mmmmmmmm Sunday magazine inside: page four looking back page five-books November 7, 1976 Number 9 Editor: Stephen Hersh Associate Editors: Ann Marie Lipinski, Elaine Fletcher Sexism in politics: The Kansas case By STEPHEN SELBST LEAVENWORTH, Kan. - Amid the wheatfields of Kansas, it is believed that a woman's place is in her husband's state - or so claimed Republican Ross Freeman, in his unsuccessful campaign for the U. S. Congress against incumbent Democrat Martha Keys. But the voters in this district took a sharply different stance last Tuesday. An upset victory for Keys returned her to the House despite Freemah's charges that her recent marriage to Indiana Rep. Andrew Jacobs made her a resident of his home state. In 1975 Keys divorced her, husband of 26 years, Samuel Keys, dean of the school of education at Kan- sas State University. In January, she married Andrew Jacobs, a Democrat from Indiana. Never before had there been a marriage between members of Congress. But if her marriage was the first of its kind, her getting a divorce certainly wasn't unique, especially in Kansas political circles. Sen. Robert Dole, this year's GOP candidate for vice-president, obtained a divorce recently. Kansas Gov. Robert Bennett is divorced, as is Attorney General Curt Schneider. Still, the issue of divorce is sensitive in this conservative state, and the double standard dies hard when the candidate is a woman. Neither history nor public opinion were on Keys, side in the final weeks of the race. Though her district includes parts of Kansas City and Topeka, the gener- ally more Republican small towns and farming areas were also well represented. Only one other Kansas wo- man had served in Congress before Keys, and that was in 1932. To oppose a man in any congressional race was thus bound to arouse some controversy; to be divorced and remarried to an out-of-state resident provided a major obstacle to success. Two weeks before the election a Wichita television station poll had shown Freeman5s lead to be increasing from 54-35 to 56-33. Meanwhile Keys continued camn'aigning despite an often distinctly cool response: many of her constitu- ents could not even pin down the vague feeling of un- easiness that Keys' marriage brought to the fore. Said "'As far as I'm concerned, a wo- man's home is with her husband. And for Martha Keys that means In- diana-so what's she doing here?"' Topeka housewife Elva Baker, when asked if she re- sented Keys for her divorce and remarriage, "You bet I do I won't vote for her this year. I can't tell you why, that's just how I feel." Out on the campaign trail in the small farming town of Auburn, Keys dropped by a women's softball game hoping to garner a few supporters. As she moved down the batting lineup, the players shook her hand but offered few smiles or expressions of support. "As far as I'm concerned, a woman's home is with her hus- band," grumbled a young infielder. "And for Martha keys that means Indiana - so what's she doing here?" Rep. Keys' personal life was an issue, Freeman maintained, "because it raised the question of her loy- alty to Kansas." However, he denied that the charge had any sexist foundations. "It's not a question ad- dressed to a woman, it's a question addressed to an individual who is a candidate for public office." "The days of thinking a wife is a carbon coy of her husband are over," Keys responded. "It's no crime to be married to someone from Indiana, but don't let anyone ever tell you I'm not a Kansan. I don't think people hold it against me that I'm happily married." TN A LARGE SENSE, the debate. about divorce, and subsequent charges and counter-claims about campaign financing'that> grew from that brouhaha, ob- scured the very deep philosophical difference that di- vided the candidates. Freeman presented himself as a candidate interested in arresting the growth of the federal government. He opposed increased sending for social services, and favored an end to government regulation of business. He also backed a strong national defense. Keys, although she dislikes the term, probably for political reasons, fits the mold of a Democratic liberal. She favors such measures as ending tax loopholes for the wealthy and for corporations, and reducing unem- ployment through public works jobs bills. However, in appearances throughout the state Keys was forced time and again to put those issues aside in order to defend her marriage. Even before friendly audiences, such as a Kansas chapter of the National Education Association, which endorsed her, she felt compelled to lead off with a defense of her marriage. "I don't think people hold it against me that I'm hannily married," she repeated. But before this aroun she paused slightly before saving Collins By PAULINE LUBENS WHILE THE LAST seats in the concert hall empty out and the lobby slowly fills with smoke and post-performance commen- tary, Judy Collins - the woman who sold out every seat in Hill Auditorium - sits poring over a note written to her by a fan. The singer's auburn hair shines in the dressing room light. Tucking the fan mail away, she extends an arm to welcome her backstage visitors. A warm smile lights up her famous blue eyes, and Collins whispers a greeting. Her former reserve crops up oc- cassionally as she converses with the small group of strangers. But a new self-assurance coupled with . a steady level of energy somehow overshadows that. "I'm having a good time for the first time in years," she says, tucking one leg under the other and reaching for her glass of white wine. "I think there's a level of en- ergy operating now in me and it has a lot to do with getting away from the guitar. The guitar for me was a crutch more than any- thing else. I'm' certainly no guit- arist and this has been a freeing experience. It allows me to focus more on the fact that I really am a singer . all of the material I use is meant to highlight that." The slinky purple gown she wore during her performance has Ibeen exchanged for a pair of black velour slacks and a bright 1 striped turtle neck. In her hand the microphone of a small tape recorder, which she has consented to hold for a local disc jockey, takes the place of the stage mike she was gripping moments ago. And instead 'of singing "Bread and Roses," Collins is now speak- ing of her political activism. Along with performers like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, Collins was once part of the New York urban folk set which played an active, Pauline Lubens is a staff writer and chief, photographer for The Daily. new( role in the anti-war and civil rights movements. That was 10 years ago. Her activism has faded