Page 4-The Michigan Daily- Monday, October 26, 1992
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420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
764-0552
Editor in Chief
MATTHEW D. RENNIE
Opinion Editors
YAEL CITRO
GEOFFREY EARLE
AMITAVA MAZUMDAR
Edited and Managed
by Students at the
University of Michigan
Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board.
All other cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily.
Tanter, others bolt Reagan coalition
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Like rats fleeing a sinking ship, several ele
ments of the Reagan coalition are abandoning
the Bush campaign. The latest is University Politi-
cal Science Professor RaymondTanter, who formed
the Michigan chapter of Republicans for Clinton.
Tanter may be genuinely disenchanted with Bush,
he may be vying for a job with the Clinton admin-
istration, or perhaps a bit of both.
But more importantly, Tanter's
defection suggests once more that
the fraying Republican coalition
of Ronald Reagan was not a new
American electoral majority, but
a political blip centered primarily
on the personal charisma of one
man.
Reagan's great strength was
his ability to bring together vastly
different constituencies who have
very few common interests. The
primary beneficiaries of Reagan's x
presidency were the very rich, who
prospered immensely during the . k
1980s. They, along with conser-
vative ideologues, form the heart
of the Republican base. Other
groups - working class whites,f
suburban independents, Reagan Tante r
Democrats, and neoconservatives
- tagged along while the economy was strong.
Their support for the Republicans was based on
perceived economic self-interest, not ideological
agreement.
Two developments since Bush's election have
blown apart this coalition. First, the recession
demonstrated to many Americans that the massive
deficit spending of the 1980s merely obscured the
nation's economic decline. Second, the Republi-
can convention revealed that the far right has
completely taken control of the Republican party's
social agenda.
As a result of these developments, most Reagan
Democrats and suburban independents have indi-
cated support for Clinton, while Ross Perot attracts
mainly white working class support. Clinton has
also attracted neoconservatives - disproportion-
ately female and minority intellectuals who are
liberal or moderate on social is-
sues and supported Reagan as a
reaction to Carter's failed eco-
nomic policies. Raymond Tanter
would fall broadly into this cat-
egory.
Clinton has built a seemingly
insurmountable lead in the polls
by expanding beyondhiscorebase
of liberal Democrats. Bush, on
the other hand, is unable to attract
more than a third of the electorate
- die-hard conservatives. Some
z within the Republican party have
concluded that the Bush campaign
has failed because of the reces-
sion or his failure to attack Clinton
strongly enough. Hopefully, the
Republican party will draw the
correct lesson from Bush's fail-
ure: Clinton is winning because
he practices the politics of inclu-
sion, and Bush is losing because he has allowed his
party to be dominated by the politics of exclusion.
Before 1980, when the religious right first gained
significant influence over the Republican party,
moderate Republicans were a common and often
progressive political force. Today, the term is virtu-
ally an oxymoron. Reagan and Bush have been
utter failures, and the nation needs serious change
in a more liberal direction. Apparently, Raymond
Tanter and other former Reaganites have finally
realized this, twelve years too late.
Campus must open its eyes to rape
A staggering 14 rapes have been reported to the
Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness
Center (SAPAC) this semester. Thelatest incident,
an alleged acquaintance rape of a University stu-
dent, occurred on October 1 and will go to court
next month. This is a grim ironic backdrop to
Sexual Assault Awareness Week, which begins
today. With misconceptions about the root causes
and definition of rape abound, educational pro-
grams - like those offered during Awareness
Week - will further help the cause of prevention.
Students are strongly encouraged to attend the
workshops beginning Oct. 25, which range in
focus from "Sexual Assault: The Greek Perspec-
tive" to "Friends Helping Friends: AWorkshop for
Friends and Family of Survivors." The idea behind
these workshops is that by talking about sexual
assault, people will become more aware of what
constitutes assault. This should help lift some of
the stigma of reporting rape. The solution to stop-
ping rapes on campus is perplexing. SAPAC's
educational program is a good start.
In addition to educating students about sexual
assault, SAPAC offers counseling. It provides
one-on-one counseling and support groups as well
as assistance in dealing with the justice system.
The center serves as a first step for students who do
not feel comfortable approaching the police.
That there have already been 14 assaults re-
ported this year should be shocking to most stu-
dents. But it is common knowledge that most
assaults are not even reported.
Moreover, of those few who report a rape, even
fewer ever charge the offender. Many victims are
reluctant to prosecute, because this almost always
involves answering explicit questions about their
own sexual history and offering graphic descrip-
tions of their assault. Far too often, it is the rape
victim who is put on trial. Considering these truths,
it is obvious that SAPAC's figures are only the tip
of the iceberg.
