July 15, 1964 - The Republican National Convention sounded a thunderous “no” last night to the proposition that it should condemn the John Birch Society. Then the delegates defeated a proposal to broaden the civil rights plank of the party platform.
The roll-call vote on the civil rights question was 897-409, with delegates from 26 states and territories voting solidly against the broadening amendment.
Delegates supporting Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona stayed in their seats past midnight to defeat a third proposal by proponents of Governor William Scranton (left with Dan Rather of CBS News) of Pennsylvania. It would have reaffirmed the principle of Presidential control of nuclear weapons.
The session, which ran more than eight hours, adjourned in a state of exhaustion at 12:36 a.m. after having adopted the platform by voice vote.
After the evening of defeats for the Scranton men, Negro delegates and alternates to the convention issued a joint statement challenging Goldwater’s “fitness” to be President.
About 150 pickets representing the Congress of Racial Equality and other civil rights organizations organized a sit-down at two turnstiles outside the Cow Palace. They blocked some delegates as they were leaving the auditorium, but other exits were available and traffic was not badly snarled.
But the high point of an unruly evening came earlier.
Spectators in the galleries and some delegates almost drowned out New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller with boos when he spoke strongly for a platform amendment that would have repudiated the right-wing John Birch Society and other extremist groups.
Then the extremism amendment was easily defeated on a standing vote, divided roughly between the supporters of Goldwater and Scranton.
That vote and the roll-call that followed on civil rights established what everyone knew — that this convention is overwhelmingly for Goldwater for President and for the platform that was written for his campaign against President Johnson this fall.
Nothing could have better demonstrated the hopelessness of the effort more than the howling response to Rockefeller’s speech.
The Governor, interrupted at every pause with a chorus of boos and catcalls, stood patiently during most of the outbursts. Finally, he snapped:
“Some of you don’t like to hear it, ladies and gentlemen — but it’s the truth!”
That only brought more boos.
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