The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1934-11-22
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National Topics Interpreted "a fFM9IT7F
by William Bruckart kp<1T
Election Analysis
>,..,onal Topics Interpreted

w.sbinpton.-The smoke of bat
u. has cleared away sufficiently
W. : the election to permit Of an
\ ..sIvsis and already there is a
. .sneral conclusion discernible as
% two things:
n, The Republican party must
Undergo complete reorganization,
complete elimination of the old
line leaders and the assumption of
rover by virulent forward look
he men and women of the newer
generations.
y President Roosevelt, accord
ID the greatest vote of confidence
ever given a chief executive, is
.rnfronted with the greatest re-
suonsibility ever laid on the lap of
one individual in the history Of
this nation.
Thus, there can be no doubt, ac-
cording to astute judges, that Mr..
Roosevelt and his administration
are in real danger because he has
too many blind followers. It seems
to be generally agreed among po-
Htical leaders and observers-.that
&, all political leaders excepting
those who refuse to believe a
change has come-that the Repub-
lean party went into the recent
umpaign and finished that cam
paign without any kind Of pro-
gram. Some critics are saying that
Henry P. Fletcher, the Republican
tsional chairman, is to blame. /
do not find that criticism support
ed generally. But in politics some
one always must be the goat and
apparently Mr.. Fletcher is to be
made the goat by those Republi-
cans who have been unable or un-
Wiling ITO take It"
Mr.. Fletcher and his co-workers,
Senator Hastings of Delaware, and
representative Bolton of Ohio,
are known to have pulled back in
their criticisms of the administra-
tion. The concensus seems to be,
however, that this alone was not
sufficient to have resulted in the
overwhelming defeat which t h e
party suffered. 1t was, rather, an
entire lack of definite proposals
from the republican leadership, and
thruout the country, according to
well authenticated information, the
younger crowd of Republicans was
apathetic. They had nothing to
offer in argument in the place of
the things the New Deal was
In some quarters it is emphati-
cally insisted that the New Deal
ers, theories and all, amounted to a
light in the dismal darkness of the
economic depression. This school
of thought argues that it does not
matter whether success has crown
ed the Presidents recovery efforts.
BE at least has maintained q for
ward appearing movement and in
the absence of anything construc-
tive from the other side, a people
down-trodden and with resources
exhausted look to him with . hope
which they could not pin to any
other flagstaff.
Presidents Problems
But, as said above, Mr.. Roose-
welt has his problems. They are
more dangerous than when he took
office. With more than two
thirds majority in each house Of
congress, the President, it is held
generally, must guard himself
against too many friends.
The two-thirds majority always
has been regarded as a fine asset
for an administration in forcing
through legislation where it is nee
sssary to apply a gag rule. This is
Particularly true in the house of
representatives which has a tend
ency to become a maelstrom on too
many occasions. Many new menu
oers, imbued with the idea of q
New Deal mandate, will swallow
The Presidents legislative propos-
ais without question. History shows
this to be a most dangerous con-
dition for the chief executive. He
has no opposition to call attention
70 mistakes, weaknesses, or vulner-
able spots in the programs which
he offers.
One official, and a rather high
official at that, suggested the 9TH
er day that he was in favor of Cor
ganizing" an opposition bloc IN
The house and senate. It was his
conviction that If there were crit
les among the Democrats, they
would constitute something of q
eadership for the Republican min
ority and that, by these two
groups, valuable criticism Of adj
ninlstration policies would be
available. All through the last
session of the congress numerous
conservative Democrats, mainly
from the South, were working I'M
oer cover to hold the brain trust
programs within bounds. Many of
me senator's went about their work
quietly but none the less effective
y and, / think it is conceded by
most persons in a position to know,
mat these men kept the New Deal
rom going too far to the left.