In conspiracy circles, Lyndon Johnson is a poignant figure. Taking on the presidency after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, which could very well be the most conspiracy-debated event ever, there are plenty of theories about Johnson being involved in some way. He also presided over a time when civil rights were getting ironed out in America and don’t forget the Vietnam War. In this article, we want to look at a very different side of Lyndon Johnson.

Meet Ronald Kessler. An American journalist who authored a book called Inside the White House that was released back in 1996. In the book, he had a few quotations that Lyndon Johnson supposedly made aboard Air Force One that raised quite a few eyebrows. Now, first of all, let’s remember that we have only Kessler’s word to go on. No one has ever corroborated these quotations, so there is always the chance that they were simply made up, embellished, or taken grossly out of context. However, historians generally agree that the comments seem to be right in character for Johnson, and no one has really protested or questioned the authenticity of the comments.

“I’ll have those niggers voting Democratic for the next 200 years.” —Lyndon B. Johnson to two governors on Air Force One -

“These Negroes, they’re getting pretty uppity these days and that’s a problem for us since they’ve got something now they never had before, the political pull to back up their uppityness. Now we’ve got to do something about this, we’ve got to give them a little something, just enough to quiet them down, not enough to make a difference.”—LBJ

Of course, today we live in different times. If these words were uttered today, the outrage would be unreal. This was a different time when some of the words used in these comments were used much more frequently. It is the stance of Common Sense Conspiracy that the term “nigger” should never be used for any reason in our current society. There are always those people that try to argue that it doesn’t mean that or doesn’t mean this, but the reality is if you use this extremely flagrant word, even in jest or talking about something other than African Americans, you have to realize the negative connotation that goes with it. Regardless of the intent it is used with, the bottom line is there isn’t a whole lot of good reasons to be saying “nigger” in our society. The worst scenario is you are making a racist statement; the best scenario is you are making a joke in very bad taste.



Having said that, we move on. If Johnson did speak these words in the privacy of his mansion in the sky, what does it mean? Enter the long-standing conspiracy of the Democrat Plantation. The concept is simple. The Democratic party is known for representing the lower classes, but how does it represent them? Ask any Republican and they will mumble something about the welfare nation. Ask any Democrat about Republicans and they will tell you that they only care about the rich. But does either party really care about the poor (or the middle class for that matter)? Lyndon Johnson’s comments are kind of eerie against the backdrop of America decades later. The term “Democrat Plantation” was no doubt coined by some Republican somewhere. It suggests that the Democratic party seeks to “enslave” the lower classes by providing government programs that make them increasingly dependent on the government. They then are indebted to the party that gives, and therefore vote for them to make sure that they don’t lose the little bit that they have. That’s what Johnson was talking about. ”Enough to quiet them down, not enough to make a difference.” He would have African Americans voting for the Democratic party for 200 years if they offered the “helping hand” that they “needed.” Is it just a little frightening that it seems that he was right on target thus far?


Herman Cain said he would not “live on the Democratic Plantation” during his briefly successful run at the Republican nomination in 2012.

We are not suggesting that African Americans or any American vote Republican or Democratic. Every person in our great nation has the right to vote, and therefore has the right to make up their minds for themselves. Is it true? Is there a Democrat Plantation? At the time these now infamous words were possibly uttered, the African American population faced greater challenges than their white counterparts. While this certainly still exists in some capacity, in 2012, African Americans have lots of opportunities that their ancestors didn’t. The affirmative action laws have helped level the playing field in the realm of employment. Civil rights will always be an issue until true equality is achieved, which is probably something that can never happen in our world. More likely, it would only shift with the other demographic getting the shorter end of the stick. Such is the plight of a society of human beings.

Common Sense Conspiracy is not a Republican nor a Democratic site. In fact, we have spent what would amount to reams of pages talking about our distaste with the two-party system and our sincere belief that both parties are part of a single unit with a single agenda when everything is said and done. So, for us, the concept of the Democratic Plantation is not about political parties, despite the name. It is about the system of government and what their true mission is. The “enslavement” that is suggested by the Democratic Plantation no longer applies to African Americans, but Americans. If you are not part of the rich elite, you are at risk for being part of the plantation. It’s no longer about color of skin, racism, or bigotry. It’s about a New World Order, a state of control and the concept that patriotism is no longer a feeling of pride for your country, but a feeling of loyalty to a government that provides for you.

