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Lincoln Day Dinner Speech, Louisville, KY, February 8, 1969
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Lincoln Day Dinner Speech, Louisville, KY, February 8, 1969
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The original documents are located in Box D26, folder "Lincoln Day Dinner Speech,
Louisville, KY, February 8, 1969" 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States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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.
Digitized from Box D26 of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
LINC LINCOLN DAY DINNER SPEECH. SATURDAY EVENING,
Bishp
FEB. 8, 1969. AT LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.
NUNNE
Dov
Virgin
Joh.
Offentimes introduction itc.
NUNN
GOOD EVENING. WHAT A THRILL IT
IS TO BE SPEAKING TO YOU IN THIS GREAT FORUM,
YOUR SPLENDID FREEDOM HALL.
YOU KNOW, I FEEL RATHER AT HOME
HERE BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN THIS TREMENDOUS
PLACE ON TELEVISION SO MANY TIMES. I LET
competition in artleties mowndays
MY SONS DO THE PLAYING NOW BUT I AM STILL
an anthuaraste parent + a monday mony
VERY MUCH A SPORTS FAN, SO I HAVE WATCHED
YOUR UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE BASKETBALL
TEAMS ON "THE TUBE," AS WE SAY, AND ALSO THE
CHAMPIONSHIP BASKETBALL GAMES THAT HAVE BEEN
PLAYED IN THIS ARENA.
Didn't
IT IS WONDERFUL TO BE IN THE
"BLUE GRASS COUNTRY" -- THE LAND OF DANIEL
BOONE / ABE LINCOLN JOHN SHERMAN COOPER,
THRUSTON MORTON MARLOW COOK LOUIE NUNN
2-
BILL COWGER GENE SNYDER, AND/TIM CARTER.
THIS IS NOT A RECITATION OF ALL
past & present
YOUR HEROES OF COURSE -- NOT A LISTING OF
ALL OF KENTUCKY' S OUTSTANDING MEN. BUI IT
IS A LIST OF SOME OF THE MEN YOU ARE PROUD
OF, MEN WHO HAVE MADE KENTUCKY A PROUD STATE.
I MENTIONED DANIEL BOONE FIRST
BECAUSE HE CAME FIRST AND LED THE WAY. HIS
NAME RECALLS THAT YOUR PEOPLE WERE AMONG THE
FIRST OF THE PIONEERS, THE UNBELIEVABLY BRAVE
AND HARDY SETTLERS WHO CLEARED THE FORESTS
AND MADE THE KENTUCKY WILDERNESS A LITTLE
MORE HOSPITABLE FOR THOMAS AND NANCY LINCOLN,
AND OTHERS.
Over the years
YOU HAVE HEARD MANY A SPEAKER
REMARK ABOUT THE FACT THAT ABRAHAM LINCOLN
WAS BORN ON A FARM IN HARDIN COUNTY, KENTUCKY
AND LIVED THERE UNTIL HE WAS A LAD OF SEVEN.
YOU MAY NOT HAVE HEARD THE STORY
ABOUT THE MAN MAN,/LINCOLN,/AN AND A STAGECOACH
-3-
TRIP HE TOOK BETWEEN SPRINGFIELD, ILL., AND
A DESTINATION IN INDIANA. WELL, THERE WAS
JUST ONE OTHER FELLOW ON THE STAGECOACH, A
KENTUCKIAN, AND AFTER A WHILE HE OFFERED
LINCOLN A HUNK OF CHEWING TOBACCO. LINCOLN
SAID, "NO THANKS, I DON' T CHEW." A LITTLE
LATER LINCOLN'S COMPANION OFFERED ABE A
CIGAR. "NO THANKS," LINCOLN SAID, "I DON' T
SMOKE." CAME EVENING AND THE STRANGER
PULLED OUT A FLASK, HOLDING IT OUT TO
LINCOLN. "NO THANKS," LINCOLN SAID, "I DON'T
DRINK." ALL OF THIS SORT OF RUBBED THE
from Kintuchy
GENEROUS GENTLEMAN THE WRONG WAY. WHEN THEY
REACHED THE POINT WHERE THEY PARTED COMPANY,
THE KENTUCKIAN SAID TO LINCOLN: "SEE HERE,
STRANGER, YOU' RE A CLEVER BUT STRANGE
COMPANION. I MAY NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN, AND
I DON'T WANT TO OFFEND YOU, BUT I WANT TO
SAY THIS: "MY EXPERIENCE HAS TAUGHT ME THAT
A MAN WHO HAS NO VICES HAS DARNED FEW VIRTUES."
-4-
LINCOLN S HABITS NATURALLY SEEMED
STRANGE TO A MAN FROM A STATE WHICH
PRODUCES FINE BOURBON AND TOBACCO LEAF.
BUT OF COURSE LINCOLN HAD THE
GREATEST OF VIRTUES AND THE KIND OF
CHARACTER AND INTEGRITY AND COMPASSION THAT
MADE HIM A UNIQUE MAN -- A GREAT LEADER WHO
SEEMED CREATED FOR HIS TIMES.
AND WE HAVE NOW TODAY IN OUR
NEW PRESIDENT A MAN WHO SEEMS CREATED FOR
HIS TIMES, A MAN WHO IS DESTINED TO LEAD THE
UNITED STATES THROUGH SOME OF THE MOST
CRITICAL MOMENTS IN OUR HISTORY.
as
we
THERE ARE STRIKING SIMILARITIES
Surry
BETWEEN THE PERIOD WHEN ABRAHAM LINCOLN
SERVED AS 16th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
AND THIS ERA WHEN RICHARD M. NIXON SERVES
AS OUR 37th CHIEF EXECUTIVE.
IN 1860, AS NOW, THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE WERE SORELY DIVIDED AND BITTERNESS TORE
-5-
AT THE HEART OF THE COUNTRY.
IN THE RACE FOR THE PRESIDENCY IN
1860 THERE WERE FOUR CANDIDATES, SO THAT
THE VOTE WAS EVEN MORE SPLINTERED THAN IN
THE THREE-MAN 1968 RACE.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN RECEIVED
SLIGHTLY LESS THAN 40 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL
POPULAR VOTE BUT WON A MAJORITY OF THE
ELECTORAL VOTES. RICHARD NIXON RECEIVED
43.4 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL POPULAR VOTE,
AND WON A MAJORITY OF THE ELECTORAL VOTE.
SO HE DID BETTER THAN LINCOLN. PERCENTAGEWISE.
THERE ARE THOSE WHO SAY PRESIDENT
NIXON DOES NOT HAVE A MANDATE. I SAY imphatically
MR. NIXON DOES HAVE A MANDATE -- A MANDATE
FOR CHANGE, A MANDATE FROM THE NEARLY SIX
OUT OF 10 AMERICANS WHO VOTED FOR A CHANGE
OF ADMINISTRATIONS IN WASHINGTON.
