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Republican Fund-Raising Dinner, Washington, DC, September 19, 1968
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The original documents are located in Box D25, folder "Republican Fund-Raising Dinner,
Washington, DC, September 19, 1968" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary
and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Digitized from Box D25 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
1
I HAVE AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT TO
MAKE. NOW THAT HE HAS PRESENTED CHICAGO'S
SIDE OF THE STORY, MAYOR RICHARD J. DALEY
HAS AGREED TO APPEAR ON TWO NETWORK
TELEVISION PROGRAMS FOR INTENSIVE QUESTIONING
BY NEWSMEN.
THE PROGRAMS ARE "BEAT THE
PRESS" AND "MACE THE NATION. "
FORD is LIBRARY QERALD
COP FUND- RAISING DINNER
8:00 p.m. THURSDAY, SEPT. 19, 1968
WASHINGTON HILTON HOTEL
2.
YOU KNOW MAYOR DALEY KING RICHARD.
HE'S A CLOSE FRIEND OF HUBERT HUMPHREY, THE
VEEP WHO IS KNOWN TO NEWS REPORTERS AS
"MR. WEEP."
NEWSMEN MAY NOT BE FOND OF KING
RICHARD BUT THEY REALLY DO LIKE HUBERT. ONE
REASON THE EDITORS LIKE HUBERT IS BECAUSE
IT'S SO EASY TO GET THOSE INITIALS --
FORD
H.H.H. -- INTO A HEAOLINE.
LIBRARY
4.
FIELD RUNNER, TRYING TO FEINT HIS OPPONENT
OUT OF POSITION SO HE CAN BREAK INTO THE
OPEN.
AS GENE McCARTHY HAS TOLD US, ONE OF
HUBERT'S TROUBLES IS THAT EVERY TIME HE
TRIES TO DASH ALONG THE SIDELINES THE COACH
COMES OFF THE BENCH AND TACKLES HIM.
5.
I THINK HUBERT WOULD DEARLY LOVE TO
KEEP LYNDON BACK ON THE RANCH.
INCIDENTALLY, HUBERT HAS TAKEN SOME
VERY INTERESTING POSITIONS ON VIETNAM
LATELY.
WHAT'S HIS POSITION RIGHT NOW?
FORD
YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE MORNING PAPERS BRANT
TO FIND OUT.
6.
AS FOR LYNDON, HE REFUSES TO STAY
PUT ON HIS SPREAD IN TEXAS. BUT HE'S NOT
DOING MUCH TRAVELING, EITHER. HUBERT
HUMPHREY AND DICK NIXON CAN DO WHAT THEY
LIKE. LYNDON'S NOT ABOUT TO JOIN THE
ISRAELI JET SET.
FORD LIBRARY
6
YOU CAN'T HELP BUT HAVE A LITTLE ADMIRATION FOR THE
CABIN BOY WHO STANDS ON THE BURNING DECK AFTER EVERYBODY
INCLUDING THE CAPTAIN HAS ABANDONED SHIP.
BUT THAT'S NOT THE KIND OF SHIP OF STATE WE NEED IN
THE ROUGH SEAS THIS COUNTRY'S IN.
FORD LIBRAGA
7.
IT'S EASY TO SEE WHY HUBERT HAS THE
CRYING TOWEL OUT. APPARENTLY HE BELIEVES
THE POLLS. I'VE GOT A HUNCH LYNDON DID,
TOO, OR HE WOULDN'T HAVE BENCHED HIMSELF AND
GONE IN FOR COACHING.
I'M HOPING THE PRESIDENTIAL POLLS
HAVE A FAR-REACHING EFFECT. LIKE MAYBE THEY
HAVE SOME COAT-TAILS ON THEM.
GOP FUND-RAISING DINNER, 8 P.M. THURSDAY,
SEPT. 19, 1968, WASHINGTON-HILTON HOTEL, D.C.
