House of Cards?

The Republican Primaries (note: I had something a bit more detailed but it somehow it was not saved on my document).

5378e21b3c2cbf889e7464ceb960fee3.jpg


Where the hell am I going to find 350 delegates now??


Lodge managed to win the New Hampshire primary, with Goldwater second and Rockefeller third. This forced Rockefeller out of the race although, perhaps to maintain some pride, he held on as a favorite son and thus had the lion’s share of the huge New York delegation behind him. Governor James Rhodes of Ohio and Governor George Romney of Michigan also ran and won as favorite son candidates in their own states.

However, Lodge was now the “moderate” candidate of choice, and as such he won primaries across the northeast and along the West Coast, including the crucial California primary in June with its treasure trove of 86 delegates.


goldwater1964poster.jpg


The new face of the Republican Party?

On the other hand, Goldwater won convincing victories in Illinois and Nebraska. More importantly, he piled up delegates from most of the caucus states, particularly in the South. Thus, in spite of his mediocre record in primaries, Goldwater had a large lead in delegates as the Republican convention drew near. He could probably count on 600 or so (very close to a majority), compared to just 300 for Lodge. Rockefeller would have 100, Rhodes 55, and Romney 44. There were some scattered signs of support for Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine. Could, and should, Goldwater be stopped? Or should the “establishment” leaders try and reach a modus vivendi with the surging Arizona Senator?
 
Republican National Convention, July 13-16, Cow Palace, San Francisco


th


Senator Barry Goldwater, GOP nominee for President



Goldwater Speech to RNC, 1964

“…Our program has been attacked by Democrats as “extremism.” But what is “extremist” about standing for liberty? What is extremist about advocating for what Thomas Jefferson called for … the government that governs best governs least? What is extremist about upholding the God-given right of individual men to strive for success? What is extremist about supporting equality of opportunity instead of imposing equality of results, something they have tried in every Communist nation on earth? …

While Democrats call our program “extremism,” we call it what it truly is … Americanism. For our country has stood on the principles of our party and platform since the founding …

When President Kennedy told us to “ask not what your country can do for you, but rather ask what you can do for your country,” we were thrilled. It sounded like a Republican had been elected after all. But his actions have proven louder than his words. This administration proposes to expand all manner of government giveaways … to “do for” the people. But remember, any government that is powerful enough to give you what you want, is also powerful enough to take your property and prosperity and prospects away …

President Kennedy also pledged to "bear any burden" in the struggle for freedom in our world. But since he spoke those stirring words, freedom has been in retreat. It has retreated in Berlin. It has retreated in Cuba. It has retreated in Laos. It has retreated in Vietnam. I want to preserve world peace. But we must never forget that the best guarantee of peace comes from strength. If we are unwilling to show firmness against Communist advances, then peace becomes less likely. As President, I will preserve the peace by showing strength when needed."


image.JPG


Campaign Sign for GOP Vice Presidential Nominee, Governor William Scranton of Pennsylvania


Scranton Speech to GOP National Convention

I am honored to run on the same ticket as my friend, a great patriot, Barry Goldwater. We represent the breadth and depth of our Republican Party. We offer a change to the status quo in Washington, which is riddled with nepotism, corruption, backroom deals and double dealing. We got rid of that from Harrisburg, and with Barry Goldwater as President, we'll get rid of that from Washington. Let us at last have a government as good, and honest, and patriotic as the American people themselves!




From The Making of the President, 1964, by Theodore White

The Republicans had the potential of an ugly and divisive convention between the fading and yet still important forces of the Eastern establishment around Lodge and Rockefeller, and the surging but still raw political forces coming from the South and West supporting Barry Goldwater.

But then, at long last, acting like an elder statesman, Richard Nixon succeeded in calling a meeting involving Goldwater, Lodge, Scranton, Rockefeller, Everett Dirksen, F. Clifton White, and above all, the former President, Dwight Eisenhower. Everyone at the meeting felt that they had a chance at victory in November given the drift of the Kennedy administration and the divisions within the Democratic Party.

Given the delegate count, Goldwater could not rightfully be denied the nomination. On the other hand, Lodge had won more actual votes. So, in what was to be called the "Gettysburg Solution" (named after Eisenhower's farm where the paladins met), Goldwater agreed to Scranton as his running mate, and made a confidential commitment to name Lodge as his Secretary of State should he be elected.

