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    "localId": "4526029",
    "label": "Bowling Green University, Bowling Green, OH, May 10, 1967",
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{
    "id": "4526029",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Bowling Green University, Bowling Green, OH, May 10, 1967",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4526029",
    "collections": [
        "Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers",
        "Speeches"
    ],
    "subjects": [
        "Republican National Committee (U.S.)",
        "Congressional elections",
        "Economics",
        "Inflation (Finance)",
        "Presidential campaigns",
        "Vietnam War, 1961-1975"
    ],
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box D22, folder \"Bowling Green University, Bowling\nGreen, OH, May 10, 1967\" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech\nFile at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nCopyright Notice\nThe copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of\nphotocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to\nremain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid\ncopyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nDigitized from Box D22 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nSPEECH AT BOWLING GREEN UNIVERSITY, BOWLING GREEN, OHIO\n8 P.M.--MAY 10, 1967\nLADIES AND GENTLEMEN. THE TASK YOU HAVE GIVEN ME IS TO\nLOOK AT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND INTO MY CRYSTAL BALL AND GIVE\nYOU A READING ON REPUBLICAN PROSPECTS FOR 1968.\nI START FROM WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE AN UNDEBATABLE\n& willwork\nPREMISE--REPUBLICANS WANT TO WIN IN 1968. LET US GO ON FROM\nTHERE.\nA CALIFORNIA WOMAN WHO EDITS A REPUBLICAN NEWSLETTER\nRECENTLY WROTE TO ME, SAYING SHE WANTED ME TO COMPLETE IN AS\nFEW WORDS AS POSSIBLE A SENTENCE THAT BEGAN, \"THE MISSION OF\nTHE MINORITY PARTY IS\n\"\nI PROMPTLY WROTE BACK: \"THE MISSION OF THE MINORITY PARTY\nIS TO BECOME THE MAJORITY.\"\naccomplish objective\nNOW HOW DO WE IN THE MINORITY HOPE TO DO THAT?\nFORD i LIBRARY GERALD\nall indications clearly show-\n-2-\nTHINK WE ARE ON OUR WAY. WE ARE ON THE MOVE. I\nBELIEVE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE A REPUBLICAN WILL BE ELECTED\nPRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES IN 1968 AND THAT THE REPUBLICAN\nPARTY WILL TAKE CONTROL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND\nMAKE SUBSTANTIAL GAINS IN THE SENATE.\nWHY DO I BELIEVE THIS? sincerely 1 BELIEVE IT/BECAUSE OF WIDE-\nSPREAD VOTER DISSATISFACTION WITH THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION\nIn depth suchss\nAS REFLECTED IN THE OUTCOME OF THE 1966 ELECTIONS. THAT DIS-\nSATISFACTION IS CONTINUING AND GROWING. I ALSO BELIEVE IT\nBECAUSE THE REPUBLICAN PARTY HAS BECOME A PARTY OF IDEAS, A\nPARTY OF YOUNG PEOPLE, A PARTY WITH STRONG NEW LEADERSHIP, A\nPROBLEM-SOLVING PARTY, A PARTY OF THE FUTURE.\nLET ME EMPHASIZE AT THE OUTSET THAT NO INCUMBENT PRESIDENT\nHAS\nIS EASY TO BEAT. HISTORYAPROVED THAT.\nREPUBLICANS WILL HAVE TO PICK \"THE RIGHT MAN\" AS THEIR\n17071 FORD LIBRARY\nSouth Bend\n-3-\nCANDIDATE IN 68.1 THE PARTY WILL HAVE TO UNITE BEHIND HIM.\nTHE CANDIDATE WILL HAVE TO WAGE A SKILLFUL, WELL-ORGANIZED\nCAMPAIGN AND KEEP MISTAKES AT A MINIMUM. HE WILL HAVE TO\na sound\nOFFER AN APPEALING DOMESTIC PROGRAM AND A VIABLE POSITION ON\nVIETNAM. AND, ASSUMING THAT GEORGE WALLACE IS A THIRD-PARTY\nCANDIDATE--AND I BELIEVE HE WILL BE-THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE\nWILL HAVE TO OVERCOME CERTAIN VOTER DEFECTIONS TO THE WALLACE\nCAMP. On the other side 2 the coin - my D emocrat friends will have\nsome problems with splenter pasty candidates - Wallace on others\nHAVING SKETCHED THIS \"TALL ORDER.\" I STILL FEEL ENCOURAGED.\nI FEEL ENCOURAGED BECAUSE THERE IS A NEW SPIRIT PULSING\nTHROUGH THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. THERE IS NEW YOUNG BLOOD IN THE\nREPUBLICAN PARTY AND LT IS RUSHING TO THE SURFACE MUCH FASTER\nReview the wrichage after The 1964 debacle & compare our cituation now\nTHAN MANY HAD EXPECTED., AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY HAS BEEN\nBUILDING--IN TERMS OF ORGANIZATION, PROGRAM AND IDEAS.\nMUCH OF THIS NEW SPIRIT, THIS NEW EXCITEMENT, IS EVIDENT\n-4-\nIN THE CONGRESS AND, MORE SPECIFICALLY, IN THE HOUSE OF\nREPRESENTATIVES.\nIN THE HOUSE AND IN THE SENATE, REPUBLICANS HAVE SET IN\nMOTION A SWIFT FLOW OF PROPOSALS. THIS ACTIVITY STANDS IN\nSHARP CONTRAST TO THE INACTION AND INERTIA OF THE MAJORITY\nas Republicans\nPARTY. WE, WOULD LIMIT THE FEDERAL ROLE AND EXPAND THAT OF THE\nPRIVATE SECTOR AND THE STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN A FRESH\nASSAULT ON PROBLEMS THAT HAVE DEFIED ATTACKS BY GOVERNMENT\nALONE.\nROUGHLY HALF OF ALL AMERICANS TODAY ARE UNDER 25 YEARS\nOF AGE. WE ARE WITNESSING WHAT MIGHT BE CALLED A \"YOUTHQUAKE.\"\nMOST YOUNG AMERICANS DO NOT FEEL A STRONG ALLEGIANCE TO ANY\nPOLITICAL PARTY. THEY ARE INTERESTED IN PROBLEM-SOLVING AND\nIN PROGRAMS THAT ACTUALLY WORK.\nGERALD LIBRARY\nI THINK THE NEW REPUBLICAN PARTY HAS MUCH TO OFFER YOUNG\n-5-\nAMERICANS TODAY. THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS WHERE THE ACTION IS.\nAthe 1930s\nITS IDEAS ARE NOT ROOTED IN THE BIG DEPRESSION--A TIME THAT\nA\nIS ALIEN TO THE THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS OF TODAY'S YOUTH.\nUNLIKE THE PRESENT MAJORITY PARTY, THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS\nEAGERLY LOOKING FOR NEW IDEAS AND NEW SOLUTIONS. WE ARE PRO-\nPOSING SENSIBLE SOLUTIONS FOR THE SEVENTIES. WE DO NOT RELY\nON THE TIRED THEORIES OF THE THIRTIES. THE OTHER PARTY SEEMS\nBOUND BY THEM.\nTHE 1968 REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE WILL NEED ISSUES. HE WILL\nFIND THEM NOT ONLY IN THE OTHER PARTY'S BLUNDERS AND DIVISIVE-\nNESS BUT IN THE BANK OF NEW IDEAS NOW BEING BUILT UP BY\nREPUBLICAN ACTIVISTS IN THE CONGRESS.