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1976/09/25-26 - Louisiana and Mississippi Trip
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1069247
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document
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1976/09/25-26 - Louisiana and Mississippi Trip
citationUrl
collections
Frances K. Pullen Files
Frances Pullen's Speech Reading Copies
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Louisiana
Mississippi
Republican National Committee (U.S.)
President (1974-1977 : Ford). Office of the First Lady. 1974-1977
Presidential campaign, 1976
Voyages and travels
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1069247
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1976-09-30
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9
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1976
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1976-09-01
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9
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1976
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The original documents are located in Box 4, folder "Louisiana and Mississippi Trip,
September 25-26, 1976" of the Frances K. Pullen Papers 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. Gerald Ford 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States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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 4 of the Frances K. Pullen Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
Football
Football is more than a sport in the South, it is
almost a tribal ritual. College football is very much
a part of the social season. I have friends who graduated
from Ole Miss ten years ago, and they still go to almost
every game, both home and away. Most people aren't that
fanatical, but I can't remember a fall in Memphis that
did not include at least a couple of football games and
accompanying parties.
Here's the rundown on pertinent games for this
weekend. Ole Miss (the University of Mississippi, located
in Oxford) plays Southern Mississippi at Hattiesburg.
This is a fierce in-state rivalery. Mississippi State
University, the third major state university, will play
the University of Florida at Gainesville.
Louisiana State University (LSU) will be playing
Rice University at Baton Rouge. Tulane University, which
rarely has a decent team, will be playing Boston.
The competition between LSU and Ole Miss is so fierce
that one year the irate losers overturned and burned a
railroad car.
The pro team in New Orleans is the Saints. The
number two quarterback is Archie Manning, a former Ole
Miss star. Archie has had problems with his throwing
arm, but he has lots of fans. The Saints play in the
Super Dome, the world's largest enclosed sports arena.
-0-
Louisiana
Political
The Almanac of American Politics describes Louisiana
as one of the weakest states in the country for the GOP.
But there are two Republican representatives in the
eight-person delegation.
David Treen, who represents the 3rd District, was
the first GOP member of Congress from Louisiana in the
20th century. Treen, a conservative, had run several
times before he was successful in 1972. Most of the
district is Cajun country with miles. of swamps, but it
also includes some of the almost totally white suburbs
of New Orleans. French is considered the first language
in this area. The Republican Congressional Committee
does not think Treen's opposition is serious.
Henson Moore captured the 6th District seat in 1974,
after incumbent Democrat John Rarick was defeated in the
primary. Actually Moore ran twice against Democrat
Jeff LaCaze, because of voting irregularities. The 6th
includes the capital, Baton Rouge, and surrounding rural
and solidly conservative parishes. (Counties in Louisiana
are parishes, a term dating back to the French influence.)
Moore, an attorney, will be 37 on October 4th. He also
has minimal opposition.
Rarick, whose virulent racism is well-known, is running
as an independent in the 1st District. Rep. F. Edward
Hebert is retiring after 36 years in Congress. The district
includes northern and eastern New Orleans and two parishes
along the Mississippi River. The delta lands of the Mississippi
are communities of French-speaking river pilots and shrimp
fishermen. This is also an area rich in oil with large
offshore deposits. The Republican candidate is attorney
Bob Livingston. He will face the winner of a Democratic
runoff September 25th.
Livingston is a former U.S. attorney and District Attorney
for Orleans Parish. He also is assistant Attorney General for
Louisiana. A Navy veteran, he is 33 years old, married with
three children. His wife's name is Bonnie.
The RCC thinks he could be a winner.
Louisiana Politics, Page Two
The other possible Republican victory is in the
state's most rural district, the 5th. This is Otto
Passman's seat. Passman was defeated in the primary
by dairy operator Jerry Huckaby.
The Republican candidate is Frank Spooner, an
independent oil and gas operator and producer from
Monroe, the district's only urban center. Spooner, 38,
is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He is
married with four children. His wife's name is Mary Louise.
Spooner was a Reagan delegate and vice chairman of
the Louisiana delegation at the National Convention.
This is considered a tough race.
Passman has been in Congress 30 years. The 5th
includes large plantations along the Mississippi and
small hill farms. It has a 35 percent black population.
There is a Republican candidate opposing Rep. John
Breaux in the 7th District. His name is Charles Huff.
He is not considered a strong candidate.
Neither of the two Democratic Senators, Russell Long
or J. Bennett Johnson, is up for re-election.
