If I were a member of Congress

I thought it would be fun to write this little post after hearing so many horror stories about members of Congress.

To start I would on my first day propose a massive cut in member's office expenditures

I would also call on a congressional pay cut of nearly 80,000 dollars per year.

I would work or stay in my congressional office Monday to Friday and would go to ever single vote.

I would decline to attend state of the union addresses and give my place to a member of my staff

I would call on the body to adapt a new series of congressional districts do that they would resemble state senate districts and effectively make the body larger by about two hundred members.

Despite being a member of the Democratic Party, I would keep the option open to caucus noly if it agreed with my ideals

I would call on making it illegal to salvage from the wreck of the Titanic

For the name of the Ronald Reagan Highway in Florida to be changed to the Leroy Collins Highway.

I would propose the creation of  three new Presidential cabinet members, U.S. Department of Culture, U.S. Department of Global Development, and U.S. Department of Community Development

I would announce my intention to serve only one term and would decline any offers of donations or campaign contributions.

reintroduce the   Equal Rights Amendment

Florida Squeeze Author Interview - Robert Buccellato

Heres the link 

http://thefloridasqueeze.com/2016/01/25/interview-robert-buccellato-author-jimmy-carter-in-plains-the-presidential-hometown/

January 25, 2016 · by Kartik Krishnaiyer

Robert Buccellato the author of Florida Governors Lasting Legacies has penned another book this time about President Jimmy Carter and his hometown of Plains, Georgia. The new book Jimmy Carter in Plains: (Images of Modern America) is on sale now for release on February 1. The book is a unique look at the relationship between President Carter and his hometown. Exclusive photographs from Charles Plant in this book weave a motif of Carter and his family in the town of Plains. In a far ranging interview, Kartik Krishnaiyer sat down with the author to discuss Carter’s relationship with both his mother and father, his upbringing in segregationist South Georgia, his naval service and a discussion about how his retail politics honed in Plains helped him win the New Hampshire Primary in 1976 en route to the Presidency. We also discuss at length President Carter’s post White House life, his interactions with other members of the exclusive fraternity of US Presidents.

Brother Billy and Miss Lillian

When asked about his family, Billy without missing a beat let off one of the best quips of the entire election cycle: "My mother went into the Peace Corps when she was sixty-eight. My one sister is a motorcycle freak, my other sister is a Holy Roller evangelist and my brother is running for president. I'm the only sane one in the family."

One morning in 1976 Billy Carter was driving his pickup truck through Plains when he spotted Jimmy walking with Senator John Glenn of Ohio, a possible Vice-Presidential choice who was in town for an interview with the Democratic nominee. As the nominee introduced the Senator to Billy Carter, the younger brother reached into the car seat, chose a can of beer and popped the cap. Jimmy Carter seemed to shudder.

Brother Billy had the now famous main street sign hung originally in 1966. It proclaimed at the time that plains was the “Home of our next governor.” He changed it in 1970 be erasing with paint the word “next.” In 1975 Billy once again hired painters to change the sign so that it read “Home of the Next President.” Of course the morning after the 1976 general election, painters were again called to change the sign.

A new water town erected in the town during the summer of 1976. A group out of Albany was contracted to dismantle the old water tower piece by piece. The town hadn’t used the rusty tower for years. But according to Billy Carter its dismantling was necessary, “There were people climbing up it. One fellow got up to the top and wouldn’t come down.”

With the primary season over the democratic nominee returned home to plains to rest before the customary start of the fall campaign during Labor Day. The press of course followed him wherever he went, to fish fry, the family pond house to fish with his mother, and the train depot.  This was also when the first tourist shuttles and vans began to operate in the town. Before long there seemed to be new and bigger news circulating throughout the town each day. Brother Billy eventually hired an agent and t-shirts reading “Billy Who 1984” were being sold in town.

