Conservatives Marshal the Data

In 1962 a group of Democratic congressmen led by James Roosevelt of California sponsored the publication of a volume of essays called The Liberal Papers. The theme of this curious anthology, written by a dozen or so left-wing scholars and publicists, was set by a passage in the opening essay in which it was opined that “as the Cold War continues, it becomes increasingly difficult for decent Americans, humane enough to prefer peace to an egocentric national honor, to be outspokenly and genuinely anti-Communist.” Subsequent chapters offered a broad agenda for conciliation of Moscow in fulfilment of this insight.

The Liberal Papers provoked a furor which sent Democratic legislators identified with the book scurrying for cover. They also provoked a group of Republican congressmen, captained by Rep. Melvin Laird of Wisconsin, to formulate a reply, now issued under the title of The Conservative Papers. And it requires no partisan bias to conclude that, in this particular battle of the books, the Republicans have got the better of their adversaries across the aisle—a fact most easily verified by noting that no sponsor of the conservative volume has yet found a disavowal necessary.

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M. Stanton Evans

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In 1962 a group of Democratic congressmen led by James Roosevelt of California sponsored the publication of a volume of essays called The Liberal Papers. The theme of this curious anthology, written by a dozen or so left-wing scholars and publicists, was set by a passage in the opening essay in which it was opined that “as the Cold War continues, it becomes increasingly difficult for decent Americans, humane enough to prefer peace to an egocentric national honor, to be outspokenly and genuinely anti-Communist.” Subsequent chapters offered a broad agenda for conciliation of Moscow in fulfilment of this insight.

The Liberal Papers provoked a furor which sent Democratic legislators identified with the book scurrying for cover. They also provoked a group of Republican congressmen, captained by Rep. Melvin Laird of Wisconsin, to formulate a reply, now issued under the title of The Conservative Papers. And it requires no partisan bias to conclude that, in this particular battle of the books, the Republicans have got the better of their adversaries across the aisle—a fact most easily verified by noting that no sponsor of the conservative volume has yet found a disavowal necessary.