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Opinion
Thursday, August 31, 2000
For comments, contact Ben Embry or Emily Hughey at 864-4924 or e-mail opinion@kansan.com
Perspective
New Yorker should hold Senate seat
A
after the Civil War, waves of Northern descendants uoo
Northerners descended upon the South and were elected to public office, despite never having lived there. The majority won because most southern political leaders had been part of the Confederate government and were banned from holding public office. Regardless of whether they were qualified, the newcomers were shoeins. Naturally, Southerners welcomed these usurpers with all the warmth they might give a leftover bowl of grits, affectionately calling them "carpetbagers."
Like a rash that won't go away, carpetbaggers still are around and still are met with some resistance. This year's most famous carpetbagger is first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is running for a New
York Senate seat after making a down payment on a house and registering to vote in that state. Hillary was to face Rudolph Giuliani, the controversial Republican mayor of New York, but Giuliani dropped to fight cancer. I respect Giuliani for that decision, but it's too bad. The fight for the New York Senate seat promised to be the most exciting race this year. Now Hillary faces the less-than-famous New
David Grummon columnist opinor@kansan.com
York Congressman Rick Lazio, a.k.a. "what's his-name" or "that other guy running against Hillary." So long as Hillary's opponent was a well-known heavyweight like Giuliani, the fact that she's not from New York didn't bother me much. Now that Hillary faces "that one guy" instead of Giuliani, the race isn't quite as even, and Hillary's carpetbagging annoys me a little more.
One way to look at the question is to imagine our electoral system without the residency requirements candidates have to get around to place their names on a ballot. Why not have a system in which anybody could run for office anywhere? If voters from a state or district agree with a candidate's views, does it matter where the candidate is from?
Why should anyone care about carpetbaggers?
That's not what the founders of our country intended when they wrote our Constitution. We are a republic. Rather than having the entire population vote on every national decision, the people living in each state or district elect individuals to represent us in government. We trust them (in theory, anyway) to vote as we would or in our best interest. But inherent in this design is the assumption that representatives actually represent us, know our concerns and share our beliefs and values. For this reason, a representative should actually be from the state or district he or she is to represent. If anyone could run anywhere, someone with enough fame, money and resources could simply search for a weakly contested district and bulldoze his or her way into office.
Can a stranger represent a community as well as a long-time citizen? I doubt it. Could a "Los Angeleno" be sensitive to land issues in Wyoming? Could a New Yorker really understand Arkansans, Missourians or Nebraskans within a year of showing up and registering to vote? Can an Arkansas really know the minds of New Yorkers without living there a while first? I seriously doubt it.
To me, carpetbaggers run not so much to serve their new constituents, but to advance themselves. Carpetbagging candidates usually claim they've learned the minds of their constituents while campaigning door-to-door during several weeks (never mind that it takes the rest of us years, if not a lifetime, to become so enlightened) and whad'ya know, their new constituents' minds just happen to coincide with their campaign platform!
I would like to see candidates actually — oh, I dunno — live in and become a part of a state or district before they claim to represent it. Don't get me wrong; I actually kind of like Hillary. Nevertheless, she should have to do more than rent an apartment or buy a house before she can run for office there. Then again, I'm not from New York.
Shaun Morrell / KANSAN
Kansan report card
Pass
Survivor's final episode. The debasement of American culture is complete. Wait. There's going to be another season ...
Lawrence's proposed dog park. We could all use a good, leashless romp in the grass. It's good for dogs to run free. too.
Burge Party ban lifted. Campus offers a place to hold social events once again. Now students have something to do besides hitting the bars on the weekends.
Fail
No buses to JRP. Apparently, these boots were made for walking.
No heat days. Just how many students have to faint before the University decides it's too hot to hike Mt. Oread?
Campus cigarette fires. As if it weren't hot enough, students are tossing cigarette butts on dry ground, starting six small fires on campus. In other news, Smokey the Bear has been missing since last Thursday. Only you can prevent campus fires.
Perspective
Gore's political stances change with the times
n 1988. Sen. Albert Gore Jr.. D-Tenn..
In 1988, Sen. Albert Gore JR, D-Tenn., announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. And, honestly, if I'd been politically astute and not 12 years old, he may well have earned my support. You see, when Gore entered Congress in 1977 (and until he became Clinton's running mate in 1992), he was a fairly conservative Democrat on many issues. His views on abortion, gun control, the tobacco industry and gay rights were remarkably similar to those of his opponent, George W. Bush. So what happened? Before speculating on why the changes
occurred, let's focus on the changes themselves.
First, writing to a constituent in 1984, Gore said: "It is my deep personal conviction that abortion is wrong."
From 1977 to 1984, he received an 84 percent approval rating from the National Right to Life Committee. Now, he supports abortion rights, defends ghastly partial-birth abortions and opposes laws that would require underage girls to obtain parental permission before having abortions
Grummon is a Belolt law student.
Second, in 1994, the National Rifle Association wrote: "Since being elected to Congress in 1976, Al Gore has been there each and every time sportsmen and gun owners have needed a friend."
