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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1998)
EDITOR Erin Gibson OPINION ? EDITOR Cliff Hicks EDITORIAL BOARD Nancy Christensen Brad Davis Sam McKewon Jeff Randall Bret Schulte Our VIEW Betting on BiU Hoppner best choice for Nebraska governor No knight-on-a-white-horse gubernatori al candidate will ride roughshod over polling boxes this Election Day. ^ Both Republican candidate Mike Johanns and Democratic candidate Bill Hoppner have their highlights and low points. Election returns could reflect that. Both candidates are dynamic and could enact some positive change for the state - but we think one candidate could better lead the state into the next century. Since 1991, Johanns has impressed many Lincolnites with his down-to-earth, introvert ed charm and intense work ethic. He gets credit for taking the risks that kicked off seri ous downtown revitalization. He s canvassed this state. He loves Nebraska and America. He’s real and sincere. But he lacks a certain dynamism and hard-line decisiveness we think Nebraska’s next leader must possess, especially when the state, is looking down the double barrel of a continuing fann crisis and popular pressure to slow funding of higher education. Hoppner has this decisiveness, as well as a catchy idealism and personal energy remi niscent of some of the most popular politi cians in recent history. He sets his mind on an ideal or a political action - helping farmers or defeating Initiative 413, for example - and he doesn’t waver. He lacks practice as a politician - the 48 year-old has never held an elected political 1 ri bfflfeb^fttl^s^^brkedbehindthe^eenesfbr Nelfrtod Jblftjfel heavyweights, former U.S. Sens. JJ. Exon and Bob Kerrey. He now enjoys the endorsements of Exon, Kerrey, former Gov. Frank Morrison and current Gov. Ben Nelson, whose job in office we commend. He also has garnered support from the Nebraska Fraternal Order of Police. Johanns lacks the backing of local police, who disapprove of his condoning concealed > . weapons bijls. He’s gpt the State Troopers ! t Association^ though. Troopers got mad when 3 ; Hoppner suggested he would appoirit Bamey Kfe to lead the State Patrol. (We college folk still appreciate humor.) We also admire Hoppner’s endearing compassion for the downtrodden - for the lit tle guy with no voice in big-money politick ing - and his respect for First Amendment rights. We don’t like that Johanns approved a Christian evangelic parade but didn’t approve a gay rights parade. First Amendment free doms are serious matters that should be applied unilaterally, not according to one political stance or personal opinion. Most importantly, we believe Hoppner will best protect higher education in the state, as pressures build to slash taxes and to halt or reverse university funding increases. Hoppner is the students’, farmers’ and academicians’ best candidate for Nebraska’s future. uuuiw ruiicy Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Spity 1998 Daily Nebraskan. They do not necessarily reflect the views of 1he University of Nebraska-Lincoln, jb . employees, its student body or the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A column is solely tfie opinion of its author. The Board of Regents serves as publisher of the Daily Nebraskan; policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. The UNL Publications Board, established by the regents, supervises the production of the paper. According to policy set by the regents, responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its student employees. ■ ' ■ ■■ ■ ■ — ■ ■ t letter Policy The Daly Nebraskan welcomes brief tetttfs to the editor and guest columns, bufdoes not guarantee their pubScation. ; The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject any material submitted. Submitted material becomes property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Anonymous submissions will not be published. Those who submit letters must identify themselves by name, year in school, major and/or group affiliation, if arty. Submit material to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St. Lincoln, NE. 68588-0448. E-mail: letters@unlinfo.unl.edu. - Mook’s VIEW ( mn rwE, huet* At iotl j FOR 6WERH0R, BOT tw 4ETIK I m FOR BEST HER ET11ET J Adding to apathy Political advertisements part of the problem People who vote often are led by these ads. Most people who vote say they are voting against a candidate, not for one. No one stands on their ideas any more. They stand on platforms con demning their opponents. And America is sick of it Look at the voter turnout Look at the polls. Look at how people feel about politics. ' 4;. - T We’re sjick of it We don’t want to see the ads any more. We dori’t want to hear them sling mud anymore. We don’t want a lot of things in politics. What’s wrong with us? What the hell do we want? We want noble politicians who represent us. We want rights protected and our wrongs righted. We want lower taxes and more safety. We want America to be a great place again. We want a heck of a lot And we don’t want to give a damn thing. Politicians can’t have our time. We can’t give them a few minutes out of our day to think about what we want and how to get it People are so dissatisfied with pol itics, the advertising is only making things worse. Nebraska’s turnout this year will be one of its highest in an off-year; mainly because of Initiatives 413 and 414. you want to. If the smallest candidate with no chance of winning is your choice, vote for him or her. Maybe more people will start to agree with you. Two political parties don’t cut it We need another solution. Maybe it’s time for another party or two. Or more. . :c vL , possibility. It pounds malicious, Jnutif you honestly think your ideas can stand on their own merits, then let them do so. The sad part is that the yelling works. Abusive ad campaigns work. Smear tactics weak. We hate to hear diem, but they stick with us. And if they were to stop, so would ^ the votes. People vote out of spite these days. They want the bad guys out of office, so they find the lesser of the two evils. But there shouldn’t be evil at all. It’s our government We’re supposed to be the greatest country in the world. I used to think we were, when I was younger. ' Now I’mdisillusianed like die rest of the nation. There’s no one in Congress representing me, and I feel powerless - like die rest of America. If we cut political ads off!, activity will fall for a while. Maybe it’ll rise again. Maybe not But I’m starting to think we owe it to ourselves to trf. CLIFF HICKS is a senior new-editorial and English ,mpjpr'. and the Daily,. Nebraskan opinion editor, I never thought I’d voluntarily go against the Constitution, but, hell, here lam. America is broken. The American lifestyle has been fractured by money, greed, corruption, industry and self-centered power. Here’s the part where I go against the Constitution: Maybe politics shouldn’t include advertising. I know that is inherently wrong because money is free speech. That’s what the courts determined and my political science class dictated. Consider this: What would politics be like without the power of the almighty dollar? No more badmouthing your oppo nent because you have more money than he does. Simply because you think your opponent’s ideas are bad, you can’t spend your entire budget to complain about him, just like you can’t pitch your own ideas on paid bulletin boards across the nation. Think of it like this - advertising is a vicious beast Any way advertisers can get your attention, they will. Whether it’s constant repetition or sharp, biting slogans, advertisers want something horn you. They want you to listen and remember. Ad campaigns can be subtle or they can beat you over the head with f constant repetition. For example, take a long look at the recent ads the Republicans have run. “Our president lied to us. Vote Republican.” Oh yeah, those Republicans are upholding the moral high ground in this nation. Now, don’t get me wrong and think I’m with the Democrats either. - - While I prefer the Democrats over Republicans, I’m starting to believe I’m Libertarian. You can do what you want as long as it doesn’t harm me. Party-line politics aren’t the biggest problem with the country, though. The biggest problem is that America is comprised of idiots. And it’s still not even going to be 75 percent of the registered voters, not to mention the many people . who aren’t registered to vote. / We’re bitter.__ We’re angry. _ We’re timid We feel powerless. ^ The problem is that we should n’t be powerless. It’s a govern ment for the people, by d people, oft! MattHaney/DN way that you’re trained to, but the way