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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 17, 1976)
Page 2 THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY, MAR. 17, 1976 ‘In what other country are the people free enough to do this to their Bicentennial?’ David S. Broder ^ Senate top spots ,, due for overhaul In their usual generous fashion, the Demo crats have arranged enough leadership contests to keep political buffs on overtime, calculating the possible combinations that could resultfrom the massive competition now underway for the top spots in the party’s hierarchy. Not only is the Democratic presidential nomination up for grabs in a fine, spirited race, but the party’s Senate leadership is due for an | overhaul and there is prospect for a similar i change on the House side of the Capitol. The heady possibility is that the country’s oldest party will present a whole new face in 1977. i With the announced retirement of Senate I Majority Leader Mike Mansfield of Montana, it is certain that post will be in new hands. Man- ; j sfield’s deputy. Sen. Robert C. Byrd of West ( Virginia, has two challengers for the job— Sen. , Edmund S. Muskie of Main and Sen. Ernest F. Rollings of South Carolina. Sen. Hubert H. ; ( Humphrey is eying that post with interest, as, of course, he is the party’s presidential nomina- ! tion. There are strong indications that House Speaker Carl Albert may join Mansfield in re- i tirement. His successor, hy all odds, would be ! : the present House majority leader, Rep. i , | Thomas P. (Tip) O’Neill of Massachusetts. But there are three contenders to succeed O’Neill — 1 Reps. Richard Bolling of Missouri, Phillip Burton of California and John J. McFall of California. By the time these contests and the presiden tial nomination have been decided, the Demo crats will have gone a long way toward defining the character of their party. The process is long overdue. While the leadership of the party’s presidential wing has swung erratically from John Kennedy to Lyndon Johnson to Hubert Humphrey to George McGovern, the congres- i sional leadership has been stuck in place, follow- I ing a prescribed line of succession and gradually i decreasing in energy and initiative. Mansfield, a kindly, decent man beloved for his personal qualities by his colleagues, has been directing the Senate in permissive fashion ever since Kennedy’s election. Under his benign guidance, the Senate has displayed a few I moments of magnificent independence and long months of legislative futility. In the House, the rigid ladder-climb to lead ership made John McCormack the speaker after the death of Sam Rayburn and elevated Albert to the speakership when McCormack retired. Neither man matched the demands of the job and neither man matched the demands of the job and neither was able to adapt to the enor mous changes in the atmosphere and proce dures of the House, brought on by the rapid turnover in membership during the past de cade. Now, through circumstance and coincidence, the majority party leadership in both House and Senate seems likely to be overhauled — perhaps in tandem with a new President and perhaps to confront President Ford with new challenges and opportunities. What happens in these contests will reveal volumes about the forces shaping the Demo cratic party -— and particularly the extent to which ideological currents may influence the political inclinations of its officeholders. Were there no question of edeology, Byrd would be a cinch to succeed Mansfield. He has been an exceptionally hard-working whip, tak ing more than his share of the onerous organiza tional duties and arranging the floor schedule for the maximum convenience of his colleagues. Beyond that, Byrd is a man of intellectual brilliance and extraordinary diligence — a workhorse, whose work-product has been con sistently of high quality. % Within the Senate, he has long since over come the stigma of his youthful involvement with the Ku Klux Klan. But Byrd is still certifi- ably more conservative than the mainstream of his party. It is only four years since he was the keynote speaker for Bill Buckley’s right-wing youth group, the Young Americans for Free dom, and on the 1975 scorecard of the conserva tive Americans for Constitutional Action, he rates five times higher than any of the party’s presidential