Well, Bill, I feel very strongly that in the South—and maybe throughout
the nation, I hope—we will continue to have in both major parties a
sense of loyalty in that a party machine, a party organization, contrary
to the idea that is carried through the media, really consists of
success being spelt W-O-R-K. If you work hard enough and if you've
dedicated yourself to a task, then you'll get that job done. Now if
you're dedicated to the proposition of making Jim Hunt the governor of
North Carolina then you're talking about so much money that will
absolutely be required to get him, get the image out there on television
time, radio and billboards and postage. But you're talking about
millions of hours of work. And it has to start in the minds of one or
two or three or four or five people. A small group. They have to do
considerable thinking, planning and selecting, choosing friends and getting the right people in the right counties
and in blazing this trail on down the road. And then finally you end up
on election day with 100,000 people working their heart out for ten,
fifteen, twenty hours. Dedicated to the proposition of carrying out an
idea that was conceived back there two, four, five, six years ago.
So my idea is that our two-party system, in my honest opinion, will
survive in America not on patronage but on dedicated men and women who
really and honestly conceive of our freedoms as being the best possible
way to govern ourselves. And therefore they are willing to put the time
and the effort, on both sides, both Democrat and Republican. Jackson's
idea of patronage was fine at the time. But as they say at Watergate, at
this time, this point in time, you testify. It would have been different
at that point of time prior or subsequent to. Jackson's patronage—yeah,
you could almost control elections. And, you know, our federal
government decided that in fact they were just going to have to get
around to a lot of civil service or the incumbent would have too big an
advantage. Well, I don't think that's true any more. I don't think that
you will ever again see in America, with our two hundred million plus
people . . . don't think you'll see elections controlled by jobs. Think
you'll see them controlled by either selfish or unselfish, dedicated
people. And quite frankly our system in Washington today, Mr. Nixon's
administration—he was elected and he was elected in a landslide, but it
was the most damn selfish crew that's ever organized this country. This
plumber crowd, Watergate crowd.