Speech by 
REPRESENTATIVE PATSY T. MINK
At the
OREGON DEMOCRATIC WOMEN’S CAUCUS
Pacific Suite
Sheraton Hotel, Portland, Oregon, 7:30 P.M.
November 20, 1971

Senator Neuberger, I am honored by your gracious introduction. All of you have been most generous to me and my husband, and we thank you for your many kindnesses. I am especially grateful to Carolyn Wilkins for inviting me to this dinner and for offering me this opportunity to address this most distinguished group.

Mrs. Neuberger’s presence reminds me that women in politics is not a rarity in Oregon. Along with Congresswoman Green, with whom I have the honor of serving in the House of Representatives, Mrs. Neuberger has shown the voters of Oregon what a woman can accomplish in national office. It is a tribute to the voters of Oregon that our Congress has received their most impressive contributions. What is a fact in Oregon is only now slowly spreading across the nation. Where once women were shunted aside into auxiliaries and

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now they are banding together into more aggressive groups and insisting on a meaningful say in the political process. This caucus is just one further example of the numerous units across the country meeting this very day to seek ways of becoming more effective as a group. This emerging role of women in politics has caused a fair degree of consternation among male contenders who fully realize that if the potential power of womanhood is ever felt in this country, things are going to be vastly different.

I do not disparage the male members of the audience in saying this, for I am sure they are fully aware of the need for change. The movement for equal rights for women welcomes the participation of men who realize that we are seeking only equality of opportunity, not superiority.

During most of our nation’s history, no woman would have dared to declare herself a candidate for the Presidency. Indeed, it was felt quite an accomplishment — and a fairly recent one at that — that we were even allowed to vote! The extension of the franchise was the

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first stage of women’s introduction to politics, but the time has come to enter Phase 2.

I can recall when I first began in politics, women were certainly welcomed — as long as we limited our services to helping a man get elected! We were expected to stuff the envelopes, make the phone calls, get the coffee, and bask in the reflected glory of our accomplishments when the man won the election. But somewhere along the way, women began wondering why it was always they who were in the supporting cast, and why they never were called upon to make a contribution towards policy decisions. I do not see one single woman policy maker for any of the current male contenders for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

Despite the lack of any affirmative encouragement, women have nevertheless gradually infiltrated the ranks of the elected. Many women are serving on school boards, although I see no reason why this should be; husbands should have an equal interest and role in obtaining the best education for their children. At any rate, the election of women

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has spread significantly to city councils and other legislative offices.

We have always stopped short of raising our aspirations to the ultimate level — that of President of the United States. Because of the awe most Americans hold for that office, indeed, the question in most minds is whether any person is really worthy of that high honor. I submit that there is no reason why a woman cannot fill that office. History does not demonstrate the maxim of exclusive male wisdom. On the past record alone, it would be difficult to imagine how any woman could have done any worse.

When I testified on behalf of women’s rights at a National Democratic meeting two years ago, one of the panelists asked how I had the temerity to class this issue with such national priorities as the Vietnam war and the state of the economy. He then stated his belief that women were not physiologically qualified for high positions, such as the Presidency. He contended that a woman could not have handled such an emergency as the Cuban Bay of Pigs. I have to agree, because it would not have been permitted to occur!

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Claiming such a fiasco as justification for excluding women from our nation’s highest elective office points out the hypocrisy of our political system. I have always been a Kennedy supporter, but even I would not cite that disaster as any achievement at all!

To categorize the Vietnam war as a further case for male Presidents is even more ridiculous. Most Americans now realize it was a tragic blunder to become involved in the first place. Such being the case, it seems obvious that we should have gotten out as quickly as possible. But we seem to still have to prove something to somebody, and the war drags on and on without end. How many realize that 19,000 of our sons have died since President Nixon took office on a promise of Peace?

