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From Patrick Buchanan to the President. RE: The President's Meeting with Bryce Harlow, Harry Dent, Pat Buchanan, Bill Safire,… 10 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 9/9/1970
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From Patrick Buchanan to the President. RE: The President's Meeting with Bryce Harlow, Harry Dent, Pat Buchanan, Bill Safire,… 10 pgs. [Subject: Campaign] [Memo], 9/9/1970
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Richard Nixon Presidential Library
Contested Materials Collection
Folder List
Box Number
Folder Number
Document Date
No Date
Subject
Document Type
Document Description
49
53
9/9/1970
Campaign
Memo
From Patrick Buchanan to the President.
RE: The President's Meeting with Bryce
Harlow, Harry Dent, Pat Buchanan, Bill
Safire, 10pgs.
Monday, June 04, 2012
Page 1 of 1
DOCUMENT WITHDRAWAL RECORD [NIXON PROJECT]
DOCUMENT
DOCUMENT
NUMBER
TYPE
SUBJECT/TITLE OR CORRESPONDENTS
DATE
RESTRICTION
NI
Mano
From Buchanan For the
9/9/70
C
[Doc 9]
Presidents File
Re: The President's meeting w/
Bryce Harlow, Harry Dent, Pat
Bachanan, Bill safire, ...
FILE GROUP TITLE
BOX NUMBER
PRESIDENT'S OFFICE FILES
82
FOLDER TITLE
Beginning September RESTRICTION 6, 1970 CODES
A. Release would violate a Federal statute or Agency Policy.
E. Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
B. National security classified information.
financial information.
C. Pending or approved claim that release would violate an individual's
F. Release would disclose investigatory information compiled for law
rights.
enforcement purposes.
D. Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy
G. Withdrawn and return private and personal material.
or a libel of a living person.
H. Withdrawn and returned non-historical material.
NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
NA FORM 1421 (4-85)
Presidential Materials Review Board
Review on Contested Documents
Collection:
President's Office Files
Box Number:
82
Folder:
Beginning September 6, 1970
Document
Disposition
9
Return Private/Political
fill
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
ADMINISTRATIVELY CONFIDENTIAL
September 9, 1970
MEMORANDUM FOR: THE PRESIDENT'S FILE
THE PRESIDENT'S MTG WBRYCE HARLOW, HARRY DENT, PAT BUCHANAN, BILL SAFIRE
Dick BURRESS, DON RUMSFELD, BOB FiNCH, MURRAY CHOTINER, +BOSHALBEMAN.
Notes from this morning's unectings with the President.
MEDIA
1. The President strongly believes that the Vice President
and staff should concentrate -- in dealing with the media on the
two wire services, and the network TV. "Stay the hell away from
the columnists; friendly or unfriendly," he told us. They will have
absolutely no impact on the election; the networks and wire services
will. Also, stroke the technicians for the networks as well.
KEY-NOTER
The President liked the speech took exception only
to the shot at Stevenson expressing concern that this would be
the lead. Rather than crack individual candidates, the President
stated again and again; we should crack that "little band of willful
men", the "radical liberals" and the "ultra-liberals." Think up
(Buchanan and Safire) an effective grab-bag phrase which will
encompass all the ultra-liberals which is the group we are
running against this fall. Also stress the point that we are
against all radical and ultra-liberal candidates who have deserted
the principles of the Democratic Party or who have descried the prin-
ciples of the Republican Party for that matter. One and all -- they
should go down to defeat.
ADMINISTRATIVELY CONFIDENTIAL
-2-
GOODELL
On Goodell, the President said, "we are dropping him over
the side. 11 This is the word that is going out. However, the Veep
should not mention Goodell by name; we should withhold the specific
gutting of Goodell until October.
The Vice President to handle this way: "We are
against this 'willful band of little men", these radical liberals
who have descrted the great principles of the Democratic Party
and the Great Principles of the Republican Party that should all
be defeated. The President said this would make the anti-radical
pitch more credible to swing Democrats, hard-hat Democrats, with
whom the Vice President is popular and who are our targets
this year.