\nYOU HAVE READ OF MANY OF THESE IDEAS--SHARING OF FEDERAL\nTAX REVENUE WITH THE CITIES AND STATES TO CUT RED TAPE AND\n1817\nPROMOTE A LARGER LOCAL ROLE IN PROBLEM-SOLVING, ESTABLISHMENT\n-6-\nTHROUGH THE PERCY-WIDNALL BILL OF A NATIONAL HOME OWNERSHIP\nFOUNDATION WHICH WOULD RAISE MORTGAGE FUNDS AND HELP SLUM\nDWELLERS BECOME PROUD HOME OWNERS, AN ATTACK ON HARD-CORE\nUNEMPLOYMENT AND POVERTY THROUGH TAX CREDITS ENCOURAGING\nINDUSTRY TO TRAIN THE UNSKILLED AND MAKE THEM PRODUCTIVE\n- we call it the Human Investment act-\nCITIZENS, A MOVEMENT TO RAISE A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS TO THE\nCOLLEGE LEVEL THROUGH TAX CREDITS FOR A PORTION OF COLLEGE\nEXPENSES, AN OPPORTUNITY CRUSADE ENLISTING PRIVATE ENTERPRISE\nIN A REVAMPED WAR ON POVERTY.\nTHIS IS NOT RHETORIC. THIS IS A PROGRAM. REPUBLICANS IN\nCONGRESS ARE MAKING A RECORD FOR THEIR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE\nOF 1968 TO RUN ON.\nHOUSE REPUBLICANS ALSO ARE MAKING A RECORD FOR REPUBLICAN\nTAKE OVER THE HOUSE--AND I THINK THERE S A GOOD CHANCE WE'LL\nCONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES TO RUN ON. WE NEED 31 MORE SEATS DIBRARY\nMAKE IT. WE HAVE A GOOD CHANCE FOR MANY REASONS. ONE OF\n-7-\nTHESE IS WHAT MIGHT BE CALLED MY SOUTHERN STRATEGY - to put it\nanother way - The termination on extenction 1 what was called Jon so many years the Republican/Anth\nTHE STRATEGY IS TO DRIVE SOUTHERN DEMOCRATS IN THE HOUSED\nnational LI imocratic\ncoldtion\nINTO THE ARMS OF THE ADMINISTRATION--WHERE THEY BELONG--ON\nVOTES THAT WILL HURT THEM politically IN THEIR HOME CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS\nTHIS STRATEGY RUNS EXACTLY COUNTER TO THE OLD PATTERN OF\nA SOUTHERN DEMOCRAT-REPUBLICAN COALITION THAT OFTEN PREVAILED\nDemocratic\nOVER, ADMINISTRATION FORCES IN THE HOUSE IN YEARS PAST.\nfor House Requblicans\nBUT I THINK IT IS FAR BETTER TO LOSE A FEW LEGISLATIVE\nBATTLES AND WIN THE NEXT ELECTION. BESIDES, IN FOLLOWING MY\nSOUTHERN STRATEGY WE REPUBLICANS IN THE HOUSE ARE STAKING OUT\nPOSITIONS IN WHICH WE BELIEVE RESPONSIBLE, CONSTRUCTIVE\nPOSITIONS.\nalthough outmerbered 258/187 in House of 64t,36\nTHERE WILL BE TIMES WHEN REPUBLICANS WILL WIN IN THE 90TH\nwhe House\nCONGRESS. WE WON'T WIN AS MANY LEGISLATIVE FIGHTS AS WE COULD\nIF WE RESORTED TO THE OLD COALITION TACTICS, BUT IT'S THE BIG\n-8-\nPRIZE THAT\nTHE BIG PRIZE 1s CONTROL OF AT LEAST ONE HOUSE OF CONGRESS\nCOUNTS is a truly national AND THAT'S Republican WHAT Party WE. with elected AFTER Congressman in way state,\nAND CONTROL OF THE WHITE HOUSE. WE WANT THAT PRIZE NOT BECAUSE\nWE RELISH POWER FOR THE SAKE OF POWER BUT BECAUSE WE SINCERELY\nour leadership\nBELIEVE THAT OUR COURSE, OUR PROGRAM IS A BETTER WAY THAN LBJ.\nIT IS ONLY SOME 14 MONTHS BEFORE THE TWO MAJOR POLITICAL\nPARTIES MEET IN CONVENTION TO NAME THEIR PRESIDENTIAL CANDI -\nDATES. ALREADY THE ISSUES OF THE 1968 CAMPAIGN ARE TAKING\nSHAPE. IT WILL BE AN HISTORIC CAMPAIGN--A CAMPAIGN THAT WILL\nSHAPE THE DESTINY OF AMERICA FAR INTO THE FUTURE.\nIN ALL RECENT-YEAR NATIONAL ELECTIONS THERE HAVE BEEN TWO\nMAJOR ISSUES--PEACE AND PROSPERITY.\nNEXT YEAR WE MAY FIND OURSELVES WITH STILL ANOTHER ISSUE--\nONE OF GREAT IMPORTANCE IN THE 1966 ELECTIONS.\nGERALD LIBRARY\nTHAT ISSUE, TO PUT IT SIMPLY, IS THE CREDIBILITY GAP.\nIT\n-9-\nHAS BEEN VARIOUSLY DEFINED AS A CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE--THE\nPEOPLE'S LACK OF TRUST IN THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION--AND THE\nGULF THAT SEPARATES THINKING PEOPLE FROM THE ADMINISTRATION.\nAFTER BEING MISLED ON MANY OCCASIONS BY TOP ADMINISTRATION\nOFFICIALS, THE ATTITUDE OF MILLIONS OF AMERICANS TOWARD THEIR\nFEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS BECOME, \"WHO AND WHAT CAN WE BELIEVE?\"\nREPUBLICANS DIDN'T CREATE THE CREDIBILITY GAP. NEITHER\nDID THE NEWSMEN WHO ARE SO OFTEN CRITICIZED BY THE PRESIDENT\nAND SOME OF HIS CABINET HEADS. IT WAS THE ADMINISTRATION\nITSELF WHICH DUG THE CREDIBILITY GAP AND HAS PROCEEDED TO MAKE\nIT DEEPER AND WIDER IN A VARIETY OF WAYS.\nVIETNAM GAVE RISE TO THE CREDIBILITY GAP. IT HAD ITS\nBEGINNING WHEN TOP ADMINISTRATION SPOKESMEN REPEATEDLY UNDER-\nESTIMATED THE GRAVITY, SCOPE AND DURATION OF WHAT HAS BECOME\nTHE THIRD LARGEST FOREIGN WAR IN AMERICAN HISTORY. Some allys RALD LIBRAR\nit began with the Presidents political operatory + promises made in the 1964 campaign.\n-10-\nTHE ADMINISTRATION'S CONDUCT OF THE WAR ALSO HAS PRO-\nDUCED IN THE AMERICAN PEOPLE A DEEP SENSE OF FRUSTRATION, A\nCRISIS OF CONFIDENCE AT A TIME OF INTERNATIONAL CRISIS FOR\nTHE NATION.\nON AT LEAST THREE OCCASIONS THE ADMINISTRATION AROUSED\nHOPES FOR PEACE IN THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND LEFT THEM FEELING\n\"LET DOWN.\" THOSE OCCASIONS WERE THE BOMBING PAUSE IN EARLY\n1966, THE HONOLULU CONFERENCE IN FEBRUARY, 1966, AND PRESIDENT\nJOHNSON'S TRIP TO MANILA, AUSTRALIA AND VIETNAM LAST FALL.\nJUST BEFORE THE ELECTION.\nALL OF THIS RELATES TO THE CREDIBILITY GAP. THAT IS WHY\nTHE POLLS SHOW A SEEMING CONTRADICTION. A MAJORITY OF THE\nAMERICAN PEOPLE APPROVE OF OUR BASIC POLICY IN VIETNAM--THEY\nWANT TO THWART COMMUNIST AGRESSION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA--BUT THEY\nin various ways\nDISAPPROVE, OF MR. JOHNSON'S HANDLING OF THE VIETNAM SITUATION.\n-11-\n4 I underline MAY\nA CLUE TO MR. JOHNSON'S VIETNAM TROUBLES MAY LIE, IN HIS\nPOLICY OF GRADUALISM, HIS POLICY OF MILITARILY UNSOUND\nRESTRAINT IN FIGHTING THE WAR.\nIT SEEMS CLEAR TO ME THAT THIS POLICY HAS BEEN A FAILURE\nWHEN YOU LOOK AT THE TOTAL PICTURE. AND THE ADMINISTRATION\nIS ADMITTING THE FAILURE OF ITS POLICY OF GRADUALISM BY DOING\nNOW WHAT IT REFUSED TO DO A YEAR AGO.