as of late but not because of a dying commitment. She says she's going through a process of ma- turation, trying to fit the loose ends together in an effort to cre- ate an integrated lifestyle - po- litically, musically and personal- ly. "My lifestyle involves my music. I must be consciously or subcon- sciously looking for things that reflect the way I feel. Even the sense of humor in Randy New- man's music I think is essential. One must have that kind of dippy energy sense of how absurd this whole situation is in the world." "I don't feel drawn to the kinds of things that I would have done very easily and freely in the six- ties," she says. "Part of my prob- lem was never being able to say no, because every cause was a good cause and anything involv- ing human rights or the process of seeing justice done was appeal- ing. Now I find there are so many things I could be doing that I have to carefully think of what it is I want to do, and pick and choose." See COLLINS, Page 7 r, Photo by STEVE MAGNER Martha Keys shakes hands with a patient while campaigning at the VA hospital in Lea- venworth, Kansas. with him. When school opened, he only took his daugh- ters along on the weekends, but he made a point of announcing that he wanted to leave early at evening appearances so he could drive home and see my wife before the end of the day." When he campaigned with his family, the stolid look of comfortable domesticity that envelops the six of them created an impression of stability, one Free- man played upon heavily. In fact, he was the antithesis of a glamour candi- date. Short and stocky, he has a thick waist, and a head that seems oversized for his short frame. The size of his head is accentuated by the fact that he's balding, which exposes large expanses of pale skin in stark contrast to the dark blue suit he usually cam- paigned in. Wearing the suit, along with black shoes, a striped tie and whiteshirt, Freeman looks every inch the corporation lawyer he is. But when Ross Free- man speaks, the appearance of smoothness and suavity is quickly dispelled. Kansas distrust overt displays of sophistication, and when Freeman rocks on the balls of his feet and stumbles as he answers questions me- chanically, audiences can emphathize with him per- fectly. In a crazy way, his image as wooden as a high school debater worked for him. By the same token, Keys' poise and elegance did not work well with the voters. She has a reputation for aloofness, but she is attractive and articulate. It's easier to see hr as more worldly, and her staff con- tributed to that effect; they look alien to Kansas. Her administrative assistant, Jim Buchele, favors oxford clolh shirts and red ties. He looks more like an attorney who practices in New York than Topeka. Advance man Bill Marston is a Kansas native who has adopted east- ern ways. His hair falls in a shag over his collar. He sports a blue velour sports coat, and instead of tradi- tional grey double knit slacks he wears peach cor- duroys and a colorfully striped shirt. Dovetailing with his strategy of attacking Keys' marital status was Freeman's claim that Keys is a Daily Photo by PAULINE LUBENS' tool of union bosses, whose vote is controlled by inter- ests from outside the state. His strategy of calling at- tention to her finances proved a blunder, however; he made a foolish mistake once when he spoke before checking a fact, and the attack opened the door to an investigation of his own financial support. Early in the campaign Freeman noted Keys had received contributions from the International Ladies Garment Union. Freeman offered to buy a steak dinner for any member of the union who lived in the district, implying that none did. He should have done his home- work first. To his chagrin, he discovered 200 members work in the small community of Holton, located about 100 miles west of Kansas City, and he ended up provid- ing an expensive meal-for all of them. FOR AMMUNITION IN her campaign, Keys tried to promote the idea that Freeman was a servant of corporations and powerful lobbies. Her main campaign poster, prepared by a Denver advertising firm, was a masterpiece of insinuation. It showed a man sitting in a vested pinstripe suit with a pocket watch and a cigar in his hand. Obscuring his face was a dense cloud of smoke. The caption read, "Why does big money want to defeat Martha Keys this November?" Later in the race, Keys also emphasized the fact that Freeman had served for the past six years as a registered lobbyist for Kansas insurance companies. The Keys' claim that she was waging a. campaign against superior financial strength was supported by the most recent reports filed with the Federal Elec- tion Commission. Freeman outspent Keys by 80 per cent overall. Among Freeman's contributors were Adolph Coors, the reactionary brewing magnate; the Committee for the Survival of a Free Congress; the American Bankers Association; the American Medical Association;. and the Republican National Committee. The divorce issue drew national attpntion to the race. Keys staffers were quick to remind reporters from Washington and New York that Freeman has been named in two complaints before the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging improper campaign financ- ing. A complaint filed by the consumer group Common Cause lists Freeman as one of 21 candidates nationally who have accepted excessive contributions from the American Medical Association. , The charge against Freeman is that he accepted $5,000 from the national organization and $3,000 from the Kansas branch, con- tradicting a May FEC ruling which prohibits lobby groups from forming dummy committees for the pur- pose of making separate contributions. Subsequently he put the $3,000 in escrow. A separate FEC complaint alleged that Freeman participated in an advertising package offered by a newspaper in which candidates purchase advertising space in return for a story and a picture about their race. By FEC mandate, such copy must be labelled paid political advertising, and the complaint charges that the newspaper ran the story without the disclaimer. Asked for he record if she wasn't engaging in an equally personal campaign with her poster and her staff's suggestions on leads to follow about Freeman's finances, Keys blithely repliedi "We're just getting the true story out." In private, ho ever, she alternated be- tween bitterness and resignation, complaining that Freeman's tactics smacked of demagoguery, and claim- ing they were "abusive of the electorate." On another level, she sometimes griped that she has been "target- ed for defeat." 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