a gentleman. Dark horse possibility for Vice President this cycle.

[mitchum]

41. good call! I second Lewis

[maveric]

25. Tip O'Neil

And many of the others mentioned.

[tsipple]

26. Future Inductee: Jesse Jackson

I still get chills when I remember the "I'm qualified" speech at the Democratic National Convention. Not to mention his diplomatic, human rights, civil rights, and voter registration achievements.

[BurtWorm]

71. I would put him in now.

He was the progressive's candidate during the bleak Reagan years.

[robsul82]

28. Well, they say Lincoln would've been a Democrat nowadays...

...toss him in.

Later.

RJS

[tsipple]

29. Future Inductees: James Carville and Paul Begala

Helped give voice to Democratic principles for a decade, and they're still at it.

[KoKo]

30. George McGovern, Eugene McCarthy, Fiorella LaGuardia.

LaGuardia, as an honorary Dem because
"Fiorella LaGuardia, a
Republican mayor of New York, who once said, "There is no Democrat or Republican way to
pick up the garbage in New York."

And, that's a great way of looking at things.

[tsipple]

31. Justice Thurgood Marshall

He's on a very short list for "Greatest U.S. Supreme Court Justices of All Time."

[Doomsayer13]

32. Sam Rayburn (D-TX)

Longest tenure as Speaker of the House from the 1930's to the 1960's (excluding the brief blip of Republican rule in the 40's). Helped FDR pass much of the New Deal legislation and came out for Stevenson even when the conservative southern caucus pulled for Eisenhower. Was very good friends with Truman. When he died in 1961, he had only 15,000 dollars in his savings account, becuase he had resisted all inclinations to take special interest money and dishonor his speakers position.

[tsipple]

33. Democratic Strategist Paul Tulley

I don't know how many people remember (or met) Paul, but I heard him speak in 1990. He's listed on those sicko "Clinton Body Count" web sites because he died unexpectedly in 1992 during the Clinton campaign. He was a gentle yet passionate man, and he taught a generation of politically active Democrats how to campaign and how to communicate. (Unfortunately he didn't teach enough of them. :-))

So if you're looking for a recent unsung hero -- one of the "stage hands" that made other people look and sound good -- he'd be an excellent choice.

[tsipple]

34. Don't Forget the First Ladies

There are so many great ones and even a few exceptional ones that stand out in my mind:

- Eleanor Roosevelt
- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
- Rosalyn Carter (future inductee)
- Dr. Judith Steinberg (future inductee)

[karlschneider]

35. Hooboy. G McGovern, Jesse Jackson, and (bear with me)

Eisenhower, (not a Dem, but for his prescient warning about the "military-industrial complex), for future: Gary Hart, Dan Inoue (sp?)
Scoop Jackson, Max Cleland, Ann Richards.......running out of memory here, like Windows. I'll post this before my brain goes softer..

[Zorra]

36. Woodward and Bernstein

And Dennis Kucinich.

[NoPasaran]

49. Senator Sam Ervin

Chairman of the Watergate Hearings

[Kosmos Mariner]

37. Max Cleland! Future Inductee. nm

:dem:

[tsipple]

38. Future Inductee: Senator John Glenn (and More)

I also think Senator George Mitchell merits consideration as a future inductee.

How about Sam Rayburn? He served as Speaker of the House from 1940 until his death in 1961, except for two brief interludes when the Republicans controlled the House. (At those times he served as Democratic Minority Leader.)

Let's also add Harvey Milk to the list. He was the first openly gay person elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and he was shot eleven months later for that reason. He's a good pick for state and local government, which we certainly shouldn't forget.

Sam Dash is a future inductee for his vital leading role in the Watergate investigation.

[mitchum]

40. LBJ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Great Society wasn't built according to insructions received from a Ouiji board. Give the man some credit.

[Doomsayer13]

42. seconded

Whatever you think of LBJ, whether he was sincere or not or whether he was responsible for Vietnam, he created a domestic record second to none in the history of the United States.

[newyawker99]

44. kick

:kick:

[DeepModem Mom]

45. Sen. J. WIlliam Fulbright of Ark.; Gov. Pat Brown of California n/t

[ElsewheresDaughter]

46. FDR, JFK, RFK, MLK, Wellstone, Al Gore, Byrd, Ted Kennedy, Sanger,

MoveOn.org, DU, Mother Jones, Daniel & Phil Berrigan, Hellen Keller, Abbie Hoffman, Dorothy Day, Woodstock, Soros, Palast, and so so many others

[LeftHander]

47. Fiengold, Kucinich, Wellstone, McGovern

In modern times Paul Wellstone, Russ Fiengold and Dennis Kucinich stand out in my mind as being leaders not only in the stances they take but also in character.

