NH-Primary: Campaigns Starting to Gear Up

t-shirts! (0.00 / 0)

I've been waiting two years for BH shirts!!  Can't wait...


Paula M. DiNardo
Dover NH

A Blue Hampster since 2007!

---

by: pdinardo @ Wed Jul 22, 2009 at 18:35:57 PM CDT

Use commas for Obama! (0.00 / 0)

Wait, maybe, that doesn't really, make sense.

---

by: Vis Unita Fortior @ Wed Jul 22, 2009 at 18:52:01 PM CDT

Some recollections (4.00 / 1)

I was too young to vote, old enough to follow the race. (And old enough to cover some of it in an alternative paper at high school, printed on mimeo - the blog of the time).

New Hampshire was relatively Blue then! Gov. John King, Senator Tom McIntyre. Both swept in, I think - and this really is before my time - by JFK mania. The new generation, coming off WWII, was energized and that energy and a new bunch of local Dems fed each other.

But this was 1968. King and McIntyre were incumbents. They were the co-chairs (I don't know how active) of the Johnson for President New Hampshire primary campaign.

And it was a nasty fight. The radio ads - with King and/or McIntyre's voices in them, IIRC - warned that "a vote for McCarthy will be greeted with cheers in Hanoi."

But Johnson was trying to run a Rose Garden campaign, Presidentially presiding above it all. He did not file; his name wasn't on the ballot. The campaign was a write-in effort. (Not so strange, since Henry Cabot Lodge had beaten Goldwater here in 1964 that way.)

In 1968 the primary was a mixture of voting for the candidate and voting for the convention delegates. (Jim can correct me on some of this.) Voters would write in Johnson or check off McCarthy's name. But they would also select the delegates, by name, to the national convention. There were 24 being selected from New Hampshire.

The McCarthy camp made sure that there were exactly 24 convention delegate candidates appearing on the ballot under his name. But the Johnson campaign, run by the professionals, let some 30 names pledged to him on the ballot. The Johnson delegate candidates split the Johnson vote.

So

• Johnson won the most votes
• But McCarthy came very close, beating expectations, and was given a "moral victory" by the media
• An impressive enough victory that RFK entered and...
• LBJ dropped out by the end of the month. But...
• The right-sized McCarthy slate won 20 of 24 convention delegates.

---

by: elwood @ Wed Jul 22, 2009 at 20:38:21 PM CDT

Very useful, thanks! (0.00 / 0)

What's the skinny on RFK?

Is it conventional wisdom now that he wanted to see McCarthy's results to know whether to go all in or not?

Or was it less strategic than that?

---

by: Dean Barker @ Wed Jul 22, 2009 at 20:47:30 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

The Wiki, (4.00 / 2)

fwiw:

Despite the growing opposition to Johnson's policies in Vietnam, it appeared no prominent Democratic candidate was prepared to run against a sitting President of his own party. Even Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York, an outspoken critic of Johnson's policies with a large base of support, initially refused to run against Johnson in the primaries. In time, only Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota proved willing to challenge Johnson openly. Running as an antiwar candidate in the New Hampshire primary, McCarthy hoped to pressure the Democrats into publicly opposing the Vietnam War. Since New Hampshire was the first presidential primary of 1968, McCarthy poured most of his limited resources into the state. He was boosted by thousands of young college students led by youth coordinator Sam Brown , who shaved their beards and cut their hair to be "Clean for Gene." These students organized get-out-the-vote drives, rang doorbells and distributed McCarthy buttons and leaflets, and worked hard in New Hampshire for McCarthy. On March 12, McCarthy won 42% of the primary vote to Johnson's 49%, an amazingly strong showing for such a challenger, and one which gave McCarthy's campaign legitimacy and momentum. The momentum ended, however, when Senator Kennedy announced his candidacy four days later, on March 16, as McCarthy supporters cried betrayal and vowed to defeat Kennedy. Murray Kempton, an influential liberal journalist and McCarthy supporter, bitterly criticized Kennedy for waiting to enter the primaries until McCarthy had shown that Johnson was vulnerable. Kempton wrote that Kennedy "was like a man who comes down from the hills after the battle and shoots the wounded." Thereafter McCarthy and Kennedy would engage in an increasingly bitter series of state primaries; although Kennedy won most of the primaries, he could never shake McCarthy and his devoted following of antiwar activists, which included many Hollywood celebrities such as Paul Newman, Gene Wilder, Barbra Streisand, and Burt Lancaster.