\nOUR COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF NOW IS ORDERING OUR AIRMEN TO\nBOMB TARGETS IN NORTH VIETNAM THAT heretofore HAVE BEEN STRICTLY OFF-\nLIMITS. IF IT IS RIGHT TO HIT THOSE TARGETS NOW, WHY WASN'T\nfrom a military verpoint + otherwise\nIT SMARTER TO STRIKE THEM BEFORE? AGAIN, THE CREDIBILITY GAP.\nOUR AIRMEN ARE GOING THROUGH MURDEROUS ANTI-AIRCRAFT\nFIRE TO HIT TARGETS THEY COULD HAVE KNOCKED OUT WITH EASE IN\nEARLY 1966, AND THE RESPONSIBILITY RESTS SOLELY ON THE ADMINI\nSTRATION.\nGERALD\nLIBRARY\n-12-\nWHEN THE NORTH VIETNAMESE SURF,ACE-TO-AIR MISSILE SITES\nby the is hite Hum\nWERE BEING BUILT, THEY WERE DECLARED OFF-LIMITS TO OUR FLYERS.\nWHEN THE RUSSIAN-BUILT MIGS FIRST APPEARED IN VIETNAM, WE\nALLOWED THEM SANCTUARY ON THE GROUND.\nNOW OUR PILOTS MUST FLY IN LOW OVER NORTH VIETNAMESE\nTARGETS TO ESCAPE THE MISSILES AND THUS ARE SUBJECT TO TERRIBLE\nFIRE FROM RADAR-CONTROLLED ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS AND EVEN SMALL\nARMS. OUR AIR LOSSES ARE APPALLINGLY HIGH, AND THE ENEMY\nSEEMS ENTRENCHED.\nit is neasmable 4 national to argue\nI SUBMIT--WITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO THOSE IN HIGHER AUTHOR-\nITY--THAT WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING 12 MONTHS AGO WHAT WE ARE\nDOING NOW. IF WE HAD, WE WOULD BE 12 MONTHS CLOSER TO THE\none can logically contend\nBARGAINING TABLE. THE PROBLEM OF PREVAILING IN VIETNAM HAS\nBEEN MADE INFINITELY GREATER BY THE DELAY.\nTO THOSE WHO SAY THIS IS NOTHING BUT MONDAY MORNING\nFORD LIBRARY 07643\n-13-\nQUARTERBACKING--AND I DON'T HAVE ANY USE FOR MONDAY MORNING\nQUARTERBACKS--I WOULD POINT OUT THAT I REPEATEDLY URGED WE\nDESTROY THE SAM SITES AT THE TIME THEY WERE BEING CONSTRUCTED.\nI MADE THOSE REMARKS ON THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE. THEY ARE IN\nTHE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD.\nNOW WE SEE STATEMENTS BY SOUTH VIETNAMESE OFFICIALS, AS\nREPORTED IN THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, THAT THE PACIFI-\nCATION PROGRAM IS ON THE POINT OF COLLAPSE. Weak about to have another\nIF THERE IS SUBSTANCE TO THESE STATEMENTS, THEN THE\nSITUATION IN VIETNAM IS EXCEEDINGLY GRAVE. FOR WE WILL NEVER\nSUCCEED IN OUR MISSION IN VIETNAM--TO ESTABLISH A VIABLE\nPOPULAR GOVERNMENT THERE--UNLESS WE WIN THE MINDS AND THE\nHEARTS OF THE SOUTHVIETNAMESE PEASANT.\nPolitical\nTHE REPUBLICAN PARTY WILL NOT MAKE THE VIETNAM WAR AN\nISSUE IN 1968. BUT IT WILL BE AN ISSUE, OF COURSE.\nBERALD, FORD LIBRARY\n-14-\nIT WILL BE AN ISSUE IN THE SENSE THAT THE AMERICAN\nPEOPLE MAY WELL ASK THEMSELVES WHETHER THE REPUBLICAN CANDI -\nDATE CANNOT SOMEHOW BREAK THE DEADLOCK AND END THE WAR ON AN\nHONORABLE BASIS.\nI CANNOT LEAVE THE VIETNAM QUESTION WITHOUT COMMENTING\nTHAT IT IS A COMPLETE MYTH THAT PRESIDENT EISENHOWER SOMEHOW,\nSOMEWHERE, COMMITTED THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION TO A LAND WAR\nIN SOUTH VIETNAM. a 4.5. program was instrated by former President Truman\nDriving 8 y years of it was an econtmic aid of melitary Examing program when the\nAS I MENTIONED EARLIER, PROSPERITY ALONG WITH PEACE HAS\nBEEN A KEY ISSUE IN RECENT-YEAR NATIONAL ELECTIONS. LET'S LOOK\nAT THE PROSPERITY ISSUE.\nTHERE IS NO QUESTION THAT THE MASSIVE TAX CUTS OF 1964\nAND 1965 TOUCHED OFF A BOOM. THAT WAS A GOOD ACTION, SUPPORTED\nBY BOTH PARTIES. BUT THERE IS ALSO NO QUESTION IN MIND THAT\nTHE JOHNSON ADMINISTRATION DOOMED THE BOOM BY FAILING TO GERALD SLOW\n-15-\nDOWN THE ECONOMY WHEN IT BECAME OVERHEATED IN LATE 1965 AND\nEARLY 1966.\nTHE SITUATION CALLED FOR DEEP CUTS IN DOMESTIC SPENDING\nPOSSIBLY COUPLED WITH AN INCOME TAX INCREASE THE ADMINI -\nCertainly The uncumstarces required me or the other\nSTRATION REFUSED TO INITIATE EITHER COURSE AND, IN FACT\nThe dollar costs ofthe expanding military iffort in Unit nam were groody understand & when the hnown Incto were\nin the\nCONTINUED TO OVERSTIMULATE THE ECONOMY AT THE SAME TIME\nPentagen The\nunder hundred\nTHE FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD LAUNCHED ITS OWN FIGHT AGAINST sought to hide\non discount the\nINFLATION AND SUCCEEDED IN PUSHING UP INTEREST RATES TO THE truth\nHIGHEST LEVEL IN 40 YEARS.\nTHE COST OF LIVING ROSE SHARPLY, HURTING ALL AMERICANS\nBUT ESPECIALLY THE AGED AND OTHERS ON FIXED INCOMES. WE SAW\nTHE GREATEST PRICE ADVANCE FOR ANY 12-MONTH PERIOD EXCEPT AT\nTHE OUTSET OF THE KOREAN WAR.\nTHE EFFECTS OF THE INFLATIONARY SURGE OF 1966 ARE STILL\nWITH US IN THE FORM OF HIGH PRICES. AT THE SAME TIME, THE\nLIBRARY\n-16-\n3.3 PER CENT INCREASE IN THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR 1966\nHAS LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR BIG WAGE INCREASES IN 1967 AS\nWORKERS IN ALL INDUSTRIE ligitimately STRIVE TO CATCH UP. THIS IN TURN\nTHREATENS A NEW INFLATIONARY SPIRAL-AS INCREASED PRODUCTION\nCOSTS PUT NEW PRESSURE BEHIND EXISTING PRICE LEVELS.\nbiglur uage demands\nToday THERE IS SAG AND DRAG IN THE ECONOMY\nWe are in paraddrical predicamentin our domistes seriously + shrimping profits from which\nTHE ADMINISTRATION\naddel colt.\nHAS SOUGHT TO STIMULATE BUSINESS INVESTMENT IN NEW PLANT AND\nEQUIPMENT BY ASKING CONGRESS TO RESTORE THE 7 PER CENT TAX\nCREDIT FOR SUCH INVESTMENT. THE HOUSE PASSED THE INVESTMENT\nTAX CREDIT LEGISLATION NEARLY TWO MONTHS AGO, BUT IT HAS BEEN\nBOGGED DOWN IN THE SENATE. IRONICALLY, THE PRESIDENT URGED\nSWIFT PASSAGE OF THE INVESTMENT TAX CREDIT BILL AND STRESSED\nTHE NEED FOR QUICK ACTION. YET HE SENT HIS WHITE HOUSE\nFORD\nLIEUTENANTS TO CAPITOL HILL TO FIGHT FOR THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN\nTAX CHECKOFF AMENDMENT WHICH HAS FOULED UP THE TAX CREDIT BILL\n-17-\nIN THE SENATE. THIS ADDED TO THE DELAY.\nWHILE OSTENSIBLY SEEKING TO STIMULATE THE ECONOMY WITH\nTHE TAX CREDIT LEGISLATION, THE PRESIDENT STILL INSISTS THE\nCOUNTRY NEEDS AN INCOME TAX INCREASE - THE 6 PER CENT SURTAX.\nTHE PROPOSED TAX INCREASE DOESN'T MAKE ANY MORE SENSE NOW THAN\nIT DID IN JANUARY WHEN THE PRESIDENT ADVANCED IT.