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Cumberland County Republican Campaign, Bridgeton, NJ, October 6, 1969
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Cumberland County Republican Campaign, Bridgeton, NJ, October 6, 1969
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The original documents are located in Box D27, folder "Cumberland County Republican
Campaign, Bridgeton, NJ, October 6, 1969" 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States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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.
Q Office Copy
NEWS
CONGRESSMAN
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
--FOR RELEASE AT 6:30 P.M. MONDAY--
October 6, 1969
Excerpts from a speech by Rep. Gerald R. Ford, R-Mich., Minority Leader, U.S. House
of Representatives, at a dinner kicking off the Cumberland County Republican
Campaign, Monday evening, October 6, 1969, at Bridgeton, New Jersey.
I come to you from the battleground of Washington, D.C., where leading
Democrats including the Democratic National Chairman have declared war on
President Nixon's Vietnam policy.
That political declaration of war simply proves that politics is a weird
business. Imagine the Democrats attacking the Vietnam policy of the first
President in this decade to take troops out of Vietnam instead of putting more
troops in. Imagine the Democrats climbing into bed with the likes of Dave
Dellinger, Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin. They're in fine company, let me tell
you!
President Nixon has set out to be a peace-maker, and he is working at the
job 24 hours a day and every day of the week. The result is the withdrawal of
60,000 Americans from Vietnam, a drop in the fatality toll last week to the
lowest figure in more than two years, a one-third drop in American casualties in
Vietnam and a two-thirds drop in enemy infiltration.
If the Democrats and the Hanoi-oriented American radicals will only let
the President do the job, peace with honor will come in Vietnam.
I wonder if Americans realize the enormity of what National Democratic
Chairman Fred Harris and about a dozen Democratic senators and congressmen
plotted behind closed doors on Friday, Sept. 26. What they did was plan to add
their voices to those of other demonstrators protesting on Oct. 15 against
continued American efforts to bring about peace with honor in Vietnam. They gave
their blessing to protests directed at forcing the President of the United States
to pull our forces out of Vietnam in a precipitous unilateral fashion that could
only be described as capitulation to Communist aggression.
It is because we realized just how tragic was the action taken by this
Democratic caucus that President Nixon, Senate Republican Leader Hugh Scott and
I attacked this attempt to force upon our great Nation a declaration of surrender
in Vietnam.
I do not believe the American people are going to be fooled by politicians
playing games with the predecessor administration's miserable misadventure in
Vietnam.
(more)
Digitized from Box D27 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
-2-
How have the Democratic critics of the President responded to a call by
Republican leaders for a 60-day moratorium on criticism of the President's
Vietnam policies? They have rejected it and called it "a ploy." What a statesman-
like response! I had always thought up to this point that partisanship stopped
at the water's edge. That has always been a guiding principle for me in my
relations with Democratic Presidents.
But now we have the Democratic national chairman saying "it is time to take
off the gloves on the Vietnam issue." Did he take off the gloves on Vietnam when
Lyndon Johnson was escalating the war? He did not. But he declares that now is
the time to take off the gloves on Vietnam, now when a Republican President is
winding down the Vietnam War.
Thank goodness not all Democrats are following their national chairman.
I think the best way to answer Chairman Harris and other leading
Democrats who are attacking the President is to quote the words spoken recently
on the House floor by Rep. Roman Pucinski, Democrat of Chicago, who said: "It
is no wonder that our negotiators cannot budge a foot forward in Paris when some
of the most outstanding leaders in this country, in the other body and in various
other places, are making great big speeches undermining every single effort of
this country and its war effort."
Even the President's most vocal critics concede that Mr. Nixon inherited
the Vietnam War from the predecessor administration. They don't accuse him of
making the mess, just with failing to clean it up overnight.
President Nixon did inherit a mess. He promptly plowed into and analyzed
that mess, and the result is a batch of reform proposals.
