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1948 presidential campaign. Once again however, the
GOP failed to capitalize on their continued efforts to
advance Civil Rights – a costly sleeping blunder.

The final “flub” was another sleeping blunder. This
mistake unfolded during the most critical juncture of the
1950s-60s as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a movement
that brought the evils of Jim Crowe to a hard-fought and
just end. President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1952-1960)

and GOP leaders spoke up and acted forcibly to defend
Civil Rights. They sent federal troops to Arkansas and
other states to enforce desegregation across southern
states that were controlled by Jim Crowe Democrats. In
addition, Republican congressmen were key drivers for
passing critical Civil Rights legislation. They voted
virtually unanimously to pass every major Civil Rights Bill
of the 1950s-60s. Yet, they failed to reestablish
themselves as a Citadel protector of Civil Rights.

Hindsight reveals that President Eisenhower should have
spoken louder and acted even more forcibly. This was
the time when Rosa Parks was leading boycotts of
Montgomery city buses, and hundreds of lunch counters
were sites of “sit-ins” to protest the Jim Crowe

segregation codes that ruled across the south. So, it is
not that President Eisenhower and the GOP failed to
uphold justice, they sleepily flubbed their calls to action.

In contrast, John F. Kennedy (1960-1963) who had won a
very close election used his exceptional persuasive skills
to become a voice for moral clarity. In addition, he and

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