Evening star., 1963-04-22
DEMOCRATS
DEMOCRATS
Plan Seen Backed
By Attorney General
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Kennedy, challenged Represent
ative Bob Casey, a conserva-
tive Democrat, in that primary
and was decisively defeated.
1t is unclear whether the poll
was used to aid Mr.. Hooten or
discourage him from making
the race. But the fact of ma
tional committee interest in
the primary was unmistakable.
Other 1862 primaries where
challengers Of incumbent Dem
ocratic CongresSmen repeatedly
received encouragement and
indirect aid from Washington
we're:
Texas-7th district, where
Benton Musslewhite, a young
Kennedy supporter, challenged
Representative John DowdyI
and lost by less than 100 votes.
Tennessee-3d district, where
Wilkes T. Thrasher, jr., de-
feated Representative James B
Frazier in the primary but lost
in the general election to Re-
publican William E. Brock III.
Tennessee - 5th district,
where Richard Fulton chal-
lenged Representative ]. Carl
ton Loser in the primary and
went on to win the seat in No
vember.
Tennessee - 9th district,
where Ross j. Pritchard failed
in a bid to defeat Representa-
tive Clifford Davis in the pri-
mary.
Flareups Caused
In addition to these six pri-
maries involving incumbents.
White House and Democratic
National Committee officials
interested themselves quite
openly in primary contests to
select Democratic candidates
for newly created districts in
Florida and California.
Intervention by these down
town" officials in congressional
politics has been the major
point of contention in the
generally smooth relationships
between the Democratic Ma
tional Committee and party
leaders in the House.
There were a few flareups
last year, when the con-
gressional officials complained
that the downtown group" was
pushing national issues. like
medicare, too hard on candi-
dates in districts where other
issues were more likely to sway
voters.
There was one major. private
blowup over "downtown's" de-
mand for detailed accounting
of funds transferred from the
Democratic National Commit
tee to the House and Senate
campaign committees.
The newly-reported purge"
plans pose a more serious crisis
than any Of these incidents to
cooperation between the White
Houseand the national COM
mittee, on one hand, and the
congressional leaders on tn e
other.
Some Blunt Comments
Representative Kirwan of
Ohio, chairman of the Demo-
cratic Congressional Campaign
Committee, said that organiza-
ton never interfered in tn e
primaries and certainly won't
as long as I'm chairman"
Others on Capitol Hill were
even more blunt in their pri-
vate comments, charging the
plan was a power play" by the
administration which might
wreck the Democratic party.
Aside from the question of
downtown interference" an
issue on which Congress is al
ways sensitive, the chief COM
plant of these D m ocratic
leaders is that the purge"
strategy may actually lead to
the election of more Republi-
cans from the South.
/. Lee Potter, director of the
Republican National Commit
tees Southern division, leaped
on the first published reports
of the purge" plan with glee.
He issued a statement accus-
ing the Kennedys of "repaying
Southerners by stabbing them
in the back" and predicted
that after years Of being
kicked, mauled and stomped on
by the liberal clique of the Dem
ocratic Party. Southern voters
will realize the only effective
means Of battling the Ken
nedys is through the Repubh-
can Party"
G. o. p. Seen Gamer
Capitol Hill Democrats argue
the purge" plan is self-cefeat-
ing in many instances. They
contend that, in their eagerness
to replace a conservative Dem
ocrat with a liberal, the "pur-
gers" may set the stage for
election of an even more con-
serVatlVe RepuDllcan, as nap
pened last year in the Frazier
Thresher- Brock primary and
general election.
The advocates Of this view
point have some sympathizers
in the White House. But others
on the Presidents staff reject
this view.
What did we lose7" one pres
idential aide asked, in reference
TO last years contest In the
Chattanooga district. I'VE got
Frazier off the Ways and Means
Committee. where he was vot-
ing against us on medicare. All
1t cost us was one more Repub-
HAN u tha IInttea a man