John F. Kennedy: Liberal or Conservative (or neither?) [View All]

[RooseveltTruman]

Because John F. Kennedy died in office, both liberals and conservatives like to ascribe to him various positions and traits that buttress their own views. He has, in essence, become a bit of a historical Rorschach. In any case, I recently had a big debate with a guy who said Kennedy was "essentially conservative," whereas I was arguing that he was more of a liberal than anything else. This leads me to the question I want to pose to all of you: Do you consider John F. Kennedy to be a liberal or a conservative?

Here are some points illustrating both points of view (summarized from our argument):

Civil rights
Conservative: Kennedy was indifferent to civil rights for most of his public career.
Liberal: By 1963, Kennedy had become more active in support of civil rights. He deployed federal marshalls in 1962 to allow James Meredith to enroll in his first class at the University of Mississippi. Furthermore, after George Wallace infamously blocked the doorway of University of Alabama, John F. Kennedy gave one of his most famous speeches, his civil rights speech, on June 11, 1963. In it, he proposed what would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964.http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/Speeches/JFK/003POF03CivilRights06111963.htm

Foreign Policy
Conservative: Kennedy was a foreign policy hawk for most of his career, running in 1960 on a plank that was very anti-Soviet and very aggressive. He (hesitantly) allowed the Bay of Pigs to go forward, escalated the conflict in Vietnam, and approved a CIA coup in Iraq that saw the imprisonment of intellectuals and the establishment of the Baath regime.
Liberal: By the last year of his life (post-Bay of Pigs), he was moving in a more dovish direction. He negotiated the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and gave a famous speech about world peace at American University on June 10, 1963. http://www1.media.american.edu/speeches/Kennedy.htm He grew wary of Vietnam, authorizing withdrawal of 1,000 troops shortly before his death (LBJ reversed it) According to Robert McNamara, he wanted to end the war. Also, his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis suggested someone more pragmatic than aggressive.

Social Welfare:
Conservative: Focused on retraining as opposed to reviving New Deal programs
Liberal: Championed Health Care for the Aged bill, which he called "Medicare." Spoke of the need for universal health care. Wanted to strengthen and continue Social Security

Housing:
Liberal: Kennedy signed Omnibus Housing Bill 1961, which proposed spending $3.19 billion on a massive government housing program for the working poor. It also called for the creation of the Department of Housing and Urban Urban Affairs.

Taxes:
Conservative: Passed a tax cut that dwarfed even Reagan's later cut
Liberal: This was primarily a demand-side cut, not a supply-side cut.