European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 12, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday augus a 1968 the stars and stripes Page 9 Flora Lewis anti Humphrey democrats plan strategy leading democrats from 11 we and in. Dlr trial of Colum Bia who met secretly in Chicago by sunday All said thai Al president Hubert Humphrey Wou a lose their states in no vember if has been Learned. The group me m a a5,.minute desperation to con rider democratic choices. Their formal decision was to create a steering committee under the chairmanship of sen. George Mcgovern of South Dakota. They will Send letters to All delegates scheduled to attend the Chicago convention. Mcgovern said at this Point the Appeal has three Aims m to persuade As Many delegates As possible to remain uncommitted so As to prevent Humphrey s nomination on the first ballot. 2 to keep convention arrangements As open As possible leaving decisions on the Perma nent chairman credentials procedures to be settled from the floor instead of beforehand As is usually done. 3 to push through a straightforward and hard end the War Plank on Vietnam. Such a platform would either Force Humphrey to an open break with president Johnson or to an All out floor fight at the convention. But apart from the Vietnam Issue these were temporary efforts seeking to provide time for a new Alliance to develop inside the democratic party. Sen. Mcgovern himself would give no details about the meeting but another source who attended the meeting said it was the general feeling that the original idea of grouping around Mcgovern As a kind of holding position was t Good enough. We need a live candidate he said not just a place to wait for something to the Clear implication is that a crash Effort will now be made to Settle on a candidate who could win supporters from Mccarthy the Kennedy delegates and Humphrey. The group agreed to keep in close touch. States represented were new Jersey Vermont Cali fornia Rhode Island Wisconsin Nebraska new York new Hampshire Maine Iowa South Dakota and the District of Colum Bia. Gov. Phillip Hoff represented Vermont sen. Claiborne Pell spoke for new Jersey state As Sembly speaker Jesse Unruh was the californian and gov. Harold Hughes was there for Iowa. Apart from Mcgovern the others at the meeting were party officers not elected officials. The meeting was called with Strong support from backers of the late Robert Kennedy who Don t like Mccarthy and Don t want Humphrey. Half of those present said that if Mccarthy became the demo cratic candidate which they considered unlikely he could win their states. But All were said to have expressed serious doubts about what kind of president he would make. According to the source each reported on a recent private conversation with Mccarthy. Each one had the impression that Mccarthy in t enthusiastic about the nomination and that he thinks the Powers of the pres ident should be sharply reduced if he gets it. They were blabber nonetheless several reported that Public sentiment in their states was so Strong for Mccar thy that they Felt obliged to vote for him in Chicago at least on the opening ballots. If after further probes the decision is taken to promote an Active new candidate it will prob ably be Mcgovern. Apart from being unknown his main Handi Cap is that he is running for re election to the Senate and South Dakota Law forbids a Man being a candidate for two offices at once. But he is now the Choice of a number of the Kennedy people and the second Choice of some key Mccarthy supporters. C 1963, new Day inc. Old pros say lbs will run separately privately and with Complete personal conviction six senators four democrats and two republicans All of whom have served in the sen ate with Lyndon b. Johnson More than 20 years Tell me they Are convinced he will reverse himself and run again for the presi Dency. They re not influenced by the dime a dozen re mors to this effect which they say Are inevitable and Are bound to persist. On april 3, regarding the president s March 31 Bow out this column wrote i believe president John son did what he did because he simply and honestly Felt that his self removal from politics at this time is in the Best interest of the United All six Veteran Senate col leagues of or. Johnson concur. They do not believe lbs was pulling a trick at that time even though his reversal would give that impression now and certainly his disclaimer. I will not accept the nomination of my party is a total commitment that involves the president s integrity. But they say Don t bet the rent Money on it. President Harry s. Truman s decision not to seek reelection Cam Only after his administration s popularity had sunk to 23 per cent in the november 1951 Gallup poll and sen. Estes Kefauver a relative nobody Defeated him in the new Hamp Shire democratic primary the Fol lowing Spring. Or. Johnson was wallowing in a similar Nadir. Moreover Here is a piece of unwritten history told me by for Mer president Herbert Hoover himself regarding president Cal pm Coolidge s famous disclaimer i do not choose to run for president in 1928." or. Hoover is the Man most affected by he final result. President Coolidge broke his silence on August 2, 1927, nearly j year to the Republican National convention. Some said