Say we won and get out : George D. Aiken and the Vietnam War
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"George Aiken and his close friend Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield forged a bi-partisan alliance to oppose the expansion of the Vietnam War in their roles as members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. This book tells that story and how the two Senators shared an alliance from 1962 to 1975 that would be impossible in today's highly-partisan Washington, D. C. The author, Stephen C. Terry, was Legislative Assistant for Senator Aiken from 1969 to 1975, and witnessed the Aiken-Mansfield friendship first-hand. The book also includes a biography of George D. Aiken who was raised on a small hillside farm and during the 1930s rapidly rose from a member of the Vermont House to a two-term Governor from 1937 to 1941. In 1938, Aiken was briefly urged to run for President against President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as a moderate blue-collar alternative to FDR. Aiken declined and was first elected to the U. S. Senate in 1940 where he remained until 1975, always a maverick Progressive Republican ready to criticize his own party's leadership. During his 34-year Senate career, Aiken was a champion for Rural America and promoted health-welfare social programs to support low and middle-income people. His last election in Vermont was in 1968 when he was nominated by Republican and Democratic parties. The thrifty Vermonter spent a total of $17.09 to get- re-elected"--