Now let’s compare the wording of the Black Bordered Ad with the resigned General Walker’s six copyrighted speeches. We’ll begin by exploring the opening text. Bernie Weissman had guessed (and only guessed) that his leader, Larrie Schmidt, was the composer of the opening text – but the text is standard John Birch Society sentiment.
The opening phrase, “Welcome Mister Kennedy,” is an insult because it deliberately addresses a US President as “Mister” instead of honoring him with his official US title as “President.”
The Ad accuses JFK with bolstering other US cities with “Federal handouts,” but penalizing Dallas by withholding those “Federal handouts” from Dallas, because Dallas refuses to conform to JFK’s alleged “New Frontier” program.
Yet the Dallas Radical Right was certain that the “New Frontier” was nothing but a United Nations code-word for Communism. It is on this basis that the Black Bordered Ad accused JFK of “largely ignoring” the US Constitution.
Finally, the Ad pretends to ask JFK twelve honest questions, but it really only places the word, “WHY” in front of twelve obviously insulting accusations, as follows:
1. Latin America was allegedly becoming Communist despite increased US foreign aid, State Department policy, and JFK’s own “Ivy-Tower” pronouncements.
The term, “Ivy-Tower” was a play on words – a mash of “Ivy League” and “Ivory Tower.” Walker’s six copyrighted speeches had accused Harvard, an “Ivy League” University, of supplying Washington DC with endless Communists like JFK. It also meant that Harvard professors, so disconnected from reality, live in an “Ivory Tower.”
Walker incorrectly believed that Latin America was turning Communist. Cuba had turned Communist and Che Guevara did his best outside Cuba, yet no other Latin American nations were turning Communist. JFK’s foreign aid policy to Latin America was really working.
2. JFK envisioned a “wall of freedom” around Cuba when there was no freedom in Cuba – instead, thousands of Cubans were imprisoned, starving, persecuted, murdered, or awaiting execution – and all seven million Cubans lived in slavery.
Walker’s six copyrighted speeches featured the evil of Communist Cuba as a central and crucial theme.
Walker failed to see that a “wall of freedom” around Cuba did not imply that Cuba was free, rather, that “wall of freedom” was the phalanx of all the other Latin America nations surrounding Cuba, refusing to consider Communism as an option.
3. JFK approved the sale of wheat and corn to Communist nations knowing that it could feed Communist soldiers who were currently fighting American soldiers in Vietnam.
Walker’s six copyrighted speeches described JFK’s trade policy as an extension of President Truman’s policy in the Korean War, namely, a concession to the allegedly “Communist” United Nations to which the US would allegedly sacrifice its own nationalism.
Walker failed to see that making Red nations dependent upon US food could weaken their resolve and solidarity. Also, if Red nations only bought food from other Red nations – that would strengthen those Red ties.
Walker failed to see that JFK’s policies were working in US interests.
4. JFK hosted and entertained Tito – an alleged Trojan Horse – shortly after Khrushchev had lauded Tito as a great hero of Communism.
Walker’s six copyrighted speeches often accused JFK of courting Communist Yugoslavia.
Walker failed to see that by dividing Tito away from Soviet Russia, JFK could weaken Communist unity.
5. JFK gave greater aid, comfort, recognition, and understanding to Communist nations like Yugoslavia, Poland and Hungary, while turning his back on the pleas of Hungarian, East German, Cuban and other Anticommunist freedom fighters.
Walker’s six copyrighted speeches often accused FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, and JFK of supporting Communists and penalizing Anticommunists.
Walker failed to see that by dividing Yugoslavia, Poland, Hungary, and other Communist countries away from Soviet Russia, that JFK would weaken Russia.
Hungary and East Germany were already under Soviet domination when FDR died, and Cuba fell because of the monstrous behavior of Batista. Yet JFK had other plans to neutralize Fidel – and had no plans of sharing those plans with an Ex-General who had quit the US Army for publicity.
6. Cambodia kicked the US out of its borders after JFK had poured nearly $400 million in aid into its Communist government.
Walker’s six copyrighted speeches claimed that Communists took US foreign aid only in order to bolster Communism – and the US foolishly gave it. Or else that the US deliberately funded Communism at the expense of US interests.
Walker failed to see that JFK had attempted – against all odds – to persuade Cambodia to join the free world.
7. Gus Hall, head of the US Communist Party praised almost every JFK policy. Hall announced that the CPUSA would endorse JFK’s re-election in 1964.
Walker’s six copyrighted speeches accused JFK of supporting the US branch of the Communist Party and sought their votes in US elections.
Walker failed to mention that Gus Hall’s voting alternative would have been Barry Goldwater’s nuclear threat against Russia.
Bernie Weissman objected to this “question,” but was overruled by Joe Grinnan.
