The battle between,pro-Ike and pro-Taft delegations in the South produced lurid tales of political chicanery—tales told by aggrieved delegates and outraged politicians, and spiced with a language more befitting of a gangster movie. Ikemen went to Chicago looking to avenge the "The Texas Steal," in which the Texas Taft boys used strongarm tactics to take over county and state conventions and pull off a political heist. Taftmen vowed to run the "double-crossers" and the "Republicans for a day" out of the Grand Old Party and on the state convention floors were often seen spitting on the Ike delegates. But some of the most sensational stories came out of Louisiana, where tales of corruption and political slight of hand were a traditional part of the party machine. In the spring of 1952, the New Orleans Item...