President Nixon has laid an excellent program of reforms before the 91st
Congress -- welfare reform which will turn all able-bodied Americans from welfare
to Workfare; draft reform which will make the selective service system as fair as
possible unitl we can establish a truly volunteer army; postal reform which will
create a government-owned self-supporting postal corporation in place of the present
impossible system; poverty program reform which keeps the Office of Economic
Opportunity as an innovative agency but spins off successful anti-poverty programs
to old-line Government departments; manpower training reform which consolidates
Federal manpower training programs for greater flexibility in funding and offers
the administration of manpower training centers to the states as they are ready
to handle it; tax reform which takes millions of poor citizens off the taxrolls,
reduces taxes for millions of other low-income Americans and prevents the wealthy
from escaping taxation; a New Federalism which provides a percentage slice of
Federal income tax revenue for cities and states with no strings attached.
This promises to be the Age of Reform in America -- under Republican
leadership. The times cry out for reform in New Jersey, too, and Republicans
will see that you get it.
# # #
Distribution 25 capies Mr. Ford
M Office Copy
NEWS
CONGRESSMAN
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
FOR RELEASE AT 6:30 P.M. MONDAY--
October 6, 1969
Excerpts from a speech by Rep. Gerald R. Ford, R-Mich., Minority Leader, U.S. House
of Representatives, at a dinner kicking off the Cumberland County Republican
Campaign, Monday evening, October 6, 1969, at Bridgeton, New Jersey.
I come to you from the battleground of Washington, D.C., where leading
Democrats including the Democratic National Chairman have declared war on
President Nixon's Vietnam policy.
That political declaration of war simply proves that politics is a weird
business. Imagine the Democrats attacking the Vietnam policy of the first
President in this decade to take troops out of Vietnam instead of putting more
troops in. Imagine the Democrats climbing into bed with the likes of Dave
Dellinger, Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin. They're in fine company, let me tell
you!
President Nixon has set out to be a peace-maker, and he is working at the
job 24 hours a day and every day of the week. The result is the withdrawal of
60,000 Americans from Vietnam, a drop in the fatality toll last week to the
lowest figure in more than two years, a one-third drop in American casualties in
Vietnam and a two-thirds drop in enemy infiltration.
If the Democrats and the Hanoi-oriented American radicals will only let
the President do the job, peace with honor will come in Vietnam.
I wonder if Americans realize the enormity of what National Democratic
Chairman Fred Harris and about a dozen Democratic senators and congressmen
plotted behind closed doors on Friday, Sept. 26. What they did was plan to add
their voices to those of other demonstrators protesting on Oct. 15 against
continued American efforts to bring about peace with honor in Vietnam. They gave
their blessing to protests directed at forcing the President of the United States
to pull our forces out of Vietnam in a precipitous unilateral fashion that could
only be described as capitulation to Communist aggression.
It is because we realized just how tragic was the action taken by this
Democratic caucus that President Nixon, Senate Republican Leader Hugh Scott and
I attacked this attempt to force upon our great Nation a declaration of surrender
in Vietnam.
I do not believe the American people are going to be fooled by politicians
playing games with the predecessor administration's miserable misadventure in
Vietnam.
(more)
-2-
How have the Democratic critics of the President responded to a call by
Republican leaders for a 60-day moratorium on criticism of the President's
Vietnam policies? They have rejected it and called it "a ploy.' What a statesman-
like response! I had always thought up to this point that partisanship stopped
at the water's edge. That has always been a guiding principle for me in my
relations with Democratic Presidents.
But now we have the Democratic national chairman saying "it is time to take
off the gloves on the Vietnam issue." Did he take off the gloves on Vietnam when
Lyndon Johnson was escalating the war? He did not. But he declares that now is
the time to take off the gloves on Vietnam, now when a Republican President is
winding down the Vietnam War.
Thank goodness not all Democrats are following their national chairman.
I think the best way to answer Chairman Harris and other leading
Democrats who are attacking the President is to quote the words spoken recently
on the House floor by Rep. Roman Pucinski, Democrat of Chicago, who said: "It
is no wonder that our negotiators cannot budge a foot forward in Paris when some
of the most outstanding leaders in this country, in the other body and in various
other places, are making great big speeches undermining every single effort of
this country and its war effort."
Even the President's most vocal critics concede that Mr. Nixon inherited
the Vietnam War from the predecessor administration. They don't accuse him of
making the mess, just with failing to clean it up overnight.
