Need for southern Democrats to obscure their connections to the national party
Scott offers a brief comment, and a laugh, on the connections between national and statewide politicians. He would never have admitted that he voted for George McGovern in 1968.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Robert W. (Bob) Scott, February 4, 1998. Interview C-0336-1. 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
- JACK FLEER:
-
Another component of that fall campaign was the division in the national
Democratic party between Hubert Humphrey and the Wallace component of
the party. What, if any, impact did that have on your ability to win, as
you eventually did, the general election? Was there any consequence,
negative or positive?
- ROBERT W. (BOB) SCOTT:
-
Well, it was a very tight rope to walk, and like most candidates, I
suppose, I stepped gingerly and tried to avoid getting trapped into
extremes on either side. I was pretty well convinced in my own mind that
I was not going to get the George Wallace vote, because, again, my
political background and who I had been associated with, my father and
all that. What I got of that type of thinking was more personal
friendship, they knew me or knew my father or something like that.
Ideologically, I don't think I really
expected to get that vote. And I didn't try to wave the flag
for Hubert Humphrey at that point particularly—
- JACK FLEER:
-
Did you have to do anything in particular to avoid Hubert
Humphrey's flag being put on your back?
- ROBERT W. (BOB) SCOTT:
-
I don't recall, really. I think I just took the viewpoint, you
know, I'm running my race, and good luck to them all. And
that's sort of been historically true in this state, you
know.
- JACK FLEER:
-
Sometimes it's more easily done than at other times. For
example, in 1972 I would guess that Skipper Bowles had more difficulty
distancing himself from the McGovern situation than maybe you did in
'68. I don't know if that's fair or
not.
- ROBERT W. (BOB) SCOTT:
-
Yeah, that's a fair statement. Because McGovern was viewed as
being even more liberal than Humphrey; Humphrey was the happy warrior,
of course, and he didn't develop the negatives that McGovern
did. But here in this county we laugh about it today, the former state
legislator for the county, Fred Bowman, and Jessie Rae, my wife, and I
were the only three who would admit that we'd vote for
McGovern. [Laughter]