Page 2/The Battalion/Tuesday, March 29, 1983 opinion Slouch By Jim Earle “How do you know my dog’s been in your bed?” PACs impact less than anticipated by Clay F. Richards United Press International WASHINGTON — Independent political groups that spend millions wag ing negative advertising campaigns against incumbents may be troublesome in the American electoral process, but they apparently aren’t doing much damage. In the 1980 Senate race, five promin ent liberal senators, including George McGovern of South Dakota, were defe ated for re-election. In the same year the National Conservative Political Action Committee spent millions advocating their defeat. That led to some stories that the noto rious NCPAC had defeated five liberals. Surely the negative ads played some role. So did the fact that the senators involved were among the most liberal in the Sen ate while they came from generally con servative states like South Dakota, In diana, Iowa and Idaho. Last week the Federal Election Com mission completed its review of indepen dent expenditures in the 1982 congres sional election and found that they had jumped 143 percent in two years — from $2.3 million to $5.7 million. NCPAC alone accounted for nearly $3.2 million of the total. But in 1982, neither NCPAC nor any of the other independent groups were getting any credit for defeating incum bents they disliked, or for that matter electing their favorites. A look at the FEC report shows the independent groups spent a lot of money and accomplished very little. For instance, nearly $1.1 million — nearly 20 percent of the nationwide total — was spent to defeat Sen. Edward Ken nedy, D-Mass. He won in a landslide. The second largest amount, nearly $700,000, was spent to defeat Sen. Paul Sarbanes, DMd., another landslide winner. In the House, $300,000 was spent to defeat Speaker Thomas O'Neill, who also had no problems. Sen. John Melcher, D-Mont., was thought to be vulnerable because he was a Democrat with a fairly liberal record from a fairly conservative state. But when NCPAC started pouring in nearly $230,000, he started his own television campaign about how out-of-state money was trying to corrupt the Montana cam paign. 4'he NCPAC campaign backfired. To be sure, two of the top 10 targets in the Senate were defeated — Sen. Ho ward Cannon, D-Nev., and Sen. Harri son Schmitt, R-N.M. But every analysis of the 1982 Senate races put Cannon and Schmitt on the list of most vulnerable incumbents. Cannon was nearly def eated in his own primary, showing that Democrats were almost as ready to get rid of him as were Republicans. Schmitt was one of the few conserva tive targets singled out for defeat by li berals. But liberals spent even more money trying to defeat Sen. Orin Hatch, R-Utah, and that effort failed. Neither Schmitt nor Cannon claimed after the election they had been done in by liberal or conservative independent expenditures against them. Several incumbents — Sarbanes most notably — said that the added effort by the groups working against them sparked them to campaign more vigor ously, saving them from the complacency that often defeated incumbents. It is likely that the independent groups will heavily reassess their campaign strategy in the future. It is doubtful that they will against spend $ 1 million against someone as popular as Kennedy. And they are likely to do a lot more polling before taking on a Sarbanes. But for now the independent expendi ture groups have been rendered relative ly harmless. USPS 045 360 Member <>l Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editor Diana Sultenfuss Managing Editor Gary Barker Associate Editor Denise Richter City Editor Hope E. Paasch Assistant City Editor Beverly Hamilton Sports Editor John Wagner Entertainment Editor Colette Hutchings Assistant Entertainment Editor.. . . Diane Yount News Editors Daran Bishop, Brian Boyer, Jennifer Carr, Elaine Engstrom, Shelley Hoekstra, Johna Jo Maurer, Jan Werner, Rebeca Zimmermann Staff Writers Melissa Adair, Maureen Carmody, Frank Christlieb, Connie Edelmon, Patrice Koranek, John Lopez, Robert McGlohon, Ann Ramsbottom, Kim Schmidt, Patti Schwierzke, Kelley Smith, Angel Stokes, Tracey Taylor, Joe Tindel, Kathy Wiesepape Copyeditor JanSwaner Cartoonist Scott McCullar Graphic Artists Pam Starasinic Sergio Galvez Thompson, Fernando Andrade Photographers David Fisher, Guy Hood, Eric Lee, Irene Mees, William Schulz Editorial Policy I hr liiiiulinii is .1 iinn-prolil. scll-siipj>nniiw nru s- p.ipcr operated ;is a (onimnnil \ sci \ in- 10 I cx.is . VX \/ Univcrsilr mid lih-nn-i '.allege Simion. 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Memo on ERA shredder hit list by Art Buchwald Memo: To New Head of EPA From: Glitz, Chief of Shredder and Hit List Division Dear Sir, Assume, in spite of some changes you will make in agency, you will want up-to- date information on EPA employees who are clean air fanatics, pro- environmentalists, and have relatives who belong to National Audubon Socie ty. Your predecessor, as well as the Sec retary of Interior, found these lists most helpf ul in serving EPA political interests of the country as mandated by Congress. This is updated report for week of March 7, 1983. and was overheard discussing acid rain and its effect on lakes and wildlife along Canadian border. Two days later same informant observed her going into movie theater to see documentary on nuclear war made by Canadian Film Board. She failed to report