President Nixon did inherit a mess. He promptly plowed into and analyzed
that mess, and the result is a batch of reform proposals.
President Nixon has laid an excellent program of reforms before the 91st
Congress -- welfare reform which will turn all able-bodied Americans from welfare
to Workfare; draft reform which will make the selective service system as fair as
possible unitl we can establish a truly volunteer army; postal reform which will
create a government-owned self-supporting postal corporation in place of the present
impossible system; poverty program reform which keeps the Office of Economic
Opportunity as an innovative agency but spins off successful anti-poverty programs
to old-line Government departments; manpower training reform which consolidates
Federal manpower training programs for greater flexibility in funding and offers
the administration of manpower training centers to the states as they are ready
to handle it; tax reform which takes millions of poor citizens off the taxrolls,
reduces taxes for millions of other low-income Americans and prevents the wealthy
from escaping taxation; a New Federalism which provides a percentage slice of
Federal income tax revenue for cities and states with no strings attached.
This promises to be the Age of Reform in America -- under Republican
leadership. The times cry out for reform in New Jersey, too, and Republicans
will see that you get it.
# # #
OUTLINE FOR CUMBERLAND COUNTY, N.J., SPEECH
DICK NIXON ASSUMED THE LEADERSHIP OF
A COUNTRY ENMESHED IN A JUNGLE WAR HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD
A COUNTRY WHICH HAD SUFFERED ESCALATING INFLATION FOR NEARLY FOUR YEARS
A COUNTRY IN WHICH THE CRIME RATE HAD CLIMBED NEARLY TEN TIMES AS FAST AS
THE POPULATION
A COUNTRY IN WHICH THE PROBLEMS OF THE CITIES THREATENED TO TURN URBAN CRISIS
INTO FLAMING REVOLUTION
A COUNTRY IN WHICH LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL TAXES HAD DRIVEN TAXPAYERS TO THE
RIM OF REVOLT WITHOUT PRODUCING ENOUGH REVENUE TO SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS.
DICK NTXON HAS MOVED TOWARD PEACE IN VIETNAM AND ELSEWHERE
HE IS FIGHTING INFLATION WITH POLICIES THAT WILL -- OVER TIME -- END INFLATION
WITHOUT PRODUCING A RECESSION.
HE HAS CRACKED DOWN ON ORGANIZED CRIME
HE HAS SUCCEEDED IN GETTING AMERICANS TO LOWER THEIR WICES, AND THEIR ARMS TOO.
THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION IS A REFORM ADMINISTRATION. NIXON HAS
LAID AN
EXCELLENT PROGRAM OF REFORMS BEFORE THE CONGRESS
WELFARE REFORM WHICH WILL TURN ABIE-BODIED AMERICANS FROM WELFARE TO WORKFARE
DRAFT REFORM WHICH WILL MAKE THE SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM AS FAIR AS POSSIBIE
UNTIL WE CAN ESTABLISH A TRULY ALL-VOLUNTEER ARMY
POSTAL REFORM WHICH WILL CREATE A GOVERNMENT-OWNED SELF-SUPPORTING POSTAL
CORPORATION IN PLACE OF THE PRESENT INEFFICIENT AND DEFICIT-RIDDEN SYSTEM
POVERTY PROGRAM REFORM WHICH KEEPS THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AS AN
DEPARTMENTS.
INNOVATEVE AGENCY BUT SPINS OFF SUCCESSFUL ANTI-POVERTY PROGRAMS TO OLD LINE GOVERNMENT
A NEW FEDERALISM WHICH PROVIDES A PER CENTAGE SLICE OF FEDERAL REVENUE FOR CITIES
FORD
AND STATES TO USE AS THEY SEE FIT ON THE PROBLEMS THEY ARE CLOSEST TO.
GERALD
LIBRARY
MANPOWER TRAINING REFORM WHICH CONSOLIDATES FEDERAL MANPOWER TRAINING PROGRAMS
TAX REFORM WHICH TAKES MILLIONS OF POOR CITIZENS OFF THE TAXROIIS, CUTS TAXES FOR
MILLIONS OF OTHERS AND PREVENTS THE MOST WEALTHY FROM ESCAPING TAXATION.
##