According to Richard Hyatt author of The Carters of Plains “Miss Lillian held Court at the Depot like the Queen mother.” There was always a constant stream of people wanting to touch her and reach out to her. She finally put up a sign that said “Don’t touch me! Just talk and Keep moving.”
Following Watergate honest was one of the key qualities many Americans claimed they were looking for in a presidential candidate. This lead Jimmy Carter to declare that he would “Never tell a lie or make a miss leading statement.” Miss Lillian told him repeatedly that such promises were impossible to keep. Whenever reporters would question her about the candidate’s plead she would often times make humor out of it. “Jimmy says he'll never tell a lie. Well, I lie all the time. I have to - to balance the family ticket. “

 “Should we believe your son when he tells us he won’t lie to us?” one reporter asked during an in-depth interview with Miss Lillian. “Well,” she said to the reporter, “Jimmy tells White lies.” When the reporter asked Miss Lillian to explain what that meant she replied with relish, “Remember how when I met you at the door I told you I was glad to see you?”

At the age of 66 Miss Lillian went to India as a Peace Corps volunteer. As a registered nurse she spent the next two years working in a clinic outside of Bombay. She worked on the presidential campaign full time and became a notable guest on the talk show circuit of the day. Upon her return home, the Carter children built her this pond house

Miss Lillian strongly disliked the commercialization of the town, and soon gave up her daily journeys to the depot. Billy Carter actually moved away from Plains to a town 19 miles away. The increased interest in Plains meant that it attracted to its doors some of the best and worse kinds of people. Often Billy Carter’s service station was filled with strangers looking to rub elbows with him or in some cases promote strange cases.One crafty idea to help promote the city was to purchase off one square inch of land near the depot to interested buyers. Complete with a signed certificate anyone could purchase for five dollars a piece of plains.

 In the summer of 1976, as the press gathered around Plains to get acquainted with the Democratic nominee and his family, Billy Carter quickly became a national celebrity. "I got a red neck, white socks, and Blue Ribbon beer," Billy would say with a grin.  His service station was always packed with an odd mix of regulars and journalism royalty.

Some felt the tiny town took on the aura of an old Hollywood set on election night. By midday crowds pouring into the town. Candidate Carter appeared at around 5 o’clock to speak on a make shift platform to address the thousands that now gathered around it. Once the Carters left for Atlanta to await their electoral fate the crowds only grew larger.

The final vote that election night was 50.1 percent for Carter and 48 percent for Ford. It took some time for the voters in Mississippi to put Carter over the top, which didn’t take place until 3 am. Carter would receive over 90 percent of the African American vote and most of the rural vote.

The small town was packed with supporters and the bright pink sunlight of the early morning cropped up over the buildings of Main Street and bathed those on the depot platform with a warm sunshine. Jimmy Carter returned home to say thank you.

After climbing up the crowded depot he embraced his mother, brother, and sisters. He was given a copy of the Columbus Enquirer from cousin Betty Pope that read “Carter Wins” and held it up triumphantly to the crowd.

 “In 22 months I haven’t been choked up...But when we drove into town, and saw so many people foolish enough to be out in Plains. All the others running for President didn’t have people helping them who would stay up all night in Plains.”

Amy Carter

Let me tell you a story
There was once a girl named Amy
At the age of seven her parents moved her from the City and the Governor's mansion to the Country. This particular was a self proclaimed City Girl and enjoyed being the First Daughter of the state of Georgia. However in no time at all she found that she rather enjoyed Rural life. Her parents were off running for President or some such thing that she wasn't very interested in, and she was living almost full time with her two grandmas. These woman spent most of their days spoiling Amy and her cousins, and this new slightly independent, mostly indulgent, and totally freeing lifestyle was everything to young Amy. Having a small grouping of Male Cousins as Friends and acres of wildlife for a playground, the once metropolitan Amy became a tomboy.

Once her father started becoming famous, the press began to seek out Plains. They started asking her Uncle Billy and Her grandmother Lillian for interviews. Amy however was early on spared by her grandmother from giving interviews, not because she was trying to shield her grand child, but because in her own words "she smells terrible and refuses to take a bath."

As her father became the Democratic Front Runner Amy became friends with the young Children of the many reporters who were sent to cover plains. Many a columnist or news anchor would find themselves buying Amy and their own daughter a hamburger at a skating ring, while her father was trying to win a far off Primary.

Once her father became his Party's nominee Amy's freedom was largely suspended by the inclusion of a Secret Service Agent that had to follow her everywhere. That and all the miles of trees she use to climb, and the main street she use to race through with her bike was now congested with people, strangers, some nice, some strange, all of them getting in her way.

