A Choice Not an Echo

In 1964, Phyllis Schlafly self-published one of her most famous books, A Choice Not an Echo. This book was the first of Schlafly's 19 authored texts, and sold 3 million copies[1][2], granting her national attention as a conservative activist. Schlafly mainly published this book in support of Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, hoping to help him triumph in the California Primary, thus granting him the ability to be nominated for president.[3] Schlafly’s secondary motivation behind the publishing of A Choice Not an Echo was to break control of the "Eastern Establishment" over the republican party. In other words, this book served as an exposition of the covert influence that “kingmakers” had on Republican primary nominations.

Inspiration for "A Choice Not an Echo"

Prior to 1963, Phyllis Schlafly had prepared a whole series of Republican speeches that she hoped to deliver. However, after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, she deemed it inappropriate to give Anti-Democratic speeches after his death. [4]Therefore, Schlafly altered course and wrote a speech called “How Political Conventions Are Stolen” (a speech that reflected on the Democratic Rockefeller Administration and how it outmaneuvered the Conservatives) in December of 1963 and delivered it all throughout January and February the following year. However, Schlafly hoped to create a permanent impact with her writing and thus tasked herself to convert her speech into a book (“A Choice Not an Echo”). By setting up her own publisher, the Pere Marquette Press, Schlafly was able to quickly self-publish her book that she soon distributed in mass quantities. She sent copies to the Republican National Convention in 1964 urging people to read her book and also sent 5000 copies to a Yurok Convention in California. [4]By the following weekend, Schlafly’s book had statewide distribution in California and eventually had sold over half a million copies by May to help support Barry Goldwater’s campaign.[5]

Phyllis Schlafly

Historical Context

Phyllis’s book gives in-depth accounts of Kingmakers’ influence on Republican nominations and national elections starting in the 1940s, and continuing all the way to the presidential race of 1964, in which Barry Goldwater, a former student at University of Arizona who dropped after one year, ran.[6][7][8] As a Republican party insider and political activist, Schlafly gives first hand accounts of kingmakers silencing grassroots republicans who threatened the party establishment.[9] She begins with the 1940 election, in which the Republican establishment worked against Robert Taft, because his father, president William Howard Taft, played a major role in opposing the Federal Reserve.[6][7] Taft lost the nomination to Wendell Willkie, a former democrat and socialist who Schlafly did not see as a “true republican”.[6] In the 1952 primaries, Taft was on the rise again, and leading against Eisenhower. Schlafly details how republican kingmakers again intervened, orchestrating rump meetings in key states and ultimately convincing democratic representatives to nominate Goldwater delegates.[6] The republican establishment called on democratic nominators to hand the election to Eisenhower, allowing him to narrowly defeat Taft again. Taft attributed his defeat to “New York financial interests”.[6]

link=File:Activist_Phyllis_Schafly_wearing_a_%22Stop_ERA%22_badge,_demonstrating_with_other_women_against_the_Equal_Rights_Amendment_in_front_of_the_White_House,_Washington,_D.C._(42219314092).jpg

This pattern continued in later elections. After Goldwater won the 1964 republican primaries, he was essentially abandoned by influential establishment Republicans in the general election, and lost to Eisenhower. After Eisenhower’s election, Schlafly excused his lack of strong republican policies, citing his lack of political experience. Taft, however, attributed this inaction to Eisenhower being a “compassionate conservative”, a liberal leaning republican. He saw Eisenhower’s presidency as yet another “echo”, calling it a “dime store New Deal.”[6]

Interference in republican presidential nomination processes continued throughout the 20th century, and are detailed by Schlafly. Her call to voters to remain staunchly supportive of real, disruptive, anti-establishment republican candidates was a key factor in the success of Barry Goldwater in the 1964 primaries.

How Goldwater Got the Nomination

Phyllis Schlafly’s “A Choice Not an Echo” was a key factor in Barry Goldwater’s securing of the 1964 republican nomination. In preceding months, Goldwater was close to winning the nomination, but needed to win a major primary in order to do so. The California primary, therefore, was key if Goldwater were to win the republican nomination. The liberal New York governor Nelson Rockefeller contended Goldwater in the California primary, which was a very close race. Conservative lobbyists and volunteers, however, traveled to the most important precincts and handed out more than fifty thousand copies of “A Choice Not an Echo.” Schlafly’s book was evidently very influential: later studies showed that Goldwater had secured narrow victories in many of these precincts. Goldwater won the California primary, and got the republican presidential nomination. Schlafly’s influence through “A Choice Not an Echo” extends even past this, as the nomination for Goldwater spurred Reagan to make his “A Time for Choosing” speech, and eventually run for governor of California, and later the presidency. [10]