8. JFK had banned showing the Anticommunist HUAC film Operation Abolition at US military bases.
Walker cited this film several times in his six copyrighted speeches. It was also part of his Pro-Blue program in Germany, and a repeating theme in his Senate Subcommittee testimony in April 1962.
Walker neglected to mention that the FBI – and the Senate itself – had admitted flaws in the content of this film. It had a one-sided bias and its weakness in persuading reasonable people was an embarrassment. The US was better off without it, even according to the FBI.
9. JFK permitted his brother “Bobby,” the Attorney General, to go soft on Communists, fellow-travelers, and ultra-leftists in America, while permitting him to persecute loyal Americans who criticize the Kennedy administration, and leadership.
Walker sarcastically insulted the US Attorney General by using his familiar name, “Bobby,” while accusing him of treason.
Walker’s copyrighted speeches even made a direct correlation between Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl Castro in Cuban politics, with JFK and his brother RFK in US politics.
Walker often accused JFK of keeping secrets with RFK to protect Communists and persecute Anticommunists like the John Birch Society and Walker himself, while actually JFK and RFK closely followed US Supreme Court guidelines in their policies toward Communists.
10. JFK continued to give economic aid to Argentina, said this Ad, although Argentina had just seized $400 million of American property.
This Ad implied that Argentina had seized $400 million in American property sometime in the early 1960s. Actually, Argentina was friendly to the US in the early 1960s, and supported the US boycott of Cuba and the US police actions in the Dominican Republic.
In any case, this Ad basically portrayed JFK as basically handing $400 million to Communists in Argentina.
This corresponds to the paranoia in Walker’s speeches that Mexico would become the next Communist nation in the Western Hemisphere. In other words, his rank ignorance about Latin America was matched only by his rank indifference.
11. US Foreign Policy had degenerated to the point that the CIA arranged coups and bloodily exterminated staunch Anticommunists Allies.
Walker often named the CIA as a Communist asset. Walker also insinuated this before the Senate Subcommittee in April 1962. John Birch Society writer, Revilo P. Oliver, the final WC witness, openly claimed this before the WC.
The Ad refers to the assassination of South Vietnamese Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem, only 20 days before the Black Bordered Ad appeared. Walker accused the CIA of arranging the Vietnam coup that assassinated Diem.
By the way, when Citizen Walker held his “US Day” rally in Dallas on October 23, 1963 (the day before Adlai Stevenson would appear on “UN Day” at the same auditorium) Walker invited Diem’s sister-in-law, Madam Nhu, onstage to receive a flower bouquet. This showed that Walker was close to Diem.
Walker could not imagine that Diem could be assassinated without direct help and even direction by the CIA. Thus, this bizarre accusation.
Bernie Weissman actually praised the coup against Diem because Diem had banned Buddhism in Vietnam – a traditionally Buddhist nation. Diem was out of control, making things worse inside Vietnam and within International opinion. Bernie objected to this “question,” but he was overruled by Joe Grinnan on behalf of the Ad sponsors.
12. JFK scrapped the Monroe Doctrine in favor of the “Spirit of Moscow.”
Walker’s six copyrighted speeches often cited the Monroe Doctrine to justify an invasion of Cuba to depose Fidel Castro.
Walker failed to recognize the fragility of the Cold War nuclear standoff between the US and the USSR.
For Walker, invading Cuba and dropping nuclear bombs on the USSR, China and North Korea would solve all problems. The reason that Truman, Eisenhower and JFK refused to do so was a puzzle to Walker and to all Birchers. They concluded, therefore, that these US Presidents were all Communist traitors themselves.
Although Bernie Weissman claimed to have penned this question all by himself, its similarity to John Birch Society language, and to Walker’s copyrighted speeches in particular, weaken Bernie’s claim.
Notice the Black Bordered Ad’s ending phrase, “We demand answers to these questions, and we demand them now!” This insolence toward JFK doubled down on their claim that these so-called questions were truly questions.
These accusations against JFK were common in the writings of Citizen Walker. What complicates my claim is that they were also common in the writings of Robert Welch, Ezra Taft Benson, Kent Courtney, H.L. Hunt, Dan Smoot, Robert DePugh, Guy Banister, Medford Evans, Billy James Hargis, Nelson Bunker Hunt, Fred Koch, Revilo P. Oliver, John Rousselot, Larrie Schmidt and every other writing member of the John Birch Society.
The fact that gives my claim extra weight is that Citizen Walker was the undisputed Radical Right authority in Dallas. He was famous not only for being a writer and a speaker (like all these others), but Walker was also famous for being a decorated US General with 30 years of experience including combat in World War Two and Korea, and an advisory role in Taiwan.
The Minutemen in particular, who were the armed cadre of the US Radical Right nationwide, looked up to the resigned General Walker, especially in Dallas, as to an esteemed war hero, alone capable of leading the US back to the glory days of 1945.
No less an authority than FBI agent James Hosty would recognize the resigned General Walker in that precise capacity.
Regards,
--Paul