I BELIEVE THERE IS AN EXCELLENT
CHANCE THE COUNTRY WILL ELECT A REPUBLICAN
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN NOVEMBER. THE
ODDS ARE THAT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY WILL MAKE
Issues
A NET GAIN OF 40 OR MORE HOUSE SEATS. candidates
I AM PLEASED ABOUT THAT FOR A
NUMBER OF REASONS. MOST OF ALL, I AM PLEASED
BECAUSE IT WILL GIVE REPUBLICANS AN OPPORTUNITY
TO DO A JOB FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE...AN
OPPORTUNITY TO DO A CONSTRUCTIVE JOB IN THE
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH AND PUT THIS COUNTRY ON THE
ROAD TO GENUINE PROGRESS.
WINNING THE HOUSE IN NOVEMBER WILL
GIVE REPUBLICANS A CHANCE TO SHOW THE NATION
WHAT THE GREAT OPPORTUNITY PARTY CAN DO. IT
WILL OPEN THE DOOR TO ALL OF THE REFORMS AND
THE PROGRESSIVE LEGISLATION BEING BLOCKED BY
LIBRARY
-2-
THE HOUSE MAJORITY IN THE PRESENT CONGRESS.
I PLEDGE HERE AND NOW THAT THE
REPUBLICAN PARTY WILL BE A REFORM PARTY IN
A REPUBLICAN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
I PLEDGE THAT LEGISLATION TO REFORM
THE HOUSE TO MODERNIZE AND STREAMLINE IT
TO GIVE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TRUTH-IN-ELECTIONS
WITH LONG OVERDUE REFORMS IN THE REPORTING OF
CAMPAIGN RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES. AND TO
GIVE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE A SURE VOICE IN
CHOOSING THEIR PRESIDENT BY ABOLISHING THE
ELECTORAL COLLEGE SUCH LEGISLATION WILL BE
AMONG THE FIRST ITEMS OF BUSINESS IN A
REPUBLICAN HOUSE.
I PLEDGE, TOO, EXPEDITIOUS ACTION
ON NEW REPUBLICAN PROGRAMS TO MEET THE
PROBLEMS OF THE CITIES AND DEPRESSED RURAL
AREAS, THE PROBLEMS OF A WELFARE SYSTEM THAT
ENCOURAGES THE DEPENDENT TO STAY ON THE
LIBRARY
WELFARE ROLLS, THE PROBLEMS OF HARD-CORE
-3-
UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT AND CRIME
AND NEW REPUBLICAN PROGRAMS TO MEET THE NEED
FOR BETTER EDUCATION, BETTER HOUSING AND
BETTER HEALTH, THE NEED FOR A WORKABLE PROGRAM
FOR THE EFFICIENT FAMILY FARMER AND FOR
GREATER ADVANCEMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL
AMERICANS.
OUR AGENDA ALSO WILL INCLUDE AN
AUTOMATIC COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT AND
OTHER IMPROVEMENTS IN SOCIAL SECURITY.
A PROGRAM TO SHARE FEDERAL INCOME
TAX REVENUE WITH THE STATES AND THE CITIES...
TO MAKE THEM FULL-FLEDGED PARTNERS WITH THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN THE PROBLEM-SOLVING
PROCESS.
LEGISLATION TO SPUR NEW INDUSTRIAL
GROWTH AND NEW JOBS IN OUR CENTRAL CITIES
AND IN OUR DEPRESSED RURAL AREAS THROUGH TAX
INCENTIVES.
REPUBLICAN PROGRAMS THAT WILL
-4-
REBUILD NOT ONLY THE CENTRAL CITIES BUT THE
PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE. TRAIN THEM AND PLACE
THEM IN GOOD-PAYING JOBS IN INDUSTRY.
REPUBLICAN PROGRAMS THAT WILL
BUILD A NEW AMERICA.
