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Legislation in an Emergency: Kefauver Tries to Prepare Government for the Atomic Age

Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 12h

The atomic bomb ushered in a frightening new world with unexpected risks. Kefauver tried to fix the Constitution to safeguard Congress in the event of a disaster. Why didn’t it work?

#skystorians #history #polisky #coldwar #constitution

estes-kefauver.com/2025/10/20/l...

The atomic bomb ushered in a frightening new world with unexpected risks. Kefauver tried to fix the Constitution to safeguard Congress in the event of a disaster. Why didn’t it work?

An Ode to Nancy, Kefauver’s Wife and “Secret Weapon”

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Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 2d

By the way, if you missed my article from Nancy on Monday, it's here:
estes-kefauver.com/2025/10/13/a...

Nancy Kefauver was the ideal partner for Estes. She was a loving wife and mother, a brilliant household manager… but also a talented artist, a capable campaigner, and a certified charmer.

Campaign 1954: Keef vs. the “Wild Swinger”

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Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 2d

She always wanted to paint a portrait of her husband, but as she said, "I could never get him to sit still long enough." In 1956, she finally painted him... from photographs.

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Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 2d

For our Nancy Week finale, here's Nancy the artist in action, painting a picture of her daughters.

Nancy got into art as a child, and practiced it throughout her life. In Washington, she and a friend opened an art school, eventually drawing classes over 100.

#skystorians #history #polisky

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Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 3d

Kefauver crushed Rep. Pat Sutton in the primary by a 2-to-1 margin and went on to win re-election easily.

For more on that campaign, read here:
estes-kefauver.com/2024/06/10/c...

Kefauver’s first Senate term made him nationally famous… but controversial at home. To win re-election, he’d have to face a hyper-ambitious young Congressman who just wouldn&#8217…

Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 3d

The couple that eats watermelon together, stays together!

Nancy and Estes Kefauver share a giant slice of melon at a Chattanooga picnic celebrating the end of his Senate re-election primary campaign in 1954.

#skystorians #history #polisky #watermelon

Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 4d

No question about it. She was at least as game as he was for the campaign-trail life, and she wasn't even a candidate!

A Friendly Bet, A Big Game, Lasting Effects: Kefauver and the 1952 Sugar Bowl

Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 4d

Did you know that this game led to the formation of the ACC?

To find out why, read here:
estes-kefauver.com/2024/12/16/a...

When two Senators made a friendly wager on the outcome of this game, they felt they had a lot at stake. As it turns out, the real stakes of the game were about the future of college football.

An Ode to Nancy, Kefauver’s Wife and “Secret Weapon”

Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 4d

Some men get their wives fur coats. Kefauver went another way!

Here's Nancy looking smashing in her coonskin cap, supporting her husband and the Tennessee delegation at the 1952 Sugar Bowl, between Kefauver's Vols and the Maryland Terrapins. (Maryland won 28-13.)

#skystorians #history #polisky

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Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 5d

Smash that bottle, Nancy!

Today's Nancy Week entry is a fun action shot, as she officially launches the USS Andrew Jackson, a Lafayette-class nuclear submarine, on September 15, 1962.

#skystorians #history #polisky #nancy

Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 6d

I'm declaring this Nancy Week! Sharing photos of our favorite (almost) First Lady.

This is a rare color photo of Nancy, signing autographs at a rally in California. It's probably my favorite photo of her... she looks so chic and cool. (And her red hair stands out!)

#skystorians #history #polisky

Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 7d

Nancy Kefauver was the ideal partner for Estes. She was a loving wife and mother, a brilliant household manager… but also a talented artist, a capable campaigner, and a certified charmer.

As soon as America got to meet her, it fell in love.

Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 7d

For all I've written about Estes Kefauver and his career, I have yet to devote an article to his wife Nancy. That oversight ends today. Nancy was delightful!

#skystorians #history #polisky

estes-kefauver.com/2025/10/13/a...

Nancy Kefauver was the ideal partner for Estes. She was a loving wife and mother, a brilliant household manager… but also a talented artist, a capable campaigner, and a certified charmer.

Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 9d

He said that the Stevenson-Sparkman ticket "hasn't got a chance" against Ike and said that the Democrats had better not try to use his son's popularity to "put this ticket over."

Now, that's a loyal dad!

#skystorians #history #polisky

Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 9d

When Dem party bosses denied Estes Kefauver the Presidential nomination at the 1952 convention, he reacted with grace, His dad... did not.

During a press conference in the wake of the nomination, 82-year-old Cooke Kefauver shouted that the Democrats could "take the nomination and to hell with it."

Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 10d

Ripped from the headlines! Oh, wait... it is the headlines!

An ad for a theater showing Kefauver's Senate hearings on organized crime. I love the fact that the "companion feature" is.... an actual movie. But who cares about that when you can watch a Senate hearing?!

#skystorians #history #polisky

Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 11d

This 1956 button is 100% accurate.

Adlai and Estes were indeed best for you. Integrity, maturity, experience, stability… check, check, check, check!

And “right” did indeed prevail… if by “right” you mean the right-of-center party. Ah, well.

#skystorians #history #polisky

A button that reads:

ADLAI AND ESTES
ARE BEST FOR YOU

In the middle is a four-leaf clover with the words Integrity, Maturity, Experience, and Stability written on the leaves.

On the bottom, it says: "RIGHT" WILL PREVAIL

Kefauver’s Crowning Achievement: The Prescription Drug Hearings

Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 12d

The thalidomide tragedy sparked popular outrage, and many of the drug-safety provisions were restored.

For more on that story, read here:
estes-kefauver.com/2024/01/26/k...

Estes Kefauver’s decades-long fight against corporate power culminated in a bill to mandate prescription drug safety and efficacy. It was his signature legislative accomplishment – but …

Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 12d

Another Herblock cartoon, this one from 1962.

Sen. James Eastland of Mississippi was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and he colluded with drug industry executives to try to gut Kefauver's pharmaceutical reform bill.

#skystorians #history #polisky

“Seventeen Days to Victory”: Democrats’ Televised Hollywood Spectacular

Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 13d

BTW, if you missed yesterday’s post on “Seventeen Days to Victory,” here’s your chance to correct that mistake:

estes-kefauver.com/2025/10/06/s...

A couple weeks before their landslide loss, the Stevenson-Kefauver campaign held a star-studded coast-to-coast gala event. Was it a waste of money… or a preview of future campaigns?

Estes Kefauver for President @kefauver4prez.bsky.social · 13d

You’d get to eat sirloin and ice cream with rum sauce, watch Harry Truman do his bit with the “I Like Ike” glasses in person, watch Nancy Kefauver resist the urge to jam her salad fork into Truman’s neck, ans dance to the musical stylings of Sidney and his orchestra.

A bargain at twice the price!