I certainly do not contend that male mistakes justify a woman President. If a woman is elected to that office, I would acknowledge that she could err as well. The point is that neither sex is infallible and certainly neither can claim total superiority over the other. If this is accepted, then one must ask: why not a woman President? Obviously, tradition and custom are a major reason. It would be a major

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departure from all that has happened before to suddenly proclaim such a belief in women’s leadership. But this is the reason for my campaign here in Oregon.
Further, with blatant discrimination against women permeating all our established institutions including politics, it is time for the concept of absolute equality to become a national issue. Without a woman contending for the Presidency, this will continue to be placed on the backburner as warmed-over lip service.

I concede it would be a radical reversal of tradition to elect a woman as President, and indeed if such a miracle happened this nation might be catapulted into a fantastically different orbit.

We are at the brink of financial and moral bankruptcy. The big business community must realize that things have deteriorated! Even with policies designed to benefit the giant corporations, business still cannot turn a decent profit. And the gross national product has dropped. The plunging stock market shows business’ lack of confidence in the prospect for economic growth.

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The President has decreed a New Economic Policy under which he hopes to achieve by next year a reduction in inflation to a rate of two to three percent a year, and reduce the unemployment rate to something like four percent.

I would remind you that even if the President somehow manages to achieve these goals, he still will have done nothing more than return to the levels that existed on the day he took office in January, 1969. Inflation then was at 3.3 percent, and unemployment at 4.2 percent. Certainly it does not speak well for the Administration if the best it hopes to do is to return us full circle to where we were when they first started. Thirty-four months of economic downturn has caused suffering among millions of families, not to mention immense business losses and other economic reversals.

On April 28, 1970, Mr. Nixon told investment leaders: “Frankly, if I had any money I’d be buying stocks right now.” The market fell in May. American investors have lost more than $260 billion since Mr. Nixon took office. I am certain few investors will now want to buy his “used

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stock.”
Obviously, our most important mission is to defeat Mr. Nixon in 1972. This nation can hardly stand four more years of his bumbling and erratic “leadership”. We are beginning to see through his technique of televised stageshows as a substitute for substance. The staged tactic of foreign policy spectaculars to hide the lack of progress in other areas is like a television commercial in the middle of a horror movie.

I insist we need a total departure from the closed-off, corporation-centered government which has marked the floundering course of the Nixon Administration. Instead of military hardware and bonuses for bankers, we need people programs that will emphasize the human needs in our society.

President Nixon has ignored our children, he has ignored the poor, the sick, and the hungry. He has shunned the blacks, the elderly, the working man, and the family. He has laid down a “work ethic” for the average man and a “profit ethic” for the giant corporation, holding that the “ethical man” should work so that big business can make a

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profit. Accordingly, some of the benefits will “trickle down” to the workers. The problem is that the trickle is imperceptible. My administration would change this by giving increased benefits directly to the workers and the average middle class families.

We need greatly increased efforts to help all the downtrodden groups in our society. Instead of cutting down on Medicare, we should institute completely free hospitalization for all persons. Instead of reversing civil rights progress, we should expand positive programs for equal opportunities for all racial minorities, broadening the enforcement powers of the government. Instead of building up the war machine, we should reduce the size of our military forces to pre-World War II and use these funds instead for massive housing programs and for curbing urban blight. Instead of polluting our air and our waters, we should begin a mighty clean-up drive bringing increased employment opportunities as well as preserving the environment for future generations.

Instead of vetoing education bills, we should be embarking on

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a dynamic expansion of educational opportunities for all, from preschool to graduate school, and on to adult education. Instead of detonating Cannikin in Alaska, we should be insisting on international bans on all nuclear weapons testing.

Our country is sorely in need of change. Our children sense our inability to turn ourselves around. They are leaving us. They are refusing to perpetuate more of the same. I have agreed to offer myself on the Presidential ballot in Oregon because to have refused would have constituted a breach of faith with them!

Even liberal activist Democrats like myself have become discouraged and disillusioned. I could simply crawl into some hole and hibernate by contemplating my grief and refuse to engage in the rather pathetic rhetoric which has captured hardly any except the “regulars” who search desperately for a winner because another Nixon term is untenable.

