You Can't Go Wrong Doing Right by Robert J. Brown

Author:Robert J. Brown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2019-01-14T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

—

If word got around I that was working with Nixon’s campaign, I knew there would be a backlash. At that point, only a few prominent blacks had dared to publicly support Nixon’s candidacy.

I should have known Nixon’s campaign staff would try to draw me into a greater commitment once they had me under contract. Within a couple weeks, they’d wrangled me into boarding the campaign train as a media liaison and troubleshooter. The fact that I was a card-carrying Democrat didn’t seem to matter. They saw me as someone who could help them make inroads with black voters.

I had to admit that Nixon had a well-organized and disciplined army working for his campaign. His events started on time and ended on time. The balloons fell and the cheers went up exactly as planned. Credit for the campaign’s military precision went to H. R. “Bob” Haldeman, a former New York advertising executive. He’d been brought on to remake Nixon’s aloof image and sell him to voters as a global visionary and principled man of the people.

There was something reassuring about being part of a disciplined operation during such a tumultuous period, especially after all those chaotic years working with civil rights organizations. Still, my assignment in his campaign was a difficult one. Nixon had received about 30 percent of the black vote in his losing 1960 presidential campaign against JFK. His private polling indicated even less black support was likely in this campaign, due to increased antiwar sentiments.

Republicans were hoping Nixon would receive at least 12 percent of the black vote this time around, but a black reporter in Cleveland summed up the odds when he told Nixon point-blank: “The Negroes are a little afraid of you.”

Many in Nixon’s camp had written off black voters entirely, so my assignment was seen as a bit of a no-win mission. Then again, expectations were so low that the candidate was bound to be grateful for anything I accomplished.

While my primary job was to make inroads with black voters, I was also part of a team assigned to protect Nixon from antiwar protestors, who’d proven to be nearly as well organized and efficient as Nixon’s own team. I usually went into each campaign stop two or three days ahead of the candidate to make sure arrangements were set, and that he had limited exposure to hostile crowds. I also identified any potential leaders and organizations for financial and campaign volunteer support.

In Rochester, New York, antiwar protestors had disrupted a Humphrey appearance a week earlier. Nixon’s campaign people did not want that to happen to him, so I arrived four days ahead of the candidate to see what I could figure out. Local ministers and community leaders told me the key to keeping the peace was “the Brass brothers.”

Benny Brass and his brother were former gang leaders who’d become community activists for the poor. The Brass brothers played both ends against the middle. They had positive and negative sides. My only

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.