Page Four

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Saturday, July 31, 1976

The Daily endorses. .

US. Senate

Democrat Don Riegle

Republican Marvin Esch

IJONALD R1ElGE is the Daily's choice
in the race to win the Democratic
nomination for the U.S. Senate.
Who can fill the shoes of the retiring
Philip Hart, a statesman of unrivaled
decency, compassion, and wisdom, a
man who has been called "the con-
science of the Senate?" That is the ques-
tion we asked ourselves, and choosing
Riegle's name in response was a tough
decision.
Two other candidates - Congressman
James O'Hara and Michigan Secretary
of State Richard Austin - possess im-
pressive credentials for the office. They
have records of achievements and pro-
gressivism, and appear well-versed on
the issues.
Riegle was chosen for his vigor, for
the fact that at 38 he could serve Mich-
igan in the Senate for twenty to thirty
years, and for his incisive understand-
ing of national, state, and local issues.
As a progressive, he can cite few posi-
tions more liberal than Austin's and
O'Hara's.
Riegle was once a Republican. le
switched parties in 1973 after several
years of opposition to Richard Nixon and
the Vietnam War. To fight the Republi-
can establishment as he did, and then to
renounce his party after being reelected

MARVIN ESCH is the best candidate,
we believe, in the Republican race
for the U.S. Senate nomination.
The Daily has chosen to endorse Esch
in this race not because we find him an
excellent potential senator, nor because
we have a tradition of supporting the
Ann Arbor congressman. Indeed, we
have opposed him consistently in, the
past. We back him in this race because
he is opposed by three candidates - ul-
tra-conservative former Congressman
Robert Huber, University Regent Deane
Baker, and former state Supreme Court
Chief Justice Thomas Brennan - w h o
register firmly on the side of hard-line
Herbert Hoover Republicanism, who
would all but ignore the social concerns
of the poor and sick, and given only
varying degrees of luke-warm support to
women and minorities.
Esch is more liberal. He has support-
ed the recent public works bill in Con-
gress, and has initiated legislation that
would provide manpower training plans
for the unemployed. His position on fore-
ign affairs is more open than those of
Huber and Baker; he is generaly per-
ceived as a Milliken-Griffin type - Re-
publican by name but more progresive

Riegle
three times, marks a streak of courage
in Riegle which seems to be rare in the
politicians of this or any other day,
O'Hara is an obviously gifted legislat-
or - he has passed sixteen bills in eigh-
teen years - but he lacks Riegle's vi-
tality. Austin demonstrates an under-
standing of the issues but glosses them
over with old-style "we-need-to-work-
hard-on-that" rhetoric. Also, he is 64,
the age at which Hart stepped aside.
Riegle will fight for Michigan, and he
will be his own man.

Esch
than the Ford and Reagan wings of the
party, to which Esch's oponents belong.
Huber is a die-hard conservative who
advocates the world's mightiest military
and absolute non-interference by govern-
ment in the free enterprise system. Bak-
er is not far from those positions. Bren-
nan, while more liberal in international
affairs, is close to the same on the
economy.
If you intend to vote in the Republican
race, Esch is the least of four evils.

House of Representatives

Democrat Edward Pierce

Republican Carl Pursell

F DWARD PIERCE receives our en-
thusiastic endorsement in his race
against four opponents for the Demo-
cratic nomination for the Second Con-
gressional District seat being vacated by
Republican Marvin Esch.
Pierce has for years been a symbol
of compassionate concern for the most
pressing needs of the local community,
and exhibits the courage of his convic-
tions and an informed understanding of

the issues as well. He sacrificed a lucra-
tive Ann Arbor medical practice in 1968
to found the Summit Medical Center, a
facility which now provides low-cost
quality health care, particularly to the
indigent.
A former City Councilman, Pierce-was
defeated for the Democratic Congres-
sional nomination two years ago by
John Reuther, who lost to Esch in the
November election. The primary loss to
Reuther was by a razor-thin 81 votes,-
and with Esch now crusading for his
party's Senate nomination, the w a y
appears clear for Pierce.
His major opposition is in Marvin
Stempien, a former state represenative
from Livonia. Stempien, who was defeat-
ed by Esch in the 1972 race, might be
our candidate in any year which lacked
Ed Pierce's candidacy. But the Ann
Arbor physician has proven consistent-
ly that his heart and mind lie in the
fight to end the District's most urgent
problems.
Pierce can provide a sense of decency,
competence, and wisdom sorely needed
in Washington. He deserves and will
surely make the best of a chance in
Congress.

fARL PURSELL, we believe, is the
most qualified Republican to run
for the soon-to-be-vacant Second C o n-
gressional Seat.
While we disagree with a number of
points in State Senator Pursell's record,
while we are somewhat alienated by his
claim to be a legislator "in the Esch
mold," and while we do not find him to

be half the candidate that Ed Pierce is,
we support him as an alternative to the
Republican candidacy of Ann Arbor City
Councilman Ronald Trowbridge. Pursell
has shown that he is fairly progessive for
a member of his party, and in the inter-
ests of having the best nominees of both
parties, we support him over the con-
servative Trowbridge.
As a member of the State Senate for
six Years, Pursell has proved himself an
effective legislator who has initiated laws
to promote environmental protection,
budget reform and go v e r n m e n t
efficiency. His R e s ou r c e Re-
covery Act has been called one of the
nation's best environment bills.
Trowbridge, a professor at Eastern
Michigan University, has called himself
the country's "third most articulate con-
servative" behind William and J a m e s
Buckley. His stands on Council consist-
ently reflect a lack of consideration for
the most pressing needs of the com-
munity, and his arrogance makes him
difficult to imagine as an effective legis-
lator.
Pursell is the more deserving Repub-
lican. The District needs Ed Pierce
more, but it could live with Pursell.

Pursell