If asked about the Goodell Race the Vice President should not
now bite this issue off. Handle thus: Senator Goodell has of course
indicated he does not want the Administration's backing and we
are going to stay out of New York this year; we are not taking sides
in that contest. Is the Administration or the Veep for Buckley
"We are not taking sides in the New York race; we leave it to the
voters of New York to determine which of the candidates will give
the President the strongest possible hand in his efforts for peace
and progress.
VIRGINIA
The Vice President should stay completely out of the Virginia
race the President has a deal working with Byrd.
Also, we are not too deeply involved against Pastore; and
against McGee they should not be included in any inventory of the
"radical liberals. 11 No guidance provided on Scoop Jackson,
OTHER GANDIDATES
On those like Tunney, we should say they will be "rubber
stamps" for the "radical liberals" in the Senate.
This little band of willful men tag should be hung on all the
Democrats running this year that we can possibly hang it on including
non-incumbents like Metzenbaum.
-3..
THE SUPREME COURT
In hitting the "Social Issue" to which the President referred
repeatedly, (crime, pornography, drugs, violence, student disorder,
permissiveness, riots, civil disobedience, etc. etc.) the Vice
President should not besitate to go after the liberalism of the Supreme
Court, and other judges as well (the President said Poll showed
that 78 percent feel whole judiciary too soft) who have bent
the Constitution, to allow the pornography to proliferate.
(Roth decision). And praise the Administration for appointing
Constitutionalists to the Supreme Court and the Federal Bench.
CIVIL RIGHTS
The Vice President should stay off civil rights completely if
possible we don't want to get any anti black albatrosses hung
around our neck.
LIBERAL RADICALS
The reason this should be hit and hung around the necks of
these Democrats is to force them publicly to repudiate the label,
to thus focus public discussion on the question of their radicalism.
This should be "clearly and sharply drawn. " And, again, it is
important not to attack just one man but to put the whole group of them
in a bag.
In hitting the issue the Vice President should take pains to
stress that personally these men are not evil men; they are not
incompetent men; they are not hypocrites; they believe deeply in
their radical programs for re-shaping America. They are "dedicated
radicals. 11
On the word liberal and conservative don't be afraid to
hit them as radical liberals and don't be afraid to use the term
conservative if necessary. Polls show that in a split between
Republicans and Democrats we get wiped; in a split between liberals
and conservatives we win.
These people we oppose, he added, "deeply believe in the
philosophy of the radical left. 11
4-
11
THE VICE PRESIDENT'S SPEECHES
The President had read the first run of them - his main
concern was that we seemed to be "scattering our shot, 11 trying to
cover too many issues. We should focus upon say three issues --
we (Bryce) know what they are; and hit these issues time and again.
When the Vice President gets a good line, use it again and again
and again; don't be concerned about giving the saine spiel time and
again -- if it is a good one. We will get complaints from the
Press that there "is nothing new" in the speech to hell with them;
it will be new in that state and that audience, and if it is a proven
theme, use it.
INFLATION
Don't get bogged down in technical explanations of why there
are high prices. Take two tacks one that inflation is the direct
result of the Big Spenders and that any unemployment we have is
the result of our moving away from war and toward peace.
Unemployment is a result of men coming home from Vietnam and
leaving the Armed Forces; it is the result of moving away from
a wartime economy, with big defense contracts to a peacetime
economy. Democratic prosperity has never come in peace-time;
always based on war and inflation. We're building a peacetime
economy; we don't want to base our prosperity on war.
BUCKLEY -- ROCKEFELLER
Goodell has no chance; we're putting him over the side;
but we don't want to make a martyr out of him; also, on Rockefeller's
request hold off on this; for about three weeks. We have some
bargaining points we want to make with Rocky.
PICKETS
The President pointed up how effective Mrs. LBJ was in
1960 when Bruce Alger's crowd showed up at a hotel by appearing
to be hurt by the mob. If Mrs. Agnew is bumped into by one of
these radicals, she might well fall down on the spot.