If Johnson were alive today, and he decided unwisely to use the same terminology, then wouldn’t all of us that rely on the government be “niggers?”

White people, black people. Latinos. Just another day on the Democratic Plantation.

Is it time for us to get a little “uppity?”

People need a helping hand sometimes. But they must make sure that hand is helping them up and not holding them down.

We apologize for the N word and hope that our readers will know that we use it only to illustrate our point.

If their website is talking about a democratic plantation the site is GOP

Foodstamps! Foodstamps for all! They make everything better!

The GOP owned House just recently passed a farm bill full of free stuff for wealthy corporations but stripped out food stamps for the truly needy. Poor kids mostly.

Fuck you.

Even though I have a lot more in common with people on foodstamps than I ever will with the top 1%, I will blindly defend my Wall Street friends with my last breath if need be! I know they would do the same for me.

The LBJ quote is attributed to a book, "Inside the White House," by Ronald Kessler. From what wikipedia says about him (and for what wikipedia is worth) he seems like a well respected journalist with a fair number of mainstream credentials. The reviews of the book are generally positive and indicate it was equally tough on both GOP and Democrat presidents.

This would seem to indicate that the LBJ story referenced by the so-called GOP website is as likely as not accurate.

Meet Ronald Kessler. An American journalist who authored a book called Inside the White House that was released back in 1996. In the book, he had a few quotations that Lyndon Johnson supposedly made aboard Air Force One that raised quite a few eyebrows. Now, first of all, let’s remember that we have only Kessler’s word to go on. No one has ever corroborated these quotations, so there is always the chance that they were simply made up, embellished, or taken grossly out of context. However, historians generally agree that the comments seem to be right in character for Johnson, and no one has really protested or questioned the authenticity of the comments.

On July 6, 2008, during an interview with Fox News, a microphone picked up Jackson whispering to fellow guest Dr. Reed Tuckson:[62] "See, Barack's been, ahh, talking down to black people on this faith-based... I want to cut his nuts off."[63] Jackson was expressing his disappointment in Obama's Father's Day speech chastisement of black fathers.[64] Subsequent to his Fox News interview, Jackson apologized and reiterated his support for Obama.[63]

The LBJ quote is attributed to a book, "Inside the White House," by Ronald Kessler. From what wikipedia says about him (and for what wikipedia is worth) he seems like a well respected journalist with a fair number of mainstream credentials. The reviews of the book are generally positive and indicate it was equally tough on both GOP and Democrat presidents.

This would seem to indicate that the LBJ story referenced by the so-called GOP website is as likely as not accurate.

Sure they would, Pariah. Sure they would.

Glad we can be so sure about a quote from LBJ that we can't even identify which two governors he supposedly said it to. Sounds an awful lot like kings suddenly making this one feller heir during a private, death bed meeting.

I doubt I have much in common with people who're cool with living on government handouts.

Which quote are you referencing? I've never heard the first quote before but the latter quote that I have was sourced from a former aide.

The quote where he is dropping the N-word like a boss. Can't tell me when he said, who he said it to, or who relayed it; but can say there is a pretty good shot at him saying it because it sure sounds like something he would say.

But, hey, who am I to judge "rigorous" standards such as those?

Iggy makes an excellent point and I am sure that our fair minded libertarian friend will apply the same rigor to every other news story and/or book that gets mentioned here. I would assume, for example, that any news story that mentions anonymous sources or isn't completely vetted by the government and confirmed on the record will be considered false by him from here on out.

Except you are living on government handouts. Unless you honestly believe you are doing this country a service by pretending to be a soldier.

How's the special ops application working out?

The quote where he is dropping the N-word like a boss. Can't tell me when he said, who he said it to, or who relayed it; but can say there is a pretty good shot at him saying it because it sure sounds like something he would say.

But, hey, who am I to judge "rigorous" standards such as those?

Haha!

Irony. Knife. Cut.

Or am I thinking of hypocrisy....I'm not sure which anymore.

You have a both a capacity and a storied history for profiling according to background.

