Difference between revisions of "Frank Church"

Frank Church
Former U.S. Senator from Idaho; From: January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1981
Predecessor	Herman Welker
Successor	Steve Symms
Information;
Party	Democrat;
Spouse(s)	Bethine Clark;
Religion	Presbyterian;
Military Service;
Allegiance	United States;
Service/branch	United States Army;
Service Years	1943–1946;
Rank	Second Lieutenant;
Battles/wars	World War II

Revision as of 07:03, July 9, 2021

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Frank Church was four-term United States Senator from Idaho, serving from 1957 to 1981.

Career

Early career and environmentalism

Frank Church was elected to the Senate in 1957. Like George McGovern, he was a liberal politician coming from a conservative state. Originally getting into conflict with then Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Baines Johnson, Church was comforted by Senate Minority Leader William F. Knowland. He was known in the Senate for his environmental causes, as he supported and sponsored multiple pieces of environmental legislation throughout his career, such as a 1964 law that defined wilderness in the United States and a 1968 law that created the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

Church voted for Everett Dirksen's proposed amendment to allow school prayer.^[1]

Church was subject to recall efforts in 1967, but a court ruled them unlawful. He then proceeded to win re-election the next year.

Throughout his career, Church would speak out against gun control.^[2]

Church Committee

Church headed the "Church Committee", the senatorial committee that would become the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is the Deep State's arm in the Senate. There, he uncovered the Lockheed Bribery scandal.

While on the committee, Church learned of the surprising power of the NSA to monitor people and intrude into their lives through surveillance. Speaking of the electronic monitoring power of the NSA, Church said in 1975:

“

That capability at any time could be turned around on the American people, and no American would have any privacy left, such is the capability to monitor everything: telephone conversations, telegrams, it doesn't matter. There would be no place to hide. If a dictator ever took over, the N.S.A. could enable it to impose total tyranny, and there would be no way to fight back.

”

^[3]

Because of his criticism of the Vietnam War (and perhaps the NSA), the NSA monitored him in "Project Minaret", along with Martin Luther King Jr. and Howard Baker. The NSA would later say that "Project Minaret" was "disreputable if not outright illegal."

The Church Committee uncovered several foreign coups, assassinations, and attempted assassinations of foreign leaders, often by rogue elements within the CIA without presidential authorization.

The committee also learned of Operation Mockingbird, the extent of infiltration and control of American media and the press to influence American public opinion and perceptions about CIA activities.

Foreign policy

Church was the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1979 to 1981. He was an opponent of the Vietnam War, though he had been a supporter early on.

Later career

Church sponsored a "conscience clause" that prohibited the government from requiring church-affiliated hospitals to perform abortions.

He ran for president in 1976, but withdrew early from the race in support of Jimmy Carter.

In 1980, as part of the "Reagan Revolution", he lost his Senate seat to conservative Republican Steve Symms.

Criticism

The Church Committee held public hearings where many outrageous and embarrassing horror stories about the CIA were aired to a live television audience. During the Carter administration, the CIA was put on a leash and its budget gutted. Many blame these actions as the cause for the 1979 Soviet-backed Iranian Revolution, the fall of the Shah of Iran, a longtime ally who helped defeat Hitler, the rise of the theocratic Islamic Republic of Iran, the Iranian Hostage Crisis, the defeat of President Carter and 9 incumbent Democrat Senators including Church, and the election of President Reagan.

Death

Church was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after leaving the Senate. He died from it in 1984 at age 59.

References

↑ TO PASS S. J. RES 144, A RESOLUTION PROPOSING A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PERMITTING SCHOOL PRAYERS.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
↑ Anderson, Larrey (February 11, 2010) The Rise and Fall of Frank Church: A Lesson for Conservatives American Thinker. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
↑ https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1060620

[1] TO PASS S. J. RES 144, A RESOLUTION PROPOSING A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PERMITTING SCHOOL PRAYERS.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved July 9, 2021.

[2] Anderson, Larrey (February 11, 2010) The Rise and Fall of Frank Church: A Lesson for Conservatives American Thinker. Retrieved July 9, 2021.

[3] ttps://www.azquotes.com/quote/1060620

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@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 While on the committee, Church learned of the surprising power of the NSA to monitor people and intrude into their lives through surveillance. Speaking of the electronic monitoring power of the NSA, Church said in 1975:
-{{Cquote|That capability at any time could be turned around on the American people, and no American would have any privacy left, such is the capability to monitor everything: telephone conversations, telegrams, it doesn't matter. There would be no place to hide.}}
+{{Cquote|That capability at any time could be turned around on the American people, and no American would have any privacy left, such is the capability to monitor everything: telephone conversations, telegrams, it doesn't matter. There would be no place to hide. If a dictator ever took over, the N.S.A. could enable it to impose total tyranny, and there would be no way to fight back.}}<ref>https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1060620</ref>
 Because of his criticism of the [[Vietnam War]] (and perhaps the NSA), the NSA monitored him in "Project Minaret", along with [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] and [[Howard Baker]]. The NSA would later say that "Project Minaret" was "disreputable if not outright illegal."