Keynoter: Retire Kennedy in '64 Taken Seriously by Grassroots

John Vargo had an excellent article in the Fall 2013 issue of the APIC Keynoter about the startings of the various movements of the 1964 election prior to the death of JFK. There are several really nice paper items put out by the RNC and pro-Goldwater forces advocating to retire 'The Kennedys'. The thinking was that if the GOP did a good job in the 1964 elections, JFK and RFK would be out of the White House and 'Teddy' Kennedy would be defeated in the Massachusetts Senate race. Two bumper stickers featuring the famous rocking chair and a RWB item from the Midwestern Regional Leadership Conference that was taking place in St. Louis, Missouri. The conference was taking place November 22-23, 1963. At similar conferences a set of three rocking chairs would be set up near the lobby of the conference for display.

Vargo's article mentions a mailer the RNC started sending out to raise funds for JFK's retirement fund. Upon some further research, it was discovered that some Republicans in the early fall of 1963 took this solicitation request seriously and were not very happy about it. The Toledo Blade covered one such Utah Republicans response to the fundraising request. The RNC wanted individuals to donate $10 dollars to help fund efforts for the party at defeating JFK in the upcoming election. A man in Utah sent back his mailer to the RNC with this response, "I think this is silly. Why can't the Kennedys live on the liberal provisions provided for upon retirement the same as Hoover, Truman and Eisenhower are managing to do? I'm not interested in contributing to any additional retirement fund for them."Sometimes things just go over our heads.

The Universal Party's Oregon Connections

I was doing some reading of some old Keynoter magazines that I was able to find and found an article by Stephen K. Hauser in the Summer of 1998 issue. His article is about the several campaigns ran by the Universal Party of the 1960s and early 70s. The Universal Party was founded by various UFO enthusiasts and contactees (for those of you who have never seen the X-Files, this was a term popularized in the 50s and 60s for individuals who have supposedly have contact with extraterrestrials).

Keynoter: The 'Holy Grails' of U.S. Senate and Governor Items

Photo Credit: All Americans Local Auction #58

In the Summer 2013 issue of The Keynoter, contributor David Quintin writes about what he calls the 'holy grails' of locals items for senate and gubernatorial candidates across the country. These items of difficult quest have sometimes only been spotted once out in the wilds of the hobby. This doesn't mean that it is the only known example, just the only known example that has risen to the surface. Like a Cox-Roosevelt jugate, someone could have a bag of them in their grandparents trunk that sits up in the family attic.

Keynoter: Stevenson Hole in Shoe Update

In the Spring 2013 issue of the Keynoter, an update is given on a Winter 2012 article regarding Adlai Stevenson famous hole in shoe photograph and the items that surround the famous photo both from the Stevenson campaign and the Eisenhower campaign. Richard Rector and John Vargo both submitted additions. I found another such throwback to the Stevenson campaign.Here is a photo is from Gary Hart in 1984.

Keynoter: Virgil Goode Article

Virgil Goode on CSPAN

In the Fall 2012 Keynoter, Editor Michael Kelly writes about the electoral history of APIC member Vrigil Goode of Virginia. He is perhaps the most prominent office seeker and also member of our organization of the 21st century. As Kelly points out, "Goode has shown himself to be untrammeled by party obligation". He has been a Democrat, Republican, Independent and now running for President on the Constitution Party ticket.