Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-07-26
The Political Mill
The Political Mill
Coalition Party Proposal
Unlikely to Toke'HoId
Mundt Plan Certain to Face
InsurmountubIe Difficulties
By Gould Lincoln

By Gould Lincoln
A coalition of Republicans and con-
sentative Democrats of the South, for
the purpose of electing Republican
President in 1852, strongly advocated by
Senator Karl E. Mundt, South Dakota
Republican, is confronted by difficulties
which appear inSurmountable. It is quite
true that the Southern Democrats and
Republicans, in an unofficial coalition,
control the Congress, which is officially
Democratic Congress in majority. And
the supporters of the proposed political
coalition outside of Congress, including
Senator Mundt use this as evidence that
union of Southern Democrats and Re-
publican voters from the North and
West would elect President.
BY what name would the proposed
coalition go? Must the Southern Demo-
Gratis become Republicans-or members
of the Republican Party? Or must the
Republicans become Democrats? Or is
the coalition to have new party name?
1t seems obvious that the lifelong Demo-
Gratis of the South, now opposed to the
Truman Fair Deal program and to Presi-
dent Truman, are not going to turn
Republicans, and that Republicans are
not going to align themselves as Demo-
Gratis. A new party name would present
incalculable difficulties, growing out Of
the election laws in many of the 48
States.
What South's Leaders Want.
Responsible leaders of Southern De-
mocracy-like Senator Byrd of Virginia
and Gov. James F. Byrnes of South
Carolina-are intent, not on joining the
Republican Party, but in regaining as
far as possible the predominating posi-
ton the South held in the past in the
national Democratic Party. In an ad-
dress delivered in Georgia not long ago
Senator Byrd strongly urged that South
ern Democrats prepare to trim the wings
of the Truman Fair Dealers. This was
tried in the South in 1913. The method
was not by union with the Republicans
to elect Republican President, but
through support of States Rights
Democratic candidate, former Gov.
Thurmond of South Carolina. Mr. Thur
mond carried four of the eleven States Of
the solid South" The denial of the
electoral votes of these States to Presi-
dent Truman, however, was not suffi-
cient to elect the Republican Gov.
Dewey. President Truman boosted, after
the election, he had won without the
solid Southland without the vote Of
New York.
What Senator Byrd and other leaders
of the Southern Democrats desire is a
return to the veto power which the South
held in Democratic National Conven-
tons, where the Democratic nominees
for President and Vice President are
selected. In short, return to the old
tWo-thirds rule for the nomination Of
these candidates. 1t is quite possible
that if President Truman is renominated
next year-or appears certain to be
these Southern leaders will attempt some
other means of preventing his re-elec-
ton. But it is entirely unlikely that it
will be through publicly joining the Re-
publican camp.
Case Argued Recently.
In recent issue of Golfers, two Re-
publicanS, Senator Mundt on the one
hand and Representative Clifford P. Case
of New Jersey, argued the case, for and
against the Republican-South Demo-
crat coalition. Mr.. Case said EN-.
phatically that if this plan were tried,
and even if it resulted in carrying the
States of the solid South, Republican,
Southern Democratic candidate for
President would fail dismally in such
great States as New York, Pennsylvania,
Michigan, Connecticut and a raft Of
others. He proposed, rather, that the Re-
publicanS, instead of seeking support Of
the conservative Democrats in the South,
should make their play for the liberal
element among those voters, in the hope
of building up strong Republican Party
IN that section in the future.
Mr.. Case might well have had in mind
the fact that the Negro voters in reality
hold the balance Of power in many Of
the big Northern States and also the
fact that the number of liberal voters
in the North and West is very large,
when he said that an attempted coali-
ton of Republicans with Southern con-
servatives would spell disaster at the
polls.
e The Republicans, of course, are under
a great handicap in presidential cleo
tons because of the fact the Demo-
Gratis start, as a rule, with almost half
of the electoral votes needed to elect
by reason of their hold on the solid
South. Some way, it is essential that
the G.. o. P. help bring about a real
two-party political system in the South
The Mundt coalition plan does not FL
the bill.