The Ripon Society July, 1965 Vol
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THE RIPON NEWSLETTER OF . F . THE RIPON SOCIETY JULY, 1965 VOL. 1, No. 5 The View From Here THE GOLDWATER MOVEMENT RESURFACES: A Ripon Editorial Report This month marks the anniv~ of Barry Union, headed by former Congressman Donald Bruce Goldwater's Convention and his nomination to head of Indiana. Many political observers feel that Gold theRePlJblican ticket of 1964. IIi the ~ ~ that has water has made a serious blunder that will only hurt passed, the Goldwater "conservative" crusade has suf- the "conservative" position. We disagree. fered a devastatin£a~=~ setback, as well as the loss The new orGani%lZtlOn, with (F.oldwater's n41IUI, hIlS of its own party' Dean Burch. When Ohio's real prospects Of huilding a powerful memhershie and Ray Bliss was elected to the Republican Party chair resource hlUe. As Senate R.e~ican Lediler Dirksen manship in January, veteran political correspondents slwewiUl ohser1led,in politics "there is no substitute lor who were on hand in Chicago spoke of ..the end of money.' .Goldwlller wants a "consensus orgilllnZll the Goldwater era" in R~lican politics. Today, lion" for conser1lIll!1les and with the resourcel he com this forecast seems to have been premature. For die manils, he Clltl get it. Alread, there are reports thlll the Goldwater Right is very much alive and dominating the PSA will tap some ofthe est,mated $600,000 still heing political news. The moderate Republicans, who nave withheld from the Pari, hI the Citizens Committee fOr learned little from recent party histo9', are as confused GoldWlller-Mill81' and the Nlllional Tele1lision Com";'" and leaderless today as they were before San Franc::isco. tee for GoldUJtJIer-M1ller.. LAUNCHING The Goldwater movement has SENATOR FROM A politi~ movement ~ a THE returned, only this _ with leader, a point sorely obVlOUS to Barry Goldwater publicly and ARIZONA Republican moderates trying to FREE SOCIETY willingly at its head. At a June regroup since November. Goldwater coupled the 17th Washington press comerence, Goldwater an launchJng of his movement with the announcement two nounced a new grass roots political education movement, days earlier that he would seek the Arizona Senate seat the Free Society AssociatiOn, to give "focus" to the currently held by Democratic Senator Carl Hayden "re splintering conservative forces. Denison Kitchel, the gardless of who runs." Consistent as ever, Goldwater Goldwater 1964 c:ampaign manager and executive di reversed his recent statement on Meet the Press that he rector of the FSA, piedicted that the movement would would not oppose the incumbent Hayden. soon have 500,000 members paying in between $2 and The "conservative" movement has been searc:hina $2.5 million in dues. Golawater's former Research for a n~ leader. Ronald Reagan has not yet earnea Director, . Charles Lichtenstein, will head FSA research hisspurs. Goldwater's "return" to politics may provide eiforts including the publication of "the New Federal the necessary interregnum. In any event the Right now ist Paper~". Other GOldwater stafiers active in launch has a spokesman while silence prevails in the moderate ing die Society are Karl Hess, Vic Gold, Tony Smith, c:amp. Perhaps sigiUncantly, GOldwater's Gallup rating Paul Wagner, and Lynn Mote from the .American was up from 11% (4th 'place) in'March to 19% (2nd Enterprise Institute. place) in May, among ReP'!hlicans. He was the first The Goldwaterites, unable to read the election re choice in May of Independents from among several sults and the public opinion polls, are out to vindicate Republican candidates. conservatism to the American people. "The ~s aim will be to clean up all the fUzz.U:less about the word BENDING The Goldwater consel'1llltit;es ·conservative'." We wonder who needs l'Olitical edu have ntJ1ler res;.ected Ray BlISS. cation the most? ••• The FSA was hardlJ.~lf the ground RAY BLISS Bliss, the nor;Uleological, organ- before Kitchel noted the "strong possibility" it would Iutional J1erlectionist WIU "aeceptable" IU a compromise draw members from extremist organizations and wel ChaWman, 1iut the truce WIIS unellSY from the stIWI. We comed the prospect. ha1le consistently held thlll the real danGers Bliss and Chai.mian Bliss, in one of his rare public statements, the Repuhlican Pmy faced would come from the R1ght said the :PSA ".t be harmful to the ~ and not from the weitkened moderllles. Yet instead of of the GOP," but later toned down his critiCism to building sup,ort among moaerllles and vigorously court "won't be helpful to the patrty." Goldwater promptll ing the millions ot Re~hlicans who hoIted the pari1 in issued a rejoinder that Bliss was "just Diistaken.' N01lemher, Bliss bllS ginqerly sought. to accommoiltJle Feathers were also ru1Bed among fellow conservative the Goldwlller conservlll'1les in II united Republican splinter organizations such as the American Conservative front. Olairman Bliss has been reluctant to weed out the The Boosters' mon9 has been raised on·two under Goldwaterlte