\nTHIS ADMINISTRATION MISMANAGED THE AMERICAN ECONOMY IN\n1966. NOW IT WOULD ADD TO THE DAMAGE WROUGHT BY INFLATION BY\nLOADING AN INCOME TAX INCREASE ON THE WORKER AND ON AN ECONOMY\nTHROWN INTO IMBALANCE BY ITS UNWISE POLICIES.\nTHERE ARE MANY ISSUES OTHER THAN THE OVERRIDING QUESTIONS\nOF PEACE AND PROSPERITY--THE APPALLING INCREASE IN CRIME, THE\nFAILURE TO DEAL ADEQUATELY WITH AIR AND WATER POLLUTION, THE\nMISFIRING OF GUNS ON THE NATIONAL FRONT IN THE WAR ON POVERTY,\nTHE THRUST TOWARD GREATER FEDERAL POWER AT A TIME WHEN FAILURE\n-18-\nOF CATEGORICAL FEDERAL GRANT-IN-AID PROGRAMS IS BECOMING\nINCREASINGLY OBVIOUS.\nI FIRMLY BELIEVE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE-WITH TRADITIONAL\nMIDDLE-OF-THE-ROAD WISDOM--ARE LOOKING FOR A CHANGE OF DIRECTION\nIN THEIR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT and new leadership.\nI BELIEVE THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OFFERS THEM THIS NEW\nDIRECTION--FEDERAL TAX-SHARING WITH THE CITIES AND STATES.\nTHE ENLISTING OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE IN TRULY EFFECTIVE ATTACKS\nON THE EVILS OF POVERTY, SLUMMISM, GHETTOISM, AIR AND WATER\nPOLLUTION, THE PROPERLY-TIMED USE OF FEDERAL FISCAL AND\nMONETARY POLICY TO GIVE THE NATION A SOUNDLY GROWING ECONOMY\nWITH RELATIVE PRICE STABILITY AND A TAX STRUCTURE THAT\nGERALD FORD LIBRARY\nSTIMULATES RATHER THAN DISCOURAGES PRIVATE INITIATIVE.\nI SEE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SEEKING THIS NEW DIRECTION IN\nA REBIRTH OF THE SPIRIT THAT BROUGHT THIS NATION TO GREATNESS.\n-19-\nTHE REPUBLICAN PARTY STANDS READY TO SERVE THEN\nTHANK YOU.\nXXXX\nwith the imagenation, the\nwill, The unity of The candidates.\nFORD : LIBRARY GERALD\nFOR USE IN AM'S OF THURSDAY, MAY 11, 1967\nRFK AN ADDRESS\nBY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH., HOUSE MINORITY\nFOR DELIVERY AT 8 P.M., WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 1967\nAT BOWLING GREEN UNIVERSITY, BOWLING GREEN, OHIO\nflow an LEADER does whr them\nLadies and Gentlemen, the task you have given me is to look at the Republican\nParty and into my crystal ball and to give you a reading on Republican prospects\nfor 1968.\nI start from what I consider to be an undebatable premise--Republicans want\nto win in 1968. Let us go on from there.\nA California woman who edits a Republican newsletter recently wrote to me,\nsaying she wanted me to complete in as few words as possible a sentence that\nbegan, \"The mission of the minority party is \"\nI promptly wrote back: \"The mission of the minority party is to become the\nmajority.\"\nNow, how do we in the minority hope to do that?\nI\nthink we are on our way. We are on the move. I believe there is a good\nchance a Republican will be elected President of the United States in 1968 and\nthat the Republican Party will take control of the House of Representatives and\nmake substantial gains in the Senate.\nWhy do I believe this? I believe it because of widespread voter dissatis-\nfaction with the present Administration as reflected in the outcome of the 1966\nelections. That dissatisfaction is continuing and growing. I also believe it\nbecause the Republican Party has become a party of ideas, a party of young people,\na party with strong new leadership, a problem-solving party, a party of the\nfuture.\nLet me emphasize at the outset that no incumbent President is easy to beat.\nHistory has proved that.\nRepublicans will have to pick \"the right man\" as their candidate in '68. The\nParty will have to unite behind him. The candidate will have to wage a skillful,\nwell-organized campaign and keep mistakes at a minimum. He will have to offer an\nappealing domestic program and a viable position on Vietnam. And, assuming that\nGeorge Wallace is a third-party candidate--and I believe he will be--the Republican\ncandidate will have to overcome certain voter defections to the Wallace camp.\nsketched\nthis\n\"tall\n\"I\nfeel\nThe\nDescocrats\nalso\nstill\ncandidates. have Wallace Having I feel encouraged to content because there order, with is a new spirit pulsing encouraged. other through Splinter the Republican group\nParty. There is new young blood in the Republican Party and it is rushing to the\nsurface much faster than many had expected. And the Republican Party has been\n(more)\nGERALD FORD LIBRARY\n-3-\nthere's a good chance we'll make it.\nWe have a good chance for many reasons.\nOne of these is what might be called my Southern Strategy.\nThe strategy is to drive Southern Democrats in the House into the arms of\nthe Administration--where they belong--on votes that will hurt them in their home\ncongressional districts.\nThis strategy runs exactly counter to the old pattern of a Southern\nDemocrat-Republican coalition that often prevailed over Administration forces\nin the House in years past.\nBut I think it is far better to lose a few legislative battles and win the\nnext election. Besides, in following my Southern Strategy we Republicans in the\nHouse are staking out positions in which we believe responsible, constructive\npositions.\nThere will be times when Republicans will win in the 90th Congress. We\nwon't win as many legislative fights as we could if we resorted to the old\ncoalition tactics, but it's the Big Prize that counts, and that's what we're\nafter.\nThe Big Prize is control of at least one House of Congress and control of\nthe White House. We want that prize not because we relish power for the sake of\npower but because we sincerely believe that our course, our program, is a better\nway than LBJ.\nIt is only some 14 months before the two major political parties meet in\nconvention to name their presidential candidates. Already the issues of the 1968\ncampaign are taking shape. It will be an historic campaign--a campaign that will\nshape the destiny of America far into the future.\nIn all recent-year national elections there have been two major issues--\npeace and prosperity.