-5-
RADICAL LIBERALS, again
The following is the beginning of a list of radical liber als
who should be included: Moss, Montoya, Cannon, Gore, Hart,
Hartke, Burdict, Symington, Metzenbaum, Tunney. The Vice
President should say I have nothing against any of these men
personally; I know their wives, etc. but 99 out of 100 times
they will vote for measures that will weaken rather than
strengthen the national defense; when the question of anti-crime
legislation comes up; 99 times out of 100 they will vote for the
weaker rather than the stronger mcasure; when appointments to
the bench come, 99 times out of 100 they will fight against any
conservative judges named to the United States Supreme Court. Look
what they did to the two conservatives, Haynsworth and Carswell.
Ninety-nine out of a hundred times they will block measures
to strong action against the students.
We are tired of hearing about how we have to open channels
of communication with students.
WILLIAM BROCK
Concern was expressed because Brock -- while a clear
winner on the Social Issue -- was viewed also as a reactionary
Republican; it was felt that some good might be done for Brock
if he could identify with at least some progressive programs.
AMERICANS FOR DEMOCRATIC ACTION
Get the ratings of all the ADA -- use that rating system --
do not use COPE at all. Then identify ADA as the most radical
official body inside any major party in America -- and say,
according to this most radical rating -- then name the top ten
radicals in the Senate, or some approximation there of, showing
how many are running. Also, use that Big Spender Index.
Expecially, get out on Proxmire and other Senators the cost of the
number of bills they have introduced in the Senate. Price them
out and put the message out.
-6..
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Hit the theme of the Great Democratic Party, how it has
been abandoned by these radicals who have taken over the levers
of power -- and who are not representative of their interests or
beliefs or principles of the working men and women of America.
Praise the party -- knock the "little band of willful men" who
are trying to lead it astray. Objective should be to convince
Democrats that they ar voting their principles when the vote
against the incumbents of their party. "Democrats -- stand up
and take your party back, by rejecting these false prophets of
radicalism, etc. "
THE COURTS
Again the President said to say, as he did in 1968: I
have great respect for the Courts -- but in the past the
Constitution was bent out of shape by the men responsible for
the crime and the pornography. We need Constitutionalists
sitting on every Federal Bench in the United States.
MICHIGAN
The Vice President should make this point in Michigan.
The Democratic Platform here -- is not represented of the people
of the Democratic Party -- they voted for amnesty for the deserters in
Canada. As long as Richard Nixon is in the White House, there
will never be amnesty for the deserters dens of Canada and Sweden.
Here is the line the Vice President should use to
good effect: the President drafted it himself.
"There is not going to be any amnosty. Two million young
Americans made the decision to serve this country on the battlefields
of Southeast Asia; forty thousand have died for that decision. Other
thousands of young people have chosen to descrt their country -- and
they are going to have to live with that decision. 11
-7-
CALIFORNIA
We should get out the records of the California Democratic
Counsel the liberal Democratic Group take their crazier
positions and force the Democrats to repudiate them. Call on
Tunney to repudiate these positions just as we had to repudiate
those positions taken by the John Birch Society.
QUOTATIONS
We should gather together the worst quotes by the worst of
the Democrats we can find. (Haldeman is working on this.) Then
demand that the National Democrats repudiate these radicals in
their own party. Hit the Extremists of the Democratic Party hard.
And to Hell with the Columnists.
THE VICE PRESIDENT
The Vice President is extremely effective on television;
he makes a strong appearance; it is important that he not be
physically weary or exhausted he should be out on the golf
course, when possible; he should not work the fence unless
necessary and unless with the candidate; he should forget about
interviews with columnists, even our friends. Again, the wire
services and the networks are the ones we are working on.
GOODELL, again
If pressed on Goodell, we should indicate we are not leaving
Goodell; he has left US -- but again our best bet for now is not
to make the guy a martyr -- to say that we are not getting involved
now in the New York race.
