friday, October 24, 1980
daily nebraskan
.Fowler's record draws endorsement
page 4
Steve Fowler, the state senator from Lincoln's
27th District who went from the ASUN presi
dency directly to the capitol, sometimes battles
long odds in the Legislature and his political
career.
When he won his first election in 1972, he de
feated William Swanson, now the university's
only registered lobbyist. Swanson apparently
did not take the 22-year-old seriously, and went
on vacation during the campaign. Fowler capital
ized on the incumbent's absence and won the
election.
Fowler won re-election in 1976, and has be
come known as a leading Democrat in statehouse
politics. He has earned a seat on the Appropria
tions Committee, and is on the powerful Execu
tive Board of the Legislature not bad achieve
ments for someone who was given little chance
of winning eight years ago.
This year Fowler is challenged by Jerry
Sellentin, the personnel manager at Bryan
Memorial Hospital, who, even though he has no
experience in government, is strongly backed by
several powerful special interest groups.
Characterized as a big spender by Sellentin,
Fowler is confronted, ironically, by those willing
to spend more money than anyone else ever has
spent on a legislative race.
Why? Because Steve Fowler threatens those
special interests. His legislative record is one of
fighting interests that would gladly accept tax
breaks for themselves over breaks for the average
citizen, while at the same time extracting profit
from consumers so they can drive big cars and
finance candidates like Jerry Sellentin, who
would vote in their interest.
From the standpoint of the university, no one
has fought harder for building improvement and
operating budget allocations to UNL than has
Steve Fowler. As an Appropriations Committee
member, he has consistently sought to provide
the university with the money it needs to provide
a quality education.
Tied for worst
Elections of 1840,
Sellentin claims he would do the same, but at
the same time he attacks Fowler for attempting
to override vetoes like Gov. Charles Thone's
veto last year of the UNL allocation.
There is no way a freshman senator could do
as much for UNL as an experienced Appropria
tions Committee member can do. There' is no way
Sellentin can preach fiscal conservatism and
remain credible if he did fight for sufficient
allocations to UNL. We suspect Sellentin's
claimed commitment to UNL is an empty
campaign promise.
Many students live in the 27th District. They
are faced with a choice between a man with a
proven record of helping this university from a
powerful position and a man whose claimed sup
port for UNL budget money contradicts his
overall philosophy.
They are faced with a choice between a man
who has worked to protect citizens from unrea
sonable practices by utility companies and a man
whose campaign is financed by bankers and car
dealers.
They must choose between a man with ex
perience in state government and a man witli no
experience in public office.
The choice for students and others concerned
about the future of this university and the power
of wealthy lobbies is very clear: Steve. F owler.
Defeated in the primary. Fowler once again
faces long odds. The Daily Nebraskan enthu
siastically endorses his effort to overcome them
once a izain.
WASHINGTON -If nowhere else,
there is often consolation in history.
I find for example, that this is not
really the worst presidential election
on record.
It is merely tied for worst.
o
Exilian
The rival is the awful "Tippecanoe
and Tyler, too" election of 1840, and
the similarities are amazing.
The contest was between the Whigs,
a forerunner of the modern-day Re
publican Party dominated then as now
by rich conservatives- and the Demo
crats, the party of "the common man"
then as now dominated by patronage
posses, southerners and labor.
There was even a third party in
dependent candidacy that year the
righteous James G. Birney of the anti
slavery Liberty Party.
The Whigs realized that they, too,
would have to appeal to the "common
man" if they were to get into the White
House, so they chose a candidate they
thought resembled the Democrats'
homespun Andrew Jackson-William
Henry Harrison.
They just as easily could have chosen
Ronald Reagan.
Just as Harrison tried to be like
Democrat Jackson, Reagan, in his
appeal to blue collar voters, is trying to
be like Democrat Franklin Roosevelt.
Both Harrison and Reagan won fame
as Indian fighters-Reagan in the
movies, Harrison in Indiana-utterly ir
relevant to the duties of a president.
both previously served in public office
Marie dissolves into dewy romance
Harrison as an Ohio county clerk,
Reagan as governor of California.
The two came to presidential politics
late in life. At 67, Harrison was the old
est ever to be elected president, a re
cord threatened only by the 6)-y car-old
Reagan. The public images of both men
are a sham.
Harrison, the humble frontiersman,
was a wealthy landowner who came
from one of Virginia's oldest and most
powerful families.
Reagan, the "everyman" of small
town America, is a wealthy landowner
who lives on one of the costliest estates
in California.
Both stand out as pleasant, amiable
types with a penchant for the foolish
remark. Just as Reagan's managers have
to hold him to a tinht scrim .-md l.-.d,
Henry Clay and other Whis kept Har
rison out of the public eye and ear
as much as possible.
In fact, a Democratic editorial writer
sneered that, given a government
pension and jug of cider, Harrison
would happily end his days sitting in
log cabin. Just as. Jimmy Carter's "war
or peace" attack boomcranged into the
"Carter meanness" issue, the Democrats
came to rue this sneer. The Whigs
proclaimed their man the candidate of
log cabins and hard cider and won the
hearts oi common men everywhere.
The Democrats could have beaten
Harrison with a decent candidate, but
they were stuck as now with one of
the most unpopular and least competent
incumbents in history.
Ridiculed as "a little sqiirt, wirt,
wirt" (people would spit tobacco juice
Continued on Page 5
Marie and I walk hand in hand thronpfi autumn lfavf
as the rays of the sunset dissolve like Alka-Seltzer in the
trees. It has been a long time since we have been alone,
and the afternoon has been a lazy one. We pause by a tree.
I lean back with my hands in my pocket and kick at the
dirt. Marie smiles.
"Knock it off," I say.
'3d
"You should quit watching TV and meet some wo
men," she says crossing her amis.
"I'm not watching TV," I say defensively.
"You're dropping Hollywood dream-bombs all over the
place. You're still waiting for Annette to remove her
garter for the man with the Brylcremc smile. You and
Ingrid will always have Paris. Quasimodo will always have
Esmerelda's bones
"That's not what I'm talking about "
"I can't help it," she says, "you're so serious . . ."
"So I'm romantic shoot me," I say.
Marie kisses me on the cheek and laughs out loud.
"So tell me, what ever happened to dewy-eyed
romance?" I demand.
Marie brings clasped hands to her heart, "love hurts
worse than pin wheel spurs in upturned summer toes
"Very poetic," I pout.
"I know. It's from my blue period when I measured
the depth of my romantic involvement by the volume of
poetry it produced. I'm long since over that."
Continued on Page S
UPSP 144 080
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