Opinion Old Gold & Black
Thursday, February 7, 2008 A5
NOW needs to change recent position Lauren Wright Guest columnist
The National Organization for Women (NOW) New York State sector posted a furious article in an online press release on Jan. 28, infuriated by Senator Kennedy’s recent endorsement of Obama. “Betrayal!” they scream as the article rolls off dozens of reasons why women should have left Ted in the cold after all of his missteps and delusions over the years. A vacillating attempt to preface the unbridled outrage that ensues, the author includes a side note acknowledging and thanking Senator Kennedy for his contributions to civil rights. Then the fire. The article cites Kennedy’s “late” support of women’s causes, including Title IX, the ERA and the Family and Medical Leave Act. They
also comment on his inadequate ability to forgo As a (typically) enthusiastic supporter of support of “flawed bills,” including that of No NOW, I cringed when I read this, for different Child Left Behind and Medicare. Other shoutreasons than those shared by say, Sean Hannity. outs in the article include those to Howard I think one of the primary considerations that Dean, Jim Dean and Dennis Kucinich, women’s people leave out when they contemplate the “money-takers” and resident feminist movement is that formal frauds of the Democratic organizations like NOW represent Here Clinton is once again a unique, bureaucratic branch Party. This epic breakup between of feminism. The competitive, granted rickety political Kennedy and NOW was structural approach that makes support for her sex, not made official by the last NOW so effective in their political her candidacy. statements, indicating that pursuits is almost inherent in this women cannot wait any kind of feminism. longer in a world run by men These women are brutally (like Ted Kennedy) who do not recognize their vigorous, and the hierarchical power system best interests. of NOW works just as much like a well-oiled And so the battle boils down to Democrat vs. military machine as the U.S. Army; a force to be Democrat, a more vicious one than you ever reckoned with, as Ted just learned. imagined possible on the peaceful side of the To make their way to the top of the food spectrum. chain of social causes, bureaucratic feminists
have displayed some of the most unfair, unfriendly and unexpected tactics on the path to political visibility, butting heads with economic socialism, facing accusations of racism and even anti-Semitism throughout the ‘60s when mostly white, middle-upper class women were granted involvement in the women’s rights movement. By no means has NOW rooted for every woman in politics. They may benefit from a glance back to the ‘70s when Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm requested NOW’s endorsement for the Presidential candidacy, which they boldly declined, despite her ardent commitment to women’s right organizations (something Clinton has yet to publicly declare). Here Clinton is once again granted rickety political support for her sex, not her candidacy. Lauren Wright is a sophomore from Rancho Santa Fe, Ca.
Seeking Middle Ground | Right Says
Republican values offer real answers
defense is necessary to combat the threats perpetually being plotted against the shores of freedom. These principles reject the liberal legacy of the New Deal and the Great Society. These principles have faith in the virtue of the people, that Austrin Shrum they are good at heart and are worthy of the freedom that Guest columnist was won for them by the great n the article posted by the sacrifices of their forefathers. College Democrats last These principles acknowledge week titled “Dems Embrace that the most fundamental Diversity, Equality,” (Jan. 31) rights Americans enjoy are I was fascinated to learn that not privileges granted to them the Republican party consists by a benevolent government exclusively of racist, intolerant, or a particular party; they are wife-beating, middle-aged inalienable rights endowed to whites and that Madonna us by our Creator. is the patron-saint of the However, as I survey the Democratic party. current political landscape and In a gesture of tolerance, the actions done under the apparently a foreign virtue in Republican name in recent the party Abraham Lincoln years, there are certain things founded, I suppose I can of which I am not proud. tolerate Democrats all over the Fiscally, Republicans have nation ripping their political become Democrats in recent inspiration from Madonna years with their voracious lyrics. appetite for pork-barrel While I could use the entirety spending and new entitlement of this article refuting the programs. misleading, unfounded and While reducing the size of the ignorant stereotypes heaped federal government was once recklessly on the Republican an essential plank of the GOP Party by the College Dems, platform, Republicans these I believe the choices facing last several years have added a America today are too vital new, massive bureaucracy to to be trivialized with empty the federal infrastructure while partisan rhetoric. increasing the scope of existing The choices departments. Americans will The party also Freedom is at stake in this has a choice make in this election are to make on election, and I am confinot choices dent the Republican party whether or not on peripheral it will continue can once again answer issues. They to support the are choices doctrine of freedom’s call and restore between preemptive war, this great land. war and a doctrine that peace. They won its popular are choices support in the between expanding the wake of the tragedy on 9/11. coercive power of the state and Uncomfortable honesty is reinstating individual freedom. needed to get our party back They are choices that strike on track. to the deepest core of what The conservative principles of it means to be an American. the Republican Party can solve I believe this race marks a the transcendental problems crossroads for the Republican of our time, but, to do that Party. we must regain our principle Ronald Reagan once said that and remember what got us to political choices in America are power in the first place. not so much choices between Conservative principles the left and the right of the can solve the soaring political spectrum as they deficits, the entitlement are choices between up and strain, the environmental down. “Up”, Reagan said, anxieties, the threat of “to man’s age-old dream, the Islamic fundamentalism, ultimate in individual freedom the erosion of civil liberties, consistent with law and order, the plunging dollar, the or down to the ash heap of immigration quagmire, the totalitarianism.” health care anxieties and the I am a proud member of nervous economy, but, to the Republican Party because do so, Republicans must be we have claimed conservative conservatives again. principles as our guiding Ronald Reagan once said philosophy for more than that freedom is never more a half century, principles I than one generation away from sincerely believe are dedicated extinction. to the pursuit of the vertical He said above all, freedom politics Reagan mentioned, to must be fought for and the narrow road of freedom. defended by each generation, These principles are founded lest we spend our twilight in the Constitution and in the years telling our children and great religious heritage of this grandchildren what it was like nation. to be free in America. These principles affirm that Freedom is at stake in this people are infinitely more election, and I am confident effective at spending their own the Republican Party can once money and planning their own again answer freedom’s call and lives than the monolith of the restore this great land. federal bureaucracy. These principles affirm the Austin Shrum is a freshman wisdom of the founders when from Southlake, Texas. they called for a federal-style government. Seeking Middle Ground is a weekly These principles affirm that face off between College Democrats maintaining a strong national and College Republicans on a topic.
