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    "title": "Summit County Republican Dinner, Akron, OH, May 16, 1968",
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box D24, folder \"Summit County Republican\nDinner, Akron, OH, May 16, 1968\" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and\nSpeech File 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 The Council donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain.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.\nDistribution: Full 5/16/68\n20 Copies Mr. Ford\nM office Copy\nCONGRESSMAN\nNEWS\nGERALD R. FORD\nHOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER\nRELEASE\n--FOR USE IN FRIDAY AM's--\nMay 17, 1968\nExcerpts from a Speech by House Republican Leader Gerald R. Ford, R-Mich., at a\nSummit County, Ohio, Republican Dinner, Thursday evening, May 16, 1968,\nat Akron, Ohio.\nI am especially pleased to be here with Ray Bliss because I think this\ndinner is an early edition of the victory celebration we'll be having after the\npeople go to the polls in November.\nOne of the reasons we will win on Nov. 5 is sitting right here with us\ntonight. I am talking about the man who rebuilt the Ohio Republican Party from\nthe ground up after 1948. I am talking about the man who has made a tremendous\ncontribution to the great national Republican comeback of 1966 and is now gearing\nup the national Republican organization for a victorious performance this fall.\nThis is the background behind my resolution which the National Republican\nCoordinating Committee recently adopted, urging the 1968 GOP Presidential candidate\nto retain Ohio's Ray Bliss as chairman of the National Republican Committee.\nIn my book, Ray Bliss is a great national chairman--and when you've \"got\nyourself a winner\" you go with him all the way.\nI'm being a little selfish, of course. I figure that if Republicans could\nmake a net gain of 47 seats in the House of Representatives in '66 with Ray as\nnational chairman, we should be able to go over the top with him in '68 and win\ncontrol of the House on the Hill as well as the House on Pennsylvania Avenue.\nAnd let me impress upon you that when we do regain control of the House of\nRepresentatives, your own Bill Ayres will become chairman of the House Education\nand Labor Committee and also will rank immediately behind the Republican chairman\non the House Veterans Affairs Committee.\nAfter years of Democratic mis-rule in Washington, Republicans taking over in\nthe White House and the House of Representatives will face a tremendous challenge.\nConsider what is happening in this country with the Democrats in charge.\nThe cost of living rises at an annual rate of 4 per cent or more. Home mortgage\ninterest rates are the highest in 50 years. The dollar is in deep trouble at home\nand abroad. Billions of dollars more leave the country than come in each year--and\nforeigners swap those dollars for our dwindling stock of gold. The dollar no longer\nis as good as gold. In fact, our paper money has become exactly that, because the\n(more)\nGERALD FORD LIBRUET\nDigitized from Box D24 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\n-2-\ngold backing has been removed from it. The taxpayer carries a heavier burden than\never before in our history--and is about to have an even greater load placed on his\nback. Our farmers produce more but make less, because the cost-price squeeze has\nmade them prime victims of inflation.\nPoverty continues to stalk our rural areas and our cities despite the War\non Poverty launched with high-sounding rhetoric by Democratic politicians just\nbefore the 1964 elections. I say Democratic claims of success in the Poverty War\nshould be measured against the row upon row of tents and shanties in the Poor\nPeople's Resurrection City in Washington's West Potomac Park.\nWhile the problems remain and the cities simmer and fester with the miseries\nof the slums, an atmosphere of lawlessness prevades the land.\nIn the last seven years the national crime rate has gone up nearly eight\ntimes as fast as the population. And still the American people wait for a\nDemocratic-controlled Congress to act. I can assure you they would not be waiting\nfor action if Republicans had been in power.\nThere is a desperate need for new leadership in America, the kind of leader-\nship that will make our streets safe again and the kind of leadership that will\nsave the dollar and help make the American worker's wages fit his family's needs.\nWe need a crackdown--a crackdown on the criminal activity throughout America\nwhich makes Americans hide in their homes at night and a crackdown on the fiscal\nirresponsibility in Washington which raises the old specter of boom and bust.\nI think the people are fed up with the Democratic Party. They're fed up\nwith higher and higher prices, higher and higher taxes, higher and higher interest\nrates, higher and higher crime rates, more and bigger riots, and greater and\ngreater violence.\nBut that's not the only reason they will turn to the Republican Party in\nNovember. They will vote Republican in November because the Republican Party has\nfashioned a program that offers the Nation genuine progress.