This was when the Carter brain and it's talent for Entrepreneurship started to take hold and Amy decided to go into business for herself. Now she did what any young girl her age would do in this situation she opened up a lemonade stand. Journalist Richard hyatt once described her as "Lemonade and Freckles." The budding business owner and her friend john served sandwiches and lemonade to the people who flocked to Woodland Drive to take a peak at the Carter Residence. With members of the National press being her best customers.

Now it didn't take long for Amy to learn the golden rule of road side economics "supply and demand" and the price for a cup of lemonade was soon raised from a dime to a quarter. Some Reporters actually used this minor raise in a satirical article.  When one reporter jokingly teased the Candidate about his daughter's price gouging, Carter without missing a beat replied with a smile that reporters should pay double. They had expense accounts.
Its stories like this that make American History interesting and its this kind of story that makes Plains so interesting. It was a moment in time when the historic met the ordinary. When America Came home. When a retiree like Lillian Carter got into a mud fight after a fish fry with a member of journalistic royalty like Sam Donaldson. When people who wrote articles to a national audience across the wide expanse of the 1970s news media, would soon find themselves sharing a beer with a mud covered daily laborer at Billy's service station.

The Plains Train Depot

There is a historical pull to this place and it’s become manifested in the tiny green and white painted train depot at the center of town. For myself, this humble structure has always held such romantic attachment. This was where Jimmy Carter pulled it off.  Where he, along with his neighbors and family staged the most improvable and captivating Presidential campaign in history, forever changing the political landscape of the nation and how we pick our presidential nominees.

Once you enter the depot, long devoid of frequent activity, a single video can be heard echoing throughout the building. It is a video that Charles Plant put together on the 1976 election. The images are old and the voices heard are those that use to fill the television screens in countless homes decades earlier. The nightly news anchors of the past; Cronkite, Harry Reasoner, and John Chancellor, can be heard.  The desired effect is easily achieved, transporting visitors back to a time when this depot was packed with locals and campaign workers and primary nights would turn into local vigils and tailgate festivals, as several TVs were installed to witness the results of so many past contests, when their favorite son was trying to achieve the impossible. 

. Two rocking chairs, used frequently by America’s First Mother, Lillian Carter, can still be seen.  Today, a sign proudly and humorously recounts the fact that “Behind this closed door” is the reason why the depot was selected as the campaign headquarters. It was the location of the only available public bathroom in town. Today the bathroom is closed and visitors are prevented from entering this historic lavatory. 

As the election of Jimmy Carter became a real possibility, both the candidate and his hometown started becoming big business. Carter’s wide smile began showing up everywhere in town and souvenir makers had a field day turning the town into a household name nationwide. Some, like the N.G. Slater campaign buttons were of high quality, while others were simply made by an endless series of small entrepreneurs looking for an easy buck. Eventually, the massive level of outside guests began to die down. After the Carter Presidency entered the history books, the town and its famous son both shared in parallel struggles to acclimate themselves to life outside the national spotlight. Plains and Carter both took it upon themselves to help preserve the best elements of the 1976 election and its aftermath for posterity. It was not an easy task for them both. But, President Carter threw himself into the task of turning key structures of his hometown into a national park. With the aid of the residents and outside support, the former president succeeded beyond his wildest hopes. 

The town’s train depot was constructed in 1888 and was, for a time, the only building with a public bathroom. This was the primary reason for its selection as the hometown headquarters for the Carter Presidential campaign. It was the site of numerous hometown primary parties and was where candidate Carter would hold interviews whenever in town.  As the 1970s dawned, Plains remained largely unchanged. But, following his announcement for president, the entire landscape of the community began to change. The primary night parties would begin at the depot and quickly took on a church potluck atmosphere. There were said to have been rows of flatbed trucks everywhere and tiny campers. 

This commemorative T-shirt, owned by Plains resident and Peanut Brigadier Ida English. This shirt and other souvenirs were proudly displayed by Jimmy Carter’s supporters to celebrate his victory in the 1976 presidential election. This style of shirt was worn by Peanut Brigadiers on the night of Jimmy Carter's Presidential election. It was the idea of Maxime Reese to have these t shirts made and it wasn't until Jimmy Carter won late in the early morning that those on the platform reveled the t shirts. Miss Lillian raised her tired self from her rocking chair on the Platform to reveal her shirt and suddenly fell down. Laughing she soon recovered and the crowd went wild.

