Thread by @edokeefe

Today’s #JohnLewis funeral is a fitting tribute to a patriot and an incredible gathering of American political power: 3 former presidents and a First Lady; the House Speaker; 3 women mentioned as possible future Vice Presidents; and a pastor who’s running for US Senate.

The funeral comes at a time of potentially big political change in Georgia, a state Democrats eagerly want to win in November and with two competitive Senate races that Republicans risk losing. And it’s ground zero in the ongoing battle among leaders over how to fight #COVID19.

Today’s tributes to @repjohnlewis from ex-presidents especially notable: Lewis voted against @BillClinton’s 1994 Crime Bill; boycotted @GWBLibrary’s 2000 inauguration because of the Recount. And @BarackObama likely to say that he wouldn’t have won without Lewis’s early work.

#JohnLewis funeral is part of a big day in Atlanta: Also the day of the death of another well-known resident, @THEHermanCain. And @Delta, based in the city and a major employer, announces 17,000 of its employees worldwide are taking voluntary buyouts.

#JohnLewis‘s funeral at landmark Ebeneezer Baptist Church comes after he fought hard to amass political power in his adopted hometown. In his ‘98 memoir, he writes about how he won his ‘86 congressional race: “I pounded the pavement not from dawn to dusk but from dawn to dawn.”

“He’s gone off yonder and left us with marching orders,” @BillClinton says of @repjohnlewis. Clinton adds that all Americans should thus “suit up, and march on.”

Jimmy Carter isn’t at the #JohnLewisMemorial because of the pandemic. Totally understandable. What I didn’t realize is that he and @repjohnlewis had a strained relationship. It began while Carter was governor. Carter “had earned my respect,” Lewis wrote in his ‘98 memoir:

Later, Jimmy Carter nominates #JohnLewis to help run a federal agency overseeing @PeaceCorps and other programs. But he resigned after two and a half years, “very frustrated and disheartened” by Carter, who “was not following through” on campaign promises to the poor.

Lewis’s resignation infuriated Carter, because the president thought Lewis was quitting to help Ted Kennedy’s 1980 presidential bid. Lewis wrote he was repeatedly “dismayed” to hear Carter refer to “my lack of loyalty.”

Things got REALLY weird between the ex-Presidenr and then-City Councilman Lewis in 1982 when Atlanta was debating where and how to build @CarterCenter. Lewis opposed the plan amid strong support from the rest of the council. Lewis recounts an awkward phone call with Carter:

Here’s what former President Jimmy Carter had to say about Lewis’s passing on July 18: cartercenter.org/news/pr/2020/c…

“If politicians want to honor John... there’s a better way than a statement calling him a hero. You want to honor John? Let’s honor him by revitalizing the law that he was willing to die for.” - @BarackObama. #JohnLewisMemorial

“John wouldn’t want us to stop there, just trying to get where we already were. Once we pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, we should keep marching to make it even better. To make sure that every American is registered to vote.” - @BarackObama

“We can’t treat voting as an errand to run if we have some time. We have to treat it as the most important action we can take on behalf of democracy. And like John, we have to give it all we have.” - @BarackObama