\nNext year we may find ourselves with still another major issue-one of great\nimportance in the 1966 elections.\nThat issue, to put it simply, is the Credibility Gap. It has been variously\ndefined as a Crisis of Confidence--the people's lack of trust in the present\nAdministration--and the gulf that separates thinking people from the Administration.\nAfter being misled on many occasions by top Administration officials, the attitude\nof millions of Americans toward their federal government has become, \"Who and what\ncan we believe?\"\nRepublicans didn't create the Credibility Gap. Neither did the newsmen who\nare so often criticized by the President and some of his cabinet heads. It was\n(more)\nLIBRARY\n-4-\nthe Administration itself which dug the Credibility Gap and has proceeded to make\nit deeper and wider in a variety of ways.\nVietnam gave rise to the Credibility Gap. It had its beginning when top\nAdministration spokesmen repeatedly underestimated the gravity, scope and\nduration of what has become the third largest foreign war in American history.\nThe Administration's conduct of the war also has produced in the American\npeople a deep sense of frustration, a crisis of confidence at a time of inter-\nnational crisis for the Nation.\nOn at least three occasions the Administration aroused hopes for peace in\nthe American people and left them feeling \"let down.\" Those occasions were the\nbombing pause in early 1966, the Honolulu Conference in February, 1966, and\nPresident Johnson's trip to Manila, Australia and Vietnam last fall, just before\nthe election.\nAll of this relates to the Credibility Gap. That is why the polls show a\nseeming contradiction. A majority of the American people approve of our basic\npolicy in Vietnam--they want to thwart Communist agression in Southeast Asia--but\nthey disapprove of Mr. Johnson's handling of the Vietnam situation.\nA clue to Mr. Johnson's Vietnam troubles may lie in his policy of gradualism,\nhis policy of militarily unsound restraint in fighting the war.\nIt seems clear to me that this policy has been a failure when you look at the\ntotal picture. And the Administration is admitting the failure of its policy of\ngradualism by doing now what it refused to do a year ago.\nOur commander-in-chief now is ordering our airmen to bomb targets in North\nVietnam that have been strictly off-limits. If it is right to hit those targets\nnow, why wasn't it smarter to strike them before? Again, the credibility gap.\nOur airmen are going through murderous anti-aircraft fire to hit targets\nthey could have knocked out with ease in early 1966, and the responsibility rests\nsolely on the Administration.\nWhen the North Vietnamese surface-to-air missile sites were being built,\nthey were declared off-limits to our flyers. When the Russian-built MIGs first\nappeared in Vietnam, we allowed them sanctuary on the ground.\nNow our pilots must fly in low over North Vietnamese targets to escape the\nmissiles and thus are subject to terrible fire from radar-controlled anti-aircraft\nguns and even small arms. Our air losses are appallingly high, and the enemy\nseems entrenched.\nI submit-with all due respect to those in higher authority--that we should\n(more)\n-5-\nhave been doing 12 months ago what we are doing now. If we had, we would be\n12 months closer to the bargaining table. The problem of prevailing in Vietnam\nhas been made infinitely greater by the delay.\nTo those who say this is nothing but Monday morning quarterbacking--ane I\ndon't have any use for Monday morning quarterbacks--I would point out that I\nrepeatedly urged we destroy the SAM sites at the time they were being constructed.\nI made those remarks on the floor of the House. They are in the Congressional\nRecord.\nNow we see statements by South Vietnamese officials, as reported in the\nChristian Science Monitor, that the pacification program is on the point of collapse.\nIf there is substance to these statements, then the situation in Vietnam is\nexceedingly grave. For we will never succeed in our mission in Vietnam--to\nestablish a viable popular government there--unless we win the minds and the hearts\nof the Southvietnamese peasant.\nThe Republican Party will not make the Vietnam War an issue in 1968. But it\nwill be an issue, of course.\nIt will be an issue in the sense that the American people may well ask them-\nselves whether the Republican candidate cannot somehow break the deadlock and end\nthe war on an honorable basis.\nI cannot leave the Vietnam question without commenting that it is a complete\nmyth that President Eisenhower somehow, somewhere, committed the present Admini-\nstration to a land war in South Vietnam.\nAs I mentioned earlier, prosperity along with peace has been a key issue in\nrecent-year national elections. Let's look at the prosperity issue.\nThere is no question that the massive tax cuts of 1964 and 1965 touched off\na boom. That was a good action, supported by both parties. But there is also no\nquestion in my mind that the Johnson Administration doomed the boom by failing to\nslow down the economy when it became overheated in late 1965 and early 1966.\nThe situation called for deep cuts in domestic spending, possibly coupled\nwith an income tax increase. The Administration refused to initiate either course\nand, in fact, continued to overstimulate the economy. At the same time, the\nFederal Reserve Board launched its own fight against inflation and succeeded in\npushing up interest rates to the highest level in 40 years.\nThe cost of living rose sharply, hurting all Americans but especially the\naged and others on fixed incomes. We saw the greatest price advance for any\n12-month period except at the outset of the Korean War.