I Public funds should finance political race Benn Stancil Guest columnist
Over the past several months, we have seen one of the most exciting and historic presidential races in recent history with both an African-American and a woman as leading Democratic nominations. However, as the primary season draws on and candidates lacking sufficient funds to continue drop out, the diversity of ideas in the field falls. As a result, voters are no longer seeing new ideas or real debate on how we can address this country’s problems. The amount of money that a candidate can raise is the deciding factor of whether or not he or she can continue campaigning, get press coverage and be a part of televised debates. This system gives those who control campaign contributions an overwhelming amount of control of the candidates and the political process as a whole. The sad truth is that the current U.S. political system is controlled by these wealthy donors and not the voting public. Only one quarter of one percent of Americans donate over $200 to a political campaign, meaning that a select few provide the majority of funds for political campaigns. This means that in order to be a viable and well funded candidate, politicians must appeal to the 0.25 percent of the electorate that can support them, and the voting public as a whole. With a system that relies so heavily on wealthy donors, and where big money special interests can determine who the front-runners are, we can expect new
ideas, diverse policy positions and voter choice to evaporate from the system. Just look at two pressing issues today – health care and Iraq. There are 47 million Americans without health insurance and another 50 million who are underinsured, producing a health care crisis found nowhere else in the industrialized world. The U.S. ranks last amongst other industrialized democracies in terms of health care, yet we pay more per capita on health care than any of these other countries. Solutions to this crisis have been reduced to whether or not the government should make a law requiring citizens to buy private health insurance – a debate that doesn’t address the underlying problem of for-profit health care corporations running our health care system. In 2006, Democrats made gains in both the House and Senate based on promises of ending the war in Iraq. Recent polls show that nearly 70 percent of Americans want the U.S. out of Iraq in a year. Despite these strong public opinions, Democratic voters are left with two frontrunners who have voted in favor of every single war-funding bill, effectively giving the President authorization to continue waging this unpopular war. Candidates who challenged the forprofit health care system and called for an immediate de-authorization of the war (Dennis Kucinich and Bill Richardson) have either been denied entry to Democratic debates or been forced to drop out due to dwindling campaign funds. Since most of the major political donors benefit from the status quo and
are opposed to new and creative ideas, candidates who challenge the status quo are forced out. There is a solution to this seriously flawed system. For a cost of only $6 per voter, all House, Senate and Presidential races could be fully financed by public funds. With public financing, politicians and the political system would be free from the grips of special interests and wealthy donors. If campaigns continue to funded by private money, then Americans can expect little difference in candidates’ policies, a severe lack of new ideas in government, and a democracy that ignores the voices of women, minorities and low-income working class people. Currently, NC Supreme Court Justices can run campaigns using public funds, and the system has a resounding success. Four of the seven justices won their seats using public funds, and not surprisingly, three of those four are women and one is an African-American. The three Justices that won using private money are all white men. Public financing would work at the national level as well. Barack Obama and John McCain have said that if they receive their party’s nomination, then they will run against each other using only public funds. This is a bold step in the right direction, but until candidates can run competitive campaigns using exclusively public funds, then voters shouldn’t expect to see any real change in Washington. Benn Stancil is a senior economics major from Belmont, N.C.
Word on the Quad | Your voice on what’s going on What do you do to stay politically active?
“I watch the news, and stay up to date on the primaries.” Cameron Evans Sophomore Gifford, S.C.
“I read the Wall Street Journal.”
“Listen to my friend Billy Conway.”
“I get e-mails from Barack and his wife.”
Alex Rafael Sophomore Los Angeles
Andrew Jeffs Sophomore Richmond, Va.
Red Farha Junior Baltimore, Md.