Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
4525982
label
GOP Dinner, Greensboro, NC, October 7, 1966
core
doc
dtoType
document
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
4525982
sourceUrl
contentType
document
title
GOP Dinner, Greensboro, NC, October 7, 1966
citationUrl
collections
Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers
Speeches
subjects
Inflation (Finance)
iiifBase
thumbnailUrl
largeImageUrl
imageCount
1
hasImages
yes
source
import
hasTranscription
no
Source extras
naId
4525982
coverageEndDate
logicalDate
1966-10-31
month
10
year
1966
coverageStartDate
logicalDate
1966-10-01
month
10
year
1966
levelOfDescription
fileUnit
recordType
description
ocrSource
nara-archive
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
document
url
mediaId
55afc428a2a9a22c
ocrText
The original documents are located in Box D21, folder "GOP Dinner, Greensboro, NC,
October 7, 1966" 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States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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.
Re: LBJ AMERICA
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
FOR RELEASE AT 7 P.M.
FRIDAY, OCT. 7, 1966
SPEECH EXCERPTS--BY REP. GERALD FORD, R-MICH., AT GOP DINNER, GREENSBORO, N. C.
President Johnson earlier this year indicated he would go into nearly every
state in the union to tell the people of the nation what he and his Democratic
majorities in Congress have done for them.
Switching campaign tactics, the President now has virtually abandoned his
speaking plans. Instead he is seeking to neutralize the major issues of this
campaign. He is hoping to fuzz the issues, confuse the people, kid them into
thinking he has found the answers.
I don't think the American people will be fooled because as they look at
Lyndon Johnson's America and the America of his lopsided Democratic majorities in
Congress, they see:
A monumental crisis in crime instead of domestic safety and security.
Mobocracy and riots in the streets, instead of peace among our citizenry.
History's highest cost of living instead of the price stability of the
Eisenhower years.
A shrunken and still shrinking dollar instead of constant buying power and
sound money.
The highest interest rates in 45 years instead of reasonable rates equitable
to both borrower and lender.
A depression in residential construction instead of a healthy and growing
home building pace.
Labor discontent and a rising wave of crippling strikes instead of reasonable
labor peace and equitable sharing by labor in the fruits of the economy.
Administration actions to force down farm prices instead of a farm economy
based on free and fair market prices.
A crisis of confidence in our President and in our government instead of
national trust.
Reckless federal spending on non-essential domestic programs instead of
prudent and frugal use of taxpayer dollars.
The prospect of higher taxes instead of possible tax reductions.
War, and stalemate in that war, instead of peace.
GERALD FORD LIBRARY
(MORE)
Digitized from Box D20 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
-2-
SPEECH EXCERPTS
***
Not even the greatest master of obfuscation can fuzz the issue of inflation.
I challenge President Johnson to tell the nation's housewives, as did the
chairman of his economic advisers, that they are "notoriously poor judges" of food
prices.
I challenge President Johnson to tell the average American worker that the
combination of higher Social Security taxes, higher income tax withholding and higher
consumer prices has not more than wiped out his wage gains this year.
I challenge President Johnson to tell the nation, as did Labor Secretary W.
Willard Wirtz recently, that inflation is "just a scare word" being used by Republicans.
Secretary Wirtz didn't say this a year ago, or even six months ago. He
uttered those ridiculous words on Sept. 27 in addressing the Michigan AFL-CIO's
Committee on Political Education in Detroit.
You'd have to be a Rip Van Winkle not to know that the rise in the cost-of-
living this year is the greatest since 1957. That's Lyndon Johnson's Great Society
for you. Only Willard Wirtz doesn't know it.
The American people know what inflation means. They know it means higher and
higher prices in the market place. They're reminded of it everytime they buy some-
thing. Only Willard Wirtz doesn't know it.
President Johnson knows it. First he tried to talk inflation to death, but
his jawbone technique didn't work. He got so worried he looked for a scapegoat.
He blamed the housewife; he blamed the farmer; he blamed industry; and, a bit timidly,
he blamed labor. He focused on the farmer and turned Orbiting Orville Freeman loose
in a campaign to drive down farm prices. When the farmers rose in political revolt,
Mr. Johnson backed off.