\n(more)\n-6-\nThe effects of the inflationary surge of 1966 are still with us in the form\nof high prices. At the same time, the 3.3 per cent increase in the consumer\nprice index for 1966 has laid the foundation for big wage increases in 1967 as\nworkers in all industries strive to catch up. This in turn threatens a new\ninflationary spiral--as increased production costs put new pressure behind exist-\ning price levels.\nThere is sag and drag in the economy. The Administration has sought to\nstimulate business investment in new plant and equipment by asking Congress to\nrestore the 7 per cent tax credit for such investment. The House passed the\ninvestment tax credit legislation nearly two months ago, but it has been bogged\ndown in the Senate. Ironically, the President urged swift passage of the invest-\nment tax credit bill and stressed the need for quick action. Yet he sent his\nWhite House lieutenants to Capitol Hill to fight for the election campaign tax\ncheckoff amendment which has fouled up the tax credit bill in the Senate. This\nadded to the delay.\nWhile ostensibly seeking to stimulate the economy with the tax credit legis-\nlation, the President still insists the country needs an income tax increase--\nthe 6 per cent surtax. The proposed tax increase doesn't make any more sense now\nthan it did in January when the President advanced it.\nThis Administration mismanaged the American economy in 1966. Now it would\nadd to the damage wrought by inflation by loading an income tax increase on the\nworker and on an economy thrown into imbalance by its unwise policies.\nThere are many issues other than the overriding questions of peace and\nprosperity--the appalling increase in crime, the failure to deal adequately with\nair and water pollution, the misfiring of guns on the national front in the war\non poverty, the thrust toward greater federal power at a time when failure of\ncategorical federal grant-in-aid programs is becoming increasingly obvious.\nI firmly believe the American people--with traditional middle-of-the-road\nwisdom--are looking for a change of direction in their federal government.\nI believe the Republican Party offers them this New Direction--federal\ntax-sharing with the cities and states, the enlisting of private enterprise in\ntruly effective attacks on the evils of poverty, slummism, ghettoism, air and\nwater pollution, the properly-timed use of federal fiscal and monetary policy to\ngive the Nation a soundly growing economy with relative price stability and a tax\nstructure that stimulates rather than discourages private initiative.\nI see the American people seeking this New Direction in a rebirth of the\nSpirit that brought this Nation to greatness. The Republican Party stands\nready to serve them. Thank you.\n###\nFOR USE IN AM'S OF THURSDAY, MAY 11, 1967\nAN ADDRESS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH., HOUSE MINORITY LEADER\nFOR DELIVERY AT 8 P.M., WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 1967\nAT BOWLING GREEN UNIVERSITY, BOWLING GREEN, OHIO\nLadies and Gentlemen, the task you have given me is to look at the Republican\nParty and into my crystal ball and to give you a reading on Republican prospects\nfor 1968.\nI start from what I consider to be an undebatable premise--Republicans want\nto win in 1968. Let us go on from there.\nA California woman who edits a Republican newsletter recently wrote to me,\nsaying she wanted me to complete in as few words as possible a sentence that\nbegan, \"The mission of the minority party is...\"\nI promptly wrote back: \"The mission of the minority party is to become the\nmajority.\"\nNow, how do we in the minority hope to do that?\nI think we are on our way. We are on the move. I believe there is a good\nchance a Republican will be elected President of the United States in 1968 and\nthat the Republican Party will take control of the House of Representatives and\nmake substantial gains in the Senate.\nWhy do I believe this? I believe it because of widespread voter dissatis-\nfaction with the present Administration as reflected in the outcome of the 1966\nelections. That dissatisfaction is continuing and growing. I also believe it\nbecause the Republican Party has become a party of ideas, a party of young people,\na party with strong new leadership, a problem-solving party, a party of the\nfuture.\nLet me emphasize at the outset that no incumbent President is easy to beat.\nHistory proved that.\nRepublicans will have to pick \"the right man\" as their candidate in '68. The\nParty will have to unite behind him. The candidate will have to wage a skillful,\nwell-organized campaign and keep mistakes at a minimum. He will have to offer an\nappealing domestic program and a viable position on Vietnam. And, assuming that\nGeorge Wallace is a third-party candidate--and I believe he will be--the Republican\ncandidate will have to overcome certain voter defections to the Wallace camp.\nHaving sketched this \"tall order,\" I still feel encouraged.\nI feel encouraged because there is a new spirit pulsing through the Republican\nParty. There is new young blood in the Republican Party and it is rushing to the\nsurface much faster than many had expected. And the Republican Party has been\n(more)\n-2-\nbuilding--in terms of organization, program and ideas.\nMuch of this new spirit, this new excitement, is evident in the Congress\nand, more specifically, in the House of Representatives.\nIn the House and in the Senate, Republicans have set in motion a swift flow\nof proposals. This activity stands in sharp contrast to the inaction and inertia\nof the majority party. Our proposals also contrast sharply in content with those\nof the majority party. We would limit the Federal role and expand that of the\nprivate sector and the state and local governments in a fresh assault on problems\nthat have defied attacks by government alone.\nRoughly half of all Americans today are under 25 years of age. We are\nwitnessing what might be called a \"Youthquake.\" Most young Americans do not feel\na strong allegiance to any political party. They are interested in problem-solving\nand in programs that actually work.