Iowa Press; 513; Sen Dick Clark

I would press show number 5 7. 1. 1. I will press a weekly news program for Sunday May 14.

Here is Dean Borg. Good afternoon Borg and welcome back. Two months ago we began our coverage of the race for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate with a look at the campaign of Commerce commissioner Morse of an Austrian and that the then potential campaign of Iowa Attorney General Richard Turner. Well this week and I will press we're going to take another look at the Republicans primary fight with separate examinations of the campaigns of Joseph birch and Roger Jepson. As most people know by now when Richard Turner decided not to enter the race for U.S. senator Roger Jepson did absent from statewide politics since 1972 Jepson announced his candidacy in March and since that time he's been conducting what he promised would be an expensive and heavily media oriented campaign questioning Mr. Jepson this week about his decision to enter the race and how he's going about running it will be David with the Des Moines Register. Norman Sandler with United Press International and John McCormack who is editor and publisher of the

Burlington Hawkeye. Mr. Jepson the first question is mine and I want to know speaking of you and Mr. Ivanov do you appeal to different sections of political philosophy within the Republican Party. Oh I would expect that to Mr. Van Nostrum and myself will be looked at by primary Republican voters pretty much on the basis of who they feel they can best beat and defeat Dick Clark in the fall. That has been my impression up to this point and they look at experience as a rather opposed to philosophies or. Dogma or whatever. Yep and you can hear it true that you have are being supported by be dignified with more conservative parts of the party. You can now if you had a you had an endorsement from the Gun Owners of America and you have a ride using big gooey has been identified in the past with the John Birch Society and with George Wallace involved in the funding of your campaign.

Doesn't matter down suggest you're you're the candidate. Appealing to the more conservative elements of the party I know I am. I entered this campaign with the confidence that the across the board support that I had for the Republicans in Iowa had not to the left and. We enjoyed the good election victories in 1968 in 1970 and felt that that support would still be there. It can't be confined to any one group I have employed a number of groups to conduct an aggressive campaign. Private agencies of all kinds. It's not Roger Viguerie it's Richard Viguerie and Richard Viguerie does have an advertising a direct mail agency that is a very successful one to them. To my knowledge he is not associated with the John Birch Society nor has he ever been but that that is I say to my knowledge I've interviewed him personally before we made the decision and we made it on the basis of his talents and the expertise of his somebody you're avoiding here he's saying he chaired a conservative

Republican campaign I am a conservative yes. And do you care what makes you think I want to which has produced Herbert Hoover he wants guide you laugh Burkett Can you please Harold huge and Bob Ray is ready for a more conservative United States senator. Well the labels are just a matter of degrees and are used rather loosely. You have to look at the voting record and my voting record in the Senate devival my actions as governor and I'm a fiscal conservative. I am very much concerned about human rights and human affairs of all the people conservative doesn't mean that you necessarily have horns and forked tail you know. In fact I think it's long overdue that we have fiscal conservatives in Congress I hope there are a lot of molested this year. Specifically why. Issues are important in any campaign but in primaries the purpose of them is to nominate candidates to run against the opposition in the fall. In this case that's Dick

Clark. Why should Republican voters nominate you over more than Australian or Joseph patro. Well David one of the reasons I had that I had mentioned earlier that I think will be used as a as a judgment criteria for. Their casting their ballots in June the Republican primary vote voters will look at those who have a record if they have one and of course we do we have a successful record having won two statewide elections we've never lost a statewide election. And we had a very tough primary. And still it was a three way primary when I ran for lieutenant governor in 68 it's a three way primary now for Senate. I also had a three way primary and I ran for senator and I had a three way primary and I ran for county supervisor. So the three way primaries are not new. And the vote that the Republican voters in the end on June 6th will look at a candidate on the basis of experience. We feel we've had is being senator and lieutenant governor on the basis of electability we've got a track record.

