After three days of frantic maneuvering, former Governor John W. Bricker was nominated by the American Party to be their candidate for president in 1952, bringing one of the most suspenceful conventions in recent memory to a close. Many within the establishment were relieved by the choice, not only because Bricker represented a strong affirmation of the party's conservative roots, but also because the nomination of the controversial Joe McCarthy, the self-appointed leader of the "Anti-Communits Crusade" in Congress, had been averted. In reality, McCarthy had played a larger role in Bricker's nomination than anyone was willing to acknowledge, stepping aside only after the Ohioan had agreed to select McCarthy's right-hand man, Congressman Richard Nixon of California, as his running mate.
As expected, President Eleanor Roosevelt was renominated without much trouble by the Populists and now faces the concerted opposition of the American Party as she takes to the campaign trail. While the two candidates have clashed over domestic policy, with Bricker calling for the repeal of Roosevelt's National Health Service Act and and passage of a "Right-to-Work" Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the primary theme of the campaign has been foreign policy, and more specifically the war against Communism. While Bricker has accused Roosevelt of "loosing China" to the Red Menace and argued that stronger action is needed to stem the Communist tide at home, Roosevelt has argued that close cooperation with the League of Nations is the surest way to keep the peace and protect American interests abroad. Vice President Truman, meanwhile, had unsparingly laid into the opposition, whose accusations he dismisses as "plain hokum".
The choice is yours. Try not to destroy the country.
Bricker/Nixon, I'll destroy the country if I feel like it
Poll
