Editing Charles Mathias (section)

===First term (1969–1975): conflict with Nixon===
Mathias began his first term in the Senate in January 1969 and laid out his legislative agenda soon thereafter. He was appointed to the [[United States Senate Committee on the District of Columbia|District of Columbia committee]], where he argued in favor of [[District of Columbia home rule|home rule in the district]] and [[District of Columbia voting rights|providing D.C. residents full representation]] in both chambers of Congress. Both were positions he carried over from his career in the House.<ref name="WaPo-20Jan1969"/> In December 1970 he finally gained passage of legislation creating the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park]].<ref>Public Law 91-664</ref> He also served as chair of the Special Committee on Termination of the National Emergency from 1971 to 1977, which produced [[Senate Report 93-549]].<ref name="CongBio"/><ref>{{cite web|first=Harold C. |last=Relyea |url=https://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/6216.pdf |title=CRS Report for Congress: National Emergency Powers |access-date=2008-08-07 |publisher=[[Congressional Research Service]] |date= 2001-09-18}}</ref>

Over the course of his first term, Mathias was frequently at odds with his conservative colleagues in the Senate and the [[Richard Nixon]] administration. In June 1969, Mathias joined with fellow liberal Republican [[Hugh Scott]] of Pennsylvania in threatening a "rebellion" unless the Nixon administration worked harder to protect [[African American]] civil rights.<ref name="Rich-2Jan1968">{{cite news | first =Spencer | last=Rich | title = Conservative Trend Decried | newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] | page = A1 | date = June 28, 1969 }}</ref> He also warned against Republicans using the "[[Southern strategy]]" of attracting conservative [[George Wallace]] voters at the expense of moderate or liberal voters.<ref name="Watson-15Aug1974"/> Mathias voted against two controversial Nixon [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] nominees, [[Clement Haynsworth]] and [[G. Harrold Carswell]], neither of whom was confirmed. Mathias was also an early advocate for setting a timetable for withdrawal of troops from Vietnam, and was against the bombing campaigns Nixon launched into [[Laos]].<ref name="Watson-15Aug1974"/> In October 1972, Mathias became the first Republican on [[Ted Kennedy]]'s Judiciary subcommittee and one of only a few in the nation to support investigation of the [[Watergate Scandal]], which was still in its early stages.<ref name="Osnos-18Oct1972">{{cite news | first =Peter | last=Osnos | title = GOP Senator Backs Sabotage Probe | newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] | page = A19 | date = October 18, 1972 }}</ref>

Mathias' disagreements with the administration became well-known, causing columnists [[Rowland Evans]] and [[Robert Novak]] to name him the "new supervillain... in President Nixon's doghouse".<ref name="EvansNovak-5dec1971"/> Evans and Novak also commented that "not since <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Charles Goodell]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> was defeated with White House connivance has any Republican so outraged Mr. Nixon and his senior staff as Mathias. The senator's liberalism and tendency to bolt party lines have bred animosity in the inner sanctum".<ref name="EvansNovak-5dec1971">{{cite news | first =Evans | last=Rowland |author-link=Rowland Evans|author2=[[Robert Novak]]  | title = Mathias: The New Goodell | newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] | page = A2 | date = December 5, 1971 }}</ref> Due to their differing ideologies, there was speculation that Mathias was going to be "purged" from the party by Nixon in a similar manner as Goodell in 1971, but these threats disappeared after the Watergate scandal escalated. By the numbers, Mathias sided with the Nixon administration 47% of the time, and voted with the majority of his Republican colleagues in the Senate 31% of the time, during his first term.<ref name="Watson-15Aug1974"/>

[[File:Nixon campaigns.jpg|thumb|right|Mathias frequently clashed ideologically with the [[Richard Nixon]] Administration.]]

In early 1974, the group [[Americans for Democratic Action]] rated Mathias the most liberal member of the GOP in the Senate based on twenty key votes in the 1973 legislative session. At 90 percent, his score was higher than most Democrats in the Senate, and was fourth highest amongst all members. Issues considered when rating senators included their positions on [[civil rights]], [[mass transit]], D.C. home rule, [[tax reform]], and reducing overseas troop levels.<ref name="Rich-7Jan1974">{{cite news | first =Spencer | last=Rich | title = Liberal Unit Rates Senators; Mathias Is Highest in GOP | newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] | page = A2 | date = January 7, 1974 }}</ref> The [[League of Women Voters]] gave Mathias a 100% on issues important to them, and the [[AFL-CIO]] agreed with Mathias on 32 out of 45 key [[Labor relations|labor]] votes. Conversely, the conservative group Americans for Constitutional Action stated Mathias agreed with their positions only 16% of the time.<ref name="Watson-15Aug1974"/>