The National Democratic Committee is to be congratulated for holding this luncheon meeting. I was particularly happy to accept, because our Chairwoman today, Mrs. Galvin, is from my native city of Boston. She is the wife of a distinguished Bostonian, Michael Galvin, the former Under Secretary of Labor, and she is well and highly regarded in her own right.
We are met today in the shadow of a great defeat. What made this defeat especially difficult for all of us to sustain was that through it we were denied the services as Chief Executive of the former Governor of Illinois our candidate for President Adlai Stevenson. Adlai Stevenson fitted none of the traditional moulds from which successful political leaders are poured, although in his introspection and somewhat melancholy, with all his wit and sparkle, reserve, there is some resemblance of Woodrow Wilson.
Adlai Stevenson like Henry Clay would rather have been right than President. I was confident that he would be both, for I was sure that the time, the party and the man had met. It was not to be, but who can safely predict what the future, now so obscured, will hold for Adlai Stevenson.
In addition the defeat of November was a disappointment because all of us believed that the Democratic Party with its program and the men that make up its Congressional leadership, was far better fitted to carry the burdens and responsibilities of leadership in these difficult and dangerous days.
But the defeat that we suffered - our removal from positions of direct responsibility, must not be regarded as an unmitigated disaster. The Democrats had been in power for 20 years. Although the personnel and the stream of force had changed somewhat, nevertheless that is a long time to bear the burdens of administrative authority. The wellsprings which should give freshness and vitality to action commence to become dry and the movement loses coherence and direction. We can not deny however partisan we may be that this had begun to happen to the Democratic Party. Defeat is not as Governor Stevenson has so well pointed out a shot in the arm, but it does give us an opportunity to regain perspective, to renew our energies and to find out where we are going.
What course should we follow now. It is still too early to say and it would perhaps be a mistake to chart it with too much accuracy, and I think it important to remember that the American people are not interested too much in party disputes as such. Political parties are to them a means to a more abundant life and are not an end in themselves. In addition, the American people have given a mandate to President Eisenhower and the Republican Party. As Americans we want them to succeed.
But we have definite responsibilities as members of the minority party under the American political system. We must give representation not only to the 24 million Americans who voted for Adlai Stevenson for President, but also to develop a coherent program of action for the future which we hope will win the support of a majority of Americans.
In so doing we must take into account that we are a national party, that we therefore include within our membership groups that are mutually antipathetic but are willing to remain members of the same party because of the general course of its actions.
In addition, we must realize that because of the success of our social programs of the past 20 years, the political complexion of the country has changed, and moved to the right. A majority of the people today have enough of a stake in our economy that they have become conservers, and this has affected their political behavior.
To sum up in a most general way what the Democratic Party should not become, I would say first it should not become a Labor Party with a capitol "L". In a country with only two major political parties this would be a fatal mistake as we would be condemned, unless there was a major depression or war, to being a permanent minority unable to attract sufficient strength to gain widespread approval. Nor does the Democratic Party have a real future as a conservative or a states-rights party. The Republicans have a monopoly on that course of action that they will not lose, and if we swing to the right, we would become atrophied and die as did the Whigs in the 1850's when they no longer served the needs of the people.
Within these two channel marks, we must steer our course - fighting the battle for people's rights, seeking to give aid and relief to those on the periphery who still live on the marginal edge of existence.
We will have an opportunity in the coming months in the Congress to carve out a solid program - to demonstrate clearly that the differences between the Republicans and ourselves, between our philosophy of government and theirs - are fundamental and traditional. We can thus show the American people a clear alternative - one that justifies their support in the coming elections of 1954 and 1956.
It is important that we do not fall into the habit that often plagues political minorities of waging ceaseless guerilla warfare over objectives of little importance so that our opposition appears superficial and irresponsible. Our opponents have shown us the fallacy for over 20 years of that course of action. It took a skilled military leader to lead them from the hills of petty resistance to join battle successfully in the plains. Our opposition should be confined therefore to serious questions of policy. There will be many and even in the early days of the Republican administration they are becoming apparent.
We must, for example, give clear evidence that the Democratic Party seeks to develop and retain our national lands, and resources as a treasure belonging to all the people, to be used for their benefit. We must work to strengthen the minimum wage, to bring it up to date with the rise in the national wage structure and extend its coverage. We must improve and extend our social security program; build the Nation's health; propose workable alternatives to the National Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 to restore government to a less prejudicial role in Labor management relations; and continue our ancient battle to see that the influence, and if necessary the authority, of the government is used to secure equal rights to employment for all people, a right in full accord with the traditions of American democracy.
We must continue as before to protect the people from monopoly, from the irresponsible exercise of economic power. In foreign affairs although we have met and will meet with cruel and severe disappointment, we must continue to guide our policy within the framework of collective security upon which our own domestic well being depends.
To sum it up we must set our course not, in General Bradley's memorable phrase, by the lights of each passing ship, but by the fixed stars that we have always followed. If we are true to our historic tradition, we can not fail - we must succeed. If we in short remain close to the people, the people will remain close to us and we can look forward to the future with confidence and hope.
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