Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-13
CAPITAL TALKS
by
Peter
Edison


pirin,
A full report of what actually
happened in the election is as dis
NAL as a Navy communique.
If the Democratic party feels like
the Navy after Wake Island and
if the Republican party feels like
the untried but cocky Army, talk
about a unified command is again
in order. The war can't be won
now as a Democrats war. 1t must
be won as an American war, with
both parties united, both parties
sharing the responsibilities. both
parties taking the credit for bring
ing the country through the war
to ultimate victory.
If you think Washington was all
confusion before, what do you think
it's going to be now?
Saddest lame duck spectacle of
the election is of course Senator
George Norris of Nebraska, a Pro-
gresSive caught in a three-way
election traffic jam. And by the
way, since there's vacancy on
the Supreme Court, why wouldn't
Uncle George be a good man for
the job, even if he is over 20?
This election makes good the old
saw that the American people may
never vote for" any issue but they
do vote against" when things go
wrong. This was one of the biggest
little protest votes in history
The election proved Roosevelt
right in one respect-the country
certainly is way ahead of Wash
ington. Instinctively the American
people seem to know when things
aren't going right.
Wonder what a good fireside chat
would sound like now?
POLL ABOUT POLLS
All the prediction polls of pub
lie opinion having predicted the
Democrats would maintain their
controls of Congress by ample mar
gins. the next step is to take a
post election poll to find out why
the reelection polls went wrong,
Election post -mortems will prcb-
ably last as long as the war. The
voters obviously didn't like what
has been going on, but whether they
were registering their disapproval
of military and naval Setbacks or
whether they were registering dis
approval of civilian matters-price
ceilings, rationing, lack cf man
power, shutdown of small business,
farm revolt, higher taxes = those
are the things every politician
would like to know and has no way
to find out.
Watch for sOundOff from the
Democratic pOIiticians-the de-
featted ones particularly-to
blame Leon Henderson for all
this.
If the result of the election can
be attributed in any degree to a
revolt of the farmers, the far
bloc congressman who baked at
parity ceilings on farm prices will
be able to say, I'VE warned you!'
and no doubt will
SFTUP FOR SPLIT
At any rate, here is the basis
for a split in the Democratic party
over administration policy on the
conduct cf the war 1t will be
split over policy as dictated by
the executive end of the admins
tration in opposition to policy as
the legislative end of the admins
tration would like to have it.
Reelection of Ham Fish, Clare
Hoffman and nearly every other
isolationist proves that Pre--Pearl
Harbor views and voting records
didn't mean a thing.
How much of personal licking the
election was for the President is
debatable, and will be explained
both ways by experts, with reasons.
Voters might register disapproval
of results without reflection on
Roosevelt himself. A popularity
poll now might show the President
still had as much confidence of
the people as he had two years
ago. The voters desire to see new
faces in Washington might be a
rcpudiation of the record of Con-
gress itself, not a reputation of
the President.
Just the same. any talk of
fourth term should new be Stilled.
But to think that two years ago,
everyone was admitting that the
Republican party was dead.
WASHINGTON COMPACT