Friday, December 08, 2006

Jeane J. Kirkpatrick

This morning came an announcement that yesterday Jeane J. Kirkpatrick passed away at her home in Maryland. She was 80.

Ms. Kirkpatrick, originally a Democrat and later a Republican, was appointed at the first woman to be the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. She was appointed by President Ronald Reagan. She was yet another "first" woman in a powerful position appointed by a Republican president, despite the bashing of Republicans as not supportive of women.

Yeah.

Ms. Kirkpatrick was a woman with a brilliant mind and a stiff backbone. When ridiculed during a speech, she would continue on and her words were heard. She did not suffer fools lightly.

She served at the U.N. from 1981 to 1985. She was a member of the president's cabinet and the National Security Council.

Ms. Kirkpatrick, a member of the American Enterprise Institute since 1978, was remembered by the organization including the following statement: "The United States has lost a great patriot and champion of freedom."

Rest In Peace.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

She was really something wasn't she, really experiencing and exploring many angles of political thought. She once in a college young people's socialist league. Imagine, From that to the administration of Ronaldus Magnus!

I love this quote from her

"It wasn't easy to find the YPSL in Columbia, Missouri. But I had read about it and I wanted to be one. We had a very limited number of activities in Columbia, Missouri. We had an anti-Franco rally, which was a worthy cause. You could raise a question about how relevant it was likely to be in Columbia, Missouri, but it was in any case a worthy cause. We also planned a socialist picnic, which we spent quite a lot of time organizing. Eventually, I regret to say, the YPSL chapter, after much discussion, many debates and some downright quarrels, broke up over the socialist picnic. I thought that was rather discouraging."

Jennifer said...

I always admired her brass. She was top notch, for certain.

Anonymous said...

Presidential.
Our Maggie Thatcher. When everyone was tip-toeing around, you could count on her to speak plainly. She was a treat.

srp said...

Yes, may she rest in peace. Her legacy is set... well done.
Now if only we could find another representative as strong as she was... oh, yes we had one in Mr. Bolton....