From the article in my opening post:




I previously had no idea one way or the other what Ron Kessler's journalistic reputation was, prior to you saying the above, G-man.

But I find it very telling that as incendiary as the LBJ quotes were, no one challenged their authenticity, and those who knew LBJ found these quotes "right in character for Johnson".

Iggy makes an excellent point and I am sure that our fair minded libertarian friend will apply the same rigor to every other news story and/or book that gets mentioned here. I would assume, for example, that any news story that mentions anonymous sources or isn't completely vetted by the government and confirmed on the record will be considered false by him from here on out.

With all the fake quotes attributed to presidents out there, do you really want to hang your hat on this one, G?

That's some solid Pariah-logic right there. "We've called you out on it before so you can't call us out on it when we do it now." That's fucking classic, numbnuts.

That's some solid Pariah-logic right there. "We've called you out on it before so you can't call us out on it when we do it now." That's fucking classic, numbnuts.

I've got him on the ropes. Notice he didn't even give me his usual double-talk. He's just swinging away blindly now!

... he seems like a well respected journalist with a fair number of mainstream credentials.
...

I'm sure WB and G-man would agree with you about FOX. As well as Karl Rove and other partisans who are not interested in fair or balanced. Newsmax of course doesn't even attempt to pretend to be either btw.

I see we're all still down in the rabbit hole.

Is this thread about policy or yet another thread about FOX?

Some conservative douche from Newsmax supplying a gossipy unsourced tabloid styled quote was never going to be about policy. This was about taking a cheap swipe at LBJ.

This quote appears on page 155 of Goodwin’s LBJ biography. The utterance was made to Richard Russell, a fellow Democratic Senator from Georgia.

The source of the “200 years” quote is Ronald Kessler’s 1995 book Inside the White House. Kessler got the quote from Robert MacMillan, an Air Force One steward who said LBJ uttered this comment to two governors during a conversation on the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

It wouldn't surprise me if he used language to a racist southerner but it was to get civil rights passed. He used the n word but what he accomplished for civil rights and the country was amazing. Black people were actually allowed to vote and when pieces of shit like Trump tried to keep black people out of his properties the government took them to court.

These Negroes, they're getting pretty uppity these days and that's a problem for us since they've got something now they never had before, the political pull to back up their uppityness. Now we've got to do something about this, we've got to give them a little something, just enough to quiet them down, not enough to make a difference.

These Negroes, they're getting pretty uppity these days and that's a problem for us since they've got something now they never had before, the political pull to back up their uppityness. Now we've got to do something about this, we've got to give them a little something, just enough to quiet them down, not enough to make a difference.

Lol, you say this on a thread where you do what you accuse me of.

Sorry the guy [D'Souza] has no credibility.

Beyond his proven fraud that he got partisanly pardoned for...

... he [D'Souza] does stuff like claims this country didn't do horrible things to Indians in one book to than declare horrible things were done to Indians by democrats in another book.

It's playing partisan games with history.

I get why you like it...

...but like I said before it's as honest as just saying Washington owned slaves and leaving out everything he accomplished. LBJ actually accomplished something with civil rights. Remember this was a time where separate but equal was the law. Unthinkable now but back than the south fought and hated the federal government forcing basic equality on them. And not just the South, as I mentioned Trump fought the government in the 70's because he wanted to keep black people out of certain properties.

It's not just that so maany journalists are so different from mainstream America. It's that some are downright hostile to what many Americans hold sacred.

Note democracy isn't listed. A journalist writing a negative story that is true about Trump isn't an enemy of our country WB. Trump generates a lot of negative press because he lies a lot amongst other things. Tyrants hate a free press they can't control.

Former President Barack Obama is right when he says his administration’s attacks on the press can't be compared to President Trump's current crusade against the news media.


The Obama White House was far worse for press freedoms.

The former president spoke Friday afternoon at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, urging students to get involved in the November midterm elections. He dedicated a good deal of his address to drawing contrasts between his administration and the administration of President Trump. It was the regular sort of material from Obama. There was a lot about optimism, hope, change, etc.