The GOP platform would reflect a certain finesse on issues of civil rights, calling for an end to discrimination in all government and public accommodations. This left Goldwater free to disregard the controversial Title 2 of the languishing Civil Rights Act in Congress, which would have knocked down barriers in private businesses and accommodations as well.​
 
Last edited:
Democratic National Convention, August 24-27,
Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City

From the Making of the President, 1964, by Theodore H. White

The decision to hold the convention in Atlantic City remains hard to understand even now, and may remain a mystery to whatever future historians care to study the election of 1964. New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco … thriving, sophisticated cities, were all available and would have offered all of the comforts and conveniences delegates, activists, and reporters could want.

But the Party chose a city well past its prime, a place with a sagging boardwalk, hotels that tended to be declining rather than rising, indifferent dining options, and an overall atmosphere of fading glory. Atlantic City was a sad echo of a once bustling and beautiful resort on the sea. Many who attended would find the experience depressing for that reason. More ominously, the sad-sack impression of the convention’s host city would, to many people symbolize the fading color and strength of the Kennedy administration, and the President himself. It would be hard to overstate the contrast with 1960 …


CBS News Broadcast with Walter Kronkite, evening of August 23, 1964:

The Kennedy campaign confirmed the rumors swirling around Washington in recent days that the President and Vice President have mutually agreed to a change on the Democratic ticket. Vice President Johnson will not be running with President Kennedy for a second term. Instead, in an extraordinary example of political gymnastics, Mr. Johnson will be a candidate for the United States Senate seat currently held by Ralph Yarborough … and Mr. Yarborough will join President Kennedy as his running mate for Vice President.

JFK_Rice_moon_speech4-tn.jpg


President Kennedy accepting his re-nomination for President


Kennedy Speech to DNC, 1964

“…Four years ago I said that I intended to get America moving again. Tonight I can confirm that this promise has been kept. Our country has never been stronger, never been wealthier, never been so united in purpose as it is today. We have shown, in contrast to those who look backwards, that you can support the worker while increasing the prosperity of the owner; we have shown, in contrast to those who would either retreat from our commitments or risk nuclear war, that we can seek peace through strength; we have shown, in contrast to those who would roll back our government to the Victorian Age, that an effective government of the people increases the God-given freedom and dignity of each person.

We will continue to move forward, to a brighter future, a future where the dignity of all men, regardless of economic circumstance, regardless of the conditions of birth, regardless of where they reside, and regardless of their race, will be secured. This is the God-given right of every man in every nation, to live as free men. From Berlin to Birmingham, men will be free.”



Yarborough Speech to DNC on accepting the Vice Presidential nomination:

I am proud to run with a great American and a great President, John F. Kennedy! It is the Democratic Party’s sacred charge to move forward for all of our people, whatever their race or religion or station in life. We cannot go back to the days when the privileged few controlled the destiny of the great mass of working men in America. We say to the Republican wreckers of prosperity and dreams, you will not pass! Jack Kennedy is standing in the gap and I am standing right by him, and by God, as Harry Truman said, we are going to win this election and make those Republicans like it!



Martin Luther King reaction to Kennedy re-election efforts and the Democratic National Convention:

Words are important. The President has put the advancement of the negro on his rhetorical agenda. It is part of our national consciousness. But words without deeds will not allow a single negro to vote who is today denied; it will not enable a single negro to hold a job, or live in a good neighborhood, or eat in a restaurant, or go to a good school when he is today so cruelly denied. The Apostle James declared that “faith without words are dead.” Just so are “words without deeds are meaningless.” As long as freedom is denied in Mississippi and Alabama and other dark corners of America, America is not whole. As long as the Democratic Party tolerates what was done to Fannie Lou Hamer, how much can that party take us and our votes for granted?


From the Making of the President, 1964, by Theodore H. White:

It was hardly a surprise that the President was re-nominated with little difficulty. However, the 200 delegates who declared their support for Governor George Wallace over Kennedy did send a ripple over what was meant to be the completely smooth waters of the President’s coronation. Also disturbing was the electrifying, heart-breaking testimony of Fannie Lou Hamer, a negro woman imprisoned and beaten by the white authorities of Ruleville, Mississippi, for trying to register to vote. She was in Atlantic City to advocate for reseating the Mississippi Democratic delegation which was entirely white, and selected with no input from the large negro minority of that state. After an emotional debate and a surprisingly close floor vote, the convention agreed to a “compromise” worked out by the President’s team, assisted by Lyndon Johnson, to seat two negro alternates for Mississippi this year, with promises of more thorough reforms in time for 1968. Senator Hubert Humphrey was overheard to exclaim, “I said we had waited too long back in 1948. Now we have to wait until 1968 for justice??”
 
Top