Abstract

Oregon: Gunning for Hatfield

The article focuses on the anger of the Oregon conservatives for U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield and their plans for a huge war chest to topple U.S. Senator in 1972 elections. They are angry at the Senator for his opposition to the war, his sympathy for young dissidents, his criticism of U.S. President Richard M. Nixon, and for "spending too much time with foreign affairs rather than caring for Oregon. A skillful politician who gained idealism and courage as he moved up the political ladder, Hatfield gives signs that he is wearying of political gutfighting. Beholden to power groups in the past, he now longs for the independence that is blocked by contributions. He has estimated that the cost of being elected U.S. Senator is in the neighborhood of $1 million, that much being needed for the primary and general campaigns.