Section A · Page 8
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, October 4, 2000
Nation
For comments, contact Lori O'Toole at 864-4810 or e-mail editor@kansan.com
Third-party candidates want in
Buchanan, Browne Nader demand inclusion in presidential debates
The Associated Press
BOSTON — Shunned from the presidential debate, three third-party candidates did their best yesterday to keep the Republican and Democratic nominees from stealing the show.
Green Party candidate Ralph Nader even hinted that he might get into the auditorium after all.
"The they have rules and I can't say, but I'm heading directly for the auditorium," he said upon leaving a rally at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Aides said a ticket had been donated to Nader, but a campaign spokeswoman could not confirm that.
Meanwhile, just hours before the debate, a judge
threw out a court challenge filed earlier in the day by Massachusetts Libertarians to try to force organizers to include their candidate, Harry Browne.
"The plaintiffs have slept on their rights by waiting until the last minute to seek relief," Suffolk Superior Court Judge Gordon Doerfer ruled. He said intervening in the debates would deprive the public of information it needs about the candidates.
The lawsuit claimed Browne should be included because Massachusetts, which officially recognizes the party, spent $000,000 to help pay for the debate.
Nader also criticized the commission's decision to limit the debate to candidates with more than 15 percent support in national polls. Only the Democrat, Vice President Al Gore, and the Republican, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, qualified to participate.
"They have the keys. This debate commission is a private company created by the two parties," Nader told about 1,000 supporters. "The thing is, why do
we as a society let them control the gateway? Why don't we have many gateways, many debates?"
As he concluded his remarks some students chanted "Let Ralph debate! Let Ralph debate!"
"I feel like Slippery Rock State Teachers and we made the Four of the NCAAs and they won't even let us in the gymnasium." Buchanan said.
Reform party candidate Pat Buchanan, meeting reporters in his Boston hotel, said he planned to debate Nader on the Fox News Channel after the debate.
Buchanan, who has more than $12 million in federal campaign funds to spend, outlined plans to launch an advertising campaign next week in states he says have been abandoned by Republicans, including California, New Jersey and most of New England.
He is aiming for 5 percent of the popular vote in the Nov. 7 election to guarantee that the Reform Party gets federal matching funds again in 2004. Buchanan said the ads would run mainly on Christian radio stations and would highlight local concerns, such as immigration in California and Arizona.
Veto looms over Kansas projects bill
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., is hopeful that a veto threat won't materialize about the $23.6 billion bill for water and energy programs, which contains about $30 million for flood control and other projects in Kansas.
The Senate approved the measure 57-37 Monday, with Roberts and fellow Republican Senator Sam Brownback voting yes.
It passed the House last week 301-118. President Clinton has promised a veto because it would block administration efforts to allow a springtime rise in the Missouri River to protect endangered fish and birds and help upstream recreation.
The dispute pits barge and farming interests against environmental groups, but it is also a regional issue. Upriver interests in Montana and the Dakota oppose those below, where the 2,500-mile waterway flows past Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas and through Missouri before emptying north of St. Louis at the Mississippi River.
have written the White House urging Clinton not to veto the measure.
On Monday, Roberts released a list of Kansas projects included in the legislation, highlighting a new, $100,000 study on how to reduce flooding in the Turkey Creek basin near the Kansas City area by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
That is on top of $353,000 to continue design on the project, which eventually will modify the waterway's channel, build new drainage channels and raise embankments. Last year's appropriation was $400,000.
Roberts. Brownback and several colleagues
Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., said the project will help prevent flooding in Merriam, Kansas City and Johnson County.
"I am very pleased they have placed a high priority on helping local governments fix the situation."
The largest earmark is $5.1 million to finish levee construction along the Arkansas and Walnut rivers, said Rep. Todd Tiahart, a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
"The levee is now almost complete," Tiahrt, R-Kan., said last week. "And it is time to allow the citizens of Arkansas City to live without
OTHER PROJECTS THAT WOULD RECEIVE FUNDS:
**Topeka:** A $200,000 study on improving city levees to reduce flooding.
■ Kansas City: A $312,000 study, also on improving city levels
Big city levels
Walnut River basin: A $200,000 study on reducing flooding in the south-central Kansas region following 1998 flooding.
Newton: $250,000 for the Sand Creek Ecosystem Bank Restoration Project
Wichita: $3.5 million for a feasibility study on recharging the Equus Beds groundwater aquifer by capturing flow from the Little Arkansas River.
Source: The Associated Press
fear of the continuing danger of flood."
Tiahrt and Moore voted for the measure, while Reps. Jerry Moran and Jim Ryun voted against it.
The bill also includes nearly $25 million for maintenance and operation of 17 Corps of Engineers lakes in Kansas.
jayhawks.com
A V I A C O M C O P A N Y
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Wednesday October 11
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8:00pm @ Woodruff Auditorium
Pick up passes at SUA Office, Kansas Union, 4th Floor,2 passes per KU I.D. Passes will be distributed from the SUA office the day of the event.
Passes required. Seating is limited and not guaranteed. Please arrive early.
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