Ultra-Conservative Déjà vu

    The private film screening at the Fairfax Library did little to assuage the extreme side of the conservatives. Mrs. Margaret ‘Peggy’ Plattner, a real-estate agent, being one of those individuals who assumed the leading voice against the Fairfax Library for its choice of books and films lent to the public. Plattner also served as an officer of the Taxpayer’s Alliance, a group with a history of opposing budget increases toward the library, affordable housing, and building more schools. They once promoted a higher student to teacher ratio to save on costs.^[1]

    Plattner served on the Falls Church Democrats committee as well. The Democratic Committee offered her no support from other members in her call to censor the library. In fact, the Falls Church Democrat committee was so opposed to these censorship calls they unanimously voted to disassociate themselves from any member that supported any efforts to censor the Fairfax County Library. Plattner however, felt it was her duty to push the subject calling for a grand jury investigation to uncover subversive corruption, quoted as saying, “If Communistic propaganda is being supported in Fairfax County by my tax dollars and yours, a grand jury should be convened and let the chips fall where they may.”^[2] Plattner’s refusal to relent on the issue would have adverse consequences for her political career, losing her primary election for Justice of the Peace after being censured and forced to try run as an independent.^[3] Despite Plattner's requests no grand jury was ever convened.

Taxpayer Alliance argues against budget allowing for Fairfax County to build more schools. Arguing for higher student to teacher ratios, expanding current school sizes, and "economical" building designs.

Representative Joel T. Broyhill contacts FBI, United States Information Agency, and the State Department about jurisdiction over banning controversial films.

Political opportunity flaunders

    Congressman Joel T. Broyhill is brought into the situation after multiple requests to confront these 'communist' concerns by ‘ultra-conservative’ lobbyist Karl Spiess.^[4] Karl Spiess was the former president of the Homeowners Federation of Arlington. A group which advocated against school racial integration,^[5] used vague stories of "gangs of Negro-teenagers" terrorizing the white population to drum up support against integration.^[6] These stories often using a anti-communist/anti-socialist slant to demonize social programs created to serve the public. It should be noted that Spiess was also a member of the American Legion, but whether or not he interacted with George O'Sullivan of Post 177 is unclear.^[7] His anti-communist rhetoric however does show he subscribed to the fears that were commonly part of the Legion's newsletter, The Firing Line.

    Broyhill, a moderate Republican, who held Virginia’s 10th congressional district seat since it was established in 1952, found that he needed to appeal to conservative Democrats and independents to maintain his seat. In his attempt to appease the local complainants, Broyhill contacted the State Department, United States Information Agency, and the FBI. Broyhill requested to see whether federal action could be taken to prevent the films in question from being shown at the library, but no state or federal law supported this kind of overreach of power. Information passed to Congressman Broyhill was poorly researched by his staff. Accusations against the films as being communist propaganda were unfounded. In fact, the film ‘Japan’ by Julien Bryan, was used by the Pentagon to educate the armed forces. Their accusation’s failures were met with shrugs, as one staff member said, “We never get the liberal vote anyway.”^[8] Congressman Broyhill and his staff showed that they had no issue with implicating innocent people with harmful accusations so long as it served their political needs.