Everyone can agree that House G.O.P. Leader Charlie Halleck is a fearsome, toe-to-toe political slugger. But to a lot of young House Republicans, this is not nearly enough. They complain that Halleck opposes for the sake of opposing, refuses to consider constructive G.O.P. alternatives to Democratic programs, and thus contributes to a negative Republican image. It has got so bad that these young Republicans do not even think “The Ev and Charlie Show” is funny.
A couple of weeks ago, some of the unhappy Republicans, among them New York’s Charles E. Goodell, 36, and Michigan’s Robert Griffin, 39, had lunch together. They had planned to discuss possible labor legislation, but the conversation inevitably turned to criticism of the G.O.P.’s House leadership.
The rank-and-filers then hit upon a fascinating statistic: of the 176 Republican Representatives soon to convene in the 88th Congress, a majority of 96 would have six years seniority or less. Among these, almost certainly, could be found a sizable nucleus for rebellion against Halleck’s entrenched leadership.
For a while the insurgents thought of trying to oust Charlie himself, but then realized that they did not have that much influence. They talked of moving against Illinois’ Les Arends, the G.O.P. whip; that idea also was discarded. Finally they decided to zero in on Iowa’s Charles Hoeven, 67, chairman of the House Republican Conference. Their candidate to replace Hoeven: Michigan’s Gerald Ford Jr., 49, a former University of Michigan football star who has become a recognized House expert in defense appropriations.
With silent infighting skill that even Charlie Halleck must have admired, the rebels set about rounding up votes; they found them among Republicans of all ideological shades. When House Republicans finally caucused last week, the insurgents were in command: they elected Ford over Hoeven by a vote of 86 to 78, won seven new seats for themselves on the House Republican Policy Committee.
Although elated over their victory, the junior Republicans publicly insisted that they had not really been acting against Halleck or Arends. “What we tried to do,” said one, “was to strengthen Charlie’s position and at the same time shake the foundation under his feet. It all depends, I think, on how Charlie reads the signs and portents.” Ex-Chairman Hoeven thought he could read signs and portents quite clearly. Said he of the rebels: “They’re going after Mr. Halleck and Mr. Arends in due time.”
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