\nThat program would provide good-paying jobs for the hard-core unemployed and\nthe underemployed by triggering a nationwide on-the-job training program by industry,\nestablish a Domestic Development Bank to make investment capital available to white\nand non-white businessmen alike in the central cities, and bring homes--not promises\nor public housing--to the low-income poor. We would build a New America with the\nbest formula for progress ever devised--helping people to help themselves. We are\nbuilding-- and that's why we will win.\n###\nLIBRARY\nCONGRESSMAN\nNEWS\nGERALD R. FORD\nHOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER\nRELEASE\n--FOR USE IN FRIDAY AM'\nMay 17, 1968\nExcerpts from a Speech by House Republican Leader Gerald R. Ford, R-Mich., at a\nSummit County, Ohio, Republican Dinner, Thursday evening, May 16, 1968,\nat Akron, Ohio.\nI am especially pleased to be here with Ray Bliss because I think this\ndinner is an early edition of the victory celebration we'll be having after the\npeople go to the polls in November.\nOne of the reasons we will win on Nov. 5 is sitting right here with us\ntonight. I am talking about the man who rebuilt the Ohio Republican Party from\nthe ground up after 1948. I am talking about the man who has made a tremendous\ncontribution to the great national Republican comeback of 1966 and is now gearing\nup the national Republican organization for a victorious performance this fall.\nThis is the background behind my resolution which the National Republican\nCoordinating Committee recently adopted, urging the 1968 GOP Presidential candidate\nto retain Ohio's Ray Bliss as chairman of the National Republican Committee.\nIn my book, Ray Bliss is a great national chairman--and when you've \"got\nyourself a winner\" you go with him all the way.\nI'm being a little selfish, of course. I figure that if Republicans could\nmake a net gain of 47 seats in the House of Representatives in '66 with Ray as\nnational chairman, we should be able to go over the top with him in '68 and win\ncontrol of the House on the Hill as well as the House on Pennsylvania Avenue.\nAnd let me impress upon you that when we do regain control of the House of\nRepresentatives, your own Bill Ayres will become chairman of the House Education\nand Labor Committee and also will rank immediately behind the Republican chairman\non the House Veterans Affairs Committee.\nAfter years of Democratic mis-rule in Washington, Republicans taking over in\nthe White House and the House of Representatives will face a tremendous challenge.\nConsider what is happening in this country with the Democrats in charge.\nThe cost of living rises at an annual rate of 4 per cent or more. Home mortgage\ninterest rates are the highest in 50 years. The dollar is in deep trouble at home\nand abroad. Billions of dollars more leave the country than come in each year--and\nforeigners swap those dollars for our dwindling stock of gold. The dollar no longer\nis as good as gold. In fact, our paper money has become exactly that, because the\n(more)\n-2-\ngold backing has been removed from it. The taxpayer carries a heavier burden than\never before in our history--and is about to have an even greater load placed on his\nback. Our farmers produce more but make less, because the cost-price squeeze has\nmade them prime victims of inflation.\nPoverty continues to stalk our rural areas and our cities despite the War\non Poverty launched with high-sounding rhetoric by Democratic politicians just\nbefore the 1964 elections. I say Democratic claims of success in the Poverty War\nshould be measured against the row upon row of tents and shanties in the Poor\nPeople's Resurrection City in Washington's West Potomac Park.\nWhile the problems remain and the cities simmer and fester with the miseries\nof the slums, an atmosphere of lawlessness prevades the land.\nIn the last seven years the national crime rate has gone up nearly eight\ntimes as fast as the population. And still the American people wait for a\nDemocratic-controlled Congress to act. I can assure you they would not be waiting\nfor action if Republicans had been in power.\nThere is a desperate need for new leadership in America, the kind of leader-\nship that will make our streets safe again and the kind of leadership that will\nsave the dollar and help make the American worker's wages fit his family's needs.\nWe need a crackdown--a crackdown on the criminal activity throughout America\nwhich makes Americans hide in their homes at night and a crackdown on the fiscal\nirresponsibility in Washington which raises the old specter of boom and bust.\nI think the people are fed up with the Democratic Party. They're fed up\nwith higher and higher prices, higher and higher taxes, higher and higher interest\nrates, higher and higher crime rates, more and bigger riots, and greater and\ngreater violence.\nBut that's not the only reason they will turn to the Republican Party in\nNovember. They will vote Republican in November because the Republican Party has\nfashioned a program that offers the Nation genuine progress.\nThat program would provide good-paying jobs for the hard-core unemployed and\nthe underemployed by triggering a nationwide on-the-job training program by industry,\nestablish a Domestic Development Bank to make investment capital available to white\nand non-white businessmen alike in the central cities, and bring homes--not promises\nor public housing--to the low-income poor. We would build a New America with the\nbest formula for progress ever devised--helping people to help themselves. We are\nbuilding--a that's why we will win.\n# # #"
}