IT IS TRUE PRESIDENT NIXON FACES
MONUMENTAL TASKS IN RALLYING SUPPORT FOR
-6-
HIS PROGRAM FROM A COUNTRY WHICH GAVE HIM,
PERSONALLY, LESS THAN A MAJORITY OF ITS
VOTES AND A CONGRESS CONTROLLED BY THE
OPPOSITION PARTY.
BUT MR. NIXON IS A MAN ACCUSTOMED
TO MONUMENTAL TASKS, AS HE HAS PROVED IN
THE PAST. I BELIEVE HE IS ALREADY PROVING
HIS METTLE IN THE GREATEST JOB HE HAS EVER
HAD, probably as tough a job as any President including has even Bishop had Tanked
YOU KNOW, FIVE CLERGYMEN ^ TOOK PART
IN THE NIXON INAUGURAL CEREMONY. THIS
PROMPTED SOME PEOPLE TO REMARK THAT MR. NIXON
IS THE MOST PRAYED-OVER PRESIDENT THIS
COUNTRY HAS EVER HAD. I PERSONALLY THINK
THAT'S GOOD.
THIS REMINDS ME OF A LINCOLN
STORY. DURING THE CIVIL WAR. LINCOLN LEARNED
THAT THE AUTHORITIES AT A CERTAIN HOSPITAL
HAD FORBIDDEN ANYONE TO RECITE PRAYERS
FOR THE PATIENTS OR EVEN TO READ THE BIBLE
Sounds a bit like The Performent day Supreme CI.
TO THEM., LINCOLN REMOVED THE BAN AND SAID:
"IF THERE WAS MORE PRAYING AND LESS SWEARING,
IT WOULD BE FAR BETTER FOR OUR COUNTRY."
RubiAT
Buship
AT THE RISK OF SOUNDING SANCTIMONIOUS, I SAY,
"AMEN."
BELIEVE THIS COUNTRY HAS MUCH
NEED OF PRAYER. when 2 All The problems at home +abroal.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN HAS BEEN DESCRIBED
BY HISTORIANS AS A SOMETIMES UNCOUTH MAN AND
A TELLER OF OFF-COLOR STORIES. HE IS ALSO
KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN A MAN OF DEEP RELIGIOUS
CONVICTIONS AND A STUDENT OF THE BIBLE THE
BOOK OF TRUTH. HE WAS A SIMPLE MAN, A MAN
OF PEACE.
I SAID EARLIER THAT I BELIEVE
PRESIDENT NIXON, LIKE ABRAHAM LINCOLN, IS A
MAN UNIQUELY SUITED TO SERVE OUR NATION IN
THIS TIME OF CRISIS.
EVERY ACTION TAKEN BY MR. NIXON
SINCE HE TOOK THE OATH OF OFFICE AS
-8-
PRESIDENT BEARS OUT THE CONFIDENCE, THE
FEELING OF TRUST I HAVE IN THE MAN WHO NOW
LEADS THIS NATION. Press Conformas/D.C./ Foreyn Imp/
HIS INAUGURAL ADDRESS WAS
UNUSUAL, PERHAPS THE MOST UNUSUAL EVER
DELIVERED IN THIS COUNTRY.
IT WAS UNUSUAL BECAUSE IT WAS A
QUIET SPEECH QUIETLY DELIVERED. THERE WERE
NO GLORIOUS PROMISES CLOTHED IN GLOWING
RHETORIC. THERE WAS NO BOMBAST. THERE WERE
NO STRIDENT PARTISAN PHRASES.
IT WAS A MESSAGE OF PEACE. IT
CONTAINED WORDS OF GREAT PORTENT FOR PEACE
BOTH AT HOME AND ABROAD.
IT WAS A MESSAGE OF THE SPIRIT,
FOR IT EXTOLLED THOSE QUALITIES AMERICA
HUNGERS FOR TODAY -- "GOODNESS,/DECENCY,/
LOVE/AND KINDNESS." MR. NIXON APPEALED,
AS DID ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN HIS FIRST
INAUGURAL ADDRESS, TO "THE BETTER ANGELS OF
-9-
OUR NATURE."
I BELIEVE PRESIDENT NIXON WILL BE
NUMBERED AMONG THE PEACEMAKERS. I BELIEVE
HE WILL FIND AN HONORABLE COMPROMISE TO END
THE KILLING IN VIETNAM AND AN ACCEPTABLE
FORMULA FOR AN ARAB-ISRAELI SETTLEMENT WHICH
WILL AVERT A CONFRONTATION BETWEEN THE
NUCLEAR POWERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST.
I BELIEVE, Too, THAT HE WILL
SUCCEED HERE AT HOME IN ESTABLISHING "THE
DECENT ORDER THAT MAKES PROGRESS POSSIBLE
AND OUR LIVES SECURE."
THERE ARE SOME WHO SAY THE NEW
PRESIDENT IS ACTING TOO SLOWLY IN "SETTLING
IN" HIS ADMINISTRATION AND SETTING NEW POLICY.
I SAY/THAT THIS KIND OF DELIBERATENESS much IS
ALL TO THE GOOD. WE HAVE HAD, TOO MUCH OF
THE HASTE THAT MAKES WASTE IN RECENT YEARS.
WHEN SWIFT DECISIONS ARE NEEDED, NEEDED
THEY WILL BE MADE. BUT, OVERALL, THE
-10-
NIXON ADMINISTRATION WILL BE MARKED BY
CALM DELIBERATION/AND STABILITY propress. IT
WILL
BE A "COOL" ADMINISTRATION, A COMMON SENSE
ADMINISTRATION. Isn't That what america no lady
COMMON SENSE CAN BRING US GREAT
ACHIEVEMENTS. IT MAY EVEN CONFOUND OUR
ENEMIES. FOR AS RALPH WALDO EMERSON ONCE
WROTE, "NOTHING ASTONISHES MEN SO MUCH AS
COMMON SENSE AND PLAIN DEALING."
AS A NATION AND A PEOPLE WE ARE
FACED WITH GREAT PROBLEMS AT THIS POINT IN
HISTORY.
WHAT WAS THE LEGACY LEFT TO MR.
NIXON BY THE OUTGOING ADMINISTRATION? WHAT
PROBLEMS DID THE REPUBLICAN ADMINISTRATION
INHERIT?
THE LONGEST FOREIGN WAR IN
AMERICAN HISTORY, WITH CASUALTIES NOW
TOTALLING MORE THAN 31,000 G.I.\S KILLED IN
COMBAT AND NEARLY 200,000 WOUNDED.
