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Throughout the year Congress, the only body through which a democracy can fulfill its principle of "Government by the people," had taken a frightful beating at the hands of public opinion. Experts, analysts, prognosticators had said repeatedly that the people's wrath would show itself at the polls this fall—that woe would betide the Representative, the Senator, the Governor, the politician who had fallen short of his duty in the past twelve months. This theory now seemed to be so much nonsense.
If the voters were angry, they were also occupied—at war jobs, in civilian defense, in nightclubs, at sports events. There was still a little time. They might yet realize that now is the time for all good voters to come to the aid of their country. If they do not, the election-of-wrath will be postponed.
Said Editor Herbert Agar, in his new book (A Time for Greatness; Little, Brown; $2.50): ''Our Government as we are now conducting it is not good enough. This is no day to permit expensive travesties of democracy. The people demand simplicity and openness and highmindedness. They are given 'politics as usual.' They ask for the bread of a true democracy, and they are given a stone which is not only inedible but moldy."
This was high talk. An answer might be made: if a citizen does not care enough even to register, he deserves a travesty of democracy. But such an answer is obviously insufficient at any time, let alone 1942: men need to vote for leaders. In many States citizens have no real reason to vote, because there are no real leaders, great or small, to vote for—the choice is between Ike & Mike.
Ed Flynn's main weakness as National Chairman is that he cannot offer the electorate candidates worth electing. In this Ed Flynn typifies the main weakness of both parties in 1942: they have not come forth, in the Time for Greatness, with enough first-rate candidates. Should the Republicans make gains by reason of apathy, they too can claim no moral victory.
The Democrats' Danger is not yet acute—but the possibilities of danger are. The latest political analyses from all over the U.S. show that the Republicans are just about sure of a gain of 21 seats in the House, are running neck-&-neck for another 20-odd seats. If the Gallup poll trend should continue, the Republicans might conceivably win the House—the Speakership and the right to take over the chairmanships of all committees*. But for control they must win 52 seats. The possibility is there, but it is not a probability for the Republicans in Congress have no more brilliant record than the Democrats.
Republican Perils. The Senate is safely Democratic: of the 32 seats up this year, twelve are held by Southern Democrats, who are in effect elected right now. And even if the Republicans swept the remaining 20 seats—which is not even faintly possible, the Democrats would still control the Senate 54-41. Even the Republican seat of Massachusetts' Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. may be pinched off by young, Irish Catholic Democrat Joseph Patrick Casey, a 1,000% New Dealer. Further, in Michigan many Republicans are expected to cross party lines to re-elect the Democrats' able hero of the farm-bloc fight, Prentiss M. Brown, although the Republicans have a candidate of unusual stature in Judge Homer Ferguson.