Focus on Kentucky

Focus on Kentucky The Loser Was LBJ PHILIP ARDERY JR.

What we had November 7 were off- year elections. Their main interest is what they can tell us about the po- litical year ahead. The much bally- hooed municipal elections are the least helpful in this respect because, by their very nature, the issues are personal and local. Gary and Cleve- land showed that Northern Negroes will vote in blocs for Negro candi- dates, and that Northern whites will vote in blocs against them, but that the white vote is not as solid as the black. Boston showed that Bostonians will sacrifice almost, but not quite, everything to keep their neighbor- hood schools. Louise Day Hicks, a stocky grandmother of questionable administrative capabilities, ran against Kevin White, Teddy Kennedy, and Human Kindness and won 47 per cent of the vote in a non-party contest. These elections were exciting but not very illuminating as an index to next year, since, among other things, nei- ther of the major parties will nom- inate a Negro or a grandmother for President. Kentucky Bellwether There were two gubernatorial elec- tions, in Mississippi and in Kentucky, and in the first of these the over- riding issue again was a local one. Democrat John Bell Williams won be- cause, as the saying goes, he “out- segged” his opponent. That leaves Kentucky, and in this race there were strong national overtones and, indeed, cause for jubilation among conserva- | tive Republicans looking ahead to 1968. The winner of that election was Louie B. Nunn, a 43-year-old lawyer from Glascow, Kentucky, who was an unsuccessful candidate for gover- nor four years ago and who, in the interim, has tempered his populism into something close to genuine con- servatism. His opponent was 57-year- old Henry Ward, the honest but color- less highway commissioner in the out- going administration (Kentucky law

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About the Author

Philip P. Ardery Jr.

Philip P. Ardery Jr. is a former National Review associate.

Focus on Kentucky The Loser Was LBJ PHILIP ARDERY JR.

What we had November 7 were off- year elections. Their main interest is what they can tell us about the po- litical year ahead. The much bally- hooed municipal elections are the least helpful in this respect because, by their very nature, the issues are personal and local. Gary and Cleve- land showed that Northern Negroes will vote in blocs for Negro candi- dates, and that Northern whites will vote in blocs against them, but that the white vote is not as solid as the black. Boston showed that Bostonians will sacrifice almost, but not quite, everything to keep their neighbor- hood schools. Louise Day Hicks, a stocky grandmother of questionable administrative capabilities, ran against Kevin White, Teddy Kennedy, and Human Kindness and won 47 per cent of the vote in a non-party contest. These elections were exciting but not very illuminating as an index to next year, since, among other things, nei- ther of the major parties will nom- inate a Negro or a grandmother for President. Kentucky Bellwether There were two gubernatorial elec- tions, in Mississippi and in Kentucky, and in the first of these the over- riding issue again was a local one. Democrat John Bell Williams won be- cause, as the saying goes, he “out- segged” his opponent. That leaves Kentucky, and in this race there were strong national overtones and, indeed, cause for jubilation among conserva- | tive Republicans looking ahead to 1968. The winner of that election was Louie B. Nunn, a 43-year-old lawyer from Glascow, Kentucky, who was an unsuccessful candidate for gover- nor four years ago and who, in the interim, has tempered his populism into something close to genuine con- servatism. His opponent was 57-year- old Henry Ward, the honest but color- less highway commissioner in the out- going administration (Kentucky law