Evening star., 1946-06-25
Conservatives Look
To Autumn Elections
Protest Vote Due to Turn Tide
Against Administration
BY David Laurence


Politics is beginning to be talked more
and more in the National Capital as the
autumn congressional elections ap-
proach. The desire of the members to
get an adjournment next month so
that they can spend all their time
"mending political fences" as of old is
uppermost in the minds of Senators and
Representatives who have before them
the problem of getting renominated or
reelected.
There prevails curious unanimity of
feeling among most observers that the
Republicans will make decided gains
this fall. Some experts think the House
will go Republican and that the Demo-
cratic majority in the Senate will be
reduced to slender proportions.
What is the reason for this belief? 1t
rests almost entirely on the political
premise of past years-when the public
has lot of grievances, 1t visits punish
ment at the polls on the party in power
at the first opportunity.
Plainly the people have many things
to complain about. Usually even If
there is plausible excuse, the explana-
tion rarely catches up with the momen-
tum of the protest.
Tide Against Administration.
This year even the strength of the
CIO-PAC is not likely to be able to
offset the protest vote. This is because,
in most districts, the tide running
against the administration is very high.
The significance of this trend will be
differently appraised when the election
results are known. For the Democrats
have way of disparaging the results of
mldterm elections and of arguing that
in presidential elections they do better
Likewise conservative Republicans in
variably interpret success in congress
sional elections as warranting the selec-
ton of conservative for the presi-
Dental nomination.
AS matters stand today, the conserva-
tives would probably nominate their
candidate in Republican convention.
This Is because the country is believed
to be definitely antiadministration and
antl-New Deal The situation has been
developed largely out of the administra-
tlon's Willingness to cater to the labor
union vote at the expense OF the large
group OF unorganized voters who must
pay higher living costs because minority
groups have used their economic power
unwisely.
The left wing and radical elements
IN the Democratic party, on the other
hand. are dissatisfied with President
| Truman because he hasn't gone far
enough to the left" to suit them. These
Democrats would really prefer to see
Henry Wallace nominated in 194S. They
| are still hopeful that, as the time draws
near for the 1948 convention. President
Truman will not risk certain defeat but
will withdraw so that left winger"
can be nominated and-as they see
| lt-sweep the country.
LEFT Wing" Viewpoint.
The 'left wing" groups do not @for
moment concede that the country
! is turning conservative. They believe
that if Mr.. Truman had stood four
square for the radical phases of the
/ Roosevelt policies, he would be further
| ahead politically today. This radical
group would, if it could, put up the
wage scale far beyond its present level
and those industries which couldn't
absorb the costs would be ''nationalized"
or taken over by the government and
the people would pay the bill in the
form OF subsidies derived from Increased
taxes.
The politics of the country would
be clarified immeasura bly, If there could
be a clear-cut election campaign in
which the Democratic party, which has
been considerably left" of center for a
decade or more, would nominate a
left wlnger" and the Republicans
would nominate an arch conservative,
The Republican conservatives have not
been satisfied that either Willkie or
Dewey offered an opportunity for a
definite cleavage between conservative
and radical viewpoints, because these
last two Republicans nominees did ac-
cept the principle of governmental in
terventlon in economic affairs.
The older conservatives would like to
nominate either former Gov. Bricker or
Senator Taft of Ohio, but they might
be content with Senator Vandenberg.
They are more convinced than ever that
in return to conservatism lies the hope
OF the country. One need not agree at
all with their argument, and yet concede
that the Truman administration Is
neither conservative nor radical but
kind of confusion of both which is
serving to breed more and more con-
servatives every day.
1t would not be surprising if the 1e46
congressional elections gave the con-
servatlves their greatest announcement
since 1920 when, in the first election
after World War I, the Republican
party elected its last full-fledged con-
seIVative President.
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