Over the first twelve issues of the Chairman's Letter, Brownell echoed several

themes that had colored Republican thinking since the 1930s and laid out the Dewey

interpretation on these matters. The first edition cast the upcoming 1946 elections as a

clash of political theories. Brownell claimed that the Democrats were a "curious

conglomeration of economic and social reactionaries" held together only by benefits

they received from the Federal government. He contended that a Republican victory

in 1946 was the only way to "end the control exercised for the past twelve years and

more by the combination of pressure groups heretofore mentioned," even though

Dewey hoped to bring back part of these groups to the GOP. The Chairman cited

examples of Federal money being used to publicize Democratic programs, in order to

rally public support and pressure Congress into approving these measures. This tactic

was "the same as trying to bribe a man with his own money."44

 Federal propaganda that favored New Deal programs remained a constant theme

in Brownell's writing. On 15 June, he quoted House member Charles Halleck of

Indiana as saying "The Truman administration seems to be adhering closely to the

standard New Deal policy of trying to influence elections with the expenditure of

public money, or promising to spend public money." The 15 August edition claimed

that Democratic Senate Majority Leader Alben Barkley used WPA funds to "buy the

Kentucky primary in 1938." It also contended that New Deal supporters spent money

on federal relief programs more frequently in an election year and more readily in

close districts. The theme of the "bought vote" was a staple of Republican rhetoric

under Brownell.45 Fiscal responsibility and balanced budgets played a critical role in


44 This idea of the "bought vote" was prevalent in Republican thought after the New Deal. Robert
Mason, "Republican Responses to the New Deal realignment, 1929-1940," A paper given at the 30th
Annual Meeting of the Social Science Historical Association, Portland, OR, 5 November 2005.

45 Republican National Committee, "The Chairman's Letter" 1, no. 2, 15 June 1945. Copy in Folder
(RNC Publications The Chairman's Letter 1945 (1)), Box 122, Brownell Papers; Republican