Prlday, October 27, I957

CRAZY MAN

(Editor's Note: The follow-
ing story was sent to the 5&3
by 1967 graduate Steve shen-
der, who telt that “Grinnell
shouldn’t have to wait for the
Des Moines Register.”)

By STEPHEN R. SHENDER

Let me tell you about ML
Allard Lowensteln. There are
probably any number of selt—
styled, hard - nosed political
pragmatists who would be
quick to label Al Lowenstein a
crazy man. Mr. Lowenstein is
the chairman at a group called
the Concerned Democrats who
are currently in the process of
creating a national organiza
tion to deny Lyndon B. John
son the Democratic presidential
nomination In Chicago next
summerl They have no money
and no candidate, but. nonethe-
less they believe that they can
topple an incumbent president
who has at. his disposal all of
the resources of his office as
well as control over the nation-
al party organization. This is a
clear-cut case of Insanity if
there ever was one.

Allard Lowerlstein made a
brief appearance here in the
citadel of American academia
to explain himself the other
night. "The worst thing we can
do right now,” Mr. Lowenstein
exhorts, “is to do nothing. If we
let ourselves be overcome by
despair and tatalism at the
very outset, then of course
there is no hope.

“Sure, we’re broke and lead-
erless right now,” Lowenstein
cheerily admits, “but on the
other hand, look what happened
in ’52 and ’56. We had lots of
money, a poweriul organization,
a great leader, a good cause,
and we lost. The mood of the
country was against us both
times, but the reverse is true
today Anybody who can read
a poll can see that public sen-
timent is going against John-
son — and that’s without any
visible altematlver The [act is
that there are a helluva lot of
regular party members who

would like to see somebody else
nominated in 1968, but who at
the present time are so frag-
mented and leel so isolated that
they see no chance in open op-
position. Sure. they’re not all
against 1 oh n s o n because
they’re intellectually opposed to
the war, but they do feel in
their bones that LEJ is going
to have the same impact on the
local tickets in 1968 that Gold-
water did In 1964, and they don’t
want that. These people have to
be mobilized; they have to be
put in touch with others who
think similarly; somebody has
to show them that they aren't
as much alone as they think.
We Can do it, and if we do
that, we Can heat Johnscnt"

Lowenstein pauses while the
room catches its collective
breath. Any minute the Har-
vard police are surely going to
come breaking through the
door with a straight-jacket.
The crazy-man grins and con.
linues. “D.K., so we don't have
a candidate yetl Well, there
was only one man around in
1952, and look how things open-
ed up when he heat the incum-
bent in New Hampshire. The
point is that you can’t realis-
tically expect the established
figures in the party to declare
themselves openly against the
party-leader and incumbent
president at this stage oi the
game. in eiiect, they’re all
trom Missouri; they have to be
shown. Show them that Johnson
can be defeated in a couple of
early primaries, capture some
state convention delegates ior
a peace ticket, in short, show
them that Johnson is a loser
and that his policies are un—
popular with the rank and file,
and believe me, by May there
will be no dearth of candidates
seeking the job

“But let’s get this straight.
We aren’t going to accomplish
anything by tearing our hair,
rending our clothes, and rolling
in the dirt If we give up now,
crying, ‘we’ll take anybody but

SCARLET AND BLACK

Johnson — even a Republlcanl’
we’re liable to get anybody —-
including Nixon or Reagan.
That is hardly an improvement.
As I have indicated. the situ-
ation isn't as hopeless as it
seems. It will take a great deal
of time and ellorL and organi-
zation at the local levels, but
I think it Will pay off. And one
more thing. What we’re pro
pusing to do here really tran-
scends the war and the per-
sonality or the president. We
are engaging in a reaiiirmation
of the viability of the electoral
process. If we succeed, then
we may also succeed in Cone
vincing those who have opted
ollt of the system in despair to
come back into the fold; we’ll
actually be promoting the long-
range stability and viability of
our society. If we tail, well,
things really can’t get much
worse.”

"thus sayeth Allard Lowen-
stein. Uniortunately tor the
poor man, his delusions don’t
stop at the eastern seaboard.
His madness has led him prose-
letyzing all over the country,
and the really crazy thing about
It is that. he keeps finding more
poor souls afflicted of the same
madness — people like the lo-
cal cnmmitteemen in Michigan
and Wisconsin who are now or-
ganizing to beat Johnson in

their state primaries or state ~

delegation conventions, people
like the local party activists in
West Virginia or the “flower-
hatted” matrons at the Mazoo«
la County (Montana) Democrat-
ic picnic, people like the crazy
men out in Caliiomia who call
themselves the C.D.C, He has
even, he claims, turned up
“several” Democrats in Iowa
who would like to see the res-
cal turned out. These people
aren’t wide-eyed collegiate lib-
ersls or pot-happy hippie radi—
cals, These people are good,
solid, churchgoing, moderate,
middle-class Democrats. Bring
them out of hiding, says Low-
enstein; give them a focal point
for their opposition; make them
believe the impossible can be
done, and by God, they’ll do it.
Crazy, man.

Pogo Nlnl

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