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Republican Victory '72 Dinner, Memphis, TN, September 26, 1972
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Republican Victory '72 Dinner, Memphis, TN, September 26, 1972
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This file contains material relating to George McGovern.
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The original documents are located in Box D33, folder "Republican Victory '72 Dinner,
Memphis, TN, September 26, 1972" 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States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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.
Distribution Full
Halleries
noon
Mallice Capy
9/26/72
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
-FOR RELEASE AT 6:30 P.M. TUESDAY--
September 26, 1972
Excerpts from a Speech by Rep. Gerald R. Ford at a Republican Victory '72 Dinner
at the Sheraton Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tenn.
I "buy" the polls -- I really do -- and I am not saying this because this
is billed as a victory party.
There is danger in the polls for the Republican Party, the danger of over-
confidence and complacency. And we must fight against this.
But I believe the polls are an accurate reflection of what Middle America is
thinking about the Presidential race.
What the polls reveal is that the radicals have captured the Democratic
Party, and the American people are aghast.
The polls also show that the American people recognize the Republican
record during Richard Nixon's first term as President for what it is -- a record
of splendid achievement which promises greater advances as the President builds
toward a generation of peace and promotes a genuine prosperity.
The facts are clear. The President has kept every promise. The President
has taken a country deeply enmeshed in a horrible war and has ended our ground
combat role in that war while moving toward a negotiated peace. He has brought
all but a minimal American ground contingent home from that war -- more than half
a million men -- while thwarting a Communist takeover in Vietnam. At the same
time, he has built a foundation for peace by making historic journeys to Moscow
and Peking. And he has achieved a cease-fire in the Middle East. This President --
Richard M. Nixon -- will rank among the greatest peace-makers of all time.
Here at home the President has brought relative calm to a Nation he found
torn by dissent and disorder.
At home, the President has dampened the fires of inflation; he has cut the
rise in the cost-of-living in half.
Here at home, the President has generated an upsurge in the economy which
has pushed total employment to nearly 82 million. That's an alltime record. We
have created 2,600,000 new jobs in just the last 12 months. That's the greatest
(more)
Digitized from Box D33 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
-2-
job creation in a 12-month period since the end of World War II. Against a back-
ground of 500,000 men returning from Vietnam and seeking employment against a
background of reduced defense spending and sharply-reduced war-related jobs, that
is a tremendous accomplishment.
What's most important is that real wages are climbing in America. Real
wages are going up at the rate of 4.5 per cent a year for all production workers.
That's in sharp contrast to the four years before Richard Nixon entered the White
House -- days when real, spendable earnings dropped for all workers despite heavy
increases in paper wages.
The voters know all this, and they are not going to exchange the real
progress we are making in this country for the radical schemes proposed by the
President's opponent.
I'll tell you why the polls are so lopsided in the President's favor
because the choice this fall is clear. The choice is between widely differing
political philosophies. The choice is between the progressive policies of a
clear-eyed statesman, Richard M. Nixon, and the wild ideas of a fuzzy-thinking
extremist, George McGovern.
What do Americans want as they stand on the threshhold of this election?
The polls tell us they want the steady progress of the Nixon Administration, not
the on-again, off-again schemes of his opponent. The polls tell us the American
people don't want McGovernment because they know it means misgovernment.
The American people want peace through strength, not a peace we beg for,
not peace on the enemy's terms.
They want prosperity based on sound economic policies, not a phony prosperity
tied to make-work projects bought with hard-earned tax dollars.
They want genuine reform of a scandalous welfare system, not a new
escalation of welfare tied to redistribution of income.
They want a President who will hold down Federal spending and hold the line
on taxes, not one who would wildly expand Federal outlays and double the average
citizen's Federal income tax bill.
They want a President they can be proud of, not one who preaches retreat
abroad and radicalism at home.
They have a President they can be proud of -- and they're going to keep him.
I think, too, the American people want this President they're proud of
to have the Congressional support he needs to carry out his policies -- and that's
why I'm dreaming of a Republican Congress.
Now a word of caution. Considering the President's great record and the
advantages of incumbency, it would be easy to look upon the President as a
shoo-in. But just remember that big leads in the polls have a way of evaporating.
Remember, too, that in 1968 Richard Nixon was elected President of the United
States by approximately two votes per precinct. Let's keep these things in mind
as we go about the business of reelecting a great President and giving him a
Republican Congress.