seeing this picture to her superiors. Meriweather has mother who lives in Toronto, and could easily be sub jected to blackmail by Canadian Royal Mounted Police. Suggested we eliminate Meriweather’s job in budget cutback, and turn over her duties to Sig Dolby, a consultant firm that now represents the Heavy Sulpher Coal Producers Association. waging a vendetta against “How-X and cited a report Deplatz submilit EPA without first letting coni| lawyers edit it. This violates the it understanding our agency has wit chemical companies, that they first crack at changing EPA repoit fore they are sent to Washingtoi plat/., a civil service employee, canit "ired, but there is nothing in therej [ 0 nday night lions that says he can’t be transfers Nome, Alaska. Digby Pester — St. Louis office.ft ormation moi has requested $500,000 froniEPAtil dollar Superfund to clean uptoxiu dumps in St. Joseph, Missouri. design Duncan Plowright — Denver office. Was photographed in 1970 at Earth Day Demonstration while student at Univer sity of Utah. Wife was once engaged to leader of “Save the American Bald Eagle Club” in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Plow right’s brother Zeth was attorney for class action suit to remove poison gas from U.S. Army chemical depot on runway at Denver Airport. Plowright spends all his time citing our friends for EPA viola tions, despite warnings from his super iors in Washington that Justice Depart ment does not have lawyers to prosecute cases. He is extremely dangerous and could cause trouble in 1984 elections. Mathilda Meriweather— Detroit. Was observed by one of our political infor mants having lunch with a Canadian en vironmental of ficial, code name Pierre, Frank Mulch — San Francisco office. Is considered in Northern California as a career environmental elitist. Goes back packing with his family every summer in High Sierras. Has opposed strip mining by private sector in Redwood forests. In tapped telephone conversation he was quoted as saying James Watt “was off the wall, and his elevator didn’t go to the top floor,” an obvious allusion to the Secret ary’s sanity. Mulch roomed in college with Thomas Wilkie, a notorious mem ber of the Sierra Club, and our informa tion is they still keep in contact. He is the type of person who won’t be satisfied un til the White House is turned into a bird’s EPA political experts turned request, because it would helpefe Democrat mayor, Pester went oven on f erence t (, | heads and contacted “60’’ Minutes. Mike Wallace was seen sniffingann if the press. Dr. Edward exas A&M’s St. Joseph’s last week with a camerae Pester is a smoking gun, and ifheis viewed the fallout could be hazardoi ommunicatioi President Reagan’s political healths o n f erence by gest we give St. Joseph $500,OOOim® ‘^hip be ately even if it means depletingthec 2(4 al of the Superfund. This is just a high-priority troublemakers. I am appendingaloi acedasthethi one of 2,000 names which yousttBon have in files. nest. Your predecessor tried to get ridii College Statii Hubert Deplatz — Newark office. We have received five complaints on Deplatz from the “How-Now Dioxin Chemical Company,” located in New Jersey. The Chairman of the Board claims Deplatz is many pro-environmentalists in the cy as she possibly could. Butunfoi ly she was unable to finish the job. greatest tribute you could pay her pick up the torch and take upw left off. ress C Lt by David Battalio Four local of irectors of ress conferer recognition i The Societ ournalists, Si reedom o ronth, and \ unications, nderstanding Bryan Mayi The Wrath of Ron lalter, Braze ick Holmgr Ml Board ihairman W uizzed Bryai ,agle Editor i iattalion Edit iiss, KAMU panne Non ews Directo reir policies i McKenzie c ,te, “Build tl ick of truth less," and ask sentatives if hat philosoph at they did. But when romgoole wl Letters: Serenade stopped unfairly Editor: Something happened last night which really bothered me. I live in McFadden Hall. About 10:15 p.m. three Aggies stood on the path between my dorm and Haas Hall and began to sing. The three were talented singers, who, with their guitar, presented quite a show that was all the more enjoyable because they were singing for the mere pleasure it brought them. People in the doorways of both dorms stopped to listen as did several girls at dorm windows. The concert was soft and if one was not at her window or outside, it was diffi cult to hear the music. Unfortunately, after 10 to 15 minutes two University policemen came over and advised the men to leave the area which they willingly did. I suppose the singers were bothering some people (the ones standing at the windows who could hear them). The policemen were only doing their job. My complaint comes when I think about all the times that large numbers of male stu dents stand outside our dorm for longer times at later hours. It doesn’t take very many male college students yelling to make enough noise to wake a person up. Where are the campus police at these times? What were the policemen doing when, bef ore spring break, a mob of boys from Dunn Hall paid us a visit at 11:30 p.m. and yelled for our panties for the next 30 minutes? But I forgot, that was “good bull” as is chaining a birthday boy to a lightpost between the dorms by his underwear heralded by a bugle. I wish the of ficers had left the singers alone but if they must stop them from making “noise”, the least the policemen on this campus can do is give the mid