'Most
Says It. Has Hurt Republicans
nEc 2 1973
Mathias Attacks 'Southern Strategy'
the futile pursuit of a New Gov. Linwood Holton told the
Majority through the South- Ripon Society that the RepubSen. Charles McC. Mathias ern strategy," said • Mathias, lican Party, "as the party of
(R-Md.) charged yesterday that who is expected to run for re- Lincoln, would be desecrating
President Nixon's "Southern election next year.
his very name if we tried to
strategy" has been 'an unprin- "While the New American
the Southern branch of
turn
cipal coaliton devoid of a posi- Revolution promised a cretive,program" that has "driven ative evolution of economic our party into an all-white
many more Republicans out of and political power, the polit- club."
the party" than it attracted.
ics of the New Majority de- Mathias, who has frequently
Mathias called for "a renais- manded 'an unprecedented opposed the White House on
sance of responsive, responsi- concentration of power in the issues, said, "Events in recent
bile government" based on White House staff," Mary- years and months have given
"traditional Republican princi- land's senior Republican sena- us any number of examples of
the ... ultimate corruption of
ples" in a speech prepared for tor continued.
delivery last night to the Ri- "The Southern strategy may political power not exercised
pon Society, a liberal Republi- have reaped some few addi- in accordance] with principle."
can group meeting in Arling- tional party members in the
ton.
South but, as the Harris poll,
"While the Republican reflects, it has driven many
Party, and 99.9 per cent of its more Republicans out of the
members may not be responsi- party in every other part of
ble for Watergate, the party the country," Mathias said.
will be—and should be—
The "Southern strategy"
harshly held accountable if it generally is considered to be a
does not lead the effort to en- policy under which the GOP
sure that such gross abuse of has sought through a weakpublic trust is fully and faith- ened effort on civil rights to
fully investigated and prosecu- enhance its political strength
ted and cannot recur," Mat- in the South by wooing tradihias said.
tionally conservative white
Mathias said that in its first Democrats who have suptwo years, the Nixon adminis- ported George C. Wallace.
tration proposed a "positive The "Southern strategy" has
program and political strategy assumed that gains in conserv:
for American's future" known ative white party members
as "the New American Revolu- would more than offset• departion."
tures from the Republican
"But during the past three Party by moderates and
years the New American Revo- blacks.
lution has been surrendered to On Friday night Virginia
By Douglas ,W atson
Washington Post Staff Writer
In urging Republican moderates to reassert themselves
"far the good of the nation,Mathias praised "four men
who remembered that their
first loyalty was to the Constitution."
Mathias said, "John Sirica,
Archibald Cox, William Ruckelshaus and Elliot Richardson
demonstrated that principled action can make a difference in America."