June 13, 1964 - Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton, opening his last-ditch campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination, today won 12 of Connecticut’s 16 national convention votes. The other four will go to Senator Barry Goldwater.
Scranton flew into his native state of Connecticut to address the GOP state convention and delivered a blistering attack on Goldwater, whom he accused of spreading “havoc across the landscape.”
He then announced that he will begin a week-long cross-country plane tour on Monday in his efforts to stop the Arizona Senator from receiving the GOP nomination.
Scranton admitted he should have entered the race sooner, saying he felt he should have announced his candidacy earlier this week at the National Governors Conference.
Scranton said Republicans must repudiate Goldwater if the GOP is to escape defeat in November.
“We have reached the ludicrous point,” he said, “where every responsible leader in our party knows that to stave off defeat in November, a make-believe coating of moderation must be shellacked over the views that have been uttered by the present front-runner.
“A small but vocal minority too often has made our party sound naive, irresponsible, reactionary, and heartless. The proposals that have come from the camp of the present front-runner — particularly in the field of foreign affairs — are not real alternatives to the Johnson Administration. They are mere echoes of despair.”
Scranton referred to Goldwater by name only once. “Somebody asked me yesterday whether my candidacy was the beginning of a stop-Goldwater movement,” he said. “My answer is this is a movement to win in November.”
Scranton said that Goldwater’s vote against cloture — which cut off a Southern filibuster — this week “had a lot to do” with his announcement that he was seeking the GOP nomination.
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