AS I SAID EARLIER, A REPUBLICAN
HOUSE WILL MOVE TO ABOLISH THE ARCHAIC AND
OUTMODED ELECTORAL COLLEGE TO MAKE IT CERTAIN
THAT IN FUTURE ELECTIONS THE PEOPLE AND NOT
THE POLITICIANS WILL CHOOSE THE PRESIDENT.
WHATEVER THE POLLS INDICATE AT THE
MOMENT, THIS YEAR THERE IS A DISTINCT DANGER
THAT NEITHER OF THE MAJOR PARTY CANDIDATES
WILL RECEIVE A MAJORITY OF THE ELECTORAL VOTE.
IF THAT HAPPENS, THE PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION WILL BE THROWN INTO THE HOUSE.
ANY NUMBER OF DEVELOPMENTS COULD
OCCUR FROM THAT POINT ON. IN ANY CASE, IT
WOULD BE THE POLITICIANS AND NOT THE PEOPLE WHO
THEN WOULD SELECT THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE
LIBRARY
UNITED STATES.
-5-
UNLESS ONE OF THE MAJOR PARTIES
CONTROLS AT LEAST 26 OF THE 50 STATE
CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATIONS, A CONSTITUTIONAL
CRISIS COULD ARISE...WITH THE FINAL SELECTION
OF A PRESIDENT DELAYED PERHAPS FOR WEEKS OR
EVEN FOR MONTHS.
IT EVEN COULD DEVELOP THAT THE
VICE-PRESIDENT, HAVING BEEN SELECTED BY THE
SENATE WHILE THE HOUSE WAS DEADLOCKED OVER
THE PRESIDENTIAL CONTEST, WOULD SERVE AS
ACTING PRESIDENT.
TWICE BEFORE IN OUR POLITICAL
HISTORY--IN THE ELECTIONS OF 1800 AND 1824 --
THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE HAS BEEN THROWN INTO
THE HOUSE FOR LACK OF AN ELECTORAL VOTE
MAJORITY. IN BOTH CASES, THE SITUATION
DEGENERATED INTO A BARTERING FOR CONGRESSIONAL
VOTES IN SUPPORT OF CERTAIN CANDIDATES.
THE CONSEQUENCES WERE SOME OF THE
MOST UNSAVORY DEALS EVER ENTERED INTO IN
-6-
AMERICAN POLITICS.
IN FACT, IT ONCE HAPPENED THAT
THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE RECEIVING BOTH
THE LARGEST POPULAR VOTE AND THE BIGGEST
ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTE WAS DENIED ELECTION TO
THE PRESIDENCY BY THE U.S. HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES.
THAT HAPPENED AFTER THE 1824
ELECTION, IN WHICH ANDREW JACKSON RECEIVED
153,544 VOTES AND JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, HIS
NEAREST COMPETITOR, GOT ONLY ABOUT TWO-THIRDS
AS MANY WITH 108,740. JACKSON ALSO HAD MORE
ELECTORAL VOTES THAN ADAMS BUT NOT A MAJORITY.
TWO OTHER CANDIDATES, WILLIAM CRAWFORD AND
HENRY CLAY, FINISHED THIRD AND FOURTH IN THE
ELECTORAL VOTE TOTALS.
SO THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WAS
THROWN INTO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
WHERE MEMBERS BY CONSTITUTIONAL DICTUM HAD TO
CHOOSE AMONG THE TOP THREE ELECTORAL COLLEGE
-7-
FINISHERS -- JACKSON, JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, AND
CRAWFORD.
EVENTUALLY, AFTER MUCH WHEELING
AND DEALING, THE HOUSE ELECTED JOHN QUINCY
ADAMS AS OUR FIFTH PRESIDENT DESPITE THE FACT
THAT JACKSON HAD TOPPED ADAMS IN BOTH POPULAR
AND ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES. THE STORY IS
THAT HENRY CLAY THREW HIS SUPPORT TO ADAMS
IN EXCHANGE FOR AN APPOINTMENT AS SECRETARY
OF STATE.