-11-
Webane The
A CAULDRON OF CONFLICT IN THE
MTDDLE EAST THAT THREATENS TO BOIL OVER INTO
A CONFRONTATION BETWEEN THE TWO MAJOR NUCLEAR
POWERS, THE UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA.
A THREE-YEAR-LONG INFLATIONARY
SPIRAL WHICH IN 1968 PRODUCED THE SHARPEST
INCREASE IN THE COST OF LIVING IN 17 YEARS.
RECORD-HIGH INTEREST RATES
PUSHED UP BY EXCESSIVE FEDERAL SPENDING.
A MOUNTING TIDE OF CRIMINALITY
THE
RISING BY NEARLY 90 PER CENT IN THE PAST
EIGHT YEARS.
RIOTS, CAMPUS REBELLIONS AND A
NEAR-BREAKDOWN IN LAW AND ORDER ACROSS THE
COUNTRY.
POCKETS OF POVERTY IN THE MIDST
OF PLENTY, DEALT WITH UNDER A PROGRAM WHICH
GAVE RISE TO THIEVERY, EMBEZZLEMENT AND
CORRUPTION.
A COST-PRICE SQUEEZE ON THE FARM
-12-
THAT SHUTS FARMERS OUT FROM THEIR FAIR SHARE
OF OUR ECONOMIC WEALTH.
THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION IS MOVING
CAREFULLY AND FIRMLY TO TAKE ON ALL OF THESE
HORRENDOUS PROBLEMS. PRESIDENT NIXON VIEWS
THEM AS A CHALLENGE FROM WHICH WE CANNOT
AND MUST NOT SHRINK. INDEED, HE HAS OPENED
FOR US THE VISTAS OF OPPORTUNITY -- THE
OPPORTUNITY TO RE-ORDER OUR PRIORITIES AND
TO GET ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF BUILDING A NEW
AND GREATER AMERICA.
In The short span of 3 week
WE ARE GETTING A RE-ORDERING
OF OUR PRIORITIES.
WHAT IS OUR CHIEF DOMESTIC
CONCERN
THERE IS NONE GREATER THAN THAT
OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY -- THE CONCERN OVER
VIOLENCE IN THE STREETS AND THE STILL-
ROCKETING RISE IN CRIME. PRESIDENT NIXON
Social couses
IS ACTING TO ANSWER THAT CONCERN.
plus
ABRAHAM LINCOLN PREACHED "REVERENCE
-13-
FOR THE LAW" AND URGED THAT IT BECOME "THE
POLITICAL RELIGION OF THE NATION," FOR HE
KNEW KNEW, AS WE DO, THAT WITHOUT ORDER THERE CAN
BE NO PROGRESS. WITHOUT ORDER THERE CAN
ONLY BE ANARCHY, CHAOS AND CONFUSION.
WE MUST ATTACK CRIME WITH ALL
THE MANPOWER AND THE WEAPONS AND THE
FIRMNESS REQUIRED TO CURB IT -- AND WE WILL
DO SO. Bail reform/betted & judger
WE MUST LAY A FOUNDATION FOR
ORDER BY IMPROVING THE QUALITY AND DIRECTION
OF LIFE IN AMERICA AND THE RESPONSIVENESS
OF ITS INSTITUTIONS -- AND WE WILL DO THAT
ALSO.
THE PRESIDENCY IS A POWERFUL
OFFICE. ITS OCCUPANT GENERATES AN
ATMOSPHERE WHICH MYSTERIOUSLY BUT
UNMISTAKABLY AFFECTS THE LIVES OF MOST
AMERICANS. THE PRESIDENT SETS A TONE FOR
THE COUNTRY.
-14-
HAVING ASSUMED THE OFFICE OF
PRESIDENT WHEN THE PAGES OF AMERICAN HISTORY
WERE FLOODED WITH A SWELLING TIDE OF CRIME
AND VIOLENCE, RICHARD NIXON HAS RESOLVED
TO ROLL BACK THE RISING WAVE OF CRIME AND
TO COOL THE VIOLENT PASSIONS THAT HAVE
ENGULFED THIS COUNTRY. HE HAS MADE AN
EXCELLENT START.
THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION IS
BUILDING A PROGRAM. A REPUBLICAN PROGRAM IN
THE IMAGE OF THE FIRST AND GREATEST
REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT, THAT NATIVE SON OF
KENTUCKY, ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WE ARE BUILDING A REPUBLICAN
PROGRAM IN THE IMAGE OF HIM WHO SAID:
"THE LEGITIMATE OBJECT OF
GOVERNMENT IS TO DO FOR A COMMUNITY OF
PEOPLE WHATEVER THEY NEED TO HAVE DONE, BUT
CANNOT DO AT ALL, OR CANNOT SO WELL DO, FOR
THEMSELVES, IN THEIR SEPARATE AND
-15-
INDIVIDUAL CAPACITIES."
WE ARE BUILDING A PROGRAM IN THE
IMAGE OF HIM WHO SAID: "THERE IS NO
GRIEVANCE THAT IS A FIT OBJECT OF REDRESS
BY MOB LAW."
I BELIEVE THAT REPUBLICAN
PROGRAMS WILL BRING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
TOGETHER IN PURSUIT OF GREAT NATIONAL GOALS,
GOALS THAT WILL BE ACHIEVED BY THE QUIET
COOPERATION OF GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS, AND
THE VOLUNTARY EFFORT OF PRIVATE CITIZENS --
AND NOT BY SHOUTING OR ROCK-THROWING.
OUR REPUBLICAN PROGRAM WILL
PRODUCE UNITY AT HOME CURB THE INFLATION
THAT MOCKS OUR SEEMING PROSPERITY,/GIVE
THE FARMER 100 PER CENT OF OPPORTUNITY AND
HIS FAIR SHARE OF OUR ECONOMIC WEALTH,/REDUCE
CRIME AND RESTORE RESPECT FOR LAW AND ORDER, /
RESOLVE THE URBAN CRISIS AND ERASE RACIAL
TENSIONS,/REFORM THE ENTIRE WELFARE CONCEPT,
-16-
END THE PARADOX OF MALNUTRITION IN THE MIDST
OF PLENTY.
WHAT ALL OF US MUST DO IS TO JOIN
IN A GREAT CRUSADE TO TURN THIS COUNTRY AROUND,
TURN IT AWAY FROM THE SOAP BOX PHILOSOPHY OF
GOVERNMENT-SOLVE-ALL AND TURN IT TOWARD THE
NEW DIRECTION OF INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY
AND PERSONAL DEDICATION TO SOLVING THE
PROBLEMS OF OTHERS.
