Jimmy Carter in Jimmy Who?, by Leslie Wheeler
On Government Reform:
Pushed government-in-sunshine open-meetings laws
As governor, Carter pushed for "government-in-sunshine" legislation. He proposed a law opening many government meetings to the public and to reporters. This was a revision of the state's previous open-meetings law, and some questioned whether the
revisions were actually an improvement. Carter was also largely responsible for the passage of a campaign financial disclosure bill, requiring candidates to make public disclosures of all contributions of $101 or more.
Source: Jimmy Who?, by Leslie Wheeler, p. 81
Jan 1, 1976
On Drugs:
As governor, implemented drug abuse programs
Carter showed himself to be a highly impatient man. He wanted quick action, and when he didn't get it, he often took matters into his own hands. Thus when the State Board of Health delayed in starting the programs in drug abuse and family planning that
he had requested, Carter went ahead and implemented them himself through executive action. He also decided to abolish the State Board of Health. When he couldn't get his way with the legislature, Carter frequently took his case to the people.
Source: Jimmy Who?, by Leslie Wheeler, p. 86
Jan 1, 1976
On Principles & Values:
Oct. 1975: Choice of 1% of voters; others said, "Jimmy Who?"
Although the name Jimmy Carter has recently become a household word, many American citizens are probably unaware that in October 1975--less than 10 months before the
1976 Democratic convention--the Gallup presidential poll indicated that nationwide the former Georgia governor was the choice of only 1% of Democratic voters.
Little wonder then that American voters asked "Jimmy Who?" when queried by pollsters or newsmen about the smiling Georgian.
But within a period of 5 months Jimmy Carter jumped to 2nd place in the Gallup poll, 2 points behind Senator Hubert H. Humphrey (30% to 28%); by mid-May he had forged ahead.
Source: Jimmy Who?, by Leslie Wheeler, p. vii
Jan 1, 1976
On Crime:
Conservative on abortion and death penalty
Carter's strategy was based on two things: first, his determination to avoid the mistakes of past Democratic presidential candidates, notably McGovern; second, his reading of the current national mood.Through his political extremism,
McGovern had alienated important elements within the party and within the electorate at large. Carter had no intention of repeating McGovern's errors; instead he decided to follow a middle-of-the-road path like Kennedy.
This course included slight deviations to the right and the left when it would help him. His economic policies were moderate to conservative, and he was conservative on such things as abortion and the death penalty.
Yet he took liberal stances as far as withdrawing US troops from Korea and decriminalizing marijuana. Taken as a whole, Carter's positions on the issues were designed to appeal to the greatest number of voters possible.
Source: Jimmy Who?, by Leslie Wheeler, p.114
Jan 1, 1976
On Civil Rights:
A dozen blacks in high positions on his campaign staff
Who did like Jimmy Carter? The answer was some--but not all of the Southern liberals and blacks. How a Southerner like Carter could attract the strong support of the blacks as he did was a problem that perplexed many a Northern liberal.
Black support for Carter in the Florida primary could be explained away as an anti-Wallace vote. However, in other primaries Carter polled a large percentage of the black vote--47.6% in Illinois and 41.5% in Massachusetts.
Certain things obviously helped Carter with blacks: his excellent record in the area of race relations while governor; the fact that he had the endorsement of
Congressman Andrew Young and Martin Luther King, Sr.; and also that he had about a dozen blacks, some of them in high positions, on his campaign staff.
Source: Jimmy Who?, by Leslie Wheeler, p.123
Jan 1, 1976
On Principles & Values:
Nothing wrong with ethnic purity in neighborhoods
By March, Carter was riding high. Then came April and the furor over "ethnic purity." The ill-chosen phrase first appeared in an interview published in the New York Daily News. Asked about low-income, scatter-site housing in the suburbs, Carter said, "I
see nothing wrong with ethnic purity being maintained. I would not force a racial integration of a neighborhood by government action. But I would not permit discrimination against a family moving into a neighborhood." There was nothing "wrong" with
Carter's position here, but the phrase ethnic purity seemed to have racist and even Hitlerian connotations.The networks proceeded to grill Carter as to exactly what he meant by "ethnic purity." The flak that resulted looked as if it might have serious
effects on Carter's campaign. The candidate's main black supporter, Andrew Young, called the phrase a "disaster". White Northern liberals who had suspected Carter of being a "scrubbed over" Wallace all along produced a chorus of "I-told-you-so's."
Source: Jimmy Who?, by Leslie Wheeler, p.125
Jan 1, 1976
On Abortion:
Discourage abortion by providing family planning
Carter believes that abortion is wrong and that the government should try to discourage it by providing better sex education, family planning, and adoption procedures.
However, he does not favor a constitutional amendment that would overturn the Supreme Court ruling permitting abortions.
Source: Jimmy Who?, by Leslie Wheeler, p.182
Jan 1, 1976
On Homeland Security:
Punish CIA operatives involved in illegal activities
Carter would not break up the CIA or restrict covert operations, but he would oversee the CIA to assure its involvement only in legal activities. "I will know what is going on, and if there is any wrongdoing,
I will find out about it and I will see to it that those responsible are punished." He does not believe that the CIA should have been used in Angola.
