4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 13, 2006
4p,
OPINION
DONN M. FRESARD
Editor in Chief
EMILY BEAM
EMILYBEAM JEFFREY BLOOMER
CHRISTOPHER ZBROZEK
Editorial Page Editors Managing Editor
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
By 2016, I'll make you a bet. We'll have (cameras on)
almost every block.
- Chicago Mayor Richard Daley on his plans to improve security by the time of the 2016
Olympics, which the Chicago hopes to land, as reported yesterday by the Chicago Sun-Times.
The sheriff who would be senator
THERESA KENNELLY
4
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890
413 E. HURON ST.
ANN ARBOR, MI 48104
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Gubernatorial confus10n
Campaign must shift focus to salient issues
here's less than a month remaining debates fail to offer a favorable environ-
before Michigan's gubernatorial ment for constructive dialogue. The strict
election - though if you've watched format of the last televised debate affords
any TV lately, you already know that. As candidates a brief time slot to respond to
media outlets across the state bombard us broad questions on issues like how they
with campaign ads for Gov. Jennifer Gra- intend to increase jobs in Michigan and
nholm and her Republican opponent Dick their objectives on education funding. The
DeVos, it's hard not to bristle at the empty traditional response-and-rebuttal format
vitriol with which the campaign has pro- is not conducive to a helpful debate that
ceeded. Since the start of the campaign, would enlighten viewers with information
the candidates have collectively spent more pertinent to their vote.
than $26 million on advertising, a large Michigan would benefit from a freer
portion of which has been dedicated to per- debate format that allows each opponent
sonal attack ads. ample time to give an opening speech
Unfortunately, ours is a political epoch explaining issues and initiatives. This
where attack ads and negative campaigns would lead to more productive debates by
are fairly routine, but the race between allowing the moderator to press evasive
Granholm and DeVos has been especially candidates for meaningful answers. DeVos,
bitter. The candidates have- largely based for instance, said during the last debate that
their campaigns on harsh criticism and cal- even if Roe v. Wade were overturned, he
lous remarks aimed at their rival, leaving thinks Michigan's current laws are ade-
little time to discuss their own positions. quate. What he neglected to mention to
The inane, frivolous barbs usually reserved voters - and what no one pointed out - is
for the dirtiest of campaign ads have now that Michigan retains a pre-Roe abortion
become commonplace, most recently find- ban on the books, which would presumably
ing their way into the gubernatorial debates. snap back into effect if the U.S. Supreme
It ought to bother Michigan voters that Court overturned Roe.
DeVos can support cutting the single busi- With polls indicating a tight race, press-
ness tax and the personal property tax, not ing issues like Michigan's drowning econ-
propose details about how to make up for omy and the need for adequate higher
lost revenue or cut spending - and still education funding in the state deserve to be
smile and look them in the eye. Unfortu- brought to the forefront. These issues have
nately, they don't seem to notice. Gran- been mentioned on the campaign trail - at
holm, meanwhile, has had plenty of time the Detroit Economic Club yesterday, for
and countless ads to outline her tax plan instance - but candidates tend toward the
but has dedicated her ads to attacking trivial in their demagogic appeals to voters,
DeVos. As helpful as it is to be able to rattle and that needs to change. (DeVos can start
off exactly how much DeVos invested in by never employing a Detroit Tigers anal-
China or how many jobs were lost during ogy again.) Michigan voters deserve more
Granholm's tenure, the vagaries of each than meaningless 30-second sound bytes.
candidate's policies at this late a stage are We're smart enough to know a good policy
simply irresponsible. platform when we see one; it's time for the
Even worse, the televised gubernatorial candidates to present theirs.
DIAG DISPATCH
Catch a BAMN Leader Day, anyone?
}"When .
somebody
says, 'How
do you feel
about illegal
immigra-
tion?' - well,
I'm a 20-year
lawman.
Anything that
starts with
'illegal,' I'm
going to be against."
- Oakland County Sheriff Mike
Bouchard, in a campaign ad.
The political spotlight in Michi-
gan is blinding Gov. Jennifer
Granholm and her opponent
Dick DeVos, practically leaving Sen.
