Word: straussed
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...many Democrats, the big election did not take place on Nov. 7, when Richard Nixon faced George McGovern. They regarded the outcome as a foregone, forlorn conclusion. The dramatic confrontation came last week when Jean Westwood was challenged by Robert Strauss for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee. At stake was not just a top party post but the shape the party will assume in the years ahead...
...side was a combination of moderates, conservatives, Southerners, labor members and even liberal Democrats who had been shoved aside by the McGovern drive. They wanted to reassemble the coalition that had been so shattered in the election. For many of them, the most appealing candidate was a moderate, Robert Strauss...
Fair. A Dallas lawyer, Strauss was regarded with suspicion by the McGovernites because he is a close friend of John Connally's and has helped out in Connally's campaigns. But Strauss also has ties to Texas liberals and has worked successfully with all factions-a necessity if the party is to be reunited. No one could fault his accomplishments as party treasurer from 1970 to 1972. With good-humored tact and often elegant evasiveness, he kept importuning creditors at bay and put the Democrats on a pay-as-you-go basis...
...chosen party chairman, said Strauss, he would be scrupulously fair. Though he had argued against many of the McGovern reforms, he pledged that he would not try to repeal them. A caucus of Democratic Governors voted to endorse him, but McGovernites held out. Westwood offered to step down if Strauss did the same so that a compromise candidate could be accepted. Strauss's backers said that they would be delighted to have Westwood resign-but beyond that, no deal...
...beat back an effort to force her out of office. That victory allowed her to save face. She had not been purged, but she knew by then that her real support had crumbled. She offered her resignation. New candidates were nominated, and on the first ballot Strauss beat two other contenders with 106½ votes-4½ more than he needed...