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OPINION

Page 4

Saturday, October 30, 1982
.

The MichiganI

Daily

Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan


I

Vol. XCIll, No. 45

420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board


Riegle for U.S.
INCUMBENT Democrat Donald during his1
Riegle is the progressive candidate restoring
in the U.S. Senate race. He's for students a
preserving the environment, passing wants to sp
an equal rights amendment, and more onp
promoting a nuclear freeze. supports a
Wait a minute. Republican president's
challenger Philip Ruppe seems to be Riegler
the progressive candidate, too. He when he v
agrees with Riegle on all of these But his
issues. On several points, in fact, he pragmatic
out-Riegles Riegle. finding an
But .although he's mastered a Ruppe's v
moderate tone on several popular doubtedlyN
issues of the day, Ruppe, in many Ruppe a
ways, in just another Reagan man. For questionab
all his concern on social issues, Ruppe tried to ma
still supports the cause of many of he really is
America's current troubles-the preting qua
Reagan economic plan. He's come out But Rup
in favor of two disastrous con- self seem
stitutional amendments on balancing Riegle des
the budget and banning abortions. Senate. Un
Riegle, however, has shown a deep ideas ext
commitment to social programs veneer.

Senate

.o a oo o. eN N ora
_________

I .

tenure as a senator. He's put
federal financial support for
t the top of his priorities. He
pend less on the military and
people. Most important, he
n immediate reversal of the
s economic strategy.
strayed from these goals
oted for the Reagan budget.
vote was a reluctant,
one, made in desperation of
other workable budget plan.
vote for Reaganomics un-
would come much easier.
also has indulged in some
ble campaign tactics. He has
ake Riegle seem worse than
s by distorting and misinter-
otes on his opponent.
pe has failed to make him-
better than he really is.
serves your vote for U.S.
nlike Ruppe, his progressive
end solidly beneath the

THE 1982 DeLOREAN LINE

.uE

Copyright 1982, The Michigan Doily

a

A hometown disappointment'

Blanchard for governor

IT'S A PITY that James Blanchard
doesn't have some real competition'
in his race for governor. The state's
voters would be better off if he did.
Not that Blanchard's ideas are bad
or that he isn't qualified for the job-
we think he's clearly the best choice
for the governor's mansion. It's just
that his ideas are so intriguing that
they merit a great deal of public
discussion. They deserve to be
scrutinized and evaluated and refined
in a lively public campaign.
That, obviously, has not happened.
Instead, the voters have been treated
to the peculiar diatribes of Richard
Headlee, the Republican candidate for
governor, and Blanchard (not un-
wisely) has let his opponent bury him-
self.
And Headlee, rather obediently, has
done just that. He has shown time and
time again that he simply is not
qualified to be governor of the state.
Headlee keeps repeating his dictims
that the state should be run as a
;business. His quest for greater ef-
ficiencyhin government is admirable,
though hardly unique. But this desire
dto turn the state into a-sort of IBM writ
large is downright scary. He appears,

in fact, rather at ease with all the evils
which seem inherent in business
management. Businesses don't worry
about starving people; neither, it
seems, will Richard Headlee.
Businesses typically don't pay atten-
tion to their long-range effect on
society; Headlee, similarly, seems
content to reduce the state's commit-
ment to higher education.
We have questions about Blanchard
as well. We wonder whether he will be
able-or even intends-to implement
all of the programs that he has
proposed. That's why a thorough-
going public discussion of his ideas in
the campaign would have been useful.
Unfortunately, Blanchard the can-
didate has managed to isolate himself
from any. such substantial questions
since the campaign began.
Still Blanchard is the best choice. His
record in Congress-yes, on Chrysler,
too-is impressive, and his devotion to
progressive legislation seems sincere.
Blanchard, further, has a chance to
become what Headlee could not: a
governor ofall the people, not a gover-
nor of white homeowners from the
suburbs.

By Kevin Tottis
I wish I could say voting for governor would
be a tough decision. I wish I could boast that it
took me hours of deliberation and, after
carefully weighing each of the candidates'
numerous strengths, I reached a decision.
But I can't. Since neither candidate has
numerous strengths, the choice was an easy
one-it was easy for me to pick the least wor-
st.
Richard Headlee's simple-minded,
ideological appraoch to the complex job of
running the state of Michigan has made it
clear he has no business sitting in the gover-
nor's chair.
Headlee's simple approaches to running the
state seem to go little beyond his campaign
rhetoric. He advocatesrunning the state like
a business with Michigan's citizens being the
stockholders. Evidently, the Farmington
Hills businessman doesn't recognize that
Michigan-and any other state-is not a
business. It's responsibility to provide ser-
vices to its citizens goes far beyond those
General Motors has for its shareholders.
Even before he made his foolish comment
on the Equal Rights Amendment advocating
lesbian and homosexual marriages, Headlee
showed a fundamental shortsightedness
toward women's issues. "I'm not anti-
woman," Headlee boasts,sproudly pointing to
the fact that he has several women in
prominent positions in his company. The in-
surance executive doesn't see that not every
person has the divine privilege to work for
Dick Headlee and therefore needs protection
from other less scrupulous employers.