So get your organization into high gear. Get Republican voters registered.
Get discerning Democrats to vote our way this year -- to cast their votes for
sound government and against McGovernment.
The President's reelection depends on it. And SO does the future of your
country.
# # #
Full distribution
Office
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
-FOR RELEASE AT 6:30 P.M. TUESDAY--
September 26, 1972
Excerpts from a Speech by Rep. Gerald R. Ford at a Republican Victory '72 Dinner
at the Sheraton Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tenn.
I "buy" the polls -- I really do -- and I am not saying this because this
is billed as a victory party.
There is danger in the polls for the Republican Party, the danger of over-
confidence and complacency. And we must fight against this.
But I believe the polls are an accurate reflection of what Middle America is
thinking about the Presidential race.
What the polls reveal is that the radicals have captured the Democratic
Party, and the American people are aghast.
The polls also show that the American people recognize the Republican
record during Richard Nixon's first term as President for what it is -- a record
of splendid achievement which promises greater advances as the President builds
toward a generation of peace and promotes a genuine prosperity.
The facts are clear. The President has kept every promise. The President
has taken a country deeply enmeshed in a horrible war and has ended our ground
combat role in that war while moving toward a negotiated peace. He has brought
all but a minimal American ground contingent home from that war -- more than half
a million men -- while thwarting a Communist takeover in Vietnam. At the same
time, he has built a foundation for peace by making historic journeys to Moscow
and Peking. And he has achieved a cease-fire in the Middle East. This President --
Richard M. Nixon -- will rank among the greatest peace-makers of all time.
Here at home the President has brought relative calm to a Nation he found
torn by dissent and disorder.
At home, the President has dampened the fires of inflation; he has cut the
rise in the cost-of-living in half.
Here at home, the President has generated an upsurge in the economy which
has pushed total employment to nearly 82 million. That's an alltime record. We
have created 2,600,000 new jobs in just the last 12 months. That's the greatest
(more)
-2-
job creation in a 12-month period since the end of World War II. Against a back-
ground of 500,000 men returning from Vietnam and seeking employment against a
background of reduced defense spending and sharply-reduced war-related jobs, that
is a tremendous accomplishment.
What's most important is that real wages are climbing in America. Real
wages are going up at the rate of 4.5 per cent a year for all production workers.
That's in sharp contrast to the four years before Richard Nixon entered the White
House -- days when real, spendable earnings dropped for all workers despite heavy
increases in paper wages.
The voters know all this, and they are not going to exchange the real
progress we are making in this country for the radical schemes proposed by the
President's opponent.
I'll tell you why the polls are so lopsided in the President's favor
because the choice this fall is clear. The choice is between widely differing
political philosophies. The choice is between the progressive policies of a
clear-eyed statesman, Richard M. Nixon, and the wild ideas of a fuzzy-thinking
extremist, George McGovern.
What do Americans want as they stand on the threshhold of this election?
The polls tell us they want the steady progress of the Nixon Administration, not
the on-again, off-again schemes of his opponent. The polls tell us the American
people don't want McGovernment because they know it means misgovernment.
The American people want peace through strength, not a peace we beg for,
not peace on the enemy's terms.
They want prosperity based on sound economic policies, not a phony prosperity
tied to make-work projects bought with hard-earned tax dollars.
They want genuine reform of a scandalous welfare system, not a new
escalation of welfare tied to redistribution of income.
They want a President who will hold down Federal spending and hold the line
on taxes, not one who would wildly expand Federal outlays and double the average
citizen's Federal income tax bill.
They want a President they can be proud of, not one who preaches retreat
abroad and radicalism at home.
They have a President they can be proud of -- and they're going to keep him.
I think, too, the American people want this President they're proud of
to have the Congressional support he needs to carry out his policies -- and that's
why I'm dreaming of a Republican Congress.
Now a word of caution. Considering the President's great record and the
advantages of incumbency, it would be easy to look upon the President as a
shoo-in. But just remember that big leads in the polls have a way of evaporating.
Remember, too, that in 1968 Richard Nixon was elected President of the United
States by approximately two votes per precinct. Let's keep these things in mind
as we go about the business of reelecting a great President and giving him a
Republican Congress.
So get your organization into high gear. Get Republican voters registered.
Get discerning Democrats to vote our way this year -- to cast their votes for
sound government and against McGovernment.
The President's reelection depends on it. And SO does the future of your
country.
# # #