choose could be interpreted in m. Coolidge s new England vernacular As prefer not or do not intend and left the door open for a draft. Or. Hoover in turn told me that he was As puzzled As the rest of the country by what the president but to the end or. Coolidge never said one word More to Clear up the speculation or close off the debate. Or. Hoover told me he did not discuss the debated statement with the president until that sep tember. It was a very private talk Between two very close friends alone in the White House. Or. Hoover told or. Coolidge if you will accept re nomination through a draft or any other Way i am anxious to support yet or. Hoover said or. Coolidge made no direct reply neither yes nor no even in this utmost privacy. And not until later did or. Hoover make a Dis covery that surprised him for the rest of his life. He found that at the 1928 convention even president Coolidge was told by Telephone by his convention representative sen. Hugh a. Butler of Nebraska that no draft for him would develop this late. With or. Coolidge still silent or. Hoover was nominated by acclamation on the first ballot. As for president Johnson All six Long time Senate colleagues state that in shirt sleeve sessions among confidants or. Johnson simply has not gone All out for Hubert Humphrey. Democratic National commit tee chairman John m. Bailey stated on june 18 that the Ken Nedy family through Kenneth p. O Donnell had asked that a memorial service for sen. Robert f. Kennedy be held at the Chica go convention. But or. Johnson s 60th birthday comes on August 27, the second Day of the gather ing. And the plan is to make a Johnson demonstration the Peak moment. Or. Johnson claim the Sena tors could react to this As being a draft compelling and in the National interest. Right or wrong they now be Lieve that or. Johnson will repudiate his own removal and run again. I United feature i t Liberal Lindsay warmly received is gop hearing voice of future be View a th6u " 01 in i column. This Par and a in or i re Nelna tha " and it Woc one of the mysteries of the Republican convention was Why John Lindsay although far More dovish on Vietnam and More left of Center on Domestic issues than Nelson Rockefeller generated so Little personal hostility among the same conservatives who reacted so strongly against the new York governor. In an All around sense Lind say May be the most outspoken Liberal National figure in either major party. He was vigorously attacking the War before sen. Eugene Mccar thy his ardent fight for racial Reform matched or surpassed that of Robert Kennedy a in trying to save the cities and solve the riots he was battling for the recommendations of the Kerner commission while Hubert Humphrey was still weighing them. In View of his new polities flavor it is astonishing that the republicans let him into the convention let alone applauded him. Yet even after he scornfully challenged the party s and Nix on s and Reagan s hard line position on crime and Law and or Der a reporter could go from one end of Miami Beach to the other without hearing a really harsh word about the Young mayor. Why such indulgence first of All there is the matter of Charr and Good looks. Second Lindsay is relatively new to National politics. Unlike Rockefeller he has not been involved in the rough and Tumble of Republican presidential Competition. He has not yet made mortal enemies. And finally unlike Rockefeller he is considerably younger than most of the men who run the gop today. The last consideration could be the key one. It May provide an important clue to the future of the party. This convention could Well a the last victorious stand of the old guard. All of the major candidate Are around 60 years of age it is not Likely any of them will be candidates again. Moreover their principal backers Are of the same Genera Tion. They too will be moving on. Whatever future the Republican party has centers in sub Urban America which Means changing the party s base from Rural Small town America to metropolitan u.s.a., a process already Well along. Here in Miami it is Only too noticeable that there Are no Young conservatives attracting attention in the party. The rising stars Are exemplified by such Urban oriented hopefuls As Lindsay sen. Charles Percy sen. Mark Hatfield and some of the newer gop governors. Over a drink the shrewder party leaders Are willing to agree that the nomination of Barry Goldwater in 1964 and the Rise of Nixon to a favored Posi Tion in 1968 Are flukes. The real balance of Power in the party lies w the the moderates but their strength has been dissipated by ill Luck. In 1964 the nominee would probably have been Rockefeller if it had not been for his divorce and remarriage. This year it would very Likely have been gov. George Romney had he not brainwashed himself out of the race. The statements of Nixon and gov. Reagan against crime and Urban riots were in their simplicity probably close to the sentiments of most of the delegates and in any Case represent what the platform writers think is Good politics in 1968. Yet in listening respectfully to and finally applauding Lindsay s Liberal but realistic approach to the same problem these politicians seemed to recognize that they were pos Sibly hearing the voice of the future. A 46o Nert Jtj i no
