Javits Says Social Progress Tied To 'Middle Class' Satisfaction

Sen. Jacob K. Javits (R-N.Y.) Monday added his plan to the growing list of suggestions for satisfying the new-found "Middle Americans."

"I do not believe the Middle American is being as abused and put upon as he thinks he is." Javits told the 650 people at the Law School Forum.

The middle class American is not shifting to the right. as some people have suggested but merely wants to retain the economic benefits he received under the New Deal and in the '50's. Javits said. "He is still very much left of center on bread and butter issues." he added.

The major challenge facing the government now is to maintain the life style of the middle class while meeting the needs of the "have note." Javits told the crowd. Otherwise, we "stand the risk of compounding, not solving our problems."

Relating the "Middle American" to President Nixon's "silent majority," Javits said that he thought the average American wants peace, "but has not gotten the message as to what President Nixon is failing to propose."

He explained that Nixon should not tie American withdrawal to Saigon's schedule for increasing its military strength. "We'll never know whether the South Vietnamese are capable of defending themselves [until we say] 'we're getting out, my friends.' President Nixon has not yet grasped this."

Javits said that the progressives in the Republican Party have an "infinitely better chance" today than twenty years ago. He said the election of John P. Lindsay in New York and of moderate Republicans to the governor-ship in Maryland and Virginia and to the Senate GOP leadership are "encouraging signs."

Personality Over Party

The Lindsay election also indicates that American polities are moving into area where personalities and issues may be more important than party affiliations in deciding elections, he said.

"No longer can any politician consider any state, any district, any city, to be safe." he added.

"A viable party cannot be based on a Southern Strategy," he said, especially since "its application in fact would be inconsistent with the law of the land."