The President has fumbled the ball on inflation, and so have all of the
players in Congress who wear his uniform--his automatic Democratic Congress.
Let's put the blame for high prices, high interest rates and high taxes
squarely where it belongs--on Mr. Johnson and his lopsided Democrat majorities in
Congress.
Not only has Johnson's inflation grinder made mincemeat of our pocketbooks,
but we're about to get clobbered by higher Democrat taxes.
There's a remedy for this mess. It will soon be available to the American
people. The remedy is: Vote Republican on November 8.
###
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
FOR RELEASE AT 7 P.M.
FRIDAY, OCT. 7, 1966
SPEECH EXCERPTS--BY REP. GERALD FORD, R-MICH., AT GOP DINNER, GREENSBORO, N. C.
President Johnson earlier this year indicated he would go into nearly every
state in the union to tell the people of the nation what he and his Democratic
majorities in Congress have done for them.
Switching campaign tactics, the President now has virtually abandoned his
speaking plans. Instead he is seeking to neutralize the major issues of this
campaign. He is hoping to fuzz the issues, confuse the people, kid them into
thinking he has found the answers.
I don't think the American people will be fooled because as they look at
Lyndon Johnson's America and the America of his lopsided Democratic majorities in
Congress, they see:
A monumental crisis in crime instead of domestic safety and security.
Mobocracy and riots in the streets instead of peace among our citizenry.
History's highest cost of living instead of the price stability of the
Eisenhower years.
A shrunken and still shrinking dollar instead of constant buying power and
sound money.
The highest interest rates in 45 years instead of reasonable rates equitable
to both borrower and lender.
A depression in residential construction instead of a healthy and growing
home building pace.
Labor discontent and a rising wave of crippling strikes instead of reasonable
labor peace and equitable sharing by labor in the fruits of the economy.
Administration actions to force down farm prices instead of a farm economy
based on free and fair market prices.
A crisis of confidence in our President and in our government instead of
national trust.
Reckless federal spending on non-essential domestic programs instead of
prudent and frugal use of taxpayer dollars.
The prospect of higher taxes instead of possible tax reductions.
War, and stalemate in that war, instead of peace.
(MORE)
-2-
SPEECH EXCERPTS
***
Not even the greatest master of obfuscation can fuzz the issue of inflation.
I challenge President Johnson to tell the nation's housewives, as did the
chairman of his economic advisers, that they are "notoriously poor judges" of food
prices.
I challenge President Johnson to tell the average American worker that the
combination of higher Social Security taxes, higher income tax withholding and higher
consumer prices has not more than wiped out his wage gains this year.
I challenge President Johnson to tell the nation, as did Labor Secretary W.
Willard Wirtz recently, that inflation is "just a scare word" being used by Republicans.
Secretary Wirtz didn't say this a year ago, or even six months ago. He
uttered those ridiculous words on Sept. 27 in addressing the Michigan AFL-CIO's
Committee on Political Education in Detroit.
You'd have to be a Rip Van Winkle not to know that the rise in the cost-of-
living this year is the greatest since 1957. That's Lyndon Johnson's Great Society
for you. Only Willard Wirtz doesn't know it.
The American people know what inflation means. They know it means higher and
higher prices in the market place. They're reminded of it everytime they buy some-
thing. Only Willard Wirtz doesn't know it.
President Johnson knows it. First he tried to talk inflation to death, but
his jawbone technique didn't work. He got so worried he looked for a scapegoat.
He blamed the housewife; he blamed the farmer; he blamed industry; and, a bit timidly,
he blamed labor. He focused on the farmer and turned Orbiting Orville Freeman loose
in a campaign to drive down farm prices. When the farmers rose in political revolt,
Mr. Johnson backed off,
The President has fumbled the ball on inflation, and so have all of the
players in Congress who wear his uniform--his automatic Democratic Congress.
Let's put the blame for high prices, high interest rates and high taxes
squarely where it belongs--on Mr. Johnson and his lopsided Democrat majorities in
Congress.
Not only has Johnson's inflation grinder made mincemeat of our pocketbooks,
but we're about to get clobbered by higher Democrat taxes.
There's a remedy for this mess. It will soon be available to the American
people. The remedy is: Vote Republican on November 8.
###