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    "title": "WHSF: Contested, 16-16",
    "description": "This file contains:\n\nNotes Regarding Political Organization and Problems. 5 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Other Document], 11/11/1970",
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    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/13/1457/26145713/content/presidential-libraries/nixon/RN-RET/2546065/Contested-Box-16/Contested-16-16.pdf",
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    "ocrText": "Richard Nixon Presidential Library\nContested Materials Collection\nFolder List\nBox Number\nFolder Number\nDocument Date\nNo Date\nSubject\nDocument Type\nDocument Description\n16\n16\n11/11/1970\nCampaign\nOther Document\nNotes Regarding Political Organization and\nProblems. 5 pgs.\nMonday, March 07, 2011\nPage 1 of 1\nNovember 11, 1970\nNOTES\nRE :\nPolitical Organization and Problems\nSpecific problem areas requiring immediate intensive\nattention are:\nSuburbs - Rumsfeld to ride herd on developing a new\nstrategy.\nFarm - Need a whole look at political necessities in\nthis area.\nEconomy - Can't do anything on this directly but must\nkeep a close eye.\nRegions - Don't write off these areas - particularly\nNew England and the South. We'll go after all regions\nin almost all states - even Massacnusetts unless Teddy\nKennedy is on the ticket.\nPopulation Groups - Blue Collar, Catholics, etc. Colson\nin charge of overall program.\nSpecific states requiring immediate attention and overall\nplans:\nCalifornia\nIllinois\nOhio\nWisconsin\nMissouri\nTexas\nFlorida\nPennsylvania\nAll of these must be organizednot around the Republican\nParty but on a Committee for Nixon. This especially\napplies in the South. Committees should also be set up\nin :\nGeorgia\nNorth Carolina\nVirginia\nA fresh approach must be established.\n2\nImmediate thought must be given to plans for\na number of backers must be prepared to move in\nand this should be explored thoroughly and scientifically.\nColson should be on top of this.\nWe must be prepared for the Democratic strategy in\nCongress which will probably be to introduce a number\nof major programs that we can't approve in the area of\neducation, health and polution. Their plan will be to\nforce us to veto these popular programs and thus put us\nin the worse possible light. To counteract we need our\nown legislative program on a positive basis with a few\nreally good measures. Also we must develop an expansive\nbudget for !972 - not based on the HEW giveaways, but in\nthe areas that create jobs - not the areas that take\ncare of the poor.\nWe also have to recognize we can't blame the Democrats\nanymore for what we inherited, everything from here on\nis our problem.\nGeneral strategy on the Democrats should be to build up\nall the Democratic candidates so that there is no unifying\nfactor behind any one front leader. We need to develop a\nprogram to pin every Democratic Senator in Congress on\nthe compulsory integrated housing issue. This should be\ndone by letters to each candidate and by questions and\npress conferences to get them on the record at this early\nstage. One individual must be assigned to get this done.\nWe need to develop immediately a plan for polling activities\nleading up to 1972. Specifically we should have a program\nfor quickie polls in key states to keep a continuous bench\nmark reading. We don't need very many huge polls in depth.\nWe also need an analysis of what happened to the polls in\n1970, particularly why they didn't show the significant\nshift that took place in the West.\nThe general strategy has got to include a major run at\nNew York and Pennsylvania especially because of the soft-\nness in Illinois and California. Also we need a very\ncareful analysis of the way to approach Texas.\n3\nWe need to make a decision on the general approach\nto the convention fairly soon. On an overall basis\nour convention should be second and it should be late.\nWe should work for a short campaign with Presidential\nparticipation limited to three weeks maximum.\nThe convention should be cut down to approximately two\ndays - certainly not four and we should look for a new\napproach to the whole thing. The city should not be the\nsame as that of the Democrats. First choice is probably\nChicago, if Illinois is winnable. Second choice would be\nto take one of the states that we need - New York, Cin-\ncinnatti, Philadelphia, would be the prime contenders.\nThe whole approach to the convention should be based on\nhow to make it a good television program.\nWe have to set up a man to man operation on each of the\nDemocratic candidates with full follow through. Ed Morgan\nshould be in charge of this. There should be full research\nwith a desk man on each candidate.\nWe need a systematic study of all the publishers who will\nbe important in terms of endorsements and are worth\ngoing after. We need to lock up the good ones that are\nwith us such as Annenberg but also pursue those who are\ndoubtful. This would include Knight, Cowles, all the\nChicago papers, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnatti, New-\nhouse, Miller, Copley, Hearst, Chandlers.\nWe can't let any of these get away and we've got to\ndetermine at each paper who will be making the editorial\nendorsement decision and then work on him.\nIn the area of television we've been working on the\nwrong targets. We haven't gained much ground with\nSarnoff, Paley and Goldenson. We should be working on\nthe real power people that are on the air such as\nReasoner and Smith, Kaplows, etc. Colson should be\nriding herd on the TV, not just the networks, but to\nbe sure we're covering all the major independence.\n4\nWe should start work immediately on a documentary\nfor television. The one done by the RNC missed the\npoint cause it didn't build the enormous importance\nof the key things such as the November 3rd speech.\nThe new one must be done much better.\nWe've got to stay on top of the mock conventions at\nuniversities, also develop a program for reaching\nprofessors and intellectuals and a program for reaching\nand maintaining contact with our columnists. Also we\nneed to develop a real youth thrust to make sure that\nwe dont leave youth to the opposition.\nDent should move now on the South but not as a\nRepublican just a Nixon organization. Also he should\ndevelop his regional plan.\nWe have to have plans immediately for New York, Pennsy1-\nvania, Illinois, Ohio, California, and Texas. At the\nsecond level, Missouri, Indiana, Wisconsin, New Jersey,\nConnecticut and Florida. At the third level, the Southern\nstates, the Mountain states, and the farm states. Each\nstate must be handled differently and a plan developed\nfor each one fitting its particular situation.\nIn addition to having one man in charge of each state -\nand we should start setting that up now so that we do\nhave a key person assigned to each one of these individual\nstates and reporting directly to the President when he\nwants a report - we should also plan for polling state\nby state - these will be much more helpful than national\npolls.\nWe should investigate bringing in Bob Price to put him\nin charge of New YOrk. Also the question of what\nMitchell thinks about Bob Lee and Cliff White. Also\nMitchell should talk to O'Daugherty regarding the true\nstory of who really put the New York victory together.\nThe Ripon Society has succeeded in getting a lot of\nplay with their stuff. Can't we set up an opposing\nforce to get equal mileage? Maybe something under Jim\nBuckley's banner.\n5\nSomething has to be done on the selection and\nbringing in of a finance chairman quickly.\nA lot of thought has got to be given to campaign\nscheduling - the question of whether a dog and pony\nshow really does any good - or whether we should\nsimply concentrate on television with only enough\npublic exposure to make the point."
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