Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-02-23
BY MARK SULLIVAN.


uation has fallen into pat
tern of a familiar kind. The
- pattern may change. Yet, just
this kind of pattern has frequently
arisen In both parties, has frequently.
remained to the end, and frequently
determined the nomination.
Whether, in the present case, the
pattern will remain, cannot now be
foretold. Much depends on whether
Senator Borah develops material
strength. In any event, all that is said
in this article is merely an adven-
ture in specializing on how the forces
of politics sometimes work out. What
is said here has no relation to the
merits of men or to principles. 1t is
just speculation in one of the most
fascinating of fields. the psychology
OF politics as it influences the nomi-
nation of presidential candidates.
To clarity the present situation, be-
gin with Senator Borah We can
sum up his position by saying he is
the least conservative of the aspirants
for the Republican presidential nomi-
nation. He is nearest to the left"
He Is going to be the favorite of the
so-called liberal portion of the party.
His following will include most of
the progressive Republicans" who
have not gone over to the New Deal
He is the candidate of that part of
the party that is nearest to the New
Deal. He Is the candidate of indie
pendent voters who this year will go
into Republican primaries with the
hope of bringing about nomination of
the Idaho Senator
Mr.. Borah, in seeking the nominal
ton, will appeal to so-called progress
Sives and liberals. He will denounce
what he calls the stand-pat and
conservative party leaders.
Can Be Treated as One.
Turn now to two others of the Re-
publican possibilities, Gov. Landon
and Col Knox. For convenience in
this analysis, they can be treated as
one.
Gov. Landon and Col Knox will
be regarded as conservative candi-
dates Compared with Senator Borah,
they actually are relatively conserva-
tive. AS the campaign develops they
will be regarded as more conservative
than they really are. Inevitably con-
trast will arise between Senator
Borah, on the one hand, and on the
other hand, Gov Landon and Col
Knox. The contrast will be promoted
by Senator Borah, or certainly by his
managers and followers. Continually
as the contest grows warmer the term
conservative, used as a reproach
and epithet, will be hurled at Gov.
Landon and Col Knox by Mr.. Borah's
followers.
The epithet will be misleading, but
1t win be used, nevertheless. Col. Knox
could make out a good case to show
that historically he is more progress
sive than Senator Borah, for Col Knox
in 1912 left the Republican party to
follow Theodore Roosevelt into the lat
ters Progressive party whereas on
that occasion Senator Borah remained
AL orthodox Republican. Similarly it
it can be shown that Gov. Landon is
liberal who has the support of such
a thoroughgoing liberal as William
Allen White.
Borah, Liberal Candidate.
But all that does not matter SEN
ator Borah will be regarded as the lib
eral candidate. BY his aggressiveness
he will monopolize the liberal portion
of the party, certainly the more ex-
IRENE liberal portion.
I,1ySr I1a hi
managers, or both, will create the i'm
preston that the other leading candi-
dates, Gov. Landon and Col. Knox, are
"standpatters."
AS the present pattern works out,
Gov. Landon and Col Knox actually
will be the candidates Of the conser-
vative portion of the party. They will
be the principal candidates of those
who don't want Mr.. Borah.
Thus we will have set-up in which
Mr. Borah is the candidate of the So
called liberal portion of the party,
while Gov. Landon and Col. Knox will
be the leading candidate. of the con-
sentative portion. Senator Borah will
be the symbol of the liberals: Gov.
Landon and Col. Knox of the con-
servatives.
In this situation we will now have
q kind of tug of war between the
liberal and conservative wings Of the
party-the liberals following Senator
Borah, the conservatives following
Gov. Landon and Col. Knox.
The tug-of-war pattern is familiar
In political conventions of both par
ties. Commonly it is between two
men. But it can be, and often has
been, between wings of the party. The
Democratic convention of 1924 was
a tug of war between the wet" and
"dry" wings of the party, the "wets"
symbolized by Gov. Smith, the "drys"
by Mr.. McAdoo. That 1924 Demo-
cratic tug of war lasted more than two
weeks, and at the end the prize, as
commonly, went to an outsider.
Neither Side Wins.
In tug of war in political con-
vention almost always neither side
wins. AS the ballots are taken, as
the two sides glare more and more
angrily at each other, each side de-
termines that the other shall not win.
At certain stage, the primary emo
ton, the wish of each side to win, is
supplanted by a secondary emotion,
the determination that the other side
shall mot" win. In any prolonged
tug of war the two sides arrive at a