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Show OPINION COKIE & STEVE ROBERTS COMMENTARY Seizing the levers of power The Grea t Earthquake of '94 did not end on Election Day. It only began. Deep below t h e surface, the tectonic pla t es of American po li t ics h ave hifted, and the af te rshocks will be ru mbling through Capitol Hill fo r years to come. N ot only have the Republicans won a temporary m ajority in both houses of Congress, they are now i n a position to solidify their gain far into the future. By controlling the floor schedule, Democrats were able to block legisla tion favored by Republican constituencies. Two prominent examples: a capital gains tax cut, backed by the business community, and school prayer, a priority of the religious right. Conference committees. Democrats often exerted their most effective control in back room conferences that reconciled House and Senate versions of the same legislation. Republicans were frequently excluded from these sessions. No longer. Hearings, GOP committee chairmen will now be able to use the investigative resources of Congress to probe the administration and publicize their missteps. Perks and privileges. Majority lawmakers always profit more from congressional perks, such as free mail to constituents extolling one's own virtues. Pork. The majority has a better chance of directing public funds to projects in their own districts, from roads to research grants. Visibility. fn the past, Republican lawmakers were generally ignored by television reporters and talk shows. In recent weeks, obscure GOPers like Rep. Bill Archer, the new chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, have become TV regulars. Recruitment. One key to the Democrats' stranglehold on the House was the reluctance of Republicans to run for oHice, since they faced a lifetime of minority s tatus. State legislatures. T he GOP m ade huge gains at the state level, taki n g a t l east 15 legisla t i ve c hamb e r s that had b een i n Democra tic hands. Race. Civil rights la ws have concentra ted black vo ters i n separate cilstrict , making many adjoining districts Wy-white and unwinnabJe by Democrats. Republican now get to gorge themselves at thi power banquet. But they should read the 1994 elections as a cautionary tale. The Democrats lost thei r majoriti s in Congress because they lost touch with the voters. And it could happen again. Cokie Robert i a commentator for ABC's "'World News. Tonight" and "This Week With David Brinkley." Steven V. Roberts i a senior writer for Us News and World Report. PROPES IONAL STAFF AND DESK PHONE NU MBERS: !..any Balcer 586,7751 Editor Ca mpus Editor Jim Robinson 586,1997 Conmlling Spons Editoro Neil Gardnor 586-7753 Breu Jew kes 586-7752 Bu inrs. Manager Lyn n Denne-I t 586-7748 Assist1J1t u, the Editor Jcnniler Molley 586-7759 STUDENT STAFF AND DESK PHONE NUMB!RS: =~""· ~l~~· % \1if- ~;;;;;;;.,,i1,;',r;:,.= ~.......,., .... ~ -~~~ ~~ttc~'1J 1"-t1,y:~·: .;, ;c AS I PRePA Re. To CJ?..oss Tt4e ~eeeT, I PRAY. peAR. L0 fc.-D, fLeA5e Gui De MY reff. SHow Me wHe.Re. To z;ti ANo ZAG So I DoN' T eND UP i/v A BAG. VIEWS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY Dec. 31, The Cincinnati Enquirer on the U.S. and North Korea: It's hard to imagine Harry "Give 'Em Hell" Truman, JFK of the Cuban missile crisis, or George "Desert Storm" Bush waiting 10 days to send a diplomat to North Korea aft er a U.S. Army h e lico p ter w as down e d th e re. But President Clinton's approach to a n uclear crisis has worked. W ithout a military show of force or any shots fired, the United State has recovered the pilot who was held hostage by North Korea for 13 days. The good news is that the pilot, Bobby Hall, lis) safe and back home. Once State D epar tment official Thomas Hubbard arrived, it took only three day to pry him loose, apparently without conce ions . Hubbard expressed "sincere regret" that the helicopter carrying two chief warrant officers "accidentally strayed" 10 mile over the border and crashed in North Korea on Dec. 17. Throughout the crisis, North Korea has behav d like a nation at wa.r with the United States. Meanwhile, during the crucial arly days, Congr essman Bill Richardson, D-N.M., juggled the t icking grenade. Richard on had no fonna1 mission - be just happened to be handy in South Korea. T wo qu estions: Why i N orth Korea acting so strange? Was the behavior caused by a vacuum of leadership in that unstable, outlaw nation ? Or is North Korea hair-trigger