The real whopper of a lie didn’t come until later in his address when he criticized Trump for routinely attacking the press.
“It shouldn’t be Democratic or Republican to say that we don’t threaten the freedom of the press because they say things or publish stories we don’t like,” the former president said. “I complained plenty about Fox News, but you never heard me threaten to shut them down or call them enemies of the people.”

This is some grade-A, primo historical revisionism.

When it comes to being anti-media, Trump only talks a big game. And, boy, does he talk. Obama, on the other hand, is a man of action. As president, he did much more than complain about Fox News. His administration spent eight long years curbing the press freedoms of journalists of every stripe. Obama was a pro at this.
Trump’s war against the press is indeed ugly and often over-the-top. But let that criticism come from someone who’s not guilty of far worse.

In 2009, for example, the Obama White House intentionally excluded Fox News’ Chris Wallace from participating in a round of interviews pertaining to the president’s push for healthcare reform. Later that same year, the administration officials tried to block Fox reporters from interviewing “pay czar” Kenneth Feinberg. The White House initially lied about this, and many in the press went along with it. It wasn’t until 2011 that the public learned the truth of the Feinberg episode. An internal email dated Oct. 22, 2009, showed the White House director of broadcast media told Treasury officials specifically, “We’d prefer if you skip Fox please.”

The bigger point is that Feinberg was not the only administration official to have his network appearances limited by the White House.

The Obama White House communications director, Anita Dunn, said at the time, “We’re going to treat them the way we would treat an opponent. As they are undertaking a war against Barack Obama and the White House, we don’t need to pretend that this is the way that legitimate news organizations behave.”

That language about "legitimate news organizations" and "opponents" is only different from the things Trump says by degree, not by kind.

In 2010, the Obama administration renewed the bogus Bush-era subpoena against the New York Times' James Risen in a prolonged attempt to determine whether the reporter was the recipient of leaked CIA information. In February 2011, federal investigators were revealed to have spied on Risen. Federal investigators pored over Risen's credit reports and his personal bank records. The feds even tracked his phone logs and movements.

Later, in 2012, Fox was mysteriously excluded from a White House conference call pertaining to the terrorist attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Fox was also excluded from an all-network CIA briefing regarding the attacks.

In 2013, the Obama Justice Department labeled then-Fox News reporter James Rosen a “criminal co-conspirator” under the Espionage Act of 1917. And all because the reporter used a State Department contractor as a source for a story. Rosen was also labeled a "flight risk."

The Justice Department seized the records of at least five phone lines connected to Fox News. The federal law enforcement agency even seized the phone records of Rosen’s parents. The FBI also got a warrant to search Rosen's emails from 2010.

In May 2013, the Associated Press revealed that the Justice Department had secretly collected two months' worth of personal and work-related phone calls made by AP reporters and editors.

Federal officials secretly obtained records on incoming and outgoing calls made by specific AP journalists, as well as general news staff, the news group reported, potentially compromising many sources totally unrelated to the investigation. Federal investigators even collected data on calls made by AP reporters in the House of Representatives press gallery.

In 2014, the Obama administration set the record for denying the most Freedom of Information Act requests of any administration. It topped this feat in 2015.

There are only two actions that the Trump administration has taken that can be compared to the Obama-era war on the press. First, the Trump White House barred a CNN reporter in July from a Rose Garden event. Second, the Trump Justice Department seized electronic correspondences between New York Times reporter Ali Watkins and her ex-lover, former Senate Intelligence Committee aide James Wolfe.

Other than the fact that Obama has an extraordinarily ugly legacy of anti-press behavior, he made some great points Friday. He never actually called the news media the “enemy of the people.” He and his lieutenants simply prosecuted and spied on reporters, all while claiming Fox is "an opponent" and not “ really a news station.”

Obama is right to draw a contrast between himself and Trump. One of them has been an actual clear and grave threat to the press, and the other one has an orange tan.

You've tried using Obama past actions regarding Fox as deflection before. As before I point out that I posted my disagreement with him criticizing Fox at the time. Unlike you who fully embraces Trump's self serving attacks on the media at large as enemies of America. After reading about Trump's lies and attempts to obstruct the Mueller investigation, Sarah Sanders "slips of the tongues" and all the great fine people who intentionally lied to Mueller about their Russian contacts I'm honestly glad we have a free press.