The Town in a short period of time had gone from a sleepy community of 600 people into the capital of American political life. While the nation's major cities were spending millions each year to attract new residences to their communities. The town of Plains was getting up to 10 thousand tourists a day and hadn't spend a dime. But, of-course all of that was soon to change.

The inside of the train depot museum during the 1980s. Following 1979 the crowds in Plains began to die down and once Carter lost re-election the community began to turn sleepy once again. There was till tourists, but never like the glory days. Before the National Park Service became actively involved in preserving the town, the depot served as the town’s visitor center. Today it has interactive exhibits and detailed accounts of the 1976 election. But, when this picture was taken, the citizens of Plains relied almost solely on their own personal memorabilia to fill the museum. 

The Jimmy Carter National Historic site and preservation district was established by an Act of Congress in 1987. The historic site consists of the railroad depot, shown here in the early 1980s, that had fallen into disrepair, the boyhood home, that needed to be purchased, and the Carter compound. The preservation district consists of the historic district and 650 acres of agricultural lands.  

The Depot Museum was designed to retain all the humble charms of its 1970's structure and to also host a grouping of anecdotes from the 1976 election.  In the beginning the town could only depend on the relics they themselves still had in their homes and in shops on Main Street. But, then Carter Presidential Collectors began to make very generous donations to the site and the place became one of the most appealing parts of the historic district. 

Book Blurb by Chris DeRose

I am deeply honored to receive this Book Blurb by the New York Times Bestselling author of "The President's war" and "Congressman Lincoln" Chris DeRose

Let me just go on record and say that he is one of the rising giants of mine generation, in terms of Non Fiction Authors, and it is a great joy to present this to you all


"I loved this book.  Many presidents are associated with a place.  Without understanding the place, you can't understand the president.  Few presidents are tied to a place like Jimmy Carter is to Plains.  Thanks to this excellent book, with its rare and fascinating photographs, we can now understand the small town that raised a president, and thus gain a greater understanding of the man."

Chris DeRose, New York Times bestselling author of "The Presidents' War."  

Jimmy Carter A Great President

This is an excerpt of the speech I shall deliver next month at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library

It is no longer enough to simply describe him as a Great or Excellent EX or Former President. This is an example of Professorial ignorance and a long used republican talking point. The simple fact is Jimmy Carter is the greatest former President in our nation's history, period. But, he is also an underrated and excellent President. He was not a failed president as many have claimed. And its time the Democratic Party defends him. His only major failing while in office was an honorable attempt to avoid bloodshed.
He has the best average of legislative achievement of any modern president except Johnson and the Camp David Peace accords still stands as the only lasting example of a Peace treaty in the Middle East. He cut our consumption of Foreign Oil in half and actually took the nation on the path towards a balanced budget by the mid 1980s. None of his Cabinet members were arrested or investigated (Reagan's cabinet couldn't claim the same.) He was the only modern Presidency to limit nuclear weapon production and trim our sale of Arms to foreign nations.

His promotion of Human Rights not only undermined the Soviet's support in many satellite nations, it also invigorated our own support in South America. At the start of his term, nearly every nation in South America was being governed by a military dictatorship. By the time he left office nearly the entire continent was electing democratic leaders.

Now not to look like a total Carter Fanboy, I will add that he had and has some severe failings. But to his credit he is the only modern US President that not only admits to them, he actually enjoys evaluating them. The final section of his book White House Diaries (itself a brilliant literary achievement) Carter talks very openly about his failing while in the office. He admits  to being a micro manager and that he hated being the leader of the Democratic Party. He admits to having poor relations to congress and concludes that his efforts to pass legislation resulted in any modification or compromise to appear as a presidential defeat.

In 2002 of course the former President won the Nobel Peace Prize, two of the three small bronze medals he received reside here by his Grammy Award , just down the corner. While he is considered the nation's greatest former president, a title and reputation he doesn't mind, those four turbulent years still seem to resonate with Americans. Reagan doesn't connect with Millennials the way Carter does partly because of his post presidency, but mainly because his record remains evergreen. His humility and innovative agenda while in office speak for themselves and his humanitarian efforts out of office continue to make him relevant.