But I believe that in actuality only a small flame is needed to ignite the smoldering masses of people who despair as we do but who

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want to believe again. People need to believe in before they will work for any cause. Our task is to convince them that our politics will not be the same.

I would not be here today with my own State constituency to worry about, except for the fact that our nation is in desperate straits. I cannot shirk my responsibility to help develop a policy for change. Oregon voters willing, I shall add my voice to the demands for a humanist approach to government.

Short of achieving the Presidency, I shall seek the national podium of political confrontation with those who will, and voice the demands that people, young and old, are the principle purpose for the existence of any government.

We have condemned the War in Vietnam. We have called it a tragic mistake. Our children listened and believed and thousands have forsaken their birthright to fulfill their human commitment to life. I shall demand Executive clemency so that all who want to return may do so without penalty. It is time we have the courage to acknowledge their

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commitment and realize that it is ourselves who should be condemned for our failure to ameliorate this heartrending choice which we required our children to make because we could not see the purity of their beliefs nor understand why they believed they had to so choose!

We should also insist that all servicemen who satisfactorily completed a tour in Vietnam and who subsequently upon their return ran into difficulties and were given a less than honorable discharge be granted executive clemency. Many have been affected by drug addiction, others by adjustment problems, and still others by bitterness because of their experiences in Vietnam. Having fought for their country and risked their lives, thousands of black servicemen particularly return only to find that the country for whom they fought is still intolerant and bigoted. Their protests on base have been met with discharges under less than honorable conditions. In my view, this is a miserable way to reward them for their sacrifices. We must not hazard their future nor deprive them of job opportunities by

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branding them with this needless dishonor.

We should turn the eyes of our country on the thousands who have been permanently disabled from injuries sustained in the war, many of whom still occupy the forgotten wards of our hospitals. However we feel about the war, we must meet our obligation to these men who will forever bear the scars and wounds of this ill-begotten episode.

We must restore in our youth their confidence in government. The new generation of youth is different. They are imbued with a sense of human values unparalleled in our history. They are concerned about the legacy they shall inherit. They do not want a life of meaningless labor. They seek the pure and simple treasures of our land. We must find ways to harvest this marvelous spirit and to mobilize their talents and energies in the pursuit of a better life.

I know that if they believe we truly seek their goals and aspirations, that they will commit their energies in a joint resolve. Their current disinterest and apathy in politics is a major indictment of our system, which must be corrected.

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I am an optimist by nature. I believe there is hope in the future. I believe that we can turn this nation around and generate a prosperity which enriches our soul. Full employment to do the things which benefit the quality of life. More schools, more teachers for our children. More food for our hungry. More technology for a cleaner and purer environment. More mass transportation facilities which do not pollute the air we breathe. More open spaces, parks and recreational facilities for our enjoyment. More housing to free the poor from inadequate, unhealthy conditions in the ghettos. A new health care program which guarantees every human being free hospitalization as a matter of right. A new child care program which guarantees adequate comprehensive care for children of all ages.

There are so many pressing social needs that must be dramatized in the Presidential campaign and the failure of the Nixon Administration to meet those needs. Rather than broaden and expand our nation, we have turned inward, and in so doing have failed in our obligation to aid humanity. The Administration must bear full responsibility

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for this fact, and be called to account for it. The Administration must be replaced by a new one with a positive, forward-looking, and above all humanitarian outlook.

We are told that the reason we cannot have these desperately needed programs is our military commitments, primarily in Vietnam where we still do not have a timetable for withdrawal. We do not even know the size of the residual force that will be left there to help the South Vietnamese government continue to rain destruction on the villages and countryside. And so we continue to spend billions of dollars on massive bombing raids and mercenary forces in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. And even after the passage of the Mansfield Amendment, the President proclaims he will ignore the pleas of the Congress and the people that the destruction be halted.

What will rise from the ashes of Vietnam? Will there be a country left that is worth “saving”? What will we have preserved for “democracy” — if a one-candidate election can be called democracy?