Right now, prison is the strongest deterrent to
potential rapists. And only through the legal system
will convicted rapists reach this end. But few
women wish to suffer through the laborious trial
process, and for this reason, the most recent victim
on campus has been especially brave.
But even if more women follow her lead, and
juries convict greater numbers of rapists, the prob-
lem of sexual assault is not likely to disappear. We
suspect that this is because even on this campus,
many people have become immune to this crime.
Even while assault figures have gone through
the roof, there has been only a ripple of attention.
That sort of apathy may indicate that many people
do not even understand what constitutes rape.
Sexual Assault Awareness Week is at least an
effective way to tackle this problem.
Get the name right
To the Daily:
Oh, come on! I know Adm.
James Stockdale is basically a
nobody, and probably has no
viable chance to win this Novem-
ber, but the least you could do
would be to get his name ctrrect
- especially in a front-page
photo caption (AP photo, 10/14/
92). Try putting a little more
effort into your editing process,
and show a little respect for a man
who at least is willing to be seen
on the same stage as Dan Quayle
and Al Gore!
Howard Scully
Business School senior
What goes at Yost,
goes at Joe Louis
To the Daily:
Bravo! The Michigan hockey
preview (10/12/92) was informa-
tive and entertaining. I especially
enjoyed the article about crowd
etiquette ("How to make Yost an
impolite host," 10/12/92). It
should not be surprising to find
out that our great state is home to
the most enthusiastic hockey fans
in the nation. How many other
states can claim five different
colleges from their state have won
national championships in the
same sport?
I would like to make one
addendum to the items on Yost's
hosts. Not too many years ago
that other school from East
Lansing was beating everybody
and even won the national
championship. To make matters
worse they were also winning the
Great Lakes Invitational. Michi-
gan State fans not only subjected
us, but also Michigan Tech fans,
to undue harassment by bringing
along their band, Spartan Brass
(Couldn't they get a football team
to take them to a bowl game like a
normal school). Eventually Joe
Louis Arena became to be known
by them as Munn Arena East.
Now that the planets are back in
alignment, State fans are forced to
come to the early game on
championship night. My point is
this, "What goes at Yost, goes at
the Joe!"
John Simons
School of Natural Resources
sophomore
Al, individual appeal
To the Daily:
We would like to thank Adam
Anger and the Daily for covering
our recent Columbus Day event
in the Fishbowl ("Amnesty holds
petition drive for rights of
indigenous people," 10/12/92).
However, the author twice
made statements to the effect that
Amnesty International hoped to
convince the U.S. government
and its officials to pressure Latin
American authorities to correct
humannrights abuses. This is
incorrect. The petitions and
letters we write go to the officials
in the countries where the human
rights violations occur, and to
their ambassadors in this country,
not to our own officials. By and
large, we work on a case by case
basis, which is why each figure in
the Fishbowl represented an
individual whose rights have
been violated. Occasinally, we
gain the support .national or
Hoover was no Eisenhower
To the Daily:
Kudos to the Daily for its
editorial "Bush is more Nixon,
less Truman," (10/20/92). Let me
add that President Truman is
rolling over in his grave about
how cynical Republicans have
used his name and political
philosophy.
Truman, as a-strong Demo-
cratic liberal, stood for civil
rights, fair housing, equitable tax
policy and extending college
education to millions of Ameri-
cans - all with a philosophy
directly opposite to that of
George Bush and his allies.
Republicans in Truman's day
lambasted that president's ethics,
character, honesty and loyalty.
Richard Nixon called him a
"traitor."
Today, George Bush, with
political and philosophical ties to
Nixon (who appointed him
chairman of the Republican
National Committee in the early
1970s) compares himself to
Truman. As a young man, Bush
was a strong supporter of
Truman's opponent, Thomas
Dewey. Bush invoking Truman is
as illogical as McClellan invoking
Lincoln.
Those of us who are proud to
be Democratic liberals and who
love our country and its ideals, are
proud of Truman's true legacy and
that of Franklin and Elenor
Roosevelt and John and Robert
Kennedy. We are also confident
that this year, the American
people will set George Bush
straight on his true legacy and his
political future.
Scott Berman
Rackham graduate student
To the Daily:
In your editorial "Clinton
offers best hope for future," (10/
12/92) you stated that "periods of
stagnation have been followed by
periods of progress." While I will
agree with this, one of your
analogies supporting this state-
ment was flawed. In the article,
you juxtaposed the Hoover
administration with Roosevelt's
"New Deal," and the Eisenhower
administration with Kennedy's
"New Frontier," thus making an
unwarranted comparison between
the Hoover and Eisenhower
administrations. Hoover was a
failed president. Eisenhower was
not.