THIS IS THE PATH ON WHICH PRESIDENT
NIXON WILL LEAD US. THIS IS THE COURSE HE
WILL SET.
PRESIDENT NIXON, OF COURSE, IS
A POLITICAL LEADER AS WELL AS PRESIDENT OF
ALL THE PEOPLE. HE IS A GREAT REPUBLICAN,
AS WAS ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
AS YOU KNOW, ABE LINCOLN WAS
ELECTED IN 1860 AS THE FIRST REPUBLICAN TO
OCCUPY THE WHITE HOUSE. THEN THE REPUBL ICAN
PARTY SUFFERED A SETBACK IN 1862 WHEN THE
-17-
DEMOCRATS TOOK THE GOVERNORSHIP OF NEW YORK
AND ADDED SOME CONGRESSIONAL SEATS.
WHEN ASKED HOW HE FELT ABOUT THE
RESULTS OF THE NEW YORK ELECTION, ABRAHAM
LINCOLN SAID: "SOMEWHAT LIKE THE BOY IN
KENTUCKY WHO STUBBED HIS TOE WHILE RUNNING
TO SEE HIS SWEETHEART. THE BOY SAID HE WAS
TOO BIG TO CRY AND FAR TOO BADLY HURT TO
LAUGH."
LET'S NOT LET ANYTHING LIKE THE
RESULTS OF THE 1862 ELECTION OCCUR IN
UPCOMING ELECTIONS IN KENTUCKY OR ANYWHERE
ELSE IN THE COUNTRY.
A REPUBLICAN SWEEP BEGAN IN 1960
IN KENTUCKY. THAT WAS WHEN BILL COWGER WAS
ELECTED MAYOR OF LOUISVILLE, THE FIRST
REPUBLICAN MAYOR IN 30 YEARS. NOW HE S
A MEMBER OF CONGRESS. BILL COWGER'S RUNNING
MATE, MARLOW COOK, WAS ELECTED COUNTY JUDGE
IN JEFFERSON COUNTY. NOW HE IS A UNITED
-18-
STATES SENATOR, A WORTHY SUCCESSOR TO MY
LONG AND CLOSE FRIEND THRUSTON MORTON WHO WAS
A GREAT MEMBER OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE. HIS
DEDICATION TO PUBLIC SERVICE IS ADMIRED BY
ALL HIS FELLOW CITIZENS IN KENTUCKY AND IN
THE OTHER 49 STATES. AND ANOTHER OF THE
SPARKLING GEMS IN THE KENTUCKY CROWN OF
REPUBLICAN TRIUMPHS! IN 1967 LOUIE NUNN WAS
ELECTED AS THE FIRST REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR IN
KENTUCKY IN 24 YEARS. AND WHO IS ONE OF THE
MOST OUTSTANDING MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES
SENATE TODAY. NONE OTHER THAN JOHN SHERMAN
COOPER THE DEAN OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF
KENTUCKY. Tim Carter + Gene Anyer.
YOU HAVE A VERY MPORTANT
ELECTION COMING UP IN LOUISVILLE NEXT FALL,
WHEN THE STATE LEGISLATURE AND THE OFFICES
OF MAYOR, ALDERMEN, COUNTY JUDGE AND FISCAL
COURT ARE AT STAKE.
FORD LIBRAR
YOU TOOK CITY HALL AND THE COURT
5
HOUSE IN 1960. YOU HAVE A FINE REPUBLICAN PRE-
CINCT ORGANIZATION IN LOUISVILLE, A MODEL PRE-
CINCT. YOU HAVE A GREAT ORGANIZATION CHAIRMAN
IN GEORGE BERRY, A MAN WHO HAS DEVOTED HIS ENTIRE
LIFE TO THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IN LOUISVILLE AND
JEFFERSON COUNTY.
NOW THAT YOU HAVE TAKEN CONTROL IN
LOUISVILLE AND JEFFERSON COUNTY AND ELECTED A
REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR AND NEW U.S. SENATOR, DON T
LET DOWN. IT'S DOUBLY I MPORTANT THAT YOU KEEP
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY STRONG IN KENTUCKY
T'S
DOUBLY MPORTANT THAT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
RETAINS CONTROL OF CITY HALL AND THE COURT HOUSE.
THIS IS WHERE THE BIG VICTORIES ACTUALLY ARE
WON. THIS IS THE FOUNDATION FOR ALL OF THE
VICTORIES THAT FOLLOW.
YOU CAN BE SURE THAT THE OPPOSITION
IS WORKING HARD LAYING PLANS TO TURN US OUT.
THAT MEANS YOU MUST WORK ALL THE HARDER.
AND DON' T FORGET THE UNITED STATES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. WE FAILED TO INCREASE
KENTUCKY'S THREE-MAN REPUBLICAN CONTINGENT IN
-20-
1968. SO LET'S ZERO IN ON 1970 BEGINNING RIGHT
NOW. THERE S NO GOOD REASON WHY WE SHOULDN' T
DO BETTER THE NEXT TIME AROUND.
MEANTIME I WANT YOU TO KNOW YOU HAVE
A FINE REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION IN
GENE SNYDER, TIM CARTER AND BILL COWGER, AND
THAT THE REPUBLICAN MINORITY IN THE HOUSE IS
MAKING GREAT ADVANCES. WE HAD A MARKED IMPACT
ON LEGISLATION ENACTED BY THE 90th CONGRESS.
I FEEL IT IS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY WHICH IS
PRINCIPALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR TURNING THE FEDERAL
BUDGET AROUND FROM A $25.4 BILLION DEFICIT IN
FISCAL 1968 TO AN ANTICIPATED SURPLUS IN FISCAL
1969. Brood/Broad
AND SO WE HAVE THIS AND OTHER GREAT
ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO CITE AS WE MOVE TOWARD
MAJORITY STATUS IN THE COUNTRY.
WE ARE MOVING TOWARD MAJORITY STATUS--
BECAUSE WE ARE OFFERING NEW SOLUTIONS TO OLD
PROBLEMS ORDER IN PLACE OF TURMOIL PEACE IN
-21-
PLACE OF WAR.
WE HAVE TURNED ON THE LIGHTS AT THE
WHITE HOUSE, AND WE WILL TURN ON THE LIGHTS IN
THE NATION. WE WILL STRIVE MIGHTILY FOR UNITY.
WE WISH PEACE FOR EVERY CITY IN THIS GREAT
COUNTRY.
SO WHEN I TALK OF POLITICS, I SPEAK
OF IT AS DEMOCRACY'S LIFE BLOOD AND NOT AS THE
SPREADER OF DISUNITY. I SPEAK OF IT AS THE
HEALTHY COMPETITION WHICH SERVES TO DEFINE THE
ISSUES AND STIR UP INTEREST IN THE PROCESSES OF
GOVERNMENT.