Democratic Governor Edwin Edwards, a former House
member, was the first Cajun elected in decades. Edwards
is not a Jimmy Carter fan. He has officially endorsed
Carter, but privately he has released his people to work
for the President. Edwards' wife, Elaine, will be on the
boat.
Moon Landieu, the Mayor of New Orleans, will also be
on the boat. Landieu, a Democrat, is active in the League
of Cities. He is considered very liberal.
Issues
Abortion and the Equal Rights Amendment are especially
sensitive topics in Louisiana. The lower part of the state
is about 75 percent Catholic. ERA has been defeated seven
times in the state, and the PFC contact says many of the
President's volunteers are from the anti-ERA forces.
Lousiana Politics, Page Three
There is solid opposition to busing. Louisiana
has a black population of 30 percent.
The PFC contact says amnesty has hurt Carter in
Louisana. Like many Southerners, people in Louisiana
are strong on the military and pro-defense.
Food and architecture are two sources of great
pride in southern Louisiana. With many French and
German descendants, there is a strong ethnic flavor
to the area.
The oil and gas industry is also very important
economically along with fishing and agriculture. Carter's
stand on divesture has not gone down well in Louisiana.
The PFC contact describes the political battle in
Louisiana as being over the Wallace vote. Wallace carried
the state in 1968. Louisiana is fairly typically Southern
conservative on most issues, although less strenuously
opposed to social welfare than other states, because of
the Huey Long influence. Huey has been dead 30 years, but
because of his son's power, the influence is still there.
-0-
Mississippi
Political
Senator John Stennis, 75, is unopposed for re-election.
The Governor, Cliff Finch, is also a Democrat. There are
two Republicans in the five-man House delegation.
Both Republicans are young, married, Baptists, lawyers,
Ole Miss graduates with two children. Thad Cochran, 38,
was first elected in 1972. His district includes the
capital, Jackson, which has a population of 153,000.
His wife's name is Rose. He has opposition, but is
expected to win.
Trent Lott, who represents the 5th District, was also
first elected in 1972. His district includes the Gulf
Coast, where the President will be campaigning. The
5th was Rep. Bill Colmer's district, and Lott was his
administrative assistant. Lott, 33, does have a we
financed opponent. His opposition is a state representative
and a Catholic (the Catholic population in Mississippi is
concentrated along the Coast). Lott's wife's name is
Patricia. Lott is expected to win, but the race could be
tough.
Dorothy Cleveland, 65, is the Republican challenger
to Rep. Sonny Montgomery of the 3rd District. She is not
expected to do well.
Roland Byrd is challenging Rep. David Bowen in the
2nd District. Although Byrd is not expected to win, he
is considered a good candidate, who may run again.
Issues
The sensitive issues in Mississippi are very similar
to Louisiana. Mississippi statistically is the Nation's
poorest state. Unlike the PFC contact in Louisiana, the
Mississippi contact made a point that there were no racial
conflicts in the state. The ugly image Mississippi got in
the 60s has been of deep concern to both races, and there
is genuine pride in having survived the turmoil. Jackson
has busing, but there was a minimum of fuss when it was
implemented several years ago. There are, however, a number
of white private schools in the state.
Mississippi, Page Two
The beautiful old homes, legacies of the "Old South,"
are very much centers of pride in Mississippi. Spring
pilgrimages, like those in Virginia, are planned for all
year round. The one in Natchez is justifiably one of the
most famous.
-0-
PASS CHRISTIAN, )
Hurricane Camille of 1969 and its devastating impact on the Mississippi
Gulf Coast continues to be excess baggage for many South Mississippians,
particularly those who live in Pass Christian where the most severe damage
was inflicted. They have struggled to rebuild and, in fact, have made
remarkable strides but the scars still remain. They have survived mainly
because of their fighting spirit, their will to overcome tremendous odds.
They have emerged a stronger people because of Camille. The President should
commend them for this fighting spirit. He should also remind them that the
Federal Government responded with massive assistance and financial aid and
that Trent Lott, who was then the administrative assistant for Congressman
Bill Colmer, worked feverishly to obtain that federal assistance.
Other areas of interest to the people of Pass Christian include the
Child and Family Services Act; the large number of veterans who have retired
in Pass Christian or other areas of the Coast; and even the Naval Oceanographic
Office which has recently been transferred from Suitland, Maryland, to the
National Space Technology Laboratory in Hancock County, Mississippi; and
continuing concern about crime and drug abuse.
Tom Houston
Trent Lott's Office