---

by: Dean Barker @ Wed Jul 22, 2009 at 20:52:12 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Many, many schools of thought (4.00 / 2)

BTW, Richard Goodwin was a Kennedy man who had joined McCarthy since Bobby wouldn't run. He switched to Kennedy when Bobby entered and - so the story goes - the McCarthy team thought that was entirely fair.

The view I like is:

Bobby knew that, if he challenged Johnson, it would be seen as a personal and family grudge. He hadn't want Jack to pick Lyndon for Veep; they didn't like or trust each other. So, although the McCarthy people often said Bobby was too chicken and self-serving to run until Gene showed Johnson's weakness, I think the concern about atmospherics makes sense.

(Gene was about the fourth or fifth choice of the activists looking for a candidate to challenge Johnson. Bobby wouldn't, George McGovern wouldn't.)

---

by: elwood @ Wed Jul 22, 2009 at 20:55:30 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Have said this before somewhere here, (4.00 / 2)

but I have Eugene McCarthy to thank for my first paid music gig (even though I was, like elwood, a bit shy of voting age), at a primary rally.

We were supposed to be warming up the crowd, which we were struggling mightily to do with as many au courant adult pop tunes as we knew (in a style called "GB" in those days - the polite translation being "General Business).

We just happened to be playing "The Impossible Dream" (from Man of La Mancha) when Sen. McCarthy entered the room. We switched tunes real quick...

---

by: GreyMike @ Wed Jul 22, 2009 at 21:10:56 PM CDT

The best book ever written about a NH Primary...by far (4.00 / 2)

http://www.amazon.com/1968-McC...

Product Description
The year was 1967. The election season would begin March 12th, 1968 with the New Hampshire presidential primary. Who could be convinced to run, what campaign could be organized that could get the attention of the President of the United States? 1968*McCarthy*New Hampshire is the story of the campaign that changed a political year, challenged national policy, brought thousands to politial activity, and, today, influences the careers and consciences of a generation of Americans and their descendants.

About the Author
David C. Hoeh led the organization of the 1968 New Hampshire presidential campaign of Sen. Eugene McCarthy.
McCarthy New Hampshire - I Hear America Singing"

Every serious student of progressive politics, the nominating system, 60's politics, the birth of the modern NH Democratic Party or the 1968 campaing needs to read this book.

It is absolutely brilliant.

Democrats solve problems, Republicans sit and say no.

---

by: Ray Buckley @ Wed Jul 22, 2009 at 21:35:29 PM CDT

Gene McCarthy (4.00 / 5)

made me into a Democrat. My family has a long history of being GOP but Vietnam and Gene McCarthy made me see the light.

...the Doo Dah Man once told me you've got to play your hand. Sometimes the cards ain't worth a dime if you don't lay 'em down.

---

by: rambler american @ Wed Jul 22, 2009 at 21:48:36 PM CDT

met him twice (4.00 / 1)

followed the 68 campaign from CT where we were actively protesting Vietnam War...never got to NH.
First met him on a plane from BPT to DC in the early 80's. He was the warrior poet, so graceful in bearing. Then he came to speak for Dick Swett in 1996 and was a funny and engaging speaker even then.

ps:I know where I was the night LBJ announced he wouldn't run, do you ? Phil Ochs was performing at Staples High School in Westport...all of 16 we snuck backstage to his dressing room at intermission and he told us that "LBJ is not going run" then came out and announced it to the crowd.
Hard to convey the relief...that night for one ecstatic moment a rush of victory swept over us.What did it mean ? Youthful protest had worked and evil would be driven out. Snap, oh maybe later...anyway got the autograph still.

'Aints no more

---

by: JonnyBBad @ Thu Jul 23, 2009 at 07:19:57 AM CDT

two essential RFK books (4.00 / 1)

one is by Edwin Guthman, former editor of the LA Times and one of Bobby's key aides for most of his career...
"We Band of Brothers" (spells Bob)follows their work together starting in the late 50's fighting corruption of the Seattle Longshoreman's Union, through the period after Jack's assasination and Bobby's hateful relationship with LBJ, up to and including the California Primary. Guthman along with John Sigenthaler were Bobby's two key aides.

from his obit last year in the L.A. Times

http://www.laobserved.com/arch...
Guthman played a key role in the Justice Department under Kennedy, including active participation in the civil rights battles in the South. Kennedy also brought Guthman along as an observer in the White House meetings discussing the U.S response to the Soviet attempt to put nuclear missiles into Cuba.

