The long awaited Warren Commission review of the events of President Kennedy’s assassination has finally been released and, as expected, it proves to be controversial.
The Commission’s main finding is that President Kennedy could have survived the assassination attempt if only the Republican congress hadn’t instituted budget cuts to the Secret Service.
- Page 54 of the report cites the head of the Secret Service as saying, “Normally we wouldn’t worry one bit about the President’s safety. However with the divided political climate of America the Republicans had voted for drastic budget cuts to our service. All in the name of so-called fiscal austerity. But we know the real reason they did this. President Kennedy favors civil rights and Republicans hate black people.”
- Page 29 mentions that the Presidential motorcade would have had four agents surrounding the car to “shield him in the event of a threat to his life or if he just wanted some afternoon delight from Jackie in the back seat.” However, because of the budget cuts no agents were available for the President’s car. A minimum amount of agents were assigned and had to ride in a follow up car.
- Page 88 talks about a Secret Service experiment to find the perfect foot gear for their agents. “I don’t have to tell you being on your feet in dress shoes can hurt. And what if, god forbid, an agent was involved in a foot chase with an assassin. “ Using the most advance technology the Secret Service was on the verge of inventing what would be known as “the running shoe”
and deploying them to all agents. But, because of Republican budget cuts the agents that fateful day were wearing shoes. Who knows if Agent Clint Hill, who was riding in the follow up car and famously ran to the limo could have gotten there in time to save the president if he had been wearing sneakers.
- Page 63 mentions cuts to the Secret Service “Gun Free Zone” poster program.
“The idea was to place signs all along the parade route that said ‘Gun Free Zone.’ It was hoped that the moral authority of these signs would deter a potential assassin. But again, because of Republican budget cuts these signs were never deployed. Who knows. If Lee Harvey Oswald had seen one of these signs he might have decided not to shoot the President.”
- And finally page 121 of the report is devoted to the Secret Service’s “Operation Helmet.” “The idea behind this was to use existing helmet technology to protect the President. We had bought helmets from the NFL and tested them on agents. They all survived albeit with nasty concussions. We were going to have President Kennedy wear one in Dallas but Republicans cut funding to buy helmets for field operations.”
The Secret Service is confident that if Kennedy were wearing a helmet he would have survived.
Given the evidence it seems clear that President Kennedy’s life was sacrificed due to partisan politics.
Coming next in the Warren Report: Lee Harvey Oswald. Framed Socialist Martyr.
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“Normally we wouldn’t worry one bit about the President’s safety.”
Fifty years later nothing has changed. Just as Moochie.