jumpy because it has something to hide? And why cild it take so long for the Clinton administration to react? A8110ciatt Editon John McCloskey 865-8226, Micki Sell.en 586-7750 Adnnising Manager /ackilyn Chrillti.aruen 586-7758 Ad Rep....,ntarive i..,.. Rlndll•bachcr 586, 7758 Opinion Director Heat.her Gran 586-7757 AP Witt Edit.or JoAnn Lumlgn:en 865,822.5 Copy Editor Joann• Day 586-7757 Photo Edit.o r Lonnie Behunin 586-7757 Cla ilicd Ad As,'1 Ha.nnony Curtis 586,7759 Citcul.itioo Mmoga Dave Mcanca 865·8225 Spon• Editor Tim Muwell 586-5488 81Hinos• Aidt Cheyenne Lyde 586-7748 Ad Production Facilitaton Jeff Martin 586-7757 Arts Edit.or Michelle Clegg 586-5488 St:accy Berry 586-7757 AH'I Opinioa Dirutor C uny Edward. 586-7757 Thr. Unlvud.r. y foumdl lt published ic.ll'tty Monday, Wednad.ay od Fd day of th~ H'.l.dcml.c: yt.ar u • public.Hon of SouWm Utah Un vei,.i ty, lui depirunml ol communk.11tion • nd the: SW Student A.J,od.a1 iQrL The ri,r;:ws .md c,plnlom uprcs>Od In the /OW1ldi.,. thooc ol lndlwidu.tl wri"u do ""' o.......Ur .dkc1 the opinion ai the /OUl!T4l o. ""Y eati')' ol th< unlvenlty. Len er>"' the ed.i<O< mu,t hr rn,cd and include th< name &nd phone nu.mba. Only th< tUJ1l< will be printed. N:11ne:t wil.l llOI: be withheld under &n)' circwnnanca and lhe cdJtot ~ Ni.ting prhilqes. Letten mmc hr ,ubm.itttd by noon F,:tdoys Jg, Mnndoy .dirioru, l'ueoda-,. ftt W.dne,doy .dltiom ond Thu~ y, ftt Frldoy .d;tiom. •oo Grkn11tt11 An1 indi ridu&I wtlh ,ii pi~a.nce apirut lhie fownd l 1ht)ll]d d u«t w eb problem ll.r..tt 10 ihe icdftor. U dim,,ed I<> th< /'""'1aJ Sl<fflD3 Commln «, which u ohalml by Dr. mln C. UJV<OOlv.d. W I gric•once , ho,,,ld then be Pu19on. 586-7971 . The oea<w, u Lois Bulloch. S86-771 0, 1 - ,,.,._ C1llces ln5UU Teclmoliv l!uildq<ll.l. MIil at SUU Ilene 113M. Ood.-0')', Uolh MnD. FAX lll)l l 586-S487. 0 PIUNim ON IOOll. llECYC U!D PAl'EJI.. PLEAS2 ll!CY?"' Tl!IS COPY. /\Me.N. Jan. I Star Tribune, Minneapolis, on farm subsidies: A new report on sustainable agriculture is particularly timely. Such farming should gain if subsidies go down because present subsidies for big crops like com and wheat put sustainable agriculture, at a disadvantage. Disadvantage is the bottom line of Northwest Area Foundation's ,p rovocative report called "A Better Row to Hoe . . . The Economic, Environmental and Social Impact of Sustainable Agriculture." Such farming emphasizes crop and livestock diversity, less dependence on chemicals and fossil fuels, greater environmental protection, different planting practices and other measures to ensure i ndefinite food product ion . The report summarizes a $4.5 miUion, three-year study of agriculture in the Upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest. American agricul ture has become "a powerful i ndu s t ria l m ac h ine t hat produce abun da nt food," the report say . But cheap food and big export do no t reflect their full costs. Conventional farm often perform better economically than sustainable farms, the report concede . But t he top sus tainable farm are competitive. Meanwhile, conventional farm get more government ubsidie . ustainabl farming is hamper d by inadequate economic analy is, reliable information and management te hnology. The report urges that f deral farm policy, up for review in 1995, tie farm commodity benefits to environmental performance, cap allowable subsidy acreage p r farm and direct more re ources to sustainable agriculture re earch . That' good advice. Present policy is too onesided. Jan. 2 San Antonio Expre s-News on Newt Gingrich's leader hip: Ten years ago, Ronald Reagan was president, and Newt Gingrich was a back-bench minority congressman who vowed to use "gu erri ll a warfare" to break the Democrats' hold on the House ... Now Reagan has Alzheimer'. <! disease, and Gingrich is the man of the House, ... the first Republican speaker since 1955. Gingrich may find what worked for him as a guerrilla fighter will be seen as bullying when he is speaker. And will Democrats switch to guerrilla tactics, with truth squads and theme teams and packs of hungry Gingrich Jrs. seeking to become C-SPAN heroes? While there is fodder for that ... we urge both sides to keep the debate civil . ... If Gingrich tries to do a legislative version of the end zone boogie-woogie dances popular now in football, "normal Americans" won't like it. Instead, we hope he will lead as though he's been doing it all his life - and Democrats will act like loyal opponents, not Keystone Kops. |