I HOPE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WILL
NOT CREATE A WHEELER-DEALER SITUATION OF THAT
KIND IN NOVEMBER OF 1968. I HOPE THEY WILL
MAKE THEIR POPULAR AND ELECTORAL COLLEGE
CHOICE FOR PRESIDENT WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF
THE TWO-PARTY SYSTEM THAT HAS SERVED AMERICA
SO LONG AND SO WELL.
IT IS NOT A PERFECT SYSTEM; IT IS
NOT CONSTITUTIONALLY ORDAINED. BUT EARLY
IN OUR HISTORY IT WAS FOUND TO BE THE BEST
LIBRARY
-8-
WAY FOR MOST OF OUR CITIZENS TO PARTICIPATE
IN POLITICS AND TO GIVE EXPRESSION TO THEIR
POLITICAL BELIEFS.
BY ADOPTING A TWO-PARTY SYSTEM WE
AVOIDED THE LOSS OF REEDOM THAT RESULTS FROM
ONE-PARTY GOVERNMENT. THE TWO-PARTY SYSTEM
HAS BEEN A PROTECTOR OF FREEDOM AND A VEHICLE
FOR PROGRESS IN AMERICA. THERE IS NO FREEDOM
IN THE ONE-PARTY NATIONS BEHIND THE IRON
CURTAIN.
AND BY FOLLOWING A TWO-PARTY SYSTEM
WE HAVE AVOIDED THE CHAOS AND CONFUSION THAT
EXISTS IN MULTI-PARTY GOVERNMENTS, WHERE
FRACTIONAL PARTIES CONSTANTLY FIGHT EACH OTHER
AND OFTEN BLOCK ANY KIND OF EFFECTIVE
GOVERNMENT.
I BELIEVE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WANT
EFFECTIVE NEW LEADERSHIP TODAY -- AND THEY
CAN GET THAT KIND OF LEADERSHIP ONLY WITHIN
THE BASIC FRAMEWORK OF THE TWO-PARTY SYSTEM.
-9-
THEY ALSO WANT A REAL CHANGE. AND
THEY WOULDN'T GET THAT BY SENDING IN A
SUBSTITUTE FOR THE QUARTERBACK WHO HAS CALLED
THE PLAYS FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS. THAT
WOULD NOT IMPROVE THE SIGNAL-CALLING FROM THE
WHITE HOUSE OR GIVE AMERICA A NEW STRATEGY
AT HOME OR ABROAD.
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WANT RESPONSIBLE
GOVERNMENT LED BY RESPONSIBLE MEN.
THEY WANT AN AMERICA WHERE AS MUCH
ATTENTION IS PAID TO THE RESPONSIBLE CITIZEN
WHO TENDS TO HIS DUTIES, WORKS HARD AND PAYS
HIS TAXES AS TO THE PROBLEM CITIZEN WHO MAKES
LIFE MISERABLE FOR THE POLICE AND ALL
LAW-ABIDING PEOPLE.
THEY WANT AN AMERICA THAT IS SAFE
AGAIN, WHERE PEOPLE CAN WALK THE STREETS AND
CHILDREN CAN PLAY IN THE PARKS WITHOUT FEAR
OF MARAUDERS AND MOLESTERS.
THEY WANT AN AMERICA AT PEACE, NOT
Distribution Full
Halleries Had - 11:00 a.m PM of 9/19/68 9/19/68 MOHice Copy
50 capies to Cong. Comm.
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
--FOR RELEASE IN FRIDAY AM's--
September 20, 1968
Remarks by Rep. Gerald R. Ford, R-Mich., Minority Leader of the U.S. House of
Representatives at a Republican Fund-Raising Dinner at 8 p.m. Thursday,
Sept. 19, 1968, at the Washington-Hilton Hotel, Washington, D. C.
I believe there is an excellent chance the country will elect a Republican
House of Representatives in November. The odds are that the Republican Party
will make a net gain of 40 or more House seats.