John McCool guest columnist opinion@kansan.com
From 1985 to 1990, Gore voted for the NRA 75 percent of the time. Now, he's among Washington's most fervent gun-control advocates and tries to force constitutionally dubious new restrictions on law-abiding citizens
With friends like Gore, who needs enemies?
Third, in 1988, Gore told tobacco farmers:
"Throughout most of my life, I raised tobacco
I want you to know that with my own hands.
In 1900, six years after his sister died from smoking-related cancer, Gore still was accepting campaign contributions from tobacco companies. Now, Gore heads the Clinton Administration's assault on the so-called "Big Tobacco," which imposes oppressive new taxes on smokers and extorts as much money as possible through bogus lawsuits against these legitimate American businesses.
all of my life ... I’ve hoed it, I’ve dug in it ...
stripped it and sold it.”
Finally, Gore told the *Manchester Times* in 1981: "I think [homosexuality] is wrong. I don't pretend to understand it, but it is not just another normal, optional lifestyle."
In 1984, he told the *Tennessean* he'd refuse campaign contributions from homosexual groups and opposed "the so-called'gay bill of rights'" Now, Gore claims to support gay rights and accepts tremendous sums of money from gay-rights groups. However, when Gore spoke to the *Texas Triangle*, Gore lied to his interviewer: "I hope people realize that my positions stem from deeply held personal conviction. Lesbians and gays are part of my vision for America ... and always have been." Always?
As I see it, you Gore supporters must ask yourselves one question: Do you feel lucky? That is, are you willing to bet that the "real" Al Gore is the one we see today, or is the '90s Gore the genuine article? Will he someday betray and abandon you and your beliefs, just as he betrayed and abandoned anti-abortion supporters, gun owners, tobacco farmers and so many others? Maybe, maybe not.
In a 1988 presidential primary debate with Richard Gephardt, Gore lectured his rival: "I'm going to lay it on the line, Dick ... The next president of the United States has to be someone the American people can believe will stay with his convictions."
I couldn't agree more.
Editorial
Retail chains will destroy downtown
Lawrence should preserve Massachusetts Street's small-town characteristics.
However, as the town grows and develops, large corporations such as Gap Inc. and Abercrombie & Fitch have joined local businesses downtown, setting the stage for other such stores to move in as well. The movement of corporate retail chains to Massachusetts Street is contributing to the deterioration of the charming downtown that people visualize when they think of Lawrence.
Downtown Lawrence is known for its unique character and atmosphere. Massachusetts Street's blocks of family-owned mom and pop shops, unique coffee houses and bars bring a flare to downtown that should be preserved.
It is not a bad idea for these large chains to open elsewhere in Lawrence, because it is inconvenient to have to drive to Kansas City to find popular brands. However, the city should restrict what is allowed on Massachusetts Street to preserve its small-town appeal.
Both Eddie Bauer and Talbots clothing stores soon will be moving into the three-story building west of Free State Brewing Company, 636 Massachusetts St. What will happen to stores such as Weaver's that have been around for several years? Some owners of these mom and pop shops have made their livings off the business of tourists and residents for years, and it isn't right to let major chains take away from their profits.
University of Kansas students and Lawrence residents take great pride in downtown Lawrence. Massachusetts Street is a perfect place to take a morning walk or go for a night on the town. Lawrence would not be the same without the flavor of its local businesses.
To commercialize downtown anymore than it already is would be a bad idea. It would be a shame to see big business smother the rich, small-town scene that Lawrence offers.
City commissioners should reconsider their decision to allow businesses such as Eddie Bauer and Talbots to set up shop on Massachusetts Street or adjacent streets. The merchants would be just as successful in another part of town, whereas most shops on Massachusetts Street depend heavily on location for their prosperity.
Katie Hackett
Katie Hackett for the editorial board
free for all 864-0500 864-0500
Free for all is the telephone public forum for the University Daily Kansan. Callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. The Kansan reserves the right to edit submissions, and not all of them will be published. Slanderous statements will not be printed.
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The men who call Free for All to crow about their supposed sexual conquests of KU women need to stop trying to compensate for their tiny, tiny penises.
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I'd like to encourage everyone to use their index fingers to turn on their turn singles and to save their middle finger when they forgot to turn them on and find themselves in an almost accident.
I am so sick of people blaming the newspaper or other people for looking bad. Two people made the Burge Union parties look bad. No.1, the guy who brought the gun in and shot somebody. And No.2, the victim that was shot. So if anyone made the Burge Union parties look bad, it's those two people, not the newspaper. So get off of it, people.
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G. W. Bush and the Supreme Court will not end abortion; they'll just end safe abortion.
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Freshmen, stay on your side of the sidewalk please.
We don't discriminate people based on race because they were born that way or sex because they were born that way. Well, I was born stupid, so what do I get?
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For the caller that said Star Wars got him all the girls, Star Trek is what always brought in the ladies for me.
What's up with Bada Bing's? I went there and that girl in the Kansan wasn't even working. What a crock.
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That John Denver's full of crap, man.
I'm getting real tired of them people at the Jayhawker Towers always playing their music so loud. Somebody really ought to tell us to shut up.
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As I say this, I'm taking a big poo.
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