candidates. It is this fact that enables Muskie — a far pricklier character, in the eyes of his colleagues — to consider challenging Byrd. It is no acci dent that Mansfield has repeatedly called on Muskie as the party’s spokesman in television replies to Republican Presidents, while keeping Byrd busy on the inconspicuous duties of scheduling Senate business. Judgments on out side image vs. inside convenience will shape the Muskie-Byrd contest. Two things are striking about this leadership upheaval in the Democratic party. One is the enormous range of options available in this most diverse of our national political institutions. It is conceivable the Democrats could emerge from this with an all-liberal lineup of Morris K. Udall for President, Muskie and Sen. Alan Cranston of California as the top Senate leaders, Tip O’Neill, Phil Burton and Rep. John Brademas of Indiana as the House triumvirate. But the party could also present as conserva tive a lineup as Jimmy Carter for President, Byrd and Sen. Frank E. Moss of Utah as the Senate leaders with O’Neill backstopped by McFall, who is now the House whip. The Democrats really do have a big tent. The other striking think is that nowhere in all of these leadership contests does one encounter the name of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. The power is being parceled out in a way that could shape the party’s next decade. But the senior Senator from Massachusetts — by choice and circumstance — on the sidelines in both the presidential and congressional struggles. One must wonder what thoughts are going through his mind as he contemplates the future. (c) 1976, The Washington Post Company Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or' of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the university administration or the Board of Regents. The Battal ion is a non-profit, self-supporting enterprise operated hy stu dents as a university and community newspaper. Editorial 'policy is determined hy the editor. LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject to being cut to that length or less if longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit such letters and does not guaran tee to publish any letter. Each letter must be signed, show the address of the writer and list a telephone number for verifica tion Address correspondence to Listen Up, The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, College Station, Texas 77843. Members of the Student Publications Board are: Bob G. Rogers, Chairman; Dr.* Gary Halter; Dr. John Hanna; Roger P. Miller; Dr. Clinton A. Phillips, Jeff Dunn, Tom Dawsey and Jerri Ward. Director of Student Publications: Gael L. Cooper. Represented nationally by Natjonal Educational Advertising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The Battalion, a student newspaper at Texas A&M, is published in College' Station, Texas, daily except Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and holiday periods. Sep-' tember through May, and once a week during summer school. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester; $33.25 per school year; $35.00 per full t } year. All subscriptions subject to 5% sales tax. Advertising rate furnished on request, vAddress: The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, College Station, 'Texas 77843. The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction of all news dispatched credited to it or not otherwise credited in the paper and local news of spontaneous origin published herein. Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein are also reserved. ~ Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas. Acting Editor Roxie Hearn News Editor T. C. Gallucci City Editor Jim Peters Contributing Editors . . Sandy Russo, Steve Gray Sports Editor Paul McGrath Photo Director Douglas Winship Staff Writers Carolyn Blosser, Ray Daniels, Pat Edmondson, Tony Gallucci, Lee Roy Les- chper, Jerry Needham. Look at your phone book The problem with the bicenten nial is that it hasn’t been commer cialized enough. Anything worth doing is worth doing in big $$$ terms. Where would Christmas be with out cardboard Santas pasted on store windows? Where would Easter be without plastic bunnies hanging from elementary school ceilings? And the Fourth of July without firec rackers? Come now. Take away those basics and the meaning is