Schlafly On The Kingmakers

Senator Barry Goldwater

Chapter 12 of A Choice Not an Echo is titled "Anybody but Goldwater." In this crucial chapter of her book, Schlafly focuses in on the work of the "kingmakers," specifically exposing their attempts to prevent Goldwater from securing the popular republican vote. For example, Schlafly references "The chief propaganda organ of the secret kingmakers, The New York Times," [11] clearly demonstrating the tension between Goldwater and the Eastern establishment in the following sentence (extracted from a New York Times article written by Tom Wicker on August 11, 1963) : "The most bitter resistance to Senator Goldwater centers in the "eastern, internationalist power structure that for two decades has dictated Republican nominations. The members of that elite will not lightly relinquish their party to Barry Goldwater." [11] Schlafly also references other magazines that have published "anti-Goldwater" texts such as The New Yorker and The Saturday Evening Post. More specifically, Schlafly references an article published in The Saturday Evening Post on January 25, 1964 called "How the Republicans Can Win" by Arthur Larson, that advises the GOP to select a candidate who appeals to the "Authentic American Center" [11](specifically referencing John F. Kennedy at the time). Aside from anti-Goldwater "propaganda," Schlafly reveals other strategies used by the kingmakers to keep Goldwater out of the race. For example, the kingmakers posed candidates such as Nelson Rockefeller and George Romney whose main motivation to run for president would be to "do everything within my power to prevent him (Goldwater) from becoming the party's presidential choice."[11] Another candidate who posed as a threat to Goldwater's campaign was William W. Scranton, who was Governor of Pennsylvania from 1963-1967. The "kingmakers" invested a lot of attention in Governor Scranton, "showing off Scranton to leading banking, industrial and communications figures in a series of private luncheons." [11] These exclusive meetings included extremely influential individuals that would help bolster Goldwater's campaign.[11]

Flyer used to challenge Goldwater's campaign

In Chapter 2, “ Who’s Looney Now,” Schlafly goes into detail on how the breakdown of American foreign allowed for Eastern infiltration into various governments. For example, Schlafly cites the breakdown of ties between the US and France and Britain, saying how the two latter have recognized “Red China.” In addition, the two nations made it clear that they would continue trading with the USSR and Cuba. Another example comes from the ongoing “bloody war” in Vietnam, in which American soldiers were fighting with little hope of victory as Vietnam slipped further into “Communist clutches.” In “Republicans Can’t Lose-Unless,” Schlafly goes into the key strategy that will ensure the success of republican party candidates- “campaigning the issue.” Schlafly defines this as addressing the key issue of the time with great detail during primaries. This allows the candidate to avoid sounding like he is making “campaign oratory” just to please his audience. Schlafly gives an account of previous candidates that failed to “campaign the issue.” She begins her analysis in 1940, with Wendell Willkie failing to address the major conservative issue at the time- Roosevelt’s policy of consenting to Stalin’s invasions of Poland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. In 1948, Schlafly explains how both Thomas Dewey and Earl Warren failed to address the issue of communist infiltration in the government. Schlafly closes the chapter by citing an example of a successful candidate- Eisenhower. Eisenhower’s campaign slogan, “ Corruption, Communism, and Korea,” gave a clear insight into the major issues of the time. Using this strategy, Eisenhower garnered 55% of the popular vote and helped bring a Republican majority into Congress.

Slogan for Barry Goldwater Campaign "A Choice not an Echo"

“The Advertising Agent’s Holiday” describes how Wendell Willkie, who was a registered Democrat, was marketed into the Republican presidential candidate by the “kingmakers.” Willkie began appearing on the covers of magazines and newspapers, and was placed on panels where the questions were tailored specifically to his knowledge. This type of marketing ensured that he appeared to outsmart other intellectuals on the panels. Despite this marketing, when the Republican National Convention was seven weeks away, Willkie was only favored by 3% of Republicans. When the Republican National Convention arrived, the “kingmakers” launched “Operation Telegram.” In this operation, prominent and financially powerful people were called and asked if they would like to send a telegram to the delegates at the Republican National Convention on their behalf. As a result of this, almost a million telegrams flooded the delegates at the convention in favor of Willkie. In addition, cab drivers picking up delegates and taking them to the convention were paid to hint that the nomination was leaning towards Willkie. The combination of these strategies worked, and Willkie won the presidential nomination, with Taft and Dewey trailing behind.