\nI think the new Republican Party has much to offer young Americans today.\nThe Republican Party is where the action is. Its ideas are not rooted in the Big\nDepression--a time that is alien to the thoughts and feelings of today's youth.\nUnlike the present majority party, the Republican Party is eagerly looking for\nnew ideas and new solutions. We are proposing sensible solutions for the\nSeventies. We do not rely on the tired theories of the Thirties. The other party\nseems bound by them.\nThe 1968 Republican candidate will need issues. He will find them not only\nin the other party's blunders and divisiveness but in the bank of new ideas now\nbeing built up by Republican activists in the Congress.\nYou have read of many of these ideas--sharing of federal tax revenue with\nthe cities and states to cut red tape and promote a larger local role in problem-\nsolving, establishment through the Percy-Widnall Bill of a National Home Ownership\nFoundation which would raise mortgage funds and help slum dwellers become proud\nhome owners, an attack on hard-core unemployment and poverty through tax credits\nencouraging industry to train the unskilled and make them productive citizens, a\nmovement to raise a majority of Americans to the college level through tax\ncredits for a portion of college expenses, an opportunity crusade enlisting\nprivate enterprise in a revamped war on poverty.\nThis is not rhetoric. This is a program. Republicans in Congress are making\na record for their presidential candidate of 1968 to run on.\nHouse Republicans also are making a record for Republican congressional\ncandidates to run on. We need 31 more seats to take over the House--and I think\n(more)\n-3-\nthere's a good chance we'll make it. We have a good chance for many reasons.\nOne of these is what might be called my Southern Strategy.\nThe strategy is to drive Southern Democrats in the House into the arms of\nthe Administration--where they belong--on votes that will hurt them in their home\ncongressional districts.\nThis strategy runs exactly counter to the old pattern of a Southern\nDemocrat-Republican coalition that often prevailed over Administration forces\nin the House in years past.\nBut I think it is far better to lose a few legislative battles and win the\nnext election. Besides, in following my Southern Strategy we Republicans in the\nHouse are staking out positions in which we believe responsible, constructive\npositions.\nThere will be times when Republicans will win in the 90th Congress. We\nwon't win as many legislative fights as we could if we resorted to the old\ncoalition tactics, but it's the Big Prize that counts, and that's what we're\nafter.\nThe Big Prize is control of at least one House of Congress and control of\nthe White House. We want that prize not because we relish power for the sake of\npower but because we sincerely believe that our course, our program, is a better\nway than LBJ.\nIt is only some 14 months before the two major political parties meet in\nconvention to name their presidential candidates. Already the issues of the 1968\ncampaign are taking shape. It will be an historic campaign--a campaign that will\nshape the destiny of America far into the future.\nIn all recent-year national elections there have been two major issues--\npeace and prosperity.\nNext year we may find ourselves with still another major issue--one of great\nimportance in the 1966 elections.\nThat issue, to put it simply, is the Credibility Gap. It has been variously\ndefined as a Crisis of Confidence--the people's lack of trust in the present\nAdministration--and the gulf that separates thinking people from the Administration.\nAfter being misled on many occasions by top Administration officials, the attitude\nof millions of Americans toward their federal government has become, \"Who and what\ncan we believe?\"\nRepublicans didn't create the Credibility Gap. Neither did the newsmen who\nare so often criticized by the President and some of his cabinet heads. It was\n(more)\n-4-\nthe Administration itself which dug the Credibility Gap and has proceeded to make\nit deeper and wider in a variety of ways.\nVietnam gave rise to the Credibility Gap. It had its beginning when top\nAdministration spokesmen repeatedly underestimated the gravity, scope and\nduration of what has become the third largest foreign war in American history.\nThe Administration's conduct of the war also has produced in the American\npeople a deep sense of frustration, a crisis of confidence at a time of inter-\nnational crisis for the Nation.\nOn at least three occasions the Administration aroused hopes for peace in\nthe American people and left them feeling \"let down.\" Those occasions were the\nbombing pause in early 1966, the Honolulu Conference in February, 1966, and\nPresident Johnson's trip to Manila, Australia and Vietnam last fall, just before\nthe election.\nAll of this relates to the Credibility Gap. That is why the polls show a\nseeming contradiction. A majority of the American people approve of our basic\npolicy in Vietnam--they want to thwart Communist agression in Southeast Asia--but\nthey disapprove of Mr. Johnson's handling of the Vietnam situation.\nA clue to Mr. Johnson's Vietnam troubles may lie in his policy of gradualism,\nhis policy of militarily unsound restraint in fighting the war.\nIt seems clear to me that this policy has been a failure when you look at the\ntotal picture. And the Administration is admitting the failure of its policy of\ngradualism by doing now what it refused to do a year ago.\nOur commander-in-chief now is ordering our airmen to bomb targets in North\nVietnam that have been strictly off-limits. If it is right to hit those targets\nnow, why wasn't it smarter to strike them before? Again, the credibility gap.\nOur airmen are going through murderous anti-aircraft fire to hit targets\nthey could have knocked out with ease in early 1966, and the responsibility rests\nsolely on the Administration.