Our Back Pages: At 1964 political conventions, Wisconsin 'candidates' played a role (original) (raw)

One political party's presumptive nominee headed for the convention facing challenges from more moderate rivals, while the other party's front-runner — firmly associated with the previous administration — looked to forge a united front despite some resistance from the party's more liberal faction.

No, this isn't about the 2016 political conventions, which begin with the Republican National Convention in Cleveland starting Monday, followed by the Democrats' starting July 25. It's about 1964's.

And Wisconsin had candidates in the mix at both. Well, sort of.

Backing Barry (eventually)

The 1964 conventions were among the last to include 'favorite son' candidates — candidates chosen by delegates from a particular state with the idea that the state's bloc of votes can be used for leverage at the convention.

The rise of the primary system in the 1960s and '70s helped make the concept irrelevant, but in 1964, it still had a role.

All 30 of Wisconsin's delegates for the Republican convention in San Francisco were pledged to John W. Byrnes, who had represented Green Bay and northeastern Wisconsin in Congress since 1945.

On the first day of the convention, Monday, July 13, 1964, the two leading contenders for the nomination — Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona, who was expected to win the nomination on the first ballot; and Gov. William Scranton of Pennsylvania, representing the party's moderate wing — spoke to the Wisconsin delegation in separate closed sessions.

The Milwaukee Sentinel reported in a front-page story July 14 story that Byrnes, who also led the state's delegation, said the Wisconsinites would hold a caucus and decide which candidate to support — but not before Wednesday morning of the convention.

Although Goldwater had the lion's share of delegates going into the convention, Republicans leery of the Arizona senator's anti-communist fervor and opposition to civil rights legislation were still maneuvering to deny him the nomination.

Later on July 14, Byrnes and Wisconsin Rep. Melvin Laird — who later served as defense secretary under President Richard Nixon — were among Republican leaders who spoke at the convention against a pair of amendments to the party platform condemning extremism and extremist groups, including the Communist Party and the John Birch Society (the latter was a big supporter of Goldwater).

The amendments had been proposed by anti-Goldwater Republicans including Scranton and New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. When Rockefeller took the stage to endorse the amendments, he was shouted down by Goldwater backers among the delegates.

Byrnes spoke to the delegates after Rockefeller. Rejecting the amendments, he issued a challenge to 'extremists': 'We'll meet you head on, not with resolutions...repudiating your right to exist. We'll meet you with Republican convictions, Republican principles, and we'll defeat you.'

'Byrnes got a big ovation when he finished,' the Sentinel reported July 15.

In the end, the amendments were rejected overwhelmingly. The next morning, on schedule, Byrnes released Wisconsin's delegation from their pledge to his candidacy.

'As soon as Byrnes announced his release,' the Sentinel reported on July 16, 1964, 'most of the delegation put Goldwater buttons on their lapels.'

In a secret ballot, 26 of the 30 chose Goldwater, with the other four choosing Scranton. The delegation then decided to make it unanimous for the front-runner, who won the nomination on the first ballot.

Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Talbot Peterson told the Sentinel that Goldwater's campaign would be 'unparalleled' for Wisconsin, and he predicted Goldwater 'would sweep the state.'

Not quite. Lyndon B. Johnson, who became president after John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963, received 62% of the vote in Wisconsin; Goldwater collected about 38%.

Byrnes remained in Congress until his retirement in 1973 and was part of the secret planning for the transition between President Richard Nixon and his successor, Gerald Ford, in 1974.

Neither of his obituaries in The Journal and Sentinel mentioned his favorite-son candidacy.

All the way with LBJ

Wisconsin Democrats had a favorite-son candidate, too. But Gov. John W. Reynolds was really a stand-in for Johnson.

In the Wisconsin Democratic primary, Reynolds — who in 1965 would be appointed a U.S. District Court judge by Johnson — won handily, although Alabama Gov. George Wallace — in his first race outside his home state — collected about 30% of the vote.

Unlike Wisconsin Republicans, the state's Democratic delegates had no question about who they'd be casting their votes for at the convention, held Aug. 24-27, 1964, in Atlantic City, N.J. But they did have a complaint: They didn't like their hotel.

'There isn't a room in all Wisconsin this bad,' delegate Victor Miller, an attorney from St. Nazianz, told the Sentinel in a story published Aug. 25, 1964. 'It made my wife cry.'

Harvey Kitzman, a Democratic delegate and regional director of the United Auto Workers, made the delegation's hotel arrangements. He told the Sentinel that it was the delegates' fault: Many of them didn't get their deposits in on time, meaning the Wisconsin group lost out on better accommodations.

COMING NEXT WEEK

Wisconsin delegates had different experiences at 1968's political conventions, but both events made history.

Look for their stories in the Green Sheet July 20.

ABOUT THIS FEATURE

Each Wednesday, Our Back Pages dips into the Journal Sentinel archives, sharing photos and stories from the past that connect, reflect and sometimes contradict the Milwaukee we know today.

Special thanks and kudos go to senior multimedia designer Bill Schulz for finding many of the gems in the Journal Sentinel photo archives.