'4
- liberals' fate
'a short-run disaster'
Turncoat
Pa.Senate swings toGOP
as Democrat switches
A
By JIM DAVIS
Two weeks after Ronald Reagan's
landslide presidential victory, three
University political science professors
pondered. the fate of liberals in
America.
"Liberals have fallen on hard times
and it will last for awhile," Prof. John
Kingdon told an audience last night at a
panel discussion sponsored by
Americans for Democratic Action.
"It's kind of a short run disaster for
liberals."
Kingdon, Prof. J. David Singer, and
Prof. Gregory Markus spoke at the first
ADA meeting held in Washtenaw Coun-
ty in six years. ADA, the largest liberal
political organization in America, was
established by Hubert Humphrey in
1947.
IN THE November 4 election, many
of the traditional Democratic
strongholdstturned to the Republicans.
"The usual coalitions that have suppor-
ted the Democrats since the Great
Depression abandoned the party," said
Markus. "Either these people didn't
vote at all, or they voted for Reagan."
While addressing the small group of
ADA members and interested persons,
Singer referred to America as an
"ultra-right society."
He said the Reagan victory was not
surprising, and that "the Carter group
couldn't have done a better job laying
the groundwork for a Reagan victory."
MARKUS attributed the GOP victory
to a general dislike of Jimmy Carter.
"There was no, ideological swing
toward conservatism," he said. "In
fact, in respect to social issues, at-
titudes have steadily been growing
more liberal."
Kingdon, who teaches a course on the
American legislative process, said that
Reagan appears more skillful in
dealing with Congress than Carter.
"But you can expect a lot of tension
between the Reagan administration
and social service bureaucrats," he
said.
Each of the three political scientists
said they didn't believe Reagan's vic-
tory would have any drastic effects on
America.I
"I'm not sure what Reagan can get
passed," Kingdon said. "A president
has a lot of effect on the agenda. A
whole liberal agenda will be put on the
shelf for four years."
SINGER, on the other hand, said the
Reagan administration "won't be a hell
of a lot worse than the last 25 years.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - T.
Milton Street, elected to the state
Senate two weeks ago as a
Democrat, announced yesterday he
was becoming a Republican
"because that's where the power
is." His jump guarantees the GOP
total control of the 1981 Pen-
nsylvania Legislature.
"The fact is the Republicans con-
trol the government of Pennsylvania
and we might as well work with it,"
said the 39-year-old Street, a former
sidewalk hoagie vendor, as he stood
sandwiched at a news conference
between a beaming Republican Gov.
Dick Thornburgh and Senate GOP
Leader Henry Hager.
"I WILL change my registration
because the Democrats have been
insensitive to the needs of the blacks
and the poor," said Street, a black
activist who made a career of con-
frontation politics which included
breaking into abandoned homes and
turning them over to poor families.
Hager said he would appoint
Street chairman of a new Committee
on Community and Economic
Development which "gives him a
major role regarding the im-
provement of minority oppor-
tunities."
Street represents a predominantly
black Philadelphia' district where
Democrats have a 10-1 registration
edge, and where his brother, John, is
the Democratic city councilman.
"NOW WE'LL HAVE somebody in
both camps," Street said, grinning.
Street broke into the political
arena when he organized street ven-
dors and finally won City Hall ap-
proval to stay in business downtown.
From there he moved into
housing, dramatizing the plight of
the poor in rat-nfested homes while
there were hundreds of usable
though abandoned properties.
STREET, WHO admits he's hot-
headed, emotional and often comes
across as "unruly and irrational," is
completing two years as a state
representative during which he
skipped almost half of the sessions
because he claimed his office was a
firetrap.
14
a
President-elect visits legislators
4
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(Continued from Page l)
Republican Howard Baker, who will
become Senate majority leader in
January, and Democrat Robert Byrd,
the current leader, agreed that a tax
cut should be one of the first pieces of
business for the new Congress.
"We aren't going to accomplish
anything unless we cooperate with th
House and the Senate," Reagan said
following amicable meetings with
every major figure in both Houses of
Congress.
AFTERWARDS, House Speaker
Thomas O'Neill (D-Mass.), said he
promised Reagan that he would
withhold criticism of the new president
for six months "so we can turn the
economy around and make the country
work."
Byrd, (D-W. Va.), said no specific
legislative proposals were discussed
during his meeting with the president-
elect, but he added that it was
"thoughtful" of Reagan to seek
meetings with congressional leaders of
both parties so soon after his election.
Governors
hopefor
more say
PHILADELPHIA (UPI) - The
nation's Republican governors yester-
day urged Ronald Reagan and the 97th
Congress to take full advantage of the
traditional 200-day presidentia
"honeymoon" period that starts in
January.
The governors offered their am-
bitious agenda - with specific recoi-
mendations for the beginning of
Reagan's presidency - in a resolution
adopted unanimously at the closing
session of their three-day winter
meeting.
THE RESOLUTION pledges the state
executives to "encourage immediate
action in the first 200 days of; th
Reagan administration and the next
session of Congress, to begin to return
decision-making to state and local
levels.
Although the governors were in-
sistent during all the sessions that
federal spending must be cut and
greater roles given local government,
they called on Reagan- and the new
Congress to continue federal revenue
sharing.
A- notu
PRESIDENT-ELECT Ronald Reagan meets with House Speaker Tip O'Neill yesterday in an effort to strengthen his
relationship with Congress.I
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