I mean no one single issue that would help him decide between you and money. The voter issue. Well maybe we got a lot of Republicans out there and got to decided just who you're going to vote for. You said you said you're a conservative. Are you more conservative than more than our strength you said As a matter of degree where do you fit on that spectrum. Well. I. I would I'd have to ask you to give me some guidelines you you give me 20 issues to vote on and then I'd respond to them and then you'd have to make your own judgment as to how conservative you are how much I like you take this one step further. Dave asked why necessarily you'd be better than more of an Austrian for the Republican take a let's assume for the moment that you do get that nomination. Rajesh in some Iowa voter vote for you as opposed to voting for Dick Clark. Where do you and Clark specifically differ where specifically would you do better than Clark in that job. Well that's a lot easier to answer. The choice I believe is very clear. Thank we said so

and we'll continue to say so. Senator Clarke is the most rated the most liberal senator in United States Senate he has got the U.S. I would label it will be shared equally even though if that's what his rating has been. And Senator Clark's general voting record indicates that he feels the answer to most people's problems is bigger government and more spending. This is not my approach nor my belief. Let's take one one specific area where it worked Can you cite me one of Dick Clark's votes where he's voted for for bigger spending and for government solving people's problems where you would not do that. I would send her a card voted to repeal the Hatch Act. This is a this is an illustration where again where big labor is involved they would like to get. That the government employees should be able to organize them I would not have voted for that he voted for common side as picketing I would not have voted for that. Senator Kyl Senator Kyl voted for the Panama Canal trees I would not have voted for that I vote about direct government spending.

You say your fiscal concerti there's going to be a 60 billion dollar deficit how would you cut the deficit. Well let's let's start with the vote first of all they had to have a vote to lift the budget and send a card voted to lift the budget by 57 billion dollars last September. I would not have voted for that. But what you have cut out there today to enable that. What kinds of programs would you like to melike carry armaments and cut farm supports. John you have to go to the Congress United States to serve if you can serve and represent the people of Iowa. I believe with the right attitude First of all and the attitude is that government spending and more government and more bureaucracy and more regulation and more taxation is not the answer it hasn't where guys were lockdown already they were locked in from the from years of spending those those programs grow on one another they fuel themselves. If you're elected to the Senate you know what could you do in that position as a first term senator to cut spending to reduce a bureaucracy. Are there

programs you to limit. I would responsibly look. At all of the programs that came up. And also look at the amount of waste that's already. As a matter of record is taking place in government some 6 billion dollars they just overlooked or lost somewhere in h e w. recently I believe is reported we spent 65 and a half billion dollars on regulations last year that cost the brite private business sector some 35 to 40 billion dollars. We have. We have an abundance of regulations and abundance of government programs that that frankly the people just simply start by voting no. Let's move into a specific area then Mr. Jepson What about agriculture where they are you telling Iowa farmers that you will do a better job for them then. Dick Clarke has done alright in agriculture. We have to open up and expand our foreign markets. If I recall sure I will farmers are the most efficient food producers in the world not going to Shana to do anything about that.

Well a senator if he's on the Agriculture Committee has a name but just like any of the other one 19 year in back of the on air culture I don't know that that's something that they've been working here all along to scorn markets opening them up. They've been working on it. What could you do to open up foreign markets that hasn't already been done. Well if you're going to open up foreign markets first one of the things you do in the present ministration right now in the. In the bill that provides for extension of short term credit to underdeveloped nations is holding up exports of food to these nations until they determine what their human right with their human rights are in order. And they're four and five months behind in the contracts. So use as an example were we but you said earlier that you're in favor your human rights person even though you said you were conservative your human rights person. You made that statement I think earlier. So you're saying there I would balance in favor of Agriculture and opening up foreign markets. When you deal with human rights and I preamble says you know the right to life