LET US AS REPUBLICANS BE FIRM IN
WHAT WE CONSIDER TO BE THE RIGHT. AND LET US
ENCOURAGE RESPONSIBLE DIALOGUE AND BE EVER
all
MINDFUL OF THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE PEOPLE.
AS ABRAHAM LINCOLN SO APTLY PUT IT
IN A SPEECH TO CONGRESS: "WE HOLD THE TRUE
REPUBLICAN POSITION. IN LEAVING THE PEOPLE'S
BUSINESS IN THEIR HANDS, WE CANNOT BE WRONG. "
THANK YOU.
A LINCOLN DAY DINNER SPEECH
M Office Copy
BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH.
REPUBLICAN LEADER, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SATURDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 8, 1969
AT LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY
FOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY
Good evening. What a thrill it is to be speaking to you in this great
forum, your splendid Freedom Hall.
You know, I feel rather at home here because I have seen this tremendous
place on television so many times. I let my sons do the playing now but I am
still very much a sports fan. So I have watched your University of Louisville
basketball teams on "the tube," as we say, and also the championship basketball
games that have been played in this arena.
It is wonderful to be in the "blue grass country" -- the land of Daniel
Boone, Abe Lincoln, John Sherman Cooper, Thruston Morton, Marlow Cook, Louie Nunn,
Bill Cowger, Gene Snyder, and Tim Carter.
This is not a recitation of all your heroes, of course -- not a listing of
all of Kentucky's outstanding men. But it is a list of some of the men you are
proud of, men who have made Kentucky a proud state.
I mentioned Daniel Boone first because he came first and led the way. His
name recalls that your people were among the first of the pioneers, the
unbelievably brave and hardy settlers who cleared the forests and made the
Kentucky wilderness a little more hospitable for Thomas and Nancy Lincoln, and
others.
You have heard many a speaker remark about the fact that Abraham Lincoln
was born on a farm in Hardin County, Kentucky and lived there until he was a lad
of seven.
You may not have heard the story about the man, Lincoln, and a stagecoach
trip he took between Springfield, Ill., and a destination in Indiana. Well,
there was just one other fellow on the stagecoach, a Kentuckian, and after a while
he offered Lincoln a hunk of chewing tobacco. Lincoln said, "No thanks, I don't
chew." A little later Lincoln's companion offered Abe a cigar. "No thanks,"
Lincoln said, "I don't smoke." Came evening and the stranger pulled out a flask,
holding it out to Lincoln. "No thanks," Lincoln said, "I don't drink." All of
this sort of rubbed the generous gentleman the wrong way. When they reached
(more)
-2-
the point where they parted company, the Kentuckian said to Lincoln: "See here,
stranger, you're a clever but strange companion. I may never see you again,
and I don't want to offend you, but I want to say this: "My experience has taught
me that a man who has no vices has darned few virtues."
Lincoln's habits naturally seemed strange to a man from a state which
produces fine Bourbon and tobacco leaf.
But of course Lincoln had the greatest of virtues and the kind of
character and integrity and compassion that made him a unique man -- a great
leader who seemed created for his times.
And we have now
today
in our new President a man who seems created for
his times, a man who is destined to lead the United States through some of the
most critical moments in our history.
There are striking similarities between the period when Abraham Lincoln
served as 16th President of the United States and this era when Richard M. Nixon
serves as our 37th Chief Executive.
In 1860, as now, the American people were sorely divided and bitterness
tore at the heart of the country.
In the race for the Presidency in 1860 there were four candidates, so that
the vote was even more splintered than in the three-man 1968 race.
Abraham Lincoln received slightly less than 40 per cent of the total
popular vote but won a majority of the electoral votes. Richard Nixon received
43.4 per cent of the total popular vote, and won a majority of the electoral vote.
So he did better than Lincoln, percentagewise.
There are those who say President Nixon does not have a mandate. I say
Mr. Nixon does have a mandate -- a mandate for change, a mandate from the nearly
six out of 10 Americans who voted for a change of administrations in Washington.
It is true President Nixon faces monumental tasks in rallying support for
his program from a country which gave him, personally, less than a majority of
its votes and a Congress controlled by the opposition party.
But Mr. Nixon is a man accustomed to monumental tasks, as he has proved
in the past. I believe he is already proving his mettle in the greatest job he
has ever had.
You know, five clergymen took part in the Nixon inaugural ceremony. This
prompted some people to remark that Mr. Nixon is the most prayed-over President
this country has ever had. I personally think that's good.
This reminds me of a Lincoln story. During the Civil War, Lincoln learned
(more)
-3-
that the authorities at a certain hospital had forbidden anyone to recite
prayers for the patients or even to read the Bible to them. Lincoln removed the
ban and said: "If there was more praying and less swearing, it would be far
better for our country.' At the risk of sounding sanctimonious, I say, "Amen."
I believe this country has much need of prayer.
Abraham Lincoln has been described by historians as a sometimes uncouth
man and a teller of off-color stories. He is also known to have been a man of
deep religious convictions and a student of the Bible, the Book of Truth. He
was a simple man, a man of peace.
I said earlier that I believe President Nixon, like Abraham Lincoln, is a
man uniquely suited to serve our Nation in this time of crisis.
Every action taken by Mr. Nixon since he took the oath of office as
President bears out the confidence, the feeling of trust I have in the man who
now leads this Nation.
His Inaugural Address was unusual, perhaps the most unusual ever delivered
in this country.
It was unusual because it was a quiet speech quietly delivered. There
were no glorious promises clothed in glowing rhetoric. There was no bombast.
There were no strident partisan phrases.
It was a message of peace. It contained words of great portent for peace
both at home and abroad.
It was a message of the spirit, for it extolled those qualities America
hungers for today -- "goodness, decency, love and kindness." Mr. Nixon appealed,
as did Abraham Lincoln in his first inaugural address, to "the better angels of
our nature."
I believe President Nixon will be numbered among the peacemakers. I believe
he will find an honorable compromise to end the killing in Vietnam and an accept-
able formula for an Arab-Israeli settlement which will avert a confrontation
between the nuclear powers in the Middle East.
I believe, too, that he will succeed here at home in establishing "the
decent order that makes progress possible and our lives secure."
There are some who say the new President is acting too slowly in "settling
in" his Administration and setting new policy. I say that this kind of
deliberateness is all to the good. We have had too much of the haste that makes
waste in recent years.
When swift decisions are needed, they will be made. But, overall, the
(more)
-4-
Nixon Administration will be marked by calm deliberation and stability. It will
be a "cool" Administration, a common sense Administration.
Common sense can bring us great achievements. It may even confound our
enemies. For as Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, "Nothing astonishes men so much
as common sense and plain dealing.'
