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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 1980)
monday, february 1 1, 1980 daily nebraskan page 5 Tiucky ' Common Cause reformers survive 70s WASIUNGTON-Thc 1970s-that paradox of a decade -gave us a set of stunning contrasts. There was Watergate, the classic political scandal, but there was also Common Cause, the classic good government "reform" group. There was John Mitchell, the jailed attorney general, but there was also Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor who was fired by Richard Nixon because he would not obey corrupt commands. The trouble with symbols is that they do not always age graccfully-und that is particularly so with symbols of civic or personal virtue. Some of the heroes of Watergate. like some of the heroes of the civil rights movement, have celebrated their own righteousness so often and so well that they have become, quite frankly. bores. Archibald Cox , at age 67, and Common Cause, nearing age 10, do not seem to be in danger of succumbing to that temptation. When Cox was elected last Saturday as the third chair man of Common Cause (following founder John Gardner and Nan . Waterman, who held the post for the past three years), the meeting "of the organization's governing board was described by my colleague, Chris Colford. as being characterized by "vast hope, immense vitality, and a remarkably wcll-in formed discussion." The Carter administration could not bend its age guide lines for judicial appointments to give Cox a circuit court judgeship (in part, one suspects, because he was proposed by Edward M. Kennedy). But Common Cause is wisely cd that two days a week of Cox's time (all he can spare from his Harvard Law School duties) is worth almost any one else's full-time services. Cox is fond of. speaking in nautical images, and in an interview the day before his election, he described govern-' merit us if it were a ship the Enterprise that is drifting in circles, , - t-j; -.:;':. ;.,; 'i -i v.. .r-; r :-v:-.y;'v. :r :- , - -:' r't i1 r . . .. !' ' , - - "We have to move the Enterprise along," Cox said. "When people don't sec the Enterprise working, they lose confidence and they have-to look out for themselves." The modern bureaucratic-political state that Cox glorifies as the Enterprise (with all its space-age connota tions) others see as Leviathan, crushing the citizenry in its path. For all its avowed nonpartisanship. Common Cause is an embodiment of the liberal view that the public good is best defined and achieved by the state-and private goals are comparatively selfish." That view suffuses its rhetori cal assaults on 'special interest" groups, and fuels-its un ending crusade to rid the political system of supposedly wicked private contributions and to flood it, instead, with' the purity of public (or tax-supported) subsidies. There is a great deal open to challenge in that view of the world, but there is also a great deal to be said for the political utility of having a vigorous organization acting on that faith. It. is quite true, as Common Cause President David . Cohen said, that the organization has become a bulwark to many of the institutional people" in Congress-Republicans like Barber Conable and Tom Railsback, Demo crats like Tom Foley and David Obey-who really are in terested in improving the effectiveness of the institution. It is also true that this viewpoint-and its organization al embodiment in Common Cause -is a motivating force for many who would otherwise have abandoned politics as a hopeless morass. As Common Cause board member Kathleen Gilligan Scbclius of Kansas remarked, after a just-completed tour of Common Cause . groups in ; 25 states, 4We found that there are thousands of people out there who arc absolutely; convinced that they can have an effect on decision-making. That's pretty fantastic in this day and age." Common Cause went through a decline in the late 1970s, like a lot of other organizations. Its membership dropped one-third from its peak to 2 13,000 members. But at the end of 1979 it was back up to 229J0OO members with an extraordinary 74 percent renewal rate. From its beginning, Common Cause has been lucky. Fifteen months after Gardner launched, the organization with a principal goal of cleaning up the system of campaign finance, the Watergate burglars provided one of history's most dramatic examples of the evils of secret political caches-and Common Cause soared. .. Finding Archie Cox with some free time is another bit of luck. On the very .day he was elected chairman of Common Cause, talking about the continuing need; to "improve, the character of the political machinery," the FBI blew the whistle on eight more alleged congressional cheaters. The timing was incredible. In reform politics-as in every other kind of politics-sometimes it's more import ant to be lucky in your timing than right in all your views. (c) 1980, The Washington Post Company i it, 'FONDA DE ACEBO INTRODUCES THE TACORITO An all in one Mexican meal of beef, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes rolled in. a flour tortilla, covered with our own special sauce and cheese . . . served bubbling hot! We're celebrating our great President's birthdays and make this offer to you! BRING A FRIEND, ORDER A TACORITO AND GET ONE FREE! Offer good any week night after 4:00 PM or all day Saturday and Sunday. Feb. 12, 1980 through Feb. 22, 1980 . This is our way of saying: Welcome Students! . Find out for yourself why people are saying; "I'm Fond of La Fonda . . . 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