liberty pursuit of happiness you know the first human right is a right to life and if you're starving. And we have abundance of food delivered to the world millions of people that are starving when they have some food in their belly then they can start being concerned and working on your saying we shall get agricultural exports to any country in the world that need them regardless of their political we should allow strong countries all they need food we should help countries and we don't know it. Cambodia. No it's Viet Nam. All country. I'd have to make a judgment on then what it was going to watch how they're treating their people know what they're doing with regard to the security of other nations in the world. Let's take one example and that's Cuba. You had a debate with your two opponents or a setting with your two opponents this past week and one of them Mr. BUTTROSE came out and said he thought it's time to to ease the trade restrictions between the U.S. and Cuba something that you and mr of an Austrian both opposed and the reason he want to do that because he

said that would create a new foreign market for Iowa agricultural products. Now you tell us here that you don't want to have these human rights type concerns on export and food overseas. What about the case of Cuba do you are you changing your position here should we ship food you're telling me what I said which is not accurate when I said the first human right is the right to life. And when a person is starving and need something to eat we should see to it that we send food to them and not hold up exports that have been contracted for until we arbitrarily here make a decision the decisions that have been made by the State Department and by this present ministration or whether we don't send anything to Nicaragua for example I have a pretty good what we guide us of the issue that we have ashamed of their foreign export to spite of foreign relations we have a senator who's who's completing six years on the Foreign Relations Committee the post of fame to the secretary of state senator who's completing six years on Hagel culture committee.

How can a freshman minority senator hope to go in and have more clout for the farmers who are violent and the quiet kid had. Well. I'd represent through agriculture interest in agriculture people I was born raised in a farm and have first hand knowledge and input from. From OR's on and from the fine line back here John. The president the senator on the Agriculture Committee. He leaves a lot to be desired on his his record I understand you say he's a friend of the administrations and that so even when the strongest Carter supporters there is obvious talk about contacts and clout. Well you said you were talking about him. Yeah yeah but but specifically is there anything that you would do differently than Dick Clark has already done. You know that because as a minority as a Republican as a freshman senator you're going to be at a distinct disadvantage and he's going to have some considerable seniority and and experience and so forth like that and I don't hear you saying anything specific that I would hope the Republicans would be in the majority after the fall elections.

It's not possible in the Senate. Right in their face while anything's possible. Let's move into the economy you know you said that you were a fiscal conservative and you want to balance the budget if that's at all possible ever down the line is the first line of attack against inflation to hold wages down to hold these wage increases down or he has it to put a lid on price increases. Well. Of course big labor says you should attack prices. What has to be done in this country is to create a climate for an understanding first of all that is to produce goods and services there are two things that are necessary. One is labor and one is capital and labor and capital instead of being adversaries ought to be partners in our free enterprise system. And. When you come to the point where you can have labor and capital working together then you will have. Part of the answer to inflation and with regard to government spending you cannot spend more than you

take in I learned that in the first grade and we have been busting the budget. And they had the Keynesian theory of economics which frankly is is is the emphasis is all on income. And wages rather than productivity. You must have some emphasis put on productivity and incentive in this country. If you're going to stop inflation if you're going to bring reasonableness into the budgeting if you get we're priced out of the room market John excuse me when the things were priced out of the world market right now because we've had it we've had for years we've had an emphasis by big labor bosses and worse and I'm just producing more income getting higher wages. Nothing on production. If you get that want to get a handle on it or economy I want to get one more question here before we run out of time. He won the nomination you expect to have a unified Republican Party behind you. There's no question in my mind about that. Well I want to get back Bob to help create a rival for himself in the United States Senate here heading up the other way of his party in a way I don't understand

your question being a rival I'm running for United States Senate. Governor Ridge running for governor. I hear Mike that there will be two top officials of the Republican Party one representing the conservative wing governor Ray you have been appalling in the governor's race past I'm wondering if this is all going to be have John not say that's what a few people would like to to to fan and they have been very successful doing that. The records will show that in 68 and 70 those those two years I was lieutenant governor when the governor with Governor Ridge first of all we had good Republican elections in those years we elected Republicans all up and down the line. And the productive years in the legislature in that session for the governor's programs have not been exceeded. Not since I left office every one of his conference appointments were confirmed. That's a matter of record see these things are on the record. So those who like to philosophising like I tried to deny what the bar was in. It hasn't worked the governor is not allowed to speak up this time.

