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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 1998)
* - EDITOR Erin Gibson OPINION EDITOR Cliff Hicks EDITORIAL BOARD Nancy Christensen Brad Davis SamMcKewon Jeff Randall Bret Schulte _Our_ VIEW Eliminate the negative Religious right is only hurting GOP politics Last week, we learned American voters don’t enjoy being told they’re going to hell. They don’t like to hear the country’s going south with them, either. Voters ousted many Republicans last week because those messages have ruled the GOP’s channels since President Ronald Reagan and his “America is hunky-dory” message left office, and the religious right claimed the party. In the past decade - especially in the past nine months of the Lewinsky affair-the GOP’s message of fiscal conservatism has been pol luted by an odd obsession with anti-sexuality preaching and moral condemnation. Many GOP leaders have devoted their wak ing hours to telling the country it ails from a general cultural decline, falling morality and a lack of social control. If the post-Reagan GOP is to thrive again, its leaders must make the party’s message more positive - and that means ousting the religious right. The religious right should create its own party to disperse its radical message, and the Republican Party should define itself away from Christian moral preaching and toward the party of fiscal conservatism and restraint. Reagan’s brand of American morality could suit die party just fine. He walked a rea sonable line between politics and moral cul ture. He pointed out moral heroes instead of condemning immorality. He opposed abortion, but he never attended an anti-abortion rally. But more recent conservative politicians, including Nebraska’s Jon Christensen, inextri cably linked politics and morality. Christensen, who was divorced just like Reagan, couldn’t let off the moral preaching on family values. He felt fine bragging that his fiancee was a virgin, and voters rejected him. Yet the Christensen message reflected the mainstream conservative politicking of the past few years. For instance, at a June 1997 conservative conference in Washington, speak ers advocated a spiritual cure for homosexuali ty* Ken btarr wrote tnat Americans nave a right to a “private family life.” He declared nonfam ily private matters fair game and thus justified his mass dispersal of immoral pom. Combating abortion was added to the Republican Party platform, although polls showed more than half of Republican Party members supported the procedure’s legality. Many Republican candidates campaigned as instruments to create a more moral America, saying our society produces marriage-ending, illegitimate child-producing, drug-using hooli gan homosexual gang members on welfare. The message is fitting for a radical third party. It is not fitting for one of two mainstays in American politics. If the Republican Party cannot separate itself from hellfire-and-damnation morality preaching, its popularity will go down with the country. Editorial Policy Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Fall 1998 Daily Nebraskan. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nebraska-Lincoin, its employees, its student body or the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A column is solely the opinion of its author. The Board of Regents selves as publisher of the Daily Nebraskan; policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. Tne UNL Putertions Board, established by the regents, supervises the production of the paper. According to policy sa by theregents, responsibility for 1he editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its student employees. Litter Ptfcy The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor and guest columns, but does not guarantee their publication. 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 win not be published. Those who submit letters must identify themselves by name, year in school, major and/or group affiliation, if any. Submit material to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St Lincoln, NE. 68588-0448. E-mal: letters@unlinfo.unl.edu. Mook’s VIEW . • " . -'Vr .... -1 DN LETTERS K-Statement TRULY AMAZING! Yes, I am shouting. Nebraska Cornhusker fans are actually gauging the success of their season based on whether the Big Red can “upset” the Kansas State Wildcats - a team NU hasn’t lost to since 1968. Big Red fans are some of the best in the country. However; it is evident that the victors fcave been spoiled. How long did it take Tom Osborne to get his first championship - 20 years? Then when he learned how to win it, NU won a bazilhon games in a row and created he most dominating football program in history. Now, NU has a little bump in he road, and the folks are getting r^tless. If here’s anything people should learn from NU, it is that consistency breeds success. The fans, administrators, coaches and players understood this. Now you see what it is like for so many other programs throughout this country to experience a little adversity because hoe was a change. K-State has learned from Nebraska. - We have learned that it takes a great commitment from all people, he fans, the players, he coaches and the admin istration, and guess what? We are winning. It just so happens that this year we were unlucky enough to get ^0 I I how beating the Midcats will restore Husker honor. If you doubt this, think how your reaction would have been had the Big Red been undefeated Nov. 14. A loss to the Wildcats would not have been about restoring honor, so what has changed? NU is a great foot ball team that is dealing with chal lenges; y’all have not lost any honor. The game will be played on the field and will be a great example of two of the best teams in the country trying to achieve the same thing - greatness. I look forward to a great football game. Good luck to the Big Red. Jack Messer Manhattan, Kan. Scholarly substance I have thus far steered clear of the Peru State College debate, but the edito rial in Monday’s DN “Time to say good bye: Peru State is a waste of taxpayers’ dollars” really angered me. They say $27 million is too much to spend on the school. Is it too much for students at UNL? Peru State is not worth increasingly less than taxpayers should pay for: In the state of Nebraska, school dis tricts are constantly asking for and receiving bonds from Nebraska taxpay ers and for good reason. Schools are worth the money. Why should smaller schools be worth less just because they don’t have a championship football team? Peru State’s campus is not failing to meet the needs of its region. If this school were not there, many local resi dents would not be able to attend school, and this includes my mom. She lives and works in Falls City and drives 40 minutes to classes every day, carry ing a full-time load. All she wants is the bachelor’s degree she’s never had. This is the same story for a lot of other non traditional students who attend this schoolWithout Peru State, manywould not be able to attend a secondary school. So the school is failing academical ly too. This must mean that my mom’s 4.0 GPA she has maintained is worth less. So all the time that she MattHaney/DN