I am pleased about that for a number of reasons. Most of all, I am pleased
because it will give Republicans an opportunity to do a job for the American
people an opportunity to do a constructive job in the legislative branch and
put this country on the road to genuine progress.
Winning the House in November will give Republicans a chance to show the
Nation what the Great Opportunity Party can do. It will open the door to all
of the reforms and the progressive legislation being blocked by the House
majority in the present Congress.
I pledge here and now that the Republican Party will be a Reform Party in
a Republican House of Representatives.
I pledge that legislation to reform the House...to modernize and streamline
to give the American people truth-in-elections with long overdue reforms
in the reporting of campaign receipts and expenditures. and to give the
American people a sure voice in choosing their president by abolishing the
electoral college...such legislation will be among the first items of business
in a Republican House.
I pledge, too, expeditious action on new Republican programs to meet the
problems of the cities and depressed rural areas, the problems of a welfare
system that encourages the dependent to stay on the welfare rolls, the problems
of hard-core unemployment and underemployment and crime...and new Republican
programs to meet the need for better education, better housing and better health,
the need for a workable program for the efficient family farmer and for greater
advancement opportunities for all Americans.
Our agenda also will include an automatic cost-of-living adjustment and
other improvements in Social Security.
(more) FORD LIBRARY
-2-
A program to share Federal income tax revenue with the states and the
cities
to make them full-fledged partners with the federal government in the
problem-solving process.
Legislation to spur new industrial growth and new jobs in our central
cities and in our depressed rural areas through tax incentives.
Republican programs that will rebuild not only the central cities but the
people who live there
train them and place them in good-paying jobs in
industry.
Republican programs that will build a New America.
As I said earlier, a Republican House will move to abolish the archaic and
outmoded electoral college to make it certain that in future elections the people
and not the politicians will choose the President.
Whatever the polls indicate at the moment, this year there is a distinct
danger that neither of the major party candidates will receive a majority of the
electoral vote.
If that happens, the presidential election will be thrown into the House.
Any number of developments could occur from that point on. In any case,
it would be the politicans and not the people who then would select the next
President of the United States.
Unless one of the major parties controls at least 26 of the 50 state
congressional delegations, a constitutional crisis could arise with the final
selection of a President delayed perhaps for weeks or even for months.
It even could develop that the Vice-President, having been selected by the
Senate while the House was deadlocked over the Presidential contest, would
serve as Acting President.
Twice before in our political history--in the elections of 1800 and 1824--
the presidential race has been thrown into the House for lack of an electoral
vote majority. In both cases, the situation degenerated into a bartering for
congressional votes in support of certain candidates.
The consequences were some of the most unsavory deals ever entered into in
American politics.
In fact, it once happened that the presidential candidate receiving both
the largest p.opular vote and the biggest electoral college vote was denied
election to the Presidency by the U.S. House of Representatives.
That happened after the 1824 election, in which Andrew Jackson received
153,544 votes and John Quincy Adams, his nearest competitor, got only about
(more)
-3-
two-thirds as many with 108,740. Jackson also had more electoral votes than
Adams but not a majority. Two other candidates, William Crawford and Henry
Clay, finished third and fourth in the electoral vote totals.
So the presidential election was thrown into the House of Representatives,
where members by constitutional dictum had to choose among the top three
electoral college finishers--Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and Crawford.
Eventually, after much wheeling and dealing, the House elected John Quincy
Adams as our fifth President despite the fact that Jackson had topped Adams in
both popular and electoral college votes. The story is that Henry Clay threw
his support to Adams in exchange for an appointment as Secretary of State.
I hope the American people will not create a wheeler-dealer situation of that
kind in November of 1968. I hope they will make their popular and electoral
college choice for President within the framework of the two-party system that
has served America so long and so well.
It is not a perfect system; it is not constitutionally ordained. But early
in our history it was found to be the best way for most of our citizens to
participate in politics and to give expression to their political beliefs.
