Well, when
another Vietnam POW who went on to serve as a senator died, we didn’t exactly
have the Capitol Rotunda affair that we had for “No Name”.
Six years before “No
Name’s” election to the Senate, Alabama voters sent retired Rear Adm. Jeremiah
Denton to Washington’s upper chamber.
Denton was in detention
longer and had a more distinguished military career before his imprisonment in
Vietnam after his A6A Intruder was shot down.
“After their release in
1973, Denton and “no Name” continued naval service. Denton was promoted to rear
admiral and served as commandant of the Armed Services Staff College before
retiring in 1977. “No Name” overcame catastrophic injuries and torture to
return to the air pilot’s seat. In 1977, the Navy assigned him to Capitol Hill
as its liaison (de facto lobbyist) to the Senate.”
“In civilian life,
Denton found a place as one of the first Catholic intellectuals to make common
cause with the populist, largely Evangelical Protestant ‘religious right’
of Jerry Falwell’s Moral
Majority and Pat Robertson’s movement. He moved to his native Mobile, where he
turned down suggestions to run for the Senate in 1978 for the seat won that
year by Democrat Howell Heflin.
“Two years later, Denton
decided to run for the Senate as a Republican. Despite a huge disadvantage in
fundraising, he stunned the GOP establishment by winning the primary against
its anointed favorite, a former Democratic congressman who had switched parties
after leaving office and as the conservative state gravitated towards the
Republican column.”
“The national mainstream
media welcomed Sen. Denton to the capital with the same sort of respect and
affection they always have shown to other Alabama social-issues conservatives
such as Roy Moore or Jeff Sessions.”
Denton lost in 1986, the
same year that “No Name” was elected to the Senate. The difference between
Denton and “No Name” was their level of self-aggrandizement.
“Senators normally have
very big egos, and Denton was normal in this sense.” “McCain was an extraordinary egomaniac, even
within a universe of enormous egos.”
Denton died in 2014 at
the age of 89.
“He was buried with full
military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. His funeral did not preempt
television coverage of soap-operas, sitcoms, or sporting events. His
pallbearers did not include Warren Beatty, but no one, obscure or famous, was told
not to attend the ceremony.”
And that was the catch,
that “No Name” was anti-Trump. Yes, he may have gotten his party’s nomination
for president, but let’s see how much coverage Michael Dukakis’ death warrants.
“No Name” didn’t like the current president.
Everything else was pretty much irrelevant, including (especially) his POW
status. Just ask Jeremiah Denton’s family.
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