Jan. 8, 1962 - Gov. Edmund G. Brown (pictured in 1958) of California charged former Vice President Nixon today with courting political support of the John Birch Society and other “radicals of the right.” Governor Brown, a Democrat, told a National Press Club audience that right-wing extremists had become a strong political force in California and threatened to take control of the Republican party organization. A fear of communism had caused many Californians to lose sight of the “danger of a dictatorship of the right,” Governor Brown said. He added: “All of this placed Richard M. Nixon in a position where he must choose between principle and opportunism. He has chosen the latter. He has stepped away from those who are fighting the political primitives and he apparently wants their money and support.” The Governor has yet to announce whether he will seek re-election. “If I run, I want no support from either extreme,” he told his audience.