By adopting a two-party system we avoided the loss of freedom that results
from one-party government. The two-party system has been a protector of freedom
and a vehicle for progress in America. There is no freedom in the one-party
nations behind the Iron Curtain.
And by following a two-party system we have avoided the chaos and confusion
that exists in multi-party governments, where fractional parties constantly
fight each other and often block any kind of effective givernment.
I believe the American people want effective new leadership today--and they
can get that kind of leadership only within the basic framework of the two-party
system.
They also want a real change. And they wouldn't get that by sending in a
substitute for the quarterback who has called the plays for the last five years.
That would not improve the signal-calling from the White House or give America
a new strategy at home or abroad.
The American people want responsible government led by responsible men.
They want an America where as much attention is paid to the responsible
citizen who tends to his duties, works hard and pays his taxes as to the problem
citizen who makes life miserable for the police and all law-abiding people.
(more)
-4-
They want an America that is safe again, where people can walk the streets
and children can play in the parks without fear of marauders and molesters.
They want an America at peace, not an America that polices the world and
blunders into foreign adventures while disregarding all the rules of sound
military strategy.
I believe they want to move this country ahead, but not at the expense of
$25 billion annual deficits and interest costs of more than $15 billion a year
on the federal debt.
We need a new kind of leadership so that we can bind up the Nation's
wounds and deal as one people with the tremendous problems that face urban and
rural America today.
I sincerely believe that America needs Dick Nixon and Ted Agnew, a
Republican House and substantial GOP gains in the Senate if we are to escape
the darkness and move ahead to build a new America.
The Nixon-Agnew action team means New Hope for America. The Nixon-Agnew
team will open the way to an exciting New Era when America will build and not
tear down, when each and every one of our citizens can reach for the brass ring.
###
Q Office
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
--FOR RELEASE IN FRIDAY AM's--
September 20, 1968
Remarks by Rep. Gerald R. Ford, R-Mich., Minority Leader of the U.S. House of
Representatives at a Republican Fund-Raising Dinner at 8 p.m. Thursday,
Sept. 19, 1968, at the Washington-Hilton Hotel, Washington, D. C.
I believe there is an excellent chance the country will elect a Republican
House of Representatives in November. The odds are that the Republican Party
will make a net gain of 40 or more House seats.
I am pleased about that for a number of reasons. Most of all, I am pleased
because it will give Republicans an opportunity to do a job for the American
people an opportunity to do a constructive job in the legislative branch and
put this country on the road to genuine progress.
Winning the House in November will give Republicans a chance to show the
Nation what the Great Opportunity Party can do. It will open the door to all
of the reforms and the progressive legislation being blocked by the House
majority in the present Congress.
I pledge here and now that the Republican Party will be a Reform Party in
a Republican House of Representatives.
I pledge that legislation to reform the House
to modernize and streamline
it
to give the American people truth-in-elections with long overdue reforms
in the reporting of campaign receipts and expenditures and to give the
American people a sure voice in choosing their president by abolishing the
electoral college
such legislation will be among the first items of business
in a Republican House.
I pledge, too, expeditious action on new Republican programs to meet the
problems of the cities and depressed rural areas, the problems of a welfare
system that encourages the dependent to stay on the welfare rolls, the problems
of hard-core unemployment and underemployment and crime and new Republican
programs to meet the need for better education, better housing and better health,
the need for a workable program for the efficient family farmer and for greater
advancement opportunities for all Americans.
Our agenda also will include an automatic cost-of-living adjustment and
other improvements in Social Security.
(more)
-2-
A program to share Federal income tax revenue with the states and the
cities
to make them full-fledged partners with the federal government in the
problem-solving process.
Legislation to spur new industrial growth and new jobs in our central
cities and in our depressed rural areas through tax incentives.
Republican programs that will rebuild not only the central cities but the
people who live there
train them and place them in good-paying jobs in
industry.
Republican programs that will build a New America.