Even though Dwight
Eisenhower was president during
the coldest of the Cold War years,
he had enough insight to warn
against the dangers of wild
defense spending. He was so
concerned over the growing arms
race that he called a meeting of
his closest advisors at 1:00 a.m.
just to ask them one simple
question: "How many goddamn
atomic bombs is enough?"
It seems to me that the Daily is
trying to make an analogy
between Republicans and Demo-
crats, not between the accomplish-
ments (or lack thereof, in
Hoover's case) of the individuals
involved. The only reason that I
can see choosing Eisenhower for
your argument is that he was,
indeed, a Republican-thus
making him applicable for your
thoughtless comparison. So before
you make another judgement
based solely on political labels,
consider this: Dwight Eisenhower
was first pursued by the Demo-
cratic Party-before he was
placed on the Republican ticket.
He appealed to both parties.
Hoover was no Eisenhower.
Chris Triko
Engineering sophomore
Bush is no Truman
0
Daily ignores student groups
GM, Stempel dug their own graves
Since the Washington Post first reported that
members of the General Motors Corp. board
were considering ousting Chairman Robert
Stempel, GM has been besieged by confusion and
uncertainty. Stempel denies any attempt by board
members to replace him, while anonymous execu-
tives admitted dissatisfaction with GM's perfor-
mance since Stempel's tenure. Moreover - in
order to combat continued profit loss and proceed
with the plan to cut 20,000 white-collar jobs by
next year - GM announced on Friday the consoli-
dation ofvarious engineering, design and manage-
ment departments within the GM corporate super-
structure.
The announcement compounded the confusion
by encouraging rumors about a possible sacrifice
of the Oldsmobile division. The panic reverberat-
ing within the walls of the GM board room are,
frankly, well-deserved. The corporation's invest-
ment decisions have been irresponsible and pro-
duced dismal results, especially in light of
Chrysler's successful attempt to streamline its
own operations. But, for the sake of its investors,
lar, small, fuel-efficient family vehicles, rather
than the gas guzzling sedans that GM chose to
continue producing. In contrast, Chrysler and Ford,
two of the world's most efficient auto makers,
learned the lessons of the 1980s. (Chysler an-
nounced Friday that it turned a 23 percent profit.)
GM need not throw Stempel to the wolves. The
world's largest auto maker still has options. The
consolidation of various departments is naturally a
good idea. Dissolving Oldsmobile, likewise, is not
off the mark.
In fact, the key to the survival of the eight
subsidiary auto companies may be to liberate them
from the corporate ball-and-chain of the GM Corp.
One of the key reasons for the inability Ameri-
can car manufacturers to compete in many markets
is the lack of competition in the United States
before the 1980s. The accepted hegemony of the
Big Three-bolstered by the government's bailout
of Chrysler - only encouraged the three corpora-
tions to maintain the status quo. The Japanese
invasion, however, knocked the triumvirate off
balance.
To the Daily:
I would like to bring to the
attention of the readers of the
Daily bits of my experiences as
the president of a student organi-
zation trying to promote Indian
classical music and arts among
students of this University and the
members of the Ann Arbor.
community.
Its been quite a learning
experience trying to work with a
number of different offices and
persons at the University whose
reactions range from overwhelm-
ing enthusiasm to genuine apathy.
However, the last place one
expects to be treated with
indifference is the office of The
Michigan Daily - the self-
appointed flag bearer of liberal
idealism on campus.
Unfortunately this assertion is
not based on a chance encounter
with a disgruntled editor, but
periodic interaction with several
of the Daily's foremost journal-
ists. .
Fortunately however, the
enthusiasm for our efforts from
various quarters of the University
and especially the very adminis-
tration that the Daily targets for
Gucci, not Gucchi
its constant criticisms far out-
weighs, the minor irritants that
we face occasionally, dealing
with biased treatments.
I am sure the Daily has more
important things to write about,
such as the great debate on the
student code and its implications
on human rights violations, as
well as the misadventures of the
student assembly including the
fiasco concerning the tax-exempt
status. However, I would expect
the intelligent, liberal and
unbiased brains at 420 Maynard
to give the credit and attention to
a non-profit student group.
I hope this letter reaches its
intended audience and also hope
that the Daily will train its staff,
journalists and editors to be more
sensitive while dealing with
special student groups who are
trying to give some meaning to
all the hollow discussions on
multiculturalism and cultural
diversity.
Dhanada K. Mishra
Coordinator, SPIC-MACA Y
(Society for the Promotion of
Indian Classical Music and
. Culture Amongst Youth)
Write the Daily
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