Debbie Stabenow and her Republican
opponent, Mike Bouchard, alone in
the dark. While the gubernatorial race
is a closer and arguably more conse-
quential contest, it's important to not
lose sight of the war raging between
the incumbent senator and the sheriff
from Oakland County. The potential
for Michigan to turn into a fear-driven,
highly politicized state if Bouchard
pulls off a victory on Nov.7 should be
enough to keep a light shining on the
Senate race.
Polls this week showed Stabenow
with a 48 to 35 percent lead over
Bouchard, but many Republican sup-
porters and donors aren't quite ready
to raise their white flags. Bouchard has
many regions under his belt, includ-
ing his native Oakland County - the
biggest county in the state - and
other Republican-leaning areas like
Traverse City. The Detroit News even
reported earlier this week that Repub-
licans still see Michigan's senate race
as "one of their few chances to cap-
ture a Democratic seat." Despite the
support Bouchard has been getting
- most recently from Republican
superstar Rudy Giuliani - a look at
his resume and agenda makes it clear
that Bouchard does not possess the
mentality needed to represent Michi-
gan for the next six years.
Bouchard's campaign website lists
his key issues: stopping online sexual
predators, creating an airline security
program called Skycops and increas-
ing homeland security. Personal secu-
rity, air security and border security:
Who would have guessed Bouchard
had a background in law enforcement?
Bouchard's excessive focus on
policing is nothing new. Serving as a
state senator throughout the '90s, he
authored several security-based ini-
tiatives, primarily the Michigan Sex
Offenders Registration Act. This act
created a searchable database of con-
victed offenders and allows people to
be notified when former sex offend-
ers, who have already paid their debt
to society, move into their neighbor-
hood. Bouchard has continued to
expand the sexual predators program
as sheriff. Once elected, he hopes
to expand the National Sex Offend-
ers Database to provide the Justice
Department an expanded database,
enabling it to track the IP addresses
of sex offenders.
While it's fine for a politician to
show a passion for specific issues
- and clearly Bouchard's are personal
and national security - the sheriff has
crossed the line from appropriate to
unnecessary. He hasn't realized that his
job as senator would go beyond ensur-
ing safety and security - a responsi-
bility he has become too accustomed
to while serving as a police officer and
sheriff. The issues that really count
in Michigan, such as the job market,
taxes and energy consumption, have
remained under-addressed in Boucha-
rd's senate campaign. He not only lacks
a convincing plan to help pull Michigan
out of the economic cesspool it has been
drowning in, but he is also uninformed
on many statewide and national issues.
In addition to his problematic agen-
da, it's unclear if Bouchard, a longtime
resident of one of the wealthiest coun-
ties in the Michigan, will really be able
to represent the entire state. Whether
Bouchard realizes it or not, just down
the road from Oakland County is a
city that is going to need his support
and recognition to help revitalize its
schools, economy and businesses.
Unfortunately for Detroit residents,
Bouchard has shown little interest in
understanding their city.
Early in the campaign season, a
coworker and friend of Bouchard,
Roger St. Jean, told a Traverse City
newspaper, "Physically, he's tough.
Mentally, he's tough. He's got that
ability to lead." But lead what? Lead
a squad of police officers in a hostage
situation, or lead a state with the high-
est unemployment rate in the country
into economic recovery? Being men-
tally and physically tough is unrelated
to being politically tough - a char-
acteristic I strongly doubt Bouchard
embodies. While Bouchard's opponent
hasnot accomplished much during her
six years in office, she has an agenda
that covers an array of issues specific
to Michigan and knows how to be a
politician for her state.
Thinking of Michigan in the year
2012 is already dispiriting - but
thinking that a county sheriff may
still be representing us in Washing-
ton then is even more frightening.
Bouchard may be a fine sheriff, but
his inability to see things from any-
thing other than a law-enforcement
point of view and deal with issues
that don't contain the word "illegal"
is troubling. Let's hope he remains a
county sheriff come Nov. 7.
Kennelly can be reached
at thenelly@umich.edu.
