University of Virginia Library

Gov. Carter Claims Party 'Purge'
Weakened Southern Democrats

By TOM TANTON

"We have tried to purge the
party, but we have weakened
it," Georgia's Democratic
Governor Jimmy Carter told a
large crowd last night in
Campbell Hall.

Stating that most major
offices in the South are held by
Democrats, Mr. Carter said
"there has been a chasm
between the Democratic office
holders and the Democratic
presidential nominee."

Strong Affiliation

He claimed that the South
had a strong affiliation with
the Democratic Party but
could not in good conscience
have supported George
McGovern in the 1972
presidential election.

Mr. Carter contended that a
political party should be
"instituted to win elections
honestly. The average
American voter doesn't care
about political parties. He is
interested in 'gut' issues that
will affect himself and his
family and he does not want to
be isolated from the ideals
which he holds dear," he
added.

McGovern's 'Unpopularity'

"Because of the
unpopularity of Mr.
McGovern...we had a strange
case of all the workers of
General Motors voting the
same way as the president of
General Motors." he said.

He also discussed the
present administration's
involvement in domestic issues
and the Watergate affair.

"In 1976 Richard Nixon
will be a millstone around the
neck of any Republican
candidate. This is not just my
visceral feeling but it is
reflected in the public opinion
polls," he said.

CD/Dan Grogan

Georgia Gov. Carter: "I'm Proud Of Being A Politician"

Mr. Carter claimed Mr.
Nixon scored "abysmally low
figures in domestic issues" in a
recent Harris poll.

Pointing to the spiraling
cost of living and the 31%
devaluation of the dollar, he
said that this was an
"indication of the lack of
confidence throughout the
world in our country and our
economic structure."

"The present
administration has ensconced
itself in intense secrecy which
has bred arrogance and paved
the way for the Watergate
affair," he said.

Terming the affair a
"national tragedy," Mr. Carter
stated it has "gotten far
beyond the partisan stage; the
country is really hurt. Never
before, since the Civil War, has
the nation suffered such a blow
in its trust in government, and
never has the integrity of the
White House been so
damaged."

However, he insisted that
the Watergate incident is "not
a proof that our system of
democracy is weak. If it was
weak, the organized concealing
of facts through subterfuge and
bribery would have
succeeded."

'Open To People'

Mr. Carter said he believed
that government should be
"managed efficiently, using
business-like principles," that it
should be "open to the
people," and that it should be
"committed to establishing
justice in a central world."

"I'm proud, in many ways,
of being a politician," he said.