Also, when we do the thing in New York, it ought to be at the
Links, $25, 000 a head, and the President might want to reserve that
one and Syracuse for hims elf.
On Goodell now a hands policy.
-8-
THE VICE PRESIDENT'S SPEECHES, again
The President reiterated here his contention that we should not
hit a variety of subjects, but hit the right one time and again in the best
way we can make the issue. Say it eve n though it bores us to death.
President pointed out that the Cross of Gold Speech and the House
Divided Speech both were made and honed hundreds of times
before they finally became Great Speeches.
That is how to get the speech made part of the American
Memory.
There is a clear realignment taking place in American
politics the President said, no question about it, and we want to be on
the right side of it.
But we are speaking to GOP audiences. Right, said RN;
before moving into the speech, say I am a Republican; proud to be a
Republican but there is a crisis in America that is bigger than
party; that involves the very survival of this country as we know it.
In one of his speeches, the Vice President should include
the "dignity of work" theme rapping those who look down on
individuals who work with their hands.
are
Also, the Vice President should pay his respects to our
Catholic friends; no reason in the world why they should be
voting 80% Democratic.
ABORTION
Preferably, the Vice President should be opposed to abortion;
it is a crucial issue with Catholics; however, if the Vice President's
P revious stand (as Governor) was for abortion;he should in
California for example indicate that he is against this measure
(if possible since it goes further than anything else. Point here being
to go after the Catholic Democrats who split with the Jewish Democrats
on this issue.)
-9-
However, if the Vice President has taken a strong pro-
abortion position, and cannot move with finesse off it in any credible
W ay then we should stay off the issue as best we can. Avoid it
as a state issue.
ISRAEL
Stay off this issue; don't indicate we are going to do anything
more for Isracl; people don't want to g O to war for Israel; we have
lost the few votes we had in the Jewish Community. Say nothing
about what we are doing, for the Israelis publicly.
In any event, as Bryce noted, we should be constantly aware
of critical state issues, for which we do not yet have adequate
background.
DAKOTAS
When going in for T om Kleppe tie him to the President
as the President's top adviser on farm policy or tie him to a
popular Senator like Milt Young also say the two of them are
the President's closest advisers for Farm policy -- these men have
the President's ear.
Do this with other Candidates -- tie them directly to the
President; tie them to the most popular men in their states.
VICE PRESIDENT'S SPEECHES, again
When in a state, mention the Governor and the Senator, and
the Congressmen if it is his District but forget all the locals;
do not call a roll of Congressmen present; it is a complete waste
of time. What the Veep should do at the end of each speech is
while taking the bow to grab up the local Congressional and
Senatorial and Gubernatorial Candidate and take the bow together
excellent local photographs.
-10-
THE MEDIA
The White House Press Corps and the traveling press corps won't
be interested in news; they will be interested in a fight.
Stay away from these guys. Cultivate the TV boys and the
wires. That is it. However, on the local level -- where the
press is not immune to appeal of a powerful figure like a President
or Vice President -- the Veep may provide five or ten minutes talking
with them, shaking hands with each one of them; they are ga-ga over
this kind of treatment. In some of these states they have never had
anyone like the Vice President come in.
Also, let us find out who is the top press guy in the area, or
top commentator, and a fifteen minute special for him can often be
of great assistance. If the locals can fcel the warmth of the man
it will help greatly.
PREDICTIONS
The Vice President should make no specific predictions at
all. Here is how that should be handled. Well, if you take a normal
off-year election, the Party in power in the White House loses, say,
thirty-five seats in Congress we expect to do better than that;
they generally hold the seats they havd in the Senate; we expect to do better
than that.
FINAL COMMENTS
The Veep should not be.a "common scold" should not single out
any individual which might elevate him -- rather get the whole grab-bag
a nd kick it from now until November. Also, to Buchanan, the Vice
President might weigh in on the strong foreign policy successes of
this Administration -- enormously effective.
PATRICK J. BUCHANAN