(E. J. Dionne '73 is a member of Harvard-Radcliffe Peace Action, the University group attempting to end the war through the current political system. The author is not a member of the CRIMSON.)
Gene McCarthy once said that seventy-five per cent of all campaigning is a waste of time. The problem, as he described it, was finding out which seventy-five per cent.
This fall, Harvard Peace Action and other Boston area peace groups are attempting to concentrate their strength on behalf of four local Congressional candidates. In order to help you decide if and how you want to spend your time helping them, here's some information on the four campaigns.
Third District
In Massachusetts' Third District, the peace candidate is Father Robert Drinan. A Jesuit priest and Dean of the Boston College Law School, Father Drinan defeated 72-year-old incumbent Democrat Philip Philbin '18 in the September 15th Democratic primary. Given little chance of defeating Philbin who was labeled a "hack" by the Wall Street Journal, Father Drinan surprised everyone with his decisive victory.
His victory was largely due to support given him by the peace forces in his district. Last February 1,000 "New Politics" people from the district gathered in convention and chose Drinan to oppose Philbin, the second-ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee and a supporter of the war and high military spending. During the campaign and on election day, some 4,000 volunteers helped the Drinan cause.
Drinan is an enigmatic figure. He is a leader in the new "underground" Catholic Church. His candidacy drew fire from such spokesmen for rightwing Catholicism as Father Daniel Lyons, the radio priest sponsored by the Schick Safety Razor Co., who disliked his mixing the priesthood with politics.
As it turned out, the priest issue apparently did not hurt Father Drinan. He won the working class city of Waltham, for example, by a 3-2 margin. He campaigned very hard among blue collar workers and combined their support with a 3-1 margin in suburban Newton.
Throughout the campaign, Drinan stressed economic issues, but insisted upon speaking out on Vietnam as well. Throughout the campaign, he said that ideological anti-Communism is, but should not be, the cornerstone of American foreign policy.
Father Drinan is opposed in the November election by Republican State Representative John McGlennon. McGlennon is a supporter of the Nixon Vietnam policies and won his primary by a margin of better than 3-1. Father Drinan is also threatened by a Philbin write-in candidacy. Declaring last week that he would not allow himself to be thrown out of Congress by the "New Left," with its money and power, Philbin announced that he would seek re-election.
The district is overwhelmingly Democratic and Independent, with approximately 100,000 Independents, 80,000 Democrats and 40,000 Republicans. Drinan has a very good chance of winning, but his supporters are not over-confident and they are taking the combined Philbin-McGlennon threat very seriously.
Sixth District
U. S. Representative Michael Harrington '58 was elected in September 1969 from a district which had not elected a Democrat in 76 years. Harrington defeated State Senator Bill Saltonstall, heir of a political dynasty, by stressing the Vietnam and military spending issues, by tying Saltonstall to the Nixon Administration and by picturing himself as a gut fighter, with the slogan: "He has the guts to do what's right."
In Congress, Harrington has voted and spoken liberal right down the line. He sharply criticized the seniority system and voted with the small but growing anti-war group against the military appropriations bill. He has spoken out repeatedly against the war and has opposed the repressive features of the Administration's anticrime bill. Americans for Democratic Action gives him a 100 per cent rating.
Harrington's district is the North Shore including cities and towns like Lynn, Rockport, Salem, Gloucester and Marblehead. In 1969, Harrington carried the District by winning substantial victories in the cities like Lynn and almost winning the rock-ribbed Republican towns. Harrington's victory, in short, was the result of a strong organizational effort by regular Democrats led by his brother State Senator Kevin Harrington, combined with enthusiastic work by the "New Politics" people, who were especially effective in the smaller towns.
Harrington is opposed by 29-year-Old Republican Howard Phillips. Phillips is a Nixon supporter and is not given much of a chance of winning. He hopes to beat Harrington by attacking the most liberal parts of his record like his opposition to the military spending bill.
Harrington's supporters hope to roll up a substantial margin against Phillips to bolster Harrington and impress the Congress and the Nixon Administration with the popularity of Harrington's anti-war, new priorities position.
Tenth District
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