While carefully non-partisan in his journalistic work, Guthman could be described as a Kennedy loyalist in his personal life. Every day he wore a tie, he would wear the PT-109 tie clip that President John Kennedy had given him. He took satisfaction in his close relationship with the Kennedy family and his service as director of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial. He later wrote or edited four books concerning Robert Kennedy, including an autobiographical account We Band of Brothers.Perhaps partly because of his identification with the Kennedys, Guthman was given the dubious distinction of being listed third on President Nixons enemies list.

A more in depth historical treatment is the very interesting, " Robert Kennedy-Brother Protector" by historian James Hilty. A Professor of History at Temple University, Hilty has written extensively about the Kennedys including "John F. Kennedy:An Idealist Without Illusion". He has also provided political commentaries for various publications including The Philadelphia Inquirer and served as historical consultant for an NBC News documentary, "Robrt F. Kennedy:The Man, The Myth and the Memories," narrated by Tom Brokaw.
Reading it now. We are our brothers and sisters keepers no ?

'Aints no more

---

by: JonnyBBad @ Thu Jul 23, 2009 at 07:40:41 AM CDT

More great RFK books (4.00 / 1)

. . . adding Arthur Schlesinger's phenomenal (and inspiring) biography "The Life and Times of Robert Kennedy".  It is one of the best political biographies I have ever read.

Also, Jules Witcover did an excellent eyewitness account of the '68 campaign.  Lots of rich anecdotes.

---

by: Dartmouth Dem @ Thu Jul 23, 2009 at 07:58:43 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

down by 2 n/t (0.00 / 0)

'Aints no more

---

by: JonnyBBad @ Thu Jul 23, 2009 at 08:07:57 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

We're used to this n/t (0.00 / 0)

---

by: JimC @ Thu Jul 23, 2009 at 08:28:31 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

"You kids get off my lawn!" (0.00 / 0)

Smells like old people in here!

Although I have to concede that I might have some Jerry Brown swag with hat '92 logo on it. Yikes.

America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand. -Harry Truman

---

by: Peter Sullivan @ Thu Jul 23, 2009 at 08:45:43 AM CDT

Keep the book recommendations coming (4.00 / 2)

or other media types as you prefer.  

As someone who qualifies as a 'young democrat,' I know I'm missing a lot of the history.  But the volume of material out there on say, the 68 election, is overwhelming.  I'd love to hear what ever recommendations anyone has, particularly those with a NH tie-in.  

OK, I'll get off your lawn now.  After all, the best I can offer is a reminiscence of sitting as quietly and unobtrusively as possible on my grandfather's back stairs when he hosted Gary Hart roundabout 1984.

---

by: Karen @ Thu Jul 23, 2009 at 09:10:18 AM CDT

I just read Dayton Duncan's (4.00 / 2)

Grass Roots: One Year in the Life of the New Hampshire Presidential Primary

It's a great series of anecdotes about the '88 primary.

In one of them is the story of a tireless activist from Keene named...

...Molly Kelly!

---

by: Dean Barker @ Thu Jul 23, 2009 at 17:47:44 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Ancient History (4.00 / 1)

I just finished reading two books that I would recommend to anyone interested in American history/political history.

The first is  The Adams Women, by Paul Nagel, the second is The Birth of American Politics by Lynn Parson.

Not NH primary releated, but interesting and educational.  Two thumbs up, with mention of NH in each book - in the first, because Abigail Adams sister ended up in Atkinson (and is buried there) and the latter because of some discussion of an editor of an old Concord paper who was a vehement supporter of Andrew Jackson over John Quincy Adams. A lot of political habits today were formed in the 1824/28 presidential races.


"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

---

by: Kathy Sullivan 2 @ Thu Jul 23, 2009 at 10:06:48 AM CDT

Best NH Primary Slogan Ever (4.00 / 2)

"Don't be a wimp -- Vote LaRouche!"

Found on a bulletin board in Hopkins Center at Dartmouth, December 1991

---

by: Dartmouth Dem @ Thu Jul 23, 2009 at 10:38:47 AM CDT

who was the wimps candydate? n/t (0.00 / 0)

 

'Aints no more

---

by: JonnyBBad @ Thu Jul 23, 2009 at 11:47:58 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

My parents, especially my (4.00 / 2)

mother, were devoted supporters of Eugene McCarthy.
Some of my earliest memories had to do w/ hippie looking folks sleeping on our floor while volunteering for the campaign.

My mom was so disappointed by the way the primaries and  the convention went, that she never really got involved in a campaign again. Something about smoke-filled rooms, etc.

---

by: Jennifer Daler @ Thu Jul 23, 2009 at 13:54:54 PM CDT