Source: Jimmy Who?, by Leslie Wheeler, p.184
Jan 1, 1976
On Crime:
Retain death penalty for a few specific crimes
Carter feels that the death penalty should be retained for a few specific crimes, such as murder committed by a prisoner who is already serving a life sentence.
The penalty must be imposed by a jury and reviewed in each case by a 3-judge panel of the State Supreme Court.
Source: Jimmy Who?, by Leslie Wheeler, p.185
Jan 1, 1976
On Drugs:
Supports decriminalization of marijuana
Believing that drug laws are a little too rigid,
he supports the decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Source: Jimmy Who?, by Leslie Wheeler, p.185
Jan 1, 1976
On Gun Control:
Register handguns; ban cheap guns; add waiting period
Carter thinks that the best way to reduce crime is to reduce unemployment. He favors registration of handguns, "a ban of the sale of cheap handguns, reasonable licensing provisions, including a waiting period and prohibition
of ownership by anyone convicted of a crime involving a gun and by those not mentally competent." Nevertheless, he has not mentioned any registration for rifles and shotguns.
Source: Jimmy Who?, by Leslie Wheeler, p.185
Jan 1, 1976
On Homeland Security:
Defense is most wasteful agency in federal government
Carter calls the Defense Department the "most wasteful agency in the Federal Government." He would cut its budget by 5%, but would not make cuts where he thought they could damage the country's national security. He opposes expensive weapons like the B-1
bomber, but favors construction of the Trident, the Navy's new nuclear firing submarine. He says that "Our ultimate goal should be the reduction of nuclear weapons, in all nations, to 0," but admits that this probably would not occur during his lifetime.
Source: Jimmy Who?, by Leslie Wheeler, p.185-186
Jan 1, 1976
On Education:
Feds should pay higher percentage of public education
Carter, who feels that the federal government should pay a higher percentage of the cost of public education, gives early priority to the initiation of a comprehensive education program. His program would create a separate Department of Education,
greater vocational and career opportunities, increased federal expenditures to provide for the education of the handicapped, reforms to strengthen colleges and universities in financially troubled times, and more educational opportunities for the elderly
Source: Jimmy Who?, by Leslie Wheeler, p.187-188
Jan 1, 1976
On Health Care:
Nationwide comprehensive mandatory health insurance
Carter says he favors a nationwide, comprehensive mandatory health insurance program. His plan is that such a program would be financed through both the employer and the payroll taxes, as well as general revenue taxes.
Patients would still be free to choose their own physician, but the federal government would set doctor's fees and establish controls to monitor the cost and quality of health care.
Carter's proposal is very similar to the Kennedy-Corman health security bill now before Congress. Interested in promoting preventive medicine,
Carter would also like to have more supportive personnel, as paraprofessionals and nurse practitioners, available to patients.
Source: Jimmy Who?, by Leslie Wheeler, p.190-191
Jan 1, 1976
On Social Security:
Levy Social Security tax on wider range of incomes
Carter feels this system will be sound in the years to come. However, to assure that more money flows in than out, he advocates keeping inflation and unemployment down, as well as levying taxes on incomes ranging from $3,600 to $20-22,000 rather than
$2,760 to $15,300. He feels this salary range is more equitable, for it taxes those better able to afford it. Interested in keeping Social Security purely a retirement system, he advocates its separation from other federal systems.
Source: Jimmy Who?, by Leslie Wheeler, p.192
Jan 1, 1976
On Tax Reform:
Shift the tax burden away from low- and middle-income groups
Carter says that our national tax system is a "disgrace," He advocates tax reform "not to soak the rich but as a program that would soak the people who don't pay their fair share of taxes. I'm a wealthy man myself.
But I want a simple equitable tax system that would shift the tax burden away from low- and middle-income groups."
The simplified more progressive tax rate system Carter envisions would eliminate most deductions (including those on home mortgage payments) and would treat all personal income the same.
It would modify corporate taxes to discourage corporations from moving their operations to other countries. A detailed comprehensive program of tax reform would not be forthcoming until he would be in office for at least a year.
Source: Jimmy Who?, by Leslie Wheeler, p.193
Jan 1, 1976
On Civil Rights:
Supports the Equal Rights Amendment
Carter supports the Equal Rights Amendment. When he was governor, he worked to open more government positions to women. He says, "I am firmly committed to equality between women and men and in promoting a partnership concept in all aspects of life."
As president, he would see to it that "laws prohibiting sex discrimination in employment, advancement, education, training, credit and housing be strictly enforced;" "strong efforts be made to create federal legislation and guidelines
to eliminate sex discrimination in health and disability insurance plans;" "social security laws be revised so that women would no longer be penalized;" "women have equal access to health care
systems and voluntary family planning programs;" "adequate childcare be made available to all parents who need such care for their children."
Source: Jimmy Who?, by Leslie Wheeler, p.195
Jan 1, 1976
Page last updated: Jan 01, 2013