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    "localId": "4526187",
    "label": "Rally for State Assemblyman Leonard Dunavant, GOP Candidate for Congress, Eight Congressional District, Millington, TN, March 21, 1969",
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    "title": "Rally for State Assemblyman Leonard Dunavant, GOP Candidate for Congress, Eight Congressional District, Millington, TN, March 21, 1969",
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box D26, folder \"Rally for State Assemblyman\nLeonard Dunavant, GOP Candidate for Congress, Eight Congressional District,\nMillington, TN, March 21, 1969\" 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 The Council donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain.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\nGalleries 11:00 a.m. 3/2//69\nair mail a.m.\nM Office Copy\nAnd RM.\n20 capies Mr. Ford\nCONGRESSMAN\nNEWS\nGERALD R. FORD\nHOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER\nRELEASE\n--FOR RELEASE AT 7:30 P.M. FRIDAY--\nMarch 21, 1969\nExcerpts from a Speech by Rep. Gerald R. Ford, R-Mich., Republican Leader, U.S.\nHouse of Representatives, at a rally at Millington, Tenn. (north of Memphis)\nin behalf of State Assemblyman Leonard Dunavant, Republican candidate for the\nU.S. Congress, Eighth Congressional District of Tennessee, in a special\nelection March 25.\nTonight I want to focus on a serious threat to America, an attack on the\nvery foundations of our Republic.\nI speak of the militant activists who are turning many of our college\nand university campuses across the land into battlefields of revolutionary\nterrorism.\nI say it is time -- it is long past time -- that we put a stop to\ndisruption and violence on our college and university campuses.\nLet no one misconstrue my words to mean that I do not believe in the\nright of American citizens to express themselves and to disagree with what is\ncommonly called \"the Establishment.\"\nThe right of peaceful dissent is a precious right, a constitutional right,\na right which must be protected.\nBut we must protect just as vigorously the right of the moderate majority\namong our college students to get an education.\nThe constitutional right of dissent does not give any student or non-\nstudent activist the right to engage in fascist tactics aimed at disrupting\neducational processes.\nI personally am convinced that these militant activists have deliberately\nset out to tear down our political, economic and social system. They want to\ndestroy, not build. And they don't care who gets hurt.\nAll societies must live by a set of rules or they will perish. Organized\nsocieties are based upon order and discipline. If the twin pillars of order\nand discipline are undermined, an organized society becomes increasingly\nsusceptible to collapse.\nOn our college campuses we are seeing an unprecedented challenge to\ndiscipline and authority and a barbarous disregard for the rights of others.\nThat challenge must be met and overcome.\nI recognize the fact that many of the young people involved in the New\n(more)\nGERALO 18.FORD LIBRARY\nDigitized from Box D26 of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\n-2-\nmovement are idealists who have become impatient with the democratic process\nand the non-responsiveness of some university administrations. But these young\npeople, yearning desperately to help solve some of our social problems, are being\nexploited by revolutionaries whose goal it is to destroy existing institutions\nand, in fact, our entire political system.\nPresident Nixon and Attorney General Mitchell have made it abundantly clear\nthat they will do everything in their power to frustrate the objectives of the\nrevolutionaries.\nI can assure you that the Nixon Administration will offer college and\nuniversity administrators every possible assistance in maintaining discipline\nand order on college campuses. We will seek to implement the two provisions\nin Federal law now available to deal with militant activists -- the cutoff of\nfederal aid to any disruptive college student receiving such assistance and the\nprosecution of anyone crossing a state line with the intent to incite a riot.\nThe previous Administration did not use these legitimate weapons against\ncampus terrorists. We will do SO.\nEven our most courageous college and university administrators need help\nin dealing with the militant conspirators who are out to make trouble on our\ncampuses.\nYour fine candidate for Congress, State Assemblyman Leonard Dunavant,\nfully recognizes this problem. He endorses a forthright and firm approach by\nthe Nixon Administration and any additional necessary legislative authority to\ncope with the fascist tactics of those who would destroy property or interfere\nwith the right of others to teach or receive an education.\nI ask that every voter in the Eighth District of Tennessee, regardless\nof his political affiliation, take a good look at Leonard Dunavant. What do\nwe see? An outstanding businessman, a fine family man who is a Sunday School\nsuperintendent and church choir director and the father-in-law of a Methodist\npreacher, a legislator with such obvious abilities that he heads the Finance and\nWays and Means Committee in the Tennessee State Assembly.