As a Nation and a people we are faced with great problems at this point
in history.
What was the legacy left to Mr. Nixon by the outgoing Administration?
What problems did the Republican Administration inherit?
The longest foreign war in American history, with casualties now totalling
more than 31,000 G.I.'s killed in combat and nearly 200,000 wounded.
A cauldron of conflict in the Middle East that threatens to boil over
into a confrontation between the two major nuclear powers, the United States
and Russia.
A three-year-long inflationary spiral which in 1968 produced the sharpest
increase in the cost of living in 17 years.
Record-high interest rates, pushed up by excessive federal spending.
A mounting tide of criminality, rising by nearly 90 per cent in the past
eight years.
Riots, campus rebellions and a near-breakdown in law and order across the
country.
Pockets of poverty in the midst of plenty, dealt with under a program
which gave rise to thievery, embezzlement and corruption.
A cost-price squeeze on the farm that shuts farmers out from their fair
share of our economic wealth.
The Nixon Administration is moving carefully and firmly to take on all of
these horrendous problems. President Nixon views them as a challenge from which
we cannot and must not shrink. Indeed, he has opened for us the vistas of
opportunity -- the opportunity to re-order our priorities and to get about the
business of building a new and greater America.
We are getting a re-ordering of our priorities.
What is our chief domestic concern? There is none greater than that of
the public safety -- the concern over violence in the streets and the still-
rocketing rise in crime. President Nixon is acting to answer that concern.
Abraham Lincoln preached "reverence for the law" and urged that it become
"the political religion of the nation," for he knew, as we do, that without
(more)
-5-
order there can be no progress. Without order there can only be anarchy, chaos
and confusion.
We must attack crime with all the manpower and the weapons and the firmness
required to curb it -- and we will do SO.
We must lay a foundation for order by improving the quality and direction
of life in America and the responsiveness of its institutions -- and we will do
that also.
The Presidency is a powerful office. Its occupant generates an atmosphere
which mysteriously but unmistakably affects the lives of most Americans. The
President sets a tone for the country.
Having assumed the office of President when the pages of American history
were flooded with a swelling tide of crime and violence, Richard Nixon has
resolved to roll back the rising wave of crime and to cool the violent passions
that have engulfed this country. He has made an excellent start.
The Nixon Administration is building a program, a Republican program in
the image of the first and greatest Republican President, that native son of
Kentucky, Abraham Lincoln.
We are building a Republican program in the image of him who said:
"The legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people
whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at all, or cannot so well do, for
themselves, in their separate and individual capacities."
We are building a program in the image of him who said: "There is no
grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law."
I believe that Republican program will bring the American people together
in pursuit of great national goals, goals that will be achieved by the quiet
cooperation of government and business, and the voluntary effort of private
citizens -- and not by shouting or rock-throwing.
Our Republican program will produce unity at home, curb the inflation that
mocks our seeming prosperity, give the farmer 100 per cent of opportunity and
his fair share of our economic wealth, reduce crime and restore respect for law
and order, resolve the urban crisis and erase racial tensions, reform the entire
welfare concept, end the paradox of malnutrition in the midst of plenty.
What all of us must do is to join in a great crusade to turn this country
around, turn it away from the soap box philosophy of government-solve-al1 and
turn it toward the New Direction of individual responsibility and personal
dedication to solving the problems of others.
(more)
-6-
This is the path on which President Nixon will lead us. This is the course
he will set.
President Nixon, of course, is a political leader as well as President of
all the people. He is a great Republican, as was Abraham Lincoln.
As you know, Abe Lincoln was elected in 1860 as the first Republican to
occupy the White House. Then the Republican Party suffered a setback in 1862
when the Democrats took the governorship of New York and added some congressional
seats.
When asked how he felt about the results of the New York election, Abraham
Lincoln said: "Somewhat like the boy in Kentucky who stubbed his toe while
running to see his sweetheart. The boy said he was too big to cry and far too
badly hurt to laugh.'
Let's not let anything like the results of the 1862 election occur in
upcoming elections in Kentucky or anywhere else in the country.
A Republican sweep began in 1960 in Kentucky. That was when Bill Cowger
was elected mayor of Louisville, the first Republican mayor in 30 years. Now
he's a member of Congress. Bill Cowger's running mate, Marlow Cook, was
elected county judge in Jefferson County. Now he is a United States senator,
a worthy successor to my long and close friend Thruston Morton who was a great
member of the House and Senate, His dedication to public service is admired by
all his fellow citizens in Kentucky and in the other 49 states. And another
of the sparkling gems in the Kentucky crown of Republican triumphs! In 1967
Louie Nunn was elected as the first Republican governor in Kentucky in 24 years.
And who is one of the most outstanding members of the United States Senate today?
None other than John Sherman Cooper, the dean of the Republican Party of
Kentucky.
You have a very important election coming up in Louisville next fall,
when the State Legislature and the offices of mayor, aldermen, county judge
and fiscal court are at stake.
You took City Hall and the Court House in 1960. You have a fine
Republican precinct organization in Louisville, a model precinct. You have a
great organization chairman in George Berry, a man who has devoted his entire
life to the Republican Party in Louisville and Jefferson County.
Now that you have taken control in Louisville and Jefferson County and
elected a Republican governor and new U.S. Senator, don't let down. It's doubly
important that you keep the Republican Party strong in Kentucky. It's doubly
(more)
-7-
important that the Republican Party retains control of City Hall and the Court
House. This is where the big victories actually are won. This is the foundation
for all of the victories that follow.
You can be sure that the opposition is working hard, laying plans to
turn us out. That means you must work all the harder.
And don't forget the United States House of Representatives. We failed
to increase Kentucky's three-man Republican contingent in 1968, so let's zero in
on 1970 beginning right now. There's no good reason why we shouldn't do better
the next time around.
Meantime I want you to know you have a fine Republican congressional
delegation in Gene Snyder, Tim Carter and Bill Cowger, and that the Republican
minority in the House is making great advances. We had a marked impact on
legislation enacted by the 90th Congress. I feel it is the Republican Party
which is principally responsible for turning the Federal Budget around from a
$25.4 billion deficit in fiscal 1968 to an anticipated surplus in fiscal 1969.
And so we have this and other great accomplishments to cite as we move
toward majority status in the country.
We are moving toward majority status -- because we are offering new
solutions to old problems, order in place of turmoil, peace in place of war.
We have turned on the lights at the White House, and we will turn on the
lights in the Nation. We will strive mightily for unity. We wish peace for every
city in this great country.
So when I talk of politics, I speak of it as democracy's life blood and not
as the spreader of disunity. I speak of it as the healthy competition which
serves to define the issues and stir up interest in the processes of government.
