Oral history transcript, Lawrence F. O'Brien, interview 3 (III), 10/30/1985, by Michael L. Gillette

Title:

Oral history transcript, Lawrence F. O'Brien, interview 3 (III), 10/30/1985, by Michael L. Gillette

Number of Pages:

100

Description:

The John F. Kennedy (JFK) administration's relationship with Carl Vinson and other southern Democrats; funding for an aircraft project and Vinson's argument with a staff member over his decision to support JFK; the knowledge and influence of congressional staffers; Vinson's importance in Congress; John McCormack's relationship with senior southern Democrats; the effect of putting a Lockheed plant in Georgia on Vinson's support for JFK; Richard Russell; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson's (LBJ) role in working with the Senate; Mike Mansfield's personality; an evening at LBJ's home, The Elms with LBJ, Bobby Baker, Jack Brooks, and their wives; Frank Valeo's role as bridge between Majority Leader Mike Mansfield's office and the White House congressional relations office; Mike Mansfield bringing senators to O'Brien for briefings; Bobby Baker's talent for head counts and projected attendance counts; Bob Kerr; Jacqueline Kennedy's interest in congressional relations compared to that of Lady Bird Johnson; the minimum wage bill; JFK using executive orders to achieve what legislation could/did not; the establishment of the Peace Corps; Bill Moyers and Sargent Shriver's lobbying for the Peace Corps; the Area Redevelopment Bill and JFK's commitment to help West Virginia; O'Brien's work with Paul Douglas; temporary unemployment compensation legislation; O'Brien's contact with Harry Byrd and the Senate Finance Committee; the difference between a teller vote and a roll call; aid for dependent children; Medicare legislation; JFK's personal interest in Medicare; the American Medical Association's lobbying effort against Medicare; the Kerr-Mills Act of 1960; a Madison Square Garden event to pressure Congress to support Medicare; Orville Freeman's assistance in the congressional relations staff's understanding of farm legislation; the shift from family farms to corporate agribusiness; the role of patronage in voting on the one-year extension of the emergency feed grains program; the extension of the Mexican farm labor law; fighting for more expansive legislation, which was not likely to pass, versus compromising but increasing the chances of success; JFK's interest in the space program; the separation of the military and the space program; communication between the White House and Jim Webb regarding NASA contracts and facilities; the extension of the Civil Rights Commission; Jim Landis' evaluation of the regulatory agencies' omnibus proposal for change; Federal Communications Commission Chair Newton Minow and the private versus public aspect of broadcast licenses; opposition to the Securities Exchange Commission delegating decision-making power to subordinates; 1961 highway bill and Wilbur Mills' support; billboard regulation; JFK's May 1961 trip to Europe, especially Ireland; LBJ's vice presidential trip to Vietnam, Taiwan, and Indonesia; William F. Buckley's article stating that O'Brien had acted inappropriately while in Latin America with JFK in December 1961; O'Brien's Time cover story in September 1961; O'Brien's relationship with journalist Neil McNeil; concerns over publicity and media attention toward aides and staff members; Kenneth Keating's television show; John Connally's appointment as secretary of the navy; Robert Kennedy's appointment as attorney general; JFK's interest in Edward Kennedy's decision to run for the Senate; Joseph Kennedy's objection to O'Brien's 1958 campaign plan for JFK; JFK's relationship with his father; O'Brien's stay at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts; whether it was JFK's destiny to become president; Robert Weaver's and Sarah Hughes' appointments.

Contributor:

O'Brien, Lawrence F. (Lawrence Francis), 1917-1990

Collection:

LBJ Library Oral Histories

Collection Description:

Go to List of Holdings

Series:

Transcripts of LBJ Library Oral Histories

See Also:

See all online interviews with Lawrence F. O'Brien

Relation:

Go to Interviewee bio page

Rights:

Possibly copyright restricted: see deed at end of transcript for details