\nWhen the North Vietnamese surface-to-air missile sites were being built,\nthey were declared off-limits to our flyers. When the Russian-built MIGs first\nappeared in Vietnam, we allowed them sanctuary on the ground.\nNow our pilots must fly in low over North Vietnamese targets to escape the\nmissiles and thus are subject to terrible fire from radar-controlled anti-aircraft\nguns and even small arms. Our air losses are appallingly high, and the enemy\nseems entrenched.\nI submit-with all due respect to those in higher authority--that we should\n(more)\n-5-\nhave been doing 12 months ago what we are doing now. If we had, we would be\n12 months closer to the bargaining table. The problem of prevailing in Vietnam\nhas been made infinitely greater by the delay.\nTo those who say this is nothing but Monday morning quarterbacking--and I\ndon't have any use for Monday morning quarterbacks--I would point out that I\nrepeatedly urged we destroy the SAM sites at the time they were being constructed.\nI made those remarks on the floor of the House. They are in the Congressional\nRecord.\nNow we see statements by South Vietnamese officials, as reported in the\nChristian Science Monitor, that the pacification program is on the point of collapse.\nIf there is substance to these statements, then the situation in Vietnam is\nexceedingly grave. For we will never succeed in our mission in Vietnam--to\nestablish a viable popular government there--unless we win the minds and the hearts\nof the Southvietnamese peasant.\nThe Republican Party will not make the Vietnam War an issue in 1968. But it\nwill be an issue, of course.\nIt will be an issue in the sense that the American people may well ask them-\nselves whether the Republican candidate cannot somehow break the deadlock and end\nthe war on an honorable basis.\nI cannot leave the Vietnam question without commenting that it is a complete\nmyth that President Eisenhower somehow, somewhere, committed the present Admini-\nstration to a land war in South Vietnam.\nAs I mentioned earlier, prosperity along with peace has been a key issue in\nrecent-year national elections. Let's look at the prosperity issue.\nThere is no question that the massive tax cuts of 1964 and 1965 touched off\na boom. That was a good action, supported by both parties. But there is also no\nquestion in my mind that the Johnson Administration doomed the boom by failing to\nslow down the economy when it became overheated in late 1965 and early 1966.\nThe situation called for deep cuts in domestic spending, possibly coupled\nwith an income tax increase. The Administration refused to initiate either course\nand, in fact, continued to overstimulate the economy. At the same time, the\nFederal Reserve Board launched its own fight against inflation and succeeded in\npushing up interest rates to the highest level in 40 years.\nThe cost of living rose sharply, hurting all Americans but especially the\naged and others on fixed incomes. We saw the greatest price advance for any\n12-month period except at the outset of the Korean War.\n(more)\n-6-\nThe effects of the inflationary surge of 1966 are still with us in the form\nof high prices. At the same time, the 3.3 per cent increase in the consumer\nprice index for 1966 has laid the foundation for big wage increases in 1967 as\nworkers in all industries strive to catch up. This in turn threatens a new\ninflationary spiral--as increased production costs put new pressure behind exist-\ning price levels.\nThere is sag and drag in the economy. The Administration has sought to\nstimulate business investment in new plant and equipment by asking Congress to\nrestore the 7 per cent tax credit for such investment. The House passed the\ninvestment tax credit legislation nearly two months ago, but it has been bogged\ndown in the Senate. Ironically, the President urged swift passage of the invest-\nment tax credit bill and stressed the need for quick action. Yet he sent his\nWhite House lieutenants to Capitol Hill to fight for the election campaign tax\ncheckoff amendment which has fouled up the tax credit bill in the Senate. This\nadded to the delay.\nWhile ostensibly seeking to stimulate the economy with the tax credit legis-\nlation, the President still insists the country needs an income tax increase--\nthe 6 per cent surtax. The proposed tax increase doesn't make any more sense now\nthan it did in January when the President advanced it.\nThis Administration mismanaged the American economy in 1966. Now it would\nadd to the damage wrought by inflation by loading an income tax increase on the\nworker and on an economy thrown into imbalance by its unwise policies.\nThere are many issues other than the overriding questions of peace and\nprosperity--the appalling increase in crime, the failure to deal adequately with\nair and water pollution, the misfiring of guns on the national front in the war\non poverty, the thrust toward greater federal power at a time when failure of\ncategorical federal grant-in-aid programs is becoming increasingly obvious.\nI firmly believe the American people--with traditional middle-of-the-road\nwisdom--are looking for a change of direction in their federal government.\nI believe the Republican Party offers them this New Direction--federal\ntax-sharing with the cities and states, the enlisting of private enterprise in\ntruly effective attacks on the evils of poverty, slummism, ghettoism, air and\nwater pollution, the properly-timed use of federal fiscal and monetary policy to\ngive the Nation a soundly growing economy with relative price stability and a tax\nstructure that stimulates rather than discourages private initiative.\nI see the American people seeking this New Direction in a rebirth of the\nSpirit that brought this Nation to greatness. The Republican Party stands\nready to serve them. Thank you.\n###"
}