Let us as Republicans be firm in what we consider to be the right. And
let us encourage responsible dialogue and be ever mindful of the best interests
of the people.
As Abraham Lincoln so aptly put it in a speech to Congress: "We hold the
true republican position. In leaving the people's business in their hands, we
cannot be wrong." Thank you.
###
A LINCOLN DAY DINNER SPEECH
BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH.
REPUBLICAN LEADER, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SATURDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 8, 1969
AT LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY
FOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY
Good evening. What a thrill it is to be speaking to you in this great
forum, your splendid Freedom Hall.
You know, I feel rather at home here because I have seen this tremendous
place on television so many times. I let my sons do the playing now but I am
still very much a sports fan. So I have watched your University of Louisville
basketball teams on "the tube," as we say, and also the championship basketball
games that have been played in this arena.
It is wonderful to be in the "blue grass country" -- the land of Daniel
Boone, Abe Lincoln, John Sherman Cooper, Thruston Morton, Marlow Cook, Louie Nunn,
Bill Cowger, Gene Snyder, and Tim Carter.
This is not a recitation of all your heroes, of course -- not a listing of
all of Kentucky's outstanding men. But it is a list of some of the men you are
proud of, men who have made Kentucky a proud state.
I mentioned Daniel Boone first because he came first and led the way. His
name recalls that your people were among the first of the pioneers, the
unbelievably brave and hardy settlers who cleared the forests and made the
Kentucky wilderness a little more hospitable for Thomas and Nancy Lincoln, and
others.
You have heard many a speaker remark about the fact that Abraham Lincoln
was born on a farm in Hardin County, Kentucky and lived there until he was a lad
of seven.
You may not have heard the story about the man, Lincoln, and a stagecoach
trip he took between Springfield, Ill., and a destination in Indiana. Well,
there was just one other fellow on the stagecoach, a Kentuckian, and after a while
he offered Lincoln a hunk of chewing tobacco. Lincoln said, "No thanks, I don't
chew." A little later Lincoln's companion offered Abe a cigar. "No thanks,"
Lincoln said, "I don't smoke." Came evening and the stranger pulled out a flask,
holding it out to Lincoln. "No thanks," Lincoln said, "I don't drink." All of
this sort of rubbed the generous gentleman the wrong way. When they reached
(more)
-2-
the point where they parted company, the Kentuckian said to Lincoln: "See here,
stranger, you're a clever but strange companion. I may never see you again,
and I don't want to offend you, but I want to say this: "My experience has taught
me that a man who has no vices has darned few virtues."
Lincoln's habits naturally seemed strange to a man from a state which
produces fine Bourbon and tobacco leaf.
But of course Lincoln had the greatest of virtues and the kind of
character and integrity and compassion that made him a unique man -- a great
leader who seemed created for his times.
And we have now
today
in our new President a man who seems created for
his times, a man who is destined to lead the United States through some of the
most critical moments in our history.
There are striking similarities between the period when Abraham Lincoln
served as 16th President of the United States and this era when Richard M. Nixon
serves as our 37th Chief Executive.
In 1860, as now, the American people were sorely divided and bitterness
tore at the heart of the country.
In the race for the Presidency in 1860 there were four candidates, so that
the vote was even more splintered than in the three-man 1968 race.
Abraham Lincoln received slightly less than 40 per cent of the total
popular vote but won a majority of the electoral votes. Richard Nixon received
43.4 per cent of the total popular vote, and won a majority of the electoral vote.
So he did better than Lincoln, percentagewise.
There are those who say President Nixon does not have a mandate. I say
Mr. Nixon does have a mandate -- a mandate for change, a mandate from the nearly
six out of 10 Americans who voted for a change of administrations in Washington.
It is true President Nixon faces monumental tasks in rallying support for
his program from a country which gave him, personally, less than a majority of
its votes and a Congress controlled by the opposition party.
But Mr. Nixon is a man accustomed to monumental tasks, as he has proved
in the past. I believe he is already proving his mettle in the greatest job he
has ever had.
You know, five clergymen took part in the Nixon inaugural ceremony. This
prompted some people to remark that Mr. Nixon is the most prayed-over President
this country has ever had. I personally think that's good.
This reminds me of a Lincoln story. During the Civil War, Lincoln learned
(more)
-3-
that the authorities at a certain hospital had forbidden anyone to recite
prayers for the patients or even to read the Bible to them. Lincoln removed the
ban and said: "If there was more praying and less swearing, it would be far
better for our country." At the risk of sounding sanctimonious, I say, "Amen."
I believe this country has much need of prayer.
Abraham Lincoln has been described by historians as a sometimes uncouth
man and a teller of off-color stories. He is also known to have been a man of
deep religious convictions and a student of the Bible, the Book of Truth. He
was a simple man, a man of peace.
I said earlier that I believe President Nixon, like Abraham Lincoln, is a
man uniquely suited to serve our Nation in this time of crisis.
Every action taken by Mr. Nixon since he took the oath of office as
President bears out the confidence, the feeling of trust I have in the man who
now leads this Nation.
His Inaugural Address was unusual, perhaps the most unusual ever delivered
in this country.
It was unusual because it was a quiet speech quietly delivered. There
were no glorious promises clothed in glowing rhetoric. There was no bombast.
There were no strident partisan phrases.
It was a message of peace. It contained words of great portent for peace
both at home and abroad.
It was a message of the spirit, for it extolled those qualities America
hungers for today -- "goodness, decency, love and kindness." Mr. Nixon appealed,
as did Abraham Lincoln in his first inaugural address, to "the better angels of
our nature."
I believe President Nixon will be numbered among the peacemakers. I believe
he will find an honorable compromise to end the killing in Vietnam and an accept-
able formula for an Arab-Israeli settlement which will avert a confrontation
between the nuclear powers in the Middle East.
I believe, too, that he will succeed here at home in establishing "the
decent order that makes progress possible and our lives secure."
There are some who say the new President is acting too slowly in "settling
in" his Administration and setting new policy. I say that this kind of
deliberateness is all to the good. We have had too much of the haste that makes
waste in recent years.
When swift decisions are needed, they will be made. But, overall, the
(more)
-4-
Nixon Administration will be marked by calm deliberation and stability. It will
be a "cool" Administration, a common sense Administration.
Common sense can bring us great achievements. It may even confound our
enemies. For as Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, "Nothing astonishes men so much
as common sense and plain dealing."
As a Nation and a people we are faced with great problems at this point
in history.
What was the legacy left to Mr. Nixon by the outgoing Administration?
What problems did the Republican Administration inherit?
The longest foreign war in American history, with casualties now totalling
more than 31,000 G.I.'s killed in combat and nearly 200,000 wounded.
