Sublime

In October 1955, Joe asked Tommy Corcoran, a prominent Washington “fixer” and friend of LBJ’s from the New Deal days, to carry a message to Johnson. If Lyndon would declare for the presidency and privately promise to take Jack as his running mate, Joe would arrange financing for the campaign. Because raising enough money would not be easy for any D

Three white men approached Lamar Smith, who during World War II had enlisted in the Army at the age of forty-nine, and who now, having returned from the war to build up a profitable farm, had enlisted in another battle: “He was determined,” an admirer would say, “that his people would have a say in local government.” The three men warned Smith to s

After listening to Brother Bill’s sermon against the amendment to protect homosexuals, Bryant went home and called Ruth Shack. For more than an hour, she begged Shack to withdraw sponsorship. Red leather-bound Bible in hand, Bryant even read Leviticus to her. Shack’s response was to quote the Constitution.29