Addition through Division: Robert Taft, the Labor Vote, and the Ohio Senate Election of 1950

Addition through Division: Robert Taft,tbe Labor Vote and tbe Obio Senate Election of 1950 MICHAEL BOWEN n 1950,theOhiosenatorialelection hadpotentiallygroundbreakingim plications for the twoparty systelii and the dominant governing ideolc, gy in Washington. The congressional races of that year marked the third election cycle since the end of Worid War II, ind the battle lines between liberal supporters of the New Deal and consericitives who opposed . 11] or parts of it were clearly delineated. Each partv had a conserritive and liberal wing whc, se adherents differed on crucial policy positions, including aid to Europe, budget deficits, tax rates, and pursuit of subversives iii the federal government. In 1946, conservative Republicans had zvon an oerwhelming congressional majority, but two years later incumbent president Harry Truman had recaptured the White 1 loiise on a liberal Denic, cratic platform. For the Ohio Senate race. the contest revolved principally ar)und organized labor and federal labor policy. The Netu York Tijites declared that the race was larger than the individua] candidates, aiguing that voters, vc, zild cho(, se between cc, ntinuing the New Deal or rolling it back, between a struggle for a coalitic, nstyle government in which labor would have sizable itifluence or a political system that ignored unioiis and their members altogether.'Observers,therefore, saw the contest as a referendum between two ideologies of government and two competing political philosophies. The identity of the candidates added to the sense of importance. Incumbent Robert A. Taft, known as " Mr. Republican," served as the titular leader of the conservative wing of the Republican Party and drew heavy fire from both national labor leaders and Deinc, cratic politicians for cc)authoring one of the most controversial pieces of legislation of the postwar periodthe TaftHartley Act. New Dcal Democrats and union officials rejected TaftHartley as a slave labor law and sought to repeal it as quickly as possible. Therefore. labor portrayed Taft as public enemy number one. The Democrats ran State Auditor Joseph Ferguson, the son of a coal miner froni the southern FALL 2 0 0 5 1950 Taft campaigit piece. Cinci} zilati Musetint Ceitter, Cilicimmti Historical Society I,ibrary 21 Tried And 11%» Found True ADDITION THROUGH DIVISION Taft for Senator decal. Cincinnati Musetint ( lenter, Ci, icinnati Historical Society Library Ohio town of Shawnee. He was a rather unremarkable candidate who had no experience in national affairs,labor relations,or foreign policy. However, during his thirteenyear tenure at the Ohio capital,Ferguson had built a strong political organization that received tremendous support from organized labor.2 Pundits viewed Ferguson as a threat to the entrenched Republican and,in the final weeks of the campaign,many saw the race as too close to call.3 A unionassisted Democratic victory over Taft would send shockwaves throughout the American political landscape and solidify New Deal liberalism as the dominant postwar political ideology. From the start,Taft adopted an aggressive and innovative approach,running on a more inclusive platform than in years past. The staples of his conservative philosophylaissez faire economics,anticommunism ,and limjted governmentappeared as usual in his campaign rhetoric, but he also made direct appeals to the normally Democratic union members and to African Americans. This tactic marked a radical change in campaign strategy for Taft at a time when the political climate favored conservatives. Ultimately, appealing directly to workers helped Taft score an overwhelming victory against the CIO and its liberal allies,and this effort also revealed an inherent weakness in the Democratic New Deal coalition. While Taft was no friend to labor unions and saw them as impediments to the free market economy,his plan took advantage of discontent among rank and file workers and f allowed him to score an important victory for conservatism in America. Ttft'ssuccessfulcampaignhighlightsan overlooked aspect of American political history. The literature on the postwar period claims that the New Deal coalition remained a stable force until the backlash to the Civil Rights movement drew workingclass voters and southerners to the Republican Party. According to Steve Fraser and Gary Gerstle, When Ronald Reagan assumed office in January of 1981, an epoch in the nation's political history came to an end. The New Deal,as a dominant order...