Finally, Headlee has shown a complete un-
willingness to compromise. He has self-
righteously polarized the city of Detroit,
alienating not only the Young administration,
but all urban dwellers. As governor, it's doub-
tful the undiplomatic man would ever con-
sider the bi-partisan coalitions that have been
the hallmark of the Milliken administration.
And so, unfortunately, that leaves only one
other viable choice for governor-James
Blanchard.
When Blanchard first announced he was
running for governor I was thrilled. After all,
Blanchard lives in my neighborhood and, like
me, graduated from Ferndale High School.
Wouldn't it be great to have a "local boy" as
governor?
I'm beginning to think not. Since he began
his campaign most of what we know about
Blanchard is that he's running for governor.
Sure, we've been told hundreds of times
how this perky U.S. representative helped
bail out Chrysler. And he's sort of put
together a loosely-articulated jobs program.
Other than that we know very little of what
Rep. Blanchard will do as Gov. Blanchard.
And I'm sure that's the way he has wanted
to keep it. Since he's had a hefty lead in the
polls throughout the whole campaign, he
hasn'tbeen about to go out on a limb to let us
know what he really thinks. In his comfor-
table position, he had no reason to extend
himself.
In September, for example, the Daily asked
Headlee and Blanchard to speak with mem-
bers of the Opinion Page staff. Headlee was
here the first week of classes. The Daily is
still waiting for Blanchard.

About a week ago, the Daily got a call from
Blanchard's press office saying his press
availability was closed until the end of the
campaign. I wasn't surprised. Reporters at
other college papers across the state say
Blanchard has been equally uncooperative
with them.
I picked up a motorist club's magazine last
week that had a question and answer section
with Blanchard and Headlee. -Headlee had
responded in person; Blanchard's office gave
his response.
Suddenly,sit started to make sense to me
when I thought back on neighbors who talked
about Rep. Blanchard's reluctance, or
refusal, to address constituents' requests.
While he is happy to meet with United Auto
Workers President Douglas Fraser, it is
doubtful Blanchard would take the time to
respond to a UAW member who wanted in-
formation on where to get health care.
Clearly, Blanchard is one professional
politician who's only out for the big show.
Why bother to speak with the campus&
newspaperat the state's second largest
university-or any other student newspaper-
when you're safely ahead in the polls? Why
answer in person the questions of Michigan's
largest motorist club publications?
It's much easier for Blanchard to sit back
and play it safe.
Still, that Ferndale High graduate is the
best choice we've got for governor right now.
Ferndale High deserves better.
Michigan deserves better.

Tottis is a Daily staff writer.


LETTERS TO THE DAILY:

Daily showed priorities in Pilot article


To the Daily:
For its article,'"Pilot Program
Begins 20th Year Celebration"
(Daily, Oct. 29),. editors of the
Daily assigned a novice reporter
who had never before written an
article for a college newspaper.
It shows.
Pilot Program enrollment is at
its highest level since 1974 (ap-
proximately 500 students) and
has jumped 47 percent in the last
three years, yet the Daily ar-
ticle states that "students find
having classes ... in the dorm a
drawback."
Enrollment of black students in
Pilot Program is now 13 percent,
a percentage many times higher
than the University has ever

achieved, yet the Daily article
does not once refer to Black
students in its article.
The Pilot Program is one of the
most successful and long-lasting
academic/residential programs
in the country. It has "piloted"
the Residential Colelge, honors
housing, residence hall libraries,
academic counseling programs
in residence halls, thematic
English 125 courses, minority
courses, and courses on human
sexuality. It is one of the very
few, if not the only, academic
programs on campus entirely
devoted to freshman/sophomore
education. It is the only place on
campus where freshmen and
sophomores have an opportunity

to live together with their
teachers. It is a program in
which questioning of values,.
development of self and com-
munity, and concern for issues of
social justice are encouraged.
The editors of The Michigan
Daily, by their choice for this ar-
ticle of a reporter who had never
written a story, demonstrated

that for them the quality of life
and education of freshmen and
sophomores at the University of
Michigan is a low priority.
Fortunately, the Pilot Program
has had those undergraduates as
its number one priority for 20
years.
-David Schoem
Director, Pilot Program
October 29

Daily going libertarian?

'Stupid things called laws'

Ir i liki

To the Daily:
What is happening to the
world? Is this the same Michigan
Daily that I read last year?
Where were you hiding Mark
Gindin, Charles Thomson, and
Dan Aronoff? Free-market
viewpoints in the Daily? Unheard
of !
In any case, it is heartening to
see the Daily realize that the
liberal-conservative spectrum is
falling apart and that we must
look beyond it. The question to
ask is not where the state should
be spending money (welfare vs.
warfare), but should the state be
spending money in the first
place?
Aside from the moral con-
siderations of taxation to pay for
them, the pragmatic aspects of
state programs are auestionable.

programs really help the poor?
Does military research benefit
anyone outside of the military-
industrial-education complex?
Or, do anti-drug laws do anything
besides costing tax dollars and
providing jobs for non-productive
bureaucrats and providing
another vehicle for state
harrassment? And, is the draft
really necessary and within the
moral scope of the state?
For those of us who deny the
state's right to interfere in the
lives of individuals in either the
economic or social/moral sphere,
the answer to all of the above is
an emphatic NO! It is also a sign
of hope to me that a remnant of
the decaying liberal establish-
ment (the Daily) is asking such
questions.

To the Daily:
I couldn't agree with you more
on your editorial about Mayor
Belcher ("Belcher: What a
dope," Daily, Oct. 22). He must
be crazy trying to push the
marijuana penalty reform. Just
because pot is illegal doesn't
mean that we don't have the right
4n -mn,- it (l--.n._1. i e.-

children, wants it to be incon-
venient to get pot. And what's
wrong with children smoking pot
anyway? All the recent reports
have shown that not only does
regular smoking make you more
healthy, it also improves your
mind and your sex life.
Students shouldn't stop at
trying to make smoking pot more
mnnv ni Wa han.la ln ., l

-Steve Horwitz,

JN -i7 I t A, A -7 al I-=I IWA I


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