I will not going to be a united party when the Republican victory this bill we're out of time and I'm sorry that I had to interrupt you thank you very much for your appearance on this program for the past three weeks. The three Republican candidates have been debating the campaign issues across the state one of the people involved in those debates announced his intention to seek the nomination long before either Morris the last Rand or Roger Jepson. Really more 20 days and forty three years job are atrocious I've been active in Republican politics and for the past four months he and his wife Dixie have been traveling across Iowa campaigning for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Dick Clark. She started this campaign earlier than his opponents. But despite that he's considered the underdog. He doesn't necessarily enjoy the label or the role but it has not discouraged him. I don't think anyone enjoys being the underdog but that's not an on familiar role for me. I think it just means I have to go out and work harder and longer and I do

than the other candidates. All of that work though as given by only about 11 percent in some straw polls. And because of that some people don't take this campaign seriously. Take for example some of the people at the Republican National Committee in March the committee donated $5000 to Morris but lost Rand's primary campaign not surprisingly protested. And in response to that protest the Republican National Committee responded that his campaign did not have the elements necessary to victory in the general election listed among his failings the lack of an adequate fund raising base. WOW I JUST GOT AN A thousand dollar contribution. About two days ago and I am having fundraisers around the state in fact my wife is setting up for fundraisers for the month of May. So we are getting money and we're getting support around the state and most importantly I'd like to point this out that the other candidate who received the

$5000 had no fundraising base either or he would not have had to have the $5000 laid on him as a gift in order to get his fundraising going. If you gave me a $5000 I'm sure that I could find adequate fund raising base quickly too. But what Boutros want to do is disclose the actual amount that he has raised thus far his campaign committee did not file for official status until after the first quarter reporting deadline and Gertrude's has refused to answer our repeated inquiries on the subject. True she sums it up by pointing out that the Republican National Committee has interfered in an open election and added insult to injury because it did so without checking out the facts. I don't think that that letter was justified. I think it is I now have SRD letter and all I want a fair chance and I don't know how anyone can arrive at the conclusions he reached in that letter when he never contacted

my staff or me nor did he have anyone even telephone to find out anything about Boutros trying to use this incident as a means to criticize those have been as he puts it. Annoyed to the can of the sea and those who he thinks can buy it. And because of the Republican National Committee's position he cannot attack his primary opponents without directly referring to them like you. Doesn't miss an opportunity to relate his experience with the so-called kingmakers or an opportunity to stress his so-called identification with the common people. I think as he did with these farmers who gathered at the Cass County Farm Bureau in Atlanta to meet him. All right let me make an illustration to you. You're telling that some people came to Washington did not talk to beef producers they didn't talk to the farmers I didn't talk to anyone and I want to find out what you fail. But yet they went back to Washington and are developing a policy that's going to affect all of us. Now

recently I had the same type of kingmaker saying happen to me where I found out I've received a letter from a politician out in Washington saying that he knew all these things about my campaign. But yet you know I had no more contact than that man. He didn't call me to come to see me. He didn't ask me about anything but yet he drew a conclusion. And then upon that conclusion he gave someone else a candidate $5000 the same type of logic you know apply. And this is why I'm an average. I think that we've got to get those boys around Washington to know one thing and that is this is our government. And then tell they come to us and then pass their rules and regulations and have very limited that we're going to protest we're going to argue and we're going to be Belle and tell those people star passing the type of laws that are needed in a scant three and are going to do some good. This is an often repeated theme as he travels across the state or cross repeatedly tells the voters that he's not a professional politician that he is a grass roots

