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Ed Spannaus correspondence, June-September 1964
1964-09-01 Ed Spannaus to his parents Page 1
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609 Bowen Moss Point, Mississippi 1 September 1964 Dear Folks: Our delegates and our project director have now returned from Atlantic City, so now we have somewhat of a better idea of what actually happened in Atlantic City. As I imagine was obvious, President Johnson was the one person who kept the FDP from being seated in his attempt to maintain "Party harmony," futile as it was. We originally ha enough support in the Credentials Committee to bring the issue to the floor, until Johnson and Humphrey started pulling strings. It also appears that they had they the FDP not rejected the entire compromise, but only the sections about the two at-large delegates, we might have gotten more ; for only two minutes after they had released their decision to the press, Governor Johnson called the regular delegation home. But they didn't know that at the time, and everybody supports their decision to reject the compromise, as they went to the Convention to represent the state of Mississippi, not the nation "at large." We feel that we did come out pretty well at the Convention. This Spring few even expected that it would get to the Credentials Committee. Now the story has been told, before the nation, and before the Democratic Party; and the situation here can no longer be ignored. We were all very proud of Mrs. Hamer, Mr, Rauh, and all the rest who related so well with the Terror that is Mississippi. The Democratic Party has just delayed its Day of Reckoning four more years. Mississippi's Governor Johnson has once again repudiated the national Party, and most of the states top Democratic leaders are overtly calling for a "united effort" for Goldwater; not one has come out in support the national ticket. And it is pretty obvious what kid of support the Goldwater forces are looking for. Goldwater is pictured as "a strong states-righter all Mississippians can support," and reference is often made to the fact that the Republican platform doesn't mention "enforcement" of the Civil Rights Act. The convention was also an opportunity for those who attended to learn a great deal about the game of national politics. And it was also an opportunity for some of the politicians to learn a little about what their game is really about. For instance, one of the Northern delegates came up to one of the Jackson County delegates and said, "You know this (the demonstrations, etc.) is going to cost us a lot of votes." Our delegates replied, "You're talking about votes; I'm talking about my house being bombed tonight, or my home being shot into, and people being beaten and killed."
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609 Bowen Moss Point, Mississippi 1 September 1964 Dear Folks: Our delegates and our project director have now returned from Atlantic City, so now we have somewhat of a better idea of what actually happened in Atlantic City. As I imagine was obvious, President Johnson was the one person who kept the FDP from being seated in his attempt to maintain "Party harmony," futile as it was. We originally ha enough support in the Credentials Committee to bring the issue to the floor, until Johnson and Humphrey started pulling strings. It also appears that they had they the FDP not rejected the entire compromise, but only the sections about the two at-large delegates, we might have gotten more ; for only two minutes after they had released their decision to the press, Governor Johnson called the regular delegation home. But they didn't know that at the time, and everybody supports their decision to reject the compromise, as they went to the Convention to represent the state of Mississippi, not the nation "at large." We feel that we did come out pretty well at the Convention. This Spring few even expected that it would get to the Credentials Committee. Now the story has been told, before the nation, and before the Democratic Party; and the situation here can no longer be ignored. We were all very proud of Mrs. Hamer, Mr, Rauh, and all the rest who related so well with the Terror that is Mississippi. The Democratic Party has just delayed its Day of Reckoning four more years. Mississippi's Governor Johnson has once again repudiated the national Party, and most of the states top Democratic leaders are overtly calling for a "united effort" for Goldwater; not one has come out in support the national ticket. And it is pretty obvious what kid of support the Goldwater forces are looking for. Goldwater is pictured as "a strong states-righter all Mississippians can support," and reference is often made to the fact that the Republican platform doesn't mention "enforcement" of the Civil Rights Act. The convention was also an opportunity for those who attended to learn a great deal about the game of national politics. And it was also an opportunity for some of the politicians to learn a little about what their game is really about. For instance, one of the Northern delegates came up to one of the Jackson County delegates and said, "You know this (the demonstrations, etc.) is going to cost us a lot of votes." Our delegates replied, "You're talking about votes; I'm talking about my house being bombed tonight, or my home being shot into, and people being beaten and killed."
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