Campaign Ad for Barry Goldwater

Summary of the Effects of A Choice Not an Echo

The book helped create space within the Republican Party for the modern conservative movement that eventually stopped the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s. The book helped secure the nomination of Senator Barry Goldwater for President of the United States, and detailed how the liberal "Rockefeller Republican" wing of the Republican Party had manipulated the Republican Party's choice of nominees in prior national conventions to nominate people like Wendell Willkie and Dwight D. Eisenhower.[12] It called on conservatives to rally against the liberal wing and offer a true conservative for the nomination. Millions of copies of this book were bought and distributed by supporters of Goldwater, making it one of the all-time best selling conservative political books in the United States. The book helped launch the career of Phyllis Schlafly as a movement conservative.

A 50th anniversary edition, A Choice Not an Echo: Updated and Expanded 50th Anniversary Edition, was published in 2014 by Regnery Publishing, ISBN 978-1621573159.[11] The 1964 book was published by the Pere Marquette Press, and has the ISBN number of ISBN 0-686-11486-8.

Personal

Phyllis Schlafly was born on August 15, 1924 in St. Louis, Missouri and died on September 5, 2016.[1] She grew up there, graduating as the valedictorian of her high school class at the Academy of the Sacred Heart. She married in 1949, and spent her days living in both Illinois and Missouri. She attended Washington University as a law student, and graduated from Harvard with a master’s in political science. In 2008, Washington University awarded her an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. She was the mother of six children, and was elected Illinois Mother of the Year in 1992; all six of her children were taught how to read before they began attending school. Her husband was John Fred Schlafly, an attorney in Illinois. Phyllis Schlafly was a successful attorney, passing the bar in Illinois, Missouri, the District of Columbia, and has argued before the US Supreme Court. In addition, she served as a member of Commission on Bicentennial of US Constitution from 1985-1991, appointed by President Ronald Reagan. Schlafly also testified before more than 50 Congressional and State legislative committees on constitutional, national defense, and family issues.

Legacy

Schlafly is most well-know for her work in political activism. She was three times elected President of the Illinois Federation of Republican Women (1960-64), and was elected First Vice President, National Federation of Republican Women (1964-1967). She was a candidate for Congress from Illinois in 1952 and in 1970, in two different districts. In addition, she was a prolific writer: she is the author of 27 books; a monthly newspaper called The Phyllis Schlafly Report, which ran for fifty years; she was also a columnist, appearing in 100 newspapers; and she founded the Eagle Forum.[13] She also was the leader of the pro family movement that began in 1972, campaigning against the ERA and radical feminism. She has been named one of the 100 most important women of the 20th century by Ladies’ Home Journal.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b "Phyllis Schlafly Bio - founder of Eagle Forum". Eagle Forum. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
  2. ^ "Phyllis Schlafly". Contemporary Authors Online. 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2019 – via Gale In Context: Biography.
  3. ^ "A Choice, Not An Echo, Again". Chronicles Magazine. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  4. ^ a b "How Phyllis Schlafly Paved Way for Reagan". The Daily Signal. 2016-09-06. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
  5. ^ Phyllis Schlafly: A Choice Not An Echo, retrieved 2019-10-26
  6. ^ a b c d e f "A Choice Not an Echo, Fifty Years Later". www.thenewamerican.com. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
  7. ^ a b "A Choice Not an Echo, Fifty Years Later". www.thenewamerican.com. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  8. ^ FARBER, DAVID (2010). The Rise and Fall of Modern American Conservatism: A Short History. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691156064.
  9. ^ Schlafly, Phyllis (1964). A Choice Not An Echo. Pere Marquette Press.
  10. ^ "How Phyllis Schlafly Paved Way for Reagan". The Daily Signal. 2016-09-06. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g "A Choice Not an Echo: Updated and Expanded 50th Anniversary Edition." Google Books. 10 November 2014. 14 December 2018.
  12. ^ Hemmer, Nicole. "The Three Books That Shook Conservative Media in 1964." The Atlantic. 20 May 2014. 14 December 2018.
  13. ^ a b http://www.washingtontimes.com, The Washington Times. "The queen of the conservative movement". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2019-09-13.

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