underground in his own National Com standings. It WIIS to he put in escrow for the 1966 mittee staft. He recendy appointed to the key post of election anJ. WIIS to be used only in 100 marginal dis director of public relations Fred Morrison, ot die con ,tOOs thlll now have Democratic incumbents. A few servativell oriented radio program, Three Star Extra.. of the Boosters contributors will be StI1'J!rised to leam Morrison s former boss at Three Star Extra, Ray Henle, tblll substantial sums wem to the Willson clltllpllip. is a director of the Goldwater Free Society AssOciation. Even more galling is the news thlll $2,500 of Boosters :!f:i6cantJy, Republican mOderates were not even con- money went to the Legal Defense Fund of Rep. Premiss ted about the appointment. We were also ~rised Walker who is being challenged by the 1!reetl'om Demo to learn that Dean Burch has been paid $8,200 in 'sever crlllic Party in MississiPpi. And the long term R~l;" ance pay" by the Bliss regime. can-incumbem, H. R. Gross, sole lowil House Re lican to survive the Johnson landslide, is getting oosters The FSA dealt a severe blow to the Bliss strategy. money to boot. But the most dramatic: indication of which way Bliss would yield came with the Kovac-Kelly encounter - As for the Watson "investment," Campaign Chair referred to in Washington these days as the "Eye-Street man Bob Wilson saw it as "another solia step in the caper" (the Republican National Committee is located steady march of Republicanism in the South." He pre at 1625 Eye Street). dicted Republicans would double the total of 17 South ern seats now held in 1966. William Cody Kelll.' top National Committee aide More Republican money was channeled into the to the chaiiman, pro'V1ded the Goldwaterites with a Watson campaign through Citizens for Goldwater golden opJ:>Ortunity to bring Ray Bliss into line. "We'll Miller which donated $5,000. Wiley T. Buchanan, Jr., bend him like II ruler," one top conservative strategist TreaS\U'e1' of the organhation, announced that the boasted privately. Kelly, ~ that Frank Kovac, $309,000 kitty remainin~ from November would be executive director of the Republican National Finance used to elect 1lepublicans 10 1966. Another $5,000 went Committee and the top former Goldwater aide at the to the campaign of Thomas Van Sickle in his successful RNe, was leaking valuable fund raising information to bid for Young Republican chairman (see story on Miami the Goldwater FSA, searched, with three aides, Kovac's below). The moral of this all is too clear. Plenty of office, forcing a desk and wheeling oft a locked safe. resources are at the disposal of Barry Goldwater's friends Kovac, upon learning of the incident, demanded that already. When added to those of the Free Society Bliss take action. Bliss then fired Kelly (Kelly later Association, the combined effect spells serious trouble wired members of the National Committe that he had for those ltepublican mOderates who want to redirect resigned and that Bliss had "professed satisfaction" with the Republican Party toward the center of American his Search). politics. Kovac and his staft then held an unprecendented and carefully staged press conference blaSting Kelly's "gestapo" teChniques. Kovac told the press that he was MIASMA The national Goldwater forces sure Mr. Bliss wasn't involved. "He's too busy doing OVER under the banner of "the syndi- his job." The point had been made, all too clearly. MIAMI cate" maintained control of the Young Republican National Fed eration at its June convention in Miami. They elected AND THE Months after November, the Thomas Van Sickle, a young Kansas State Senator and SOUTHERN ~publican ~ in th~ South is former assistant director of the national draft-Gold stifi harvesting the frutts of the water movement in 1963, to the YR Chairmanship_ STRATEGY Goldwater "SOuthern strateJt'. Moderate Republicans had pinned their hopes on DaVld In both the special Congressional race in South Carolina, Flaherty of North Carolirui, who fought as far as p0s won by Dixiecrat-turned-Republican Albert Watson, and sible an "organizational" campaign avoiding contro- in the two mayoralty wins in Mississippi, on-the-scene versial issues. observers noted the carryover of Goldwater enthusiasm. The strate~ couldn't work. First, Flaherty forces And this continued Republican effort in the South was struck a deal WIth the ultra-conservative Califotrila dele ~ heavy finandaf support from some surprising gation, equally eager to crack syndicate controL The natiorial sources. price - Flaherty endorsement of the Right-wing ~ When Bill Miller ran the Republican National amendment. More than a few mOderates were embar Committee, the Southern strategy got much of its im rassed wh.en the California delegation later pro~ petus and funding through RNC's "Operation Dixie." that the United Nations be abolished and its New~ork The new ~vestment in the South today is coming from headquarters be turned into a memorial to the late the Re~lican Congressional Campaign Committee and Senator Joseph McCarthy! Cithens for Goldwater-Miller.