0
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Send all letters to the editor to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.
BY CHRISTOPHER ZBROZEK
Before yesterday's "Catch an
Illegal Immigrant Day" I really
thought I believed in unfet-
tered free speech. Like many on
this campus, I found the Young
Americans for Freedom-spon-
sored event distasteful at best. I
believed, however, that the best
strategy was to just let them talk
- sunlight, the saying goes, is the
best disinfectant.
But after seeing the mess that
occurred on the Diag yesterday,
I'm not so sure. After a point,
extending free speech to intoler-
ant extremists just gives them a
license to harass others, while
doing nothing to further a mean-
ingful discussion.
So can someone please censor
BAMN?
The radical "civil rights" group
By Any Means Necessary, in its
determination to interfere with
the YAF event, single-handedly
made YAF's publicity stunt a
stunning success for conserva-
tives on campus. Allow me to
explain.
Speaking to the press before-
hand, YAF chair Andrew Boyd
presented the event as a means to
spark dialogue about the problems
created by illegal immigration.
"It's just a way to educate people
about border security" he told the
Detroit Free Press last month.
But there was an additional
motive for the event. In an e-mail
message to fellow YAFers on
Wednesday, Boyd told his com-
rades: "The intent of the game
is to create dialogue about the
issue" - so far, so good - "and
show how inflamed liberals can
become over a game they think is
politically incorrect"
RYAN JABER jt T .MAKS MU i
Oh. Sobasically YAFwas hop-
ing to incite liberal anger in an
effort to portray the campus Left
as intolerant and hypocritical.
Personally,I think the best strat-
egy in such a situation is to refuse
to take the bait. I asked several
counter-protesters who showed
up before YAF appeared if they
thought it might be better if no one
had showed up to protest "Catch
an Illegal Immigrant Day."
Doing so, the general consen-
sus went, would give tacit approv-
al to the event. By holding signs
saying things like "Xenophobia is
not funny" and "Stop the hatred.
Let's have real debate," these pro-
testers hoped to counter what they
saw as YAF's intolerant message.
I understand that, and I can
respect that. But others who
showed up to protest had a more
militant approach.
Once YAF arrived, Boyd
tried to announce the rules of the
"game." He quickly found him-
self trying in vain to be heard
over repeated chants of "No rac-
ist harassment on campus!" A
section of the protesters - led
by BAMN members - decided
Boyd's allegedly racist message
simply wasn't fit to be heard.
"We want to shut it down;'
explained Liana Mulholland,
co-chair of the campus BAMN
chapter. "They can't have that
game here."
For the record, BAMN didn't
organize the counter-protest - it
merely co-opted other activists'
efforts for its own ends. Most
of the students assembled had
as much use for BAMN as they
did for YAF. But none of that
mattered much once the droning
repetition of "Racial harassment,
we say no! YAF bigots have got
to go!" drowned out reporters'
attempts to speak to Boyd.
Once the illegal immigrant had
been duly caught, the YAF chair
stood on the steps of the Harlan
Hatcher Graduate Library and
gave a speech. Looking over the
text of his speech afterward, it was
a well-constructed talk that might
have sparked some actual dialogue
about illegal immigration.
But even though I was standing
about five or six feet from Boyd
when he gave his speech, I only
caught a few stray phrases. The
shouting had started up again,
leaving Boyd inaudible - and
making our campus look like a
politically correct madhouse in
front of the TV cameras record-
ing the debacle.
YAF's last-minute twist - the
"illegal immigrant" was none
other than a person playing
Christopher Columbus, captured
by someone dressed as a Native
American! - must've looked
great on TV. But to conservatives
convinced that liberals obsessed
with political correctness want to
stamp out all dissenting points of
view, the footage of Boyd failing
to make his speech heard over the
intolerance of counter-protest-
ers is priceless. YAF pulled off a
brilliant success yesterday - but
it had an awful lot of help from
BAMN organizer Luke Massie
and his friends.
