Questions About Master of the Senate (The Years of Lyndon Johnson, #3)

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LBJ had a separate phone line to his broker which bypassed the White House operator in which he made insider trading stock picks. This is an impeachable offense-why was he never charged??-alexw

Porter Broyles Because it was a different era.

An "impeachable offense" is a vague "high crime and misdemeanor." It really isn't defined, but is generally viewed as b…moreBecause it was a different era.

An "impeachable offense" is a vague "high crime and misdemeanor." It really isn't defined, but is generally viewed as breaking a law.

Insider trading laws did NOT apply to Congress or other elected officials until Obama signed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act in 2012. Thus, at the time of LBJ, it was not a illegal let alone an impeachable offense.

As for LBJ, he was a master of what he did. Much of it, by modern standards or reasonable standards was unethical, immoral, and illegal---but he knew how to work the system and got away with it.(less)

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Did you ever expect reading about the selection of Senate committee seats could be so thrilling?

Jonas Hughes Only Caro could write such a mundane procedure and have you on the edge of your seat. Everything he wrote in this trilogy would not be possible in the…moreOnly Caro could write such a mundane procedure and have you on the edge of your seat. Everything he wrote in this trilogy would not be possible in the wrong hands, and thankfully Robert Caro took it upon himself to write an unflinching book that gave us a full picture of LBJ. Today's cancel culture would decry his leadership, but our lives wouldn't be as they are today without him. Holding the past under present scrutiny is ridiculous and childish. I know his flaws that don't mean I can not admire his abilities. LBJ is one of my favorite modern politicians, top five, and I make no excuses for it. People get to be who they want, and during his time, he was one of the greatest.

He & MLK Jr. did what no one thought possible, that should always overshadow Vietnam. We can't continue to shred our past leaders for not acting by today's standards. It's like being upset Edison didn't put color on the kinescope in his first patent. I call this cancel culture surreality because even Dali couldn't have foreseen such madness.(less)

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