As I said earlier, a Republican House will move to abolish the archaic and
outmoded electoral college to make it certain that in future elections the people
and not the politicians will choose the President.
Whatever the polls indicate at the moment, this year there is a distinct
danger that neither of the major party candidates will receive a majority of the
electoral vote.
If that happens, the presidential election will be thrown into the House.
Any number of developments could occur from that point on. In any case,
it would be the politicans and not the people who then would select the next
President of the United States.
Unless one of the major parties controls at least 26 of the 50 state
congressional delegations, a constitutional crisis could arise with the final
selection of a President delayed perhaps for weeks or even for months.
It even could develop that the Vice-President, having been selected by the
Senate while the House was deadlocked over the Presidential contest, would
serve as Acting President.
Twice before in our political history--in the elections of 1800 and 1824--
the presidential race has been thrown into the House for lack of an electoral
vote majority. In both cases, the situation degenerated into a bartering for
congressional votes in support of certain candidates.
The consequences were some of the most unsavory deals ever entered into in
American politics.
In fact, it once happened that the presidential candidate receiving both
the largest popular vote and the biggest electoral college vote was denied
election to the Presidency by the U.S. House of Representatives.
That happened after the 1824 election, in which Andrew Jackson received
153,544 votes and John Quincy Adams, his nearest competitor, got only about
(more)
-3-
two-thirds as many with 108,740. Jackson also had more electoral votes than
Adams but not a majority. Two other candidates, William Crawford and Henry
Clay, finished third and fourth in the electoral vote totals.
So the presidential election was thrown into the House of Representatives,
where members by constitutional dictum had to choose among the top three
electoral college finishers--Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and Crawford.
Eventually, after much wheeling and dealing, the House elected John Quincy
Adams as our fifth President despite the fact that Jackson had topped Adams in
both popular and electoral college votes. The story is that Henry Clay threw
his support to Adams in exchange for an appointment as Secretary of State.
I hope the American people will not create a wheeler-dealer situation of that
kind in November of 1968. I hope they will make their popular and electoral
college choice for President within the framework of the two-party system that
has served America so long and so well.
It is not a perfect system; it is not constitutionally ordained. But early
in our history it was found to be the best way for most of our citizens to
participate in politics and to give expression to their political beliefs.
By adopting a two-party system we avoided the loss of freedom that results
from one-party government. The two-party system has been a protector of freedom
and a vehicle for progress in America. There is no freedom in the one-party
nations behind the Iron Curtain.
And by following a two-party system we have avoided the chaos and confusion
that exists in multi-party governments, where fractional parties constantly
fight each other and often block any kind of effective givernment.
I believe the American people want effective new leadership today--and they
can get that kind of leadership only within the basic framework of the two-party
system.
They also want a real change. And they wouldn't get that by sending in a
substitute for the quarterback who has called the plays for the last five years.
That would not improve the signal-calling from the White House or give America
a new strategy at home or abroad.
The American people want responsible government led by responsible men.
They want an America where as much attention is paid to the responsible
citizen who tends to his duties, works hard and pays his taxes as to the problem
citizen who makes life miserable for the police and all law-abiding people.
(more)
-4-
They want an America that is safe again, where people can walk the streets
and children can play in the parks without fear of marauders and molesters.
They want an America at peace, not an America that polices the world and
blunders into foreign adventures while disregarding all the rules of sound
military strategy.
I believe they want to move this country ahead, but not at the expense of
$25 billion annual deficits and interest costs of more than $15 billion a year
on the federal debt.
We need a new kind of leadership so that we can bind up the Nation's
wounds and deal as one people with the tremendous problems that face urban and
rural America today.
I sincerely believe that America needs Dick Nixon and Ted Agnew, a
Republican House and substantial GOP gains in the Senate if we are to escape
the darkness and move ahead to build a new America.
The Nixon-Agnew action team means New Hope for America. The Nixon-Agnew
team will open the way to an exciting New Era when America will build and not
tear down, when each and every one of our citizens can reach for the brass ring.
###