Aug. 28, 1964 - President Johnson told newsmen last night that there was a “backlash” problem for Democrats but that the “frontlash” was about three times as bad for Republicans.
The President talked with newsmen on the platform immediately after delivering his speech accepting the Democratic Presidential nomination.
“Yes, we have a concern about what you newspaper people have built up in your constant talk about backlash,” he said in answer to a question.
Backlash is a term applied to white Democrats and independent voters who resent Negro demonstrations or the Civil Rights act.
The President said three national polls and a number of state polls showed the backlash — from nominal Democrats who say they will vote Republican this November — ranging from “negligible in some states on up to 10 to 15% of the Democrats in some states.”
The backlash may be for any number of reasons, Mr. Johnson said. “They may not like the way I spell my name, or they may not like some bill,” he said.
The frontlash — those Republicans who say they’ll vote Democratic — “is two to three times larger,” Mr. Johnson said.
“We are finding that one out of every three Republicans stated they are part of the frontlash and will not vote Republican. We’ll gain two to three times as many as we lose,” Mr. Johnson said.
James A. Farley, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, predicated yesterday that in this year’s election, President Johnson “will run as well as Mr. Roosevelt in 1932.” In that election, Franklin D. Roosevelt lost only six states.
Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s
Comments