George Wallace moves away from race-baiting in 1970
LeMaistre remembers George Wallace's 1970 gubernatorial primary victory over incumbent Albert Brewer, and the political transformation that won him some black support as he sought the presidency in 1972.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with George A. LeMaistre, April 29, 1985. Interview A-0358. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
- ALLEN J. GOING:
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Of course the gubernatorial election of 1970 was supposed to have been
one of the most vicious, one of the dirtiest, mud-slinging ones-between
Brewer and Wallace. I remember reading that Brewer really got pretty
open support from the Republicans and Nixon.
- GEORGE A. LeMAISTRE:
-
Well, that's an example of what Sam Rayburn meant when he said,
"If you just do these things that are unusual, you just teach
your own people bad habits." Brewer was probably finished as a
politician as soon as he took that money from the Republicans to run
against Wallace in the Democratic primary. But it's true; he got a
sizeable contribution to his campaign, and I don't know whether it was
funds that were raised by the "Creep" group in trying
to perpetuate Nixon in office or where it went or where it actually came
from. But I'm under the impression that Maurice Stans was the one who
raised the money which later came to Brewer. He's also been the
treasurer of the Committee to Reelect the President.
- ALLEN J. GOING:
-
"The Creep" group. And of course by 1972 Wallace was
pinning his hopes on the Democratic nomination.
- GEORGE A. LeMAISTRE:
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Well he was campaigning for the Democratic nomination when he was shot in
Maryland, just outside the District.
- ALLEN J. GOING:
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By that time there was less racist appeal and more populist sort of
appeal.
- GEORGE A. LeMAISTRE:
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As soon as Wallace finished that first term, he began to talk about the
shortcomings of the Federal government—"Not a dime's
worth of difference between the two parties." And
he was pointing out all the things that he thought were
wrong that were brought about by the "pointy headed professors
in Washington that couldn't park their bicycles straight." And
he talked about what he thought were constitutional issues; whether they
were or not, I don't know. Wallace was not what you would call a high
minded candidate, but he would seize on demands that constitutional
rights be given to everybody including folks in Alabama. And that's
where his "Stand up for Alabama" was being used.
- ALLEN J. GOING:
-
And by the early 1970s you had some blacks being elected, and Wallace saw
the potentiality of black voting in that thing.
- GEORGE A. LeMAISTRE:
-
Oh yes, as a matter of fact, until this past election, Alabama had the
greatest number of elected blacks in office of any state in the country.
It seems to me that Mississippi or Louisiana one either came up with
somewhat similar numbers or greater numbers last time.