To extend a degree of fairness
to BAMN - something that it
rarely gives to those who don't
share its narrow, radical ideology
- its members weren't the only
ones who helped drive home
YAF's point about liberal intol-
erance. Some counter-protesters
unaffiliated with BAMN joined
in its cheers. Some of the signs
and slogans that non-BAMN pro-
testers used smacked of a desire
to shut down the YAF event.
But without the militant group
that thinks it's leading the "new
civil rights movement" around
to cause chaos, YAF might have
had a disaster on its hands: There
might have actually been a dia-
logue about illegal immigration
on the Diag yesterday evening.
Zbrozek is a Daily editorial
page editor and an LSA
senior. He can be reached at
zbrozek@michigandaily.com.
UnityO8 unrealistic, w
undermine its own pre
TO THE DAILY:
Anyone who is remotely familiar wit
system of government and our politicsN
"Unity08" (End the power struggle, 10/12
work. The vice president essentially has n
he has unofficial power and influence on
that the president grants it to him. Why
ever agree to be vice president under a
The most likely scenario is that the presic
- if he were ever elected - would grant t
no power since he is of another party. Ui
dinary circumstances that the Unity08 tic
and the president granted the vice presidei
VP would have no credibility with his ow
gress because he'd be serving a president(
The entire purpose of Unity08 would thus
There are plenty of politicians who are
in a bipartisan fashion. This happened
under the Clinton, Reagan and Nixon
That our generation doesn't believe bipar
sible is merely a sad commentary on our
istration - not a sign that we shoul
disagreements over issues.
Art can politicize causes,
apathy and promote soci
TO THE DAILY:
While I agree with Andrew Sargus Klei
that art is an effective means of politicizing
ica - or not, 10/10/2006), I wish to pointc
students here who already do just that. The
same issue in which Klein's article appeare
week's rally at the state capitol on behalf
Battered Women's Clemency Project. Pert
graphic design and photography all played
JOHN OQUIST LlvE sN UR- FRE
'ould
mise
h the American
will realize that
/2006) will not
o official power;
ly to the degree
y would anyone
Unity08 ticket?
dential candidate
he vice president
nder the extraor-
ket were elected
promotion of the event as well as the rally itself.
As a member of Prof. Carol Jacobsen's class centeringon
how art functions as a tool of human rights activists, I have
been amazed at my classmates' accomplishments - not
only in terms of their creativity, but also in their commit-
ment to human rights. Being apathetic makes us enemies of
social change; I am proud to say that there are artists here
who are anything but.
Stephanie Christians
LSA senior
Cargo's critique reflects jealousy
over Tally Hall's allure to women
4
nt any power, the TO THE DAILY:
tn party in Con- Lloyd Cargo attacks Tally Hall on a number of unreason-
of another party. able points (Immature musicianship, 10/11/2006). It's hard to
be undermined. argue with Cargo; he has obviously done extensive research
willing to work on the band, including listening to a whole three songs on the
quite frequently album and interviewing a 7-year-old girl during his "booth
administrations. attendant" internship this summer. But I'll do my best.
tisanship is pos- I happened to be at Tally Hall's New York City show fea-
r current admin- tured on MTV's "You Hear It First." The first lyrics played
d ignore honest during the three-minute segment are the very lyrics Cargo
calls racist. Apparently, he was too entrancedby "The O.C."
Ben Beckett to notice. What kind of person would be offended by Tally
RC sophomore Hall's lyrics? The same person who lists this juvenile line as
one of his favorite quotes on the Facebook: "Fine bitches if
defeat you listening you heard me I'm strong, If you going through
your cycle I ain't with it I'm gone, you must've heard about
I1 change them hoes that I beat up in my home, They wasn't telling
the truth baby you know they was wrong."
Lloyd, next time you see that 7-year old girl, ask her what
n's article stating the word hypocrite means. The only reason I can think of
causes (Ars polit- that someone would be so bitter about Tally Hall's success is
out that there are that women love them.Yes, women are attracted to guys who
front page of the make them happy, not guys who complain about girls being
d reported on last happy. Word of advice, Lloyd: Crawl back into your hole, and
of the Michigan let the talented people of the world make the headlines.
formance pieces, Devin Scott
vital roles in the Business senior
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