campaign because of that says if he's elected he won't hold favors to anyone. A fairly common pledge among all political candidates. When you're an underdog running an underdog campaign you learn quickly not to miss any opportunity to become personally visible. You talk to schoolchildren some of whom can't vote. My main reason I don't mind passing these out or asking you to help me is that most of the young ladies like to take a look at the boys that we have. You shake hands you do anything to increase your contact with the voters. And if your job or trollish your main strategy is a visiting county courthouses meeting all the Republicans and trying to use their local influence to gather support. Firearm drove a truck for the Senate. It's my life actually. Was in a. Hell of a mess. And. I could have some are better about campaign. Now are you helping her with all the facts right here in.

This NG. OK. That time of year end of year. Party politics and campaign strategy aside for the moment. What exactly does a better job or atrocious stand for. What are his issues. Basically there are two inflation and inflame and he wants to see less of the first and more of the second. No small task for a freshman senator. I think one of the best things that I can do as a freshman senator from Iowa would be to set an example. For the others in the Senate to follow and that example would be to cut my salary or to offer back to the Federal Treasury 10 percent of my $55000 salary. I think the best thing to do about inflation is to cut spending and the main problem is the waste and abuse in government. A good example is the recent report released by Joe Califano who is the secretary of Health Education and Welfare. He reported to Congress and to the

present United States that his agency had wasted and mismanaged seven point four billion dollars. Now that's not million that's billion dollars does give the administration credit for at least being honest about the waste. But he figures that after a year and a half it should have been able to do something about it. I mean he says that if the money were saved then taxes would be reduced and the money would remain in local areas which he says could be used to create needed jobs. He says that the federal budget should be cut and the free enterprise system should be allowed to function freely unincumbered by government regulation. And in doing that he says it would be the panacea that will solve our economic woes. The other issue for bird trollish seems to be Dick Clark himself I mean incumbent or as bird always says the outgoing senator he says like some of his Republican primary opponents that Clark came with was too little too late for Iowa farmers and that his

interests in Africa don't mesh with the interests of Iowa let the main opposition to the park according to Soros Dems race Hawks vote in the Panama Canal Treaty. A lot of our Amber trollish hits that issue over and over again. I will stand against the pound off and I'll pay our way and I notice that the outgoing senator voted for both economic treaties even though over 56 percent via ones voiced opposition to it and it clearly showed to me that they are going Sen cared more for favor with the administration and favor with the Eastern States and the backers of the Panama giveaway than he did for a while his people the people of Iowa wanted him to do and you know this morning a sad new line of fine young people of character courthouse. I ask them what they knew about the outgoing senator besides the fact that he was across the. State of Iowa. And you know what I do know about him. They know that he voted to give away our Panama Canal. You know I think that's very important for them to

know that and remember that the majority of those young people are expressing opinions that they didn't pay in a way like we did it. I you know I I'm not in Washington now than in January when you send me to Washington if there's any way I can get anything going at all I got that Panama Canal back my place to do it focuses on pointing out what he considers to be Dick Clark's failings. He doesn't spend all his time caring and soft to the income has taken stands on a number of issues himself. He supports the deregulation of natural gas although he does not believe there is an energy crisis. He's opposed to spending public funds for abortions but he also opposes the anti-abortion amendment in the Congress. He wants the neutron bomb is a part of America's defense system. He favors opening trade relations with Cuba and he would support a sunset law which would disband federal agencies automatically unless Congress votes otherwise but you know as the public wants to hear about the issue of this he also knows that when the voters go

to the polls people as much as what he said are you going to go down again. Thank you very much. You two I think we we came across as credible. Actual operations that are illegal I think so too. Next Sunday at 5 we are back with a look at the campaigns born straight Donovan Nelson Jerry Baker and Robert Moore I'm told that I'm doing. Thanks for joining us today and have a good week. Thank. You.