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- 2 Item: On rent subsidies (recommittal). The margin was 8 votes. 36 automatic-Democratic freshmen voted to keep this bill alive. Says Fortune Magazine (September, 1966); " those forty-five provided the saving margin for a number " of the more expansive and expensive Administration programs This automatic-Democratic response by new members of the House was echoed by that of the rest of the top-heavy Democratic majority in the House. The push-button, the computer, the rubber stamp wielded by the Johnscn-Humphrey Administration were in full force in every instance. The result: a travesty on the legislative process, a gross disservice to the will and the wishes of the American people. No free society can long survive dominance by an unthinking computer, nor dominance by an unthinking, unrestrained, top-heavy legislative majority. This Democratic Congress, with its 294 to 139 majority in the House and its 67 to 33 majority in the Senate, has lost its independence. It is the tool of the Johnson-Humphrey Adminis- tration. The Administration and this Democratic Congress must bear full and joint responsibility for the failures and the continuing problems we face. This fact cannot be contradicted. Its simple arithmetic cannot be argued. In our great tradition, the will of the majority must prevail, yet the will of the minority must both be respected and remain vital if, as has invariably happened in world history, an overwhelming majority, seeking unreasoning p'ower, is not to silence, subdue and then suffocate the essential minority. We cannot believe for a moment that the American people will any longer accept a push-button Congress or consensus by computer. We believe they agree increasingly that only in a healthy balance of numbers and opinions can this free land survive and prevail. Therefore, Mr. President: Our Question-of-the-Week: Can We Afford Your Automatic-Democratic Congress?

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    "ocrText": "- 2\nItem: On rent subsidies (recommittal). The margin was 8 votes.\n36 automatic-Democratic freshmen voted to keep this bill alive.\nSays Fortune Magazine (September, 1966);\n\"\nthose forty-five provided the saving margin for a number\n\"\nof the more expansive and expensive Administration programs\nThis automatic-Democratic response by new members of the House\nwas echoed by that of the rest of the top-heavy Democratic majority\nin the House. The push-button, the computer, the rubber stamp wielded\nby the Johnscn-Humphrey Administration were in full force in every\ninstance. The result: a travesty on the legislative process, a gross\ndisservice to the will and the wishes of the American people.\nNo free society can long survive dominance by an unthinking\ncomputer, nor dominance by an unthinking, unrestrained, top-heavy\nlegislative majority. This Democratic Congress, with its 294 to 139\nmajority in the House and its 67 to 33 majority in the Senate, has\nlost its independence. It is the tool of the Johnson-Humphrey Adminis-\ntration. The Administration and this Democratic Congress must bear\nfull and joint responsibility for the failures and the continuing\nproblems we face. This fact cannot be contradicted. Its simple\narithmetic cannot be argued.\nIn our great tradition, the will of the majority must prevail,\nyet the will of the minority must both be respected and remain vital\nif, as has invariably happened in world history, an overwhelming\nmajority, seeking unreasoning p'ower, is not to silence, subdue and\nthen suffocate the essential minority.\nWe cannot believe for a moment that the American people will\nany longer accept a push-button Congress or consensus by computer.\nWe believe they agree increasingly that only in a healthy balance of\nnumbers and opinions can this free land survive and prevail.\nTherefore, Mr. President: Our Question-of-the-Week:\nCan We Afford Your Automatic-Democratic Congress?"
}