lost. Look at what we have now. A country that desperately wants to celebrate 200 years of indepen dence, paying tribute to such men as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. Is that enough for you? Surely ft can’t be. We are a race of people who would not settle for Christ’s birthday as a simple holiday. No, we im proved on it grandly with fat men in red suits, flying reindeer and un ionized elves. Nor did Christ’s Resurrection hold enough mass appeal to warrant a celebration. However, that prob lem was promptly taken care of with hard-boiled eggs and Rit dye. For such an imaginative group of people, it’s a wonder the bicenten nial hasn’t been grabbed. What we need is for every American business to manufacture products com- ration. Products that will improve on the ideals of Tom, Ben and George. Products like bicentennial toilet seats, bicentennial beer cans, bicen tennial salt-and-pepper shakers, bicentennial belt bucJdes, bicenten nial pizzas and you name the bicen tennial rest. Ah, how refreshing it would be. And what about our own hometown contributions? After all, A&M has its own centennial that could use a little spicing-up. A major step has been taken already J lieve the dullness of the | celebration of “100 years of] ress.’ Appearing on unhr stationery and brochuresisoinj own centennial emblem, an eagle which is stronglyi cent of those used bythely Reich. (The designer is not belt, to be a former student.) Eve^ the celebration lacks the flask, tery atmosphere of an god-do wn-home-meaningfulj bute. Traditions must be up costs. What we need is acow effort to make this the best(buij tennial we ever had. memorating the bicentennial. Pro ducts that will emphasize and honor all the ideals that sustained this country for 200 years. Products that will give new meaning to our celeb- LAKEVIEW CLUB 3 Miles N. on Tabor Road Saturday Night: Jim Ed Brown & The Gems 4 From 9-1 p.m. Ladies $1.00 STAMPEDE Every Thursday Nite Men $2.00 (ALL BRANDS BEER 40 cents) LADIES $1.00 Every Tuesday Nite All Brands Beer 40c 8-12 Dance every Tuesday and Thursday MEN $2.00 Top of the Tower Texas A&M University Pleasant Dining — Great View SERVING LUNCHEON BUFFET 11:00 A.M. - 1:30 P.M. Each day except Saturday $2.50 DAILY $3.00 SUNDAY Serving soup 6- sandwich 11:00 A.M. - 1:30 P.M. Monday - Friday $1.50 plus drink Available Evenings For Special University Banquets Department of Food Service Texas A&M University “Quality First” oticiAS de cum Recipe #456.78cR The Taxco Fizz-. ★ 2 oz. Jose Cuervo Tequila ★ Juice from one lime (or 2 tbsp.) ★ 1 tsp. sugar ★ 2 dashes orange bitters ★ White of one egg ★ A glass is quite helpful, too. Qbc) INTERSTATE CINEMA UNIVERSITY SQUARE SHOPPING CENTER 846-6714 & 846-1151] IMOIAf PLAYING! 7:50 & 9:40 ENDS THURSDAY! 7 . 30 ^ g.J .U i I P • lli’/Oi 11 (UMf 1 The Film You Will Remember All Your Life* TECHNICOLOR- PG £££ MIDNITESHOW "'<•> / tw FK1 L SAT $1.25 r If CHARIAH: PaRAXOLNT PICTt'RES PR£StNTS A ROBERT B. RADNITZ PRObtenO* (ZflfySide of the fountain An unbelievilile adventure! A boy conquers the wilderness with only a raccoon and a falcon to help him! ItrODY F.CCLBS n. *t>d TlfEODORK BIKKL : rU r T T T T TT r T T m T r T T T T I T TT T TTTTr" CINEMA I FRIDAY 4:30} 6:15 8:00; 9:45 Nit had Nurphey Epic’s Gold Record artist - “Hew Source of Energy” - cover story Cash Box Magazine December 1975 Willie Nelson Hall of Fame Grammy Award winner “The Man Who Beal the System” by Pat Carr eel. Country Music Magazine ALSO STARRING Earl Scruggs - John Lee Hooker Clifton Chenier - Big Mama Thornton - The Lewis Family Come /o/n fhe heroes of grassroof music for o whoop'n' holler good time Happening! CUL0R BY M0VIELAB 30; : 30; BRONSON AT HIS BRUTAL BEST! Starts FRIDAY! Joseph E. Levine presents An Avco Embassy Film Charles Branson Wider an the Bain , JOSE CUERVO® TEQUILA. 80 PROOF. IMPORTED AND BOTTLED BY ©1975. HEUBLEIN, INC., HARTFORD. CONN. ^ JOSEPH E LEVINE presents An AVCO EMBASSY Film A SERGE SILBERMAN Production starring CHARLES BROW MARLENE JOBERF in "RIDER ON THE RAIN Story and Screenplay by SEBASTIEN JAPRISOT with GABRIEIE Til« JILL IRELAND ANNIE CORDY and with the participation ol CORINNE MARCHAND Produced by SERGE SHIM « Directed by RENE CLEMENT Prints by MOVIELAB COLOR lunlT-VC.r" AN AVCO EMBASSY RELEASE m i 11111 rrrn 1 xh ri i- ■1 AN AVCO EMBASSY RELEASE ( iiititlS