Challenge to Charlie

Nearly six years ago, Indiana's Republican Congressman Charles Halleck overthrew aging Joe Martin as his party's House floor leader. In so doing, Halleck got vital help from a small but powerful group of young insurgents, including Michigan's Gerald Ford, who wanted a more aggressive, positive leader. In Halleck, they got all the aggressiveness they could stomach, and very little positivism. Last week Jerry Ford and his rebels were out to oust Charlie Halleck, 64.

As his opening shot, Ford, 51, sent telegrams to Republicans who will be in the next House, asked them to back him against Halleck as minority leader when they caucus on Jan. 4. At a press conference, Ford explained: "It is a question of having new, dynamic, bold, innovating leadership. It is a question of using all the talent that we have available among Republicans in the House."

Friendly Terms. Challenger Ford, ranking G.O.P. expert on military appropriations and chairman of the House Republican Conference (caucus), has worked closely and on friendly terms with Halleck. He is only slightly less conservative than Halleck. He admires the tough old rooster's capacity for combat. But he, like many other House Republicans, feels that Halleck presents a party image too much in the negative spirit of Goldwaterism.

There is also widespread resentment at Halleck's reluctance to parcel out responsible positions to younger Republicans. Ford, a onetime University of Michigan star linebacker, last week used football terms in pointedly promising that under his leadership every House Republican would be "a first-team player" and a "60-minute man."

Ford has widespread support among House Republicans, but his success against Halleck is by no means assured. Charlie has been around for a long while, has in his possession a lot of political lOUs, and will certainly not hesitate to call them in. Last week, before Ford announced his candidacy, the House Republican Conference met, fully expecting Halleck to come out swinging against any imminent threat to his leadership. But Charlie sweet-talked the dissidents about party harmony, to the point that one of them, Massachusetts' Silvio Conte, told reporters, "It's as peaceful in there as Miss Plimpton's sewing circle."

Cozy Clubbers. To put together a majority against Halleck, Jerry Ford will have to win support from a wide variety of Republicans, ranging from deep-dyed conservatives who happen to have a grudge against Charlie, to members of the relatively liberal Wednesday Club (so called because the group usually meets on Wednesday afternoons). The Wednesday Clubbers so far are being cozy about supporting Ford in hopes of winning pledges from him to give them preferred committee assignments when and if he beats Halleck.

This, of course, is exactly the sort of politics that Charlie Halleck also understands. But whatever dickering Jerry Ford has to do he apparently has already done. When he announced his candidacy, he said that he would have the votes to win.

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