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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 1972)
J editoriol o "J Democrat detour During the presidential campaign thus far, the Democratic emphasis has been on condemning the opposition's policies. Bad as the administration's policies may be, however, this may be a mistake. What the campaigners fail to realize is that they have a candidate of their own and, as candidates go, an excellent one. They have not treated him as such. Even from the time he was considered a one-issue candidate, McGovern has displayed knowledge of all issues and shown more wisdom than he has been credited with. The administration's water-boys have keyed their anti-McGovern campaign to two criticisms: 1) that his positions are murky and 2) that they are too easily altered. "Inese two claims don't hold water. First of all, McGovern's positions on the issues have been clear from the beginning of hiscampaign. He has insisted Ms positions be known and they have been. The opposition, however, may not want to hear them. In the little bantering on issues that the GOP has done, (usually their strategy is to avoid issues) they have attacked McGovern's most radical (and for middle America, the hardest to swallow), positions -abortion, amnesty and welfare. They refuse to recognize his plans for control of crime (more constructive than anything Nixon's done), agriculture (favoring small rather than corporate farmers) and especially taxation (closing loopholes in inheritance and income taxes), which make Nixon's programs look a little pale. His plan for peace, which has been widely publicized in contrast to Nixon's secretive pipe-dream, is a reasonable alternative to what's happened in the past four years not nearly as radical as the GOP would have one believe. Also branded radical by the Nixon Administration is McGovern's plan to cut back military spending. This is sheer folly. To any rational inspector it more closely resembles an admirable shift of priorities from bombs to bread. The GOP's major charge-that McGovern changes his mind too easily-perhaps demonstrates the administration's total lack . of democratic understanding and reveals Nixon's weakest point. Lack of responsiveness to American voters is probably the shoddiest part of the present administration's record. If the administration listens at all, it listens to big business, not to the average citizen. McGovern, however is more responsive to the opinions of America. If his positions seem to be missing the public's approval, McGovern stops and takes a long, hard look and re-evaluates his policies. It is a cinch that if McGovern were president, there would have been no student upheaval, no incursion into Cambodia, no deaths at Kent State. He is responsive to the needs and worries of America. Nixon isn't. Probably the saddest part of the campaign is that it is probably the combination of his responsiveness and candor which have placed him far behind in the polls. The Republicans have played upon these virtues and twisted his positions. . . . McGovern has faults. But they are nothing compared to the corruptions so apparent in the current administration. They are the honest faults of an intelligent, sensitive candidate. . . If McGovern loses this election, as he well may, it will not be because the public knows what it is doing. The Grand Old Smokescreen will have worked. And Four More Years, will be just that-no change, no improvement, just Four More Years. Jim Gray j ,tky X? McGoldwater Thone a record supporting re-election john vihsbdt This column will, from now until the election, concern itself with the politicians and the policies that, like it or not, affect us all. In most cases, we will make specific endorsements; if no candidate for a particular office is clearly superior, however, we shall refrain. President Nixon has hopes that, if his landslide victory to which the pundits attribute him materializes, he will sweep in with him a Republican Congress, the first in 20 years. Nebraska, happy to say, has already done its part toward this noble effort, and there is every reason to believe that the Cornhusker state's all GOP congressional delegation will be renewed for 1972. The Nebraska First District is most fortunate to have Congressperson Charles Thone as its representative in Washington, and Different Drummer endorses him for a second term. In his first two years, Rep. Thone has proven himself to be an extremely able and competent spokesperson for the people in his district's 27 counties. A thorough man, he tackles every task before him with rare vigor, and hit committee assignments of Government Operations and Public Works make him well-equipped to serve the interests of all his constituents. Thone is constantly making trips back to Nebraska, from Tecumseh to the Niobrara, from South Sioux City to Hebron, speaking with people and tending to their needs on a first-hand basis. But perhaps the most persuasive reason for re-electing Rep. Thone is his record. Far from feeling "insecure" over it, as his little-known Democratic opponent is wont to assert, Thone is proud of his record. He is proud, as are we, that he stood up to the White House and the majority of his Republican colleagues and voted no on the SST when he saw clearly what a financial and environmental catastrophe it would be. Thone has paid special attention to Indian needs, worked toward the establishment of an all-volunteer army, co-sponsored the 1972 Rural Development Act recently signed into law by the President and was instrumental in gaining the soon-to-be-constructed (at an estimated cost of more than $21 million) Federal Building in Lincoln. It must be admitted that Democratic nominee Darrel Berg, a Lincoln minister, comes across as warm and sincere, but he seems destined to join the growing ranks of clergy turned politician in the political graveyard of defeat. Charles Thone's background, experience, character, and record clearly make him the better man. Equally deserving of re-election is the Second District incumbent John Y. McCollister. Through his membership on the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee, this man of quiet force and determination has been extraordinarily effective in obtaining legislation and administrative action on matters of importance to his five-county area. This mostly urban territory of Burt, Washington, Douglas, Sarpy and Cass counties has a 30,000 vote registration edge for the Democrats, but it has not seen fit to elect a Democrat to Congress in recent memory. Democratic nominee and Irish Catholic attorney Patrick Cooney is unlikely to change this tradition. First-termer McCollister deserves a resounding vote of confidence. In the vast Third District my choice is Rep. Dave Martin, the veteran incumbent dean of Nebraska's House delegation with six terms under his belt, although we believe that at the age of 66 he ought to think about stepping aside for a younger, more vigorous candidate such as state senator and Nebraska Young Republican Chairperson Jerry Stromer of Kearney. Martin's opponent, Warren Fitzgerald of Gibbon, is not bothering to even give him token fight, apparently realizing that he has nothing much to contribute except his place on the ballot as standard-bearer for George McGovern's fallen party. In sum, Rep. Thone of the First District, Rep. McCollister of the Second District and Rep. Martin of the Third District are men of high conviction, principle, and integrity. They have represented their respective constituencies in a way that can make all Nebraskans proud. Each truly deserves re-election. page 4 daily nebraskan Wednesday, October 11, 1972