Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1949-11-11


Dulles and the Republicans, by making "the
welfare state" the issue in his campaign for
reelection in New York, have virtually ac-
cepted the label conservative" - and thus
moved toward a historic realignment of par
ties.
Dulles Democratic opponent - former
Gov. Herbert Lehman-has accepted the is
sue, and is campaigning for "the welfare
state"-as the Republicans call the Truman
program. Lehman has not been as fortnight
in accepting all of the Truman program as
many liberals would like, but his campaign
and his record are clearly liberal.
Thus we have, for the first time in many
years, an important political campaign be-
tween candidates who are willing to accept
the labels of liberal and conservative If Dulles
wins the Republicans will use the same STRAIT
egy in next years Congressional elections and
in the 1852 Presidential elections. They may,
even if he loses.
This would do more than anything else
now in sight to bring about the long desired
political realignment into conservative and
liberal parties-because it would tend to pull
Democratic conservatives into the Republican
party and Republican liberals into the Demo-
cratic party.
1t would be hard for men like Senators
Morse of Oregon, Aiken of Vermont, and
Tobey of New Hampshire, for instance, to run
with a party so openly standing for con-
servative, standpat program. Already they are
restive at the Republican emphasis on the
welfare state" because they recognize it for
what it is,-an admission that the Republicans
are against the great public welfare measures
advocated by the Democrats.
This is sharp break with past Republican
performance Ever since the New Deal swept
the country in 1888 the Republicans have
pretended on election day to favor its obJec-
tives, but to oppose its methods. This has
made it difficult for the Democrats to make
the issues Of the elections clear to the voters.
They have succeeded in the Presidential elec-
tions-which the Republicans have now lost
for 20 years-but they have not always sue
ceeded in the Congressional and Senatorial
elections
But in the New York campaign Dulles has
openly fought it out as a conservative Not
only has he attacked the Fair Deal program
on the welfare state generalization; he has
specifically opposed some of the key proposals
in that program. Dulles, for instance, has OPP
posed Federal aid to education, revision or re-
peal of the Taft-Hartley labor law, any Fed
eral health program-even voluntary pro-
gram subsidized by the government-and the
Brannan farm program.
AS result, there is the beginning of
party realignment in New York already. Most
doctors, for instance whether they are Repub-
licans or Democrats by tradition are lining up
behind Dulles and against Lehman, They are
actively working politically for Dulles and
spending money to elect him to maintain the
status quo in medicine They are doing this
even though Lehman has backed away from
the Truman compulsory health insurance plan
and is advocating only voluntary insurance
which even the American Medical Association
claims to favor.
On the other hand, organized labor-Which
is for compulsory national health insurance
Is lining up solidly behind Lehman. The re-
suit of this election, therefore, is likely to
provide the closest thing to referendum we
have had for years-not only on national
health legislation but also on the broader
phases of the Truman program
Liberals have long dreamed of realign-
ment of parties which would throw all con-
servatves together in party and all liber-
ais together in another-confdent that such a
lineup would make political progress easier.
The smarter conservatives have fought this
kind of division, recognizing that it would be
fatal. They have preferred to vote conserva-
tive between elections, but pose efficient
liberals during the election campaigns
Although they have won many Congress
ional elections this way, they have not won
Presidential election for generation. Some of
the more hardshell Republicans have blamed
these defeats on the "me too" policies of Lam
don, Willkie and Dewey They have called for
an outright conservative position for the Re-
publican party