\nI submit to all of the people of the Tennessee Eighth Congressional\nDistrict that Leonard Dunavant will be a congressman who will serve them\nsplendidly, a congressman they can be proud of, a congressman the Nixon\nAdministration will be eager to work with.\nYou want responsible government? You want a Responsible Society? Give\nus Leonard Dunavant as a colleague. Send Leonard Dunavant to Congress.\n# # #\nCONGRESSMAN\nNEWS\nGERALD R. FORD\nHOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER\nRELEASE\n--FOR RELEASE AT 7:30 P.M. FRIDAY--\nMarch 21, 1969\nExcerpts from a Speech by Rep. Gerald R. Ford, R-Mich., Republican Leader, U.S.\nHouse of Representatives, at a rally at Millington, Tenn. (north of Memphis)\nin behalf of State Assemblyman Leonard Dunavant, Republican candidate for the\nU.S. Congress, Eighth Congressional District of Tennessee, in a special\nelection March 25.\nTonight I want to focus on a serious threat to America, an attack on the\nvery foundations of our Republic.\nI speak of the militant activists who are turning many of our college\nand university campuses across the land into battlefields of revolutionary\nterrorism.\nI say it is time -- it is long past time -- that we put a stop to\ndisruption and violence on our college and university campuses.\nLet no one misconstrue my words to mean that I do not believe in the\nright of American citizens to express themselves and to disagree with what is\ncommonly called \"the Establishment.\"\nThe right of peaceful dissent is a precious right, a constitutional right,\na right which must be protected.\nBut we must protect just as vigorously the right of the moderate majority\namong our college students to get an education.\nThe constitutional right of dissent does not give any student or non-\nstudent activist the right to engage in fascist tactics aimed at disrupting\neducational processes.\nI personally am convinced that these militant activists have deliberately\nset out to tear down our political, economic and social system. They want to\ndestroy, not build. And they don't care who gets hurt.\nAll societies must live by a set of rules or they will perish. Organized\nsocieties are based upon order and discipline. If the twin pillars of order\nand discipline are undermined, an organized society becomes increasingly\nsusceptible to collapse.\nOn our college campuses we are seeing an unprecedented challenge to\ndiscipline and authority and a barbarous disregard for the rights of others.\nThat challenge must be met and overcome.\nI recognize the fact that many of the young people involved in the New Left\n(more)\nGERALD\nLIBRARY\n-2-\nmovement are idealists who have become impatient with the democratic process\nand the non-responsiveness of some university administrations. But these young\npeople, yearning desperately to help solve some of our social problems, are being\nexploited by revolutionaries whose goal it is to destroy existing institutions\nand, in fact, our entire political system.\nPresident Nixon and Attorney General Mitchell have made it abundantly clear\nthat they will do everything in their power to frustrate the objectives of the\nrevolutionaries.\nI can assure you that the Nixon Administration will offer college and\nuniversity administrators every possible assistance in maintaining discipline\nand order on college campuses. We will seek to implement the two provisions\nin Federal law now available to deal with militant activists -- the cutoff of\nfederal aid to any disruptive college student receiving such assistance and the\nprosecution of anyone crossing a state line with the intent to incite a riot.\nThe previous Administration did not use these legitimate weapons against\ncampus terrorists. We will do SO.\nEven our most courageous college and university administrators need help\nin dealing with the militant conspirators who are out to make trouble on our\ncampuses.\nYour fine candidate for Congress, State Assemblyman Leonard Dunavant,\nfully recognizes this problem. He endorses a forthright and firm approach by\nthe Nixon Administration and any additional necessary legislative authority to\ncope with the fascist tactics of those who would destroy property or interfere\nwith the right of others to teach or receive an education.\nI ask that every voter in the Eighth District of Tennessee, regardless\nof his political affiliation, take a good look at Leonard Dunavant. What do\nwe see? An outstanding businessman, a fine family man who is a Sunday School\nsuperintendent and church choir director and the father-in-law of a Methodist\npreacher, a legislator with such obvious abilities that he heads the Finance and\nWays and Means Committee in the Tennessee State Assembly.\nI submit to all of the people of the Tennessee Eighth Congressional\nDistrict that Leonard Dunavant will be a congressman who will serve them\nsplendidly, a congressman they can be proud of, a congressman the Nixon\nAdministration will be eager to work with.\nYou want responsible government? You want a Responsible Society? Give\nus Leonard Dunavant as a colleague. Send Leonard Dunavant to Congress.\n###"
}