Yes McGovern.

Even though he lost to Nixon America ended regretting that choice. Just as we are now regretting Bush. Certainly America under Gore would be a vastly different place. As would have America under McGovern.

[OldSoldier]

48. Frank Church and Tom Foley

Frank Church was the most powerful senator Idaho ever produced and one of the best senators ever, and he was a Democrat.

Tom Foley took care of his constituents well enough that he only ran in two contested races over his long career--the one that put him in Congress, and the 1994 one where every Republican in America teamed up to put George Nethercutt in his seat. Even the Republicans in eastern Washington liked him.

Aside from that, you'd have to put in every Democratic president, just because that's what's done. And definitely Paul Wellstone.

[Polemonium]

50. Carter, the humble man who worked for all of us (nt)

:toast:

[ACK]

51. Here is the list ... BTW what about Tip O'Neil

FDR
JFK
RFK
Thomas Jefferson
Harry Truman
Tip O'Neil
John Glen
Tom Harkin
Paul Wellstone
Bill Clinton

[DeepModem Mom]

52. This celebration of Democrats feels good...

at a time when Republicans and press say the word "Democrat" with distaste, and would like to make it a word they think people should run from, like "liberal." I'd put our Hall of Famers up against about any Republicans, save Lincoln. Proud to be a Democrat!

[terrya]

53. Adlai Stevenson. Also William Jennings Bryan. n/t

[nannygoat]

54. Waxman, Conyers, Durbin

plus all of the above.

Was Martin Luther King a Democrat?

Proud to be a Democrat!

[Josh]

56. King

became a Democrat at the 1960 election after he was incarcerated and JFK and RFK came out publicly and denounced those who imprisoned him. Nixon believed that King had received unfair treatment but didn't think saying anything would help. King appreciated the support from the Kennedys and went from supporting Nixon (along with his father) to putting his weight behind JFK and the Democrats.

[nannygoat]

62. Thanks, Josh. I figured a DUer would be able to answer my question! n/t

[Ficus]

55. Tom Harkin

TH rocks. Definitley a future hall member.

Gary Hart (forget the monkey business) and

I'd include a famous progressive who was actually a Republican, Robert LaFollate (sp?)

[WoodrowFan]

57. also

James Monroe, Eleanor Roosevelt, Louis Brandeis, Walter Reuther, William Jennings Bryan

[Iverson]

59. Thomas Jefferson, Barbara Jordan, FDR, ...

Eugene McCarthy
George McGovern
Shirley Chislom
Adlai Stevenson
all other Democratic Presidents
Philip Hart
Hubert Humphrey
Julian Bond
Paul Wellstone
Tip O'Neill
George Wallace
RFK
Robert Byrd
Walter Mondale
Carolyn Mosley-Braun
Jesse Jackson
and many, many more.

[jobycom]

61. Senator Ralph W Yarborough, Texas.

The true originator of LBJ's "Great Society" phrase. Only southern Senator to vote for both civil rights bill and the voting rights act of 1965, opposed Viet Nam, defeated HW Bush in 1964 senatorial race, sponsored three national parks in Texas, co-wrote the Endangered Species Act of 1969, was a key element in getting JFK's debates with Nixon to happen, and was almost VP instead of LBJ.

Was a close friend of JFK's, and was two cars behind him in the motorcade.

The greatest person I've ever personally known.

[GBD4]

64. wait a sec

<<Future hall of Famers include:

Robert C. Byrd
Hillary Clinton
Ted Kennedy
Al Gore
Jimmy Carter
Bob Graham
The 44th President, if we win next year>>

aren't "Bob Graham" and "The 44th President" the same thing?!? ;)

still hopeful...

[jobycom]

67. LOL

I'd like it if any one on that list was in contention.

[mndemocrat_29]

68. My List

There are so many:

Hubert H. Humphrey
Eugene McCarthy
Walter F. Mondale
Paul Wellstone
Bruce Vento
Rudy Perpich
Orville Freeman

Future Hall of Famers:
Betty McCollum
Alan Paige

And that's just from Minnesota

[UrbScotty]

72. Oh, and Tip O'Neill.

How could I forget?