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Vietnam will be the principal issue of my campaign — not only to end it, although that is a vitally important immediate goal — but to understand what it represents. Unless our people can be made to understand the magnitude of the error in Vietnam, and why it happened, the malignancy in our national mentality will continue and there will be other disasters in the future.

Beyond my position on the social issues, I sense the need for a candidate who will dispel the myopic view of the world that has afflicted America. We must remember that we are a new country which in 1976 will be observing only the 200th anniversary of its founding. Among the nations of the world, we are a newcomer, and I am afraid that like the “new rich” we have need to flaunt our wealth and our power. We have tried to prove that we could be a superstar among nations, the one that led and dominated all the rest, but this surly attitude has only led us to disastrous foreign entanglements in areas where we should never have entered. We do not need to impose

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our institutions, or our beliefs, on other peoples.

Our nation is only now awakening to the fact that there is a civilization and a culture in Asia. If nothing else, the Vietnam debacle should cause us to take a new look at that part of the world, in our own self-interest. After all, we have expended 60,000 American lives and well over $100 billion in vitally needed resources on a futile quest that is still not understood by most of our people. The extent of our ignorance is shown by our refusal to recognize the existence of the 700 million people of China for two decades until forced to do so by the power of world opinion at the United Nations.

Throughout our brief history, we have pretended that the civilization of western Europe was the sole guiding force of human destiny, and that the United States was its ultimate manifestation. Who among our candidates has a full appreciation of the need for a better understanding of all the emerging areas such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America?

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I favor a dramatic change in our whole educational system, to permit our next generation of youth to learn of the long history and contributions of those parts of the world other than western Europe. We need to know that there has been culture in Asia, and science and art going back for thousands of years. The white Caucasian race alone cannot lay claim to all the triumphs of human ingenuity. When we recognize this we will begin to have a better appreciation that oriental life is no less valuable than European life, and that it is just as immoral to intervene with a virtual genocide in Vietnam as it was for the Aryan “pure” race in Germany to slaughter six million Jews. As a person of Asian descent, these are among the things I would hope to convey to this country.

And so while we must end the Vietnam war, and do it now, it is even more important that we look beyond this dark era in our history to examine our own nature and the racism that lies underneath. This can only be surmounted by education and understanding, two

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goals that are diametrically opposed to the policies of the current Administration and not sufficiently emphasized by my own party. I propose new public school curriculums, and vast programs of travel exchanges by our young people with the other nations of the world, so that we will come to know the Asians, and the Africans, and all the others in the world as people, instead of in terms of ideologies or racial groupings.

For too long we have been dazzled by the sight of our own wealth, and led by the work ethic to achieve as much a part of it for ourselves as possible without regard to the end result. I do not object to materialistic concerns, but we must not be misled by these baubles to renounce the human values that give life meaning. Perhaps our children realize better than we do the utter futility of such an existence. Having been exposed to the horrors of a war based on the view of some humans as less than human, they seek a new commitment and a new reason for living. It is up to our leaders to provide this new idea,

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and further to give it meaning through our existing political process — or else we are living a lie that cannot continue to mask the powerful truth of reality.

It is fine for all citizens to pursue the good life and worldly goods on which our society places such emphasis, but there is increasing recognition that all will be ashes in our mouths unless our place as individuals is preserved. This is what the young are seeking — and I am among those who would rejoice in their goals.

This is no time for the old answers and pat solutions. There must be a real and tangible alternative offered that is based — if any one word can be singled out — on humanism. We must have a government that will welcome the input and participation of all our people by recognizing that every individual has an importance all his own.
We must expand this belief in humanity to all the people of the world, not just those who fit our concepts of “accepted” ideology or customs. That is the way of war and more Vietnams.

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The other course is the one that I pursue, and it is toward a World United in a belief in humanism. It is a goal that I believe our young people will share in, and will lend their energy and idealism to achieve. With them, we can have a great future, but without them we are lost.

Let us not turn again into the dark alley of racism, but pursue the brighter hope of human goodness. It is there for us to cherish, if we will but grasp the meaning of equality that gives it life.