A cauldron of conflict in the Middle East that threatens to boil over
into a confrontation between the two major nuclear powers, the United States
and Russia.
A three-year-long inflationary spiral which in 1968 produced the sharpest
increase in the cost of living in 17 years.
Record-high interest rates, pushed up by excessive federal spending.
A mounting tide of criminality, rising by nearly 90 per cent in the past
eight years.
Riots, campus rebellions and a near-breakdown in law and order across the
country.
Pockets of poverty in the midst of plenty, dealt with under a program
which gave rise to thievery, embezzlement and corruption.
A cost-price squeeze on the farm that shuts farmers out from their fair
share of our economic wealth.
The Nixon Administration is moving carefully and firmly to take on all of
these horrendous problems. President Nixon views them as a challenge from which
we cannot and must not shrink. Indeed, he has opened for us the vistas of
opportunity -- the opportunity to re-order our priorities and to get about the
business of building a new and greater America.
We are getting a re-ordering of our priorities.
What is our chief domestic concern? There is none greater than that of
the public safety -- the concern over violence in the streets and the still-
rocketing rise in crime. President Nixon is acting to answer that concern.
Abraham Lincoln preached "reverence for the law" and urged that it become
"the political religion of the nation," for he knew, as we do, that without
(more)
-5-
order there can be no progress. Without order there can only be anarchy, chaos
and confusion.
We must attack crime with all the manpower and the weapons and the firmness
required to curb it -- and we will do SO.
We must lay a foundation for order by improving the quality and direction
of life in America and the responsiveness of its institutions -- and we will do
that also.
The Presidency is a powerful office. Its occupant generates an atmosphere
which mysteriously but unmistakably affects the lives of most Americans. The
President sets a tone for the country.
Having assumed the office of President when the pages of American history
were flooded with a swelling tide of crime and violence, Richard Nixon has
resolved to roll back the rising wave of crime and to cool the violent passions
that have engulfed this country. He has made an excellent start.
The Nixon Administration is building a program, a Republican program in
the image of the first and greatest Republican President, that native son of
Kentucky, Abraham Lincoln.
We are building a Republican program in the image of him who said:
"The legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people
whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at all, or cannot so well do, for
themselves, in their separate and individual capacities."
We are building a program in the image of him who said: "There is no
grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law."
I believe that Republican program will bring the American people together
in pursuit of great national goals, goals that will be achieved by the quiet
cooperation of government and business, and the voluntary effort of private
citizens -- and not by shouting or rock-throwing.
Our Republican program will produce unity at home, curb the inflation that
mocks our seeming prosperity, give the farmer 100 per cent of opportunity and
his fair share of our economic wealth, reduce crime and restore respect for law
and order, resolve the urban crisis and erase racial tensions, reform the entire
welfare concept, end the paradox of malnutrition in the midst of plenty.
What all of us must do is to join in a great crusade to turn this country
around, turn it away from the soap box philosophy of government-solve-all and
turn it toward the New Direction of individual responsibility and personal
dedication to solving the problems of others.
(more)
-6-
This is the path on which President Nixon will lead US. This is the course
he will set.
President Nixon, of course, is a political leader as well as President of
all the people. He is a great Republican, as was Abraham Lincoln.
As you know, Abe Lincoln was elected in 1860 as the first Republican to
occupy the White House. Then the Republican Party suffered a setback in 1862
when the Democrats took the governorship of New York and added some congressional
seats.
When asked how he felt about the results of the New York election, Abraham
Lincoln said: "Somewhat like the boy in Kentucky who stubbed his toe while
running to see his sweetheart. The boy said he was too big to cry and far too
badly hurt to laugh."
Let's not let anything like the results of the 1862 election occur in
upcoming elections in Kentucky or anywhere else in the country.
A Republican sweep began in 1960 in Kentucky. That was when Bill Cowger
was elected mayor of Louisville, the first Republican mayor in 30 years. Now
he's a member of Congress. Bill Cowger's running mate, Marlow Cook, was
elected county judge in Jefferson County. Now he is a United States senator,
a worthy successor to my long and close friend Thruston Morton who was a great
member of the House and Senate. His dedication to public service is admired by
all his fellow citizens in Kentucky and in the other 49 states. And another
of the sparkling gems in the Kentucky crown of Republican triumphs! In 1967
Louie Nunn was elected as the first Republican governor in Kentucky in 24 years.
And who is one of the most outstanding members of the United States Senate today?
None other than John Sherman Cooper, the dean of the Republican Party of
Kentucky.
You have a very important election coming up in Louisville next fall,
when the State Legislature and the offices of mayor, aldermen, county judge
and fiscal court are at stake.
You took City Hall and the Court House in 1960. You have a fine
Republican precinct organization in Louisville, a model precinct. You have a
great organization chairman in George Berry, a man who has devoted his entire
life to the Republican Party in Louisville and Jefferson County.
Now that you have taken control in Louisville and Jefferson County and
elected a Republican governor and new U.S. Senator, don't let down. It's doubly
important that you keep the Republican Party strong in Kentucky. It's doubly
(more)
-7-
important that the Republican Party retains control of City Hall and the Court
House. This is where the big victories actually are won. This is the foundation
for all of the victories that follow.
You can be sure that the opposition is working hard, laying plans to
turn us out. That means you must work all the harder.
And don't forget the United States House of Representatives. We failed
to increase Kentucky's three-man Republican contingent in 1968, so let's zero in
on 1970 beginning right now. There's no good reason why we shouldn't do better
the next time around.
Meantime I want you to know you have a fine Republican congressional
delegation in Gene Snyder, Tim Carter and Bill Cowger, and that the Republican
minority in the House is making great advances. We had a marked impact on
legislation enacted by the 90th Congress. I feel it is the Republican Party
which is principally responsible for turning the Federal Budget around from a
$25.4 billion deficit in fiscal 1968 to an anticipated surplus in fiscal 1969.
And so we have this and other great accomplishments to cite as we move
toward majority status in the country.
We are moving toward majority status because we are offering new
solutions to old problems, order in place of turmoil, peace in place of war.
We have turned on the lights at the White House, and we will turn on the
lights in the Nation. We will strive mightily for unity. We wish peace for every
city in this great country.
So when I talk of politics, I speak of it as democracy's life blood and not
as the spreader of disunity. I speak of it as the healthy competition which
serves to define the issues and stir up interest in the processes of government.
Let us as Republicans be firm in what we consider to be the right. And
let us encourage responsible dialogue and be ever mindful of the best interests
of the people.
As Abraham Lincoln so aptly put it in a speech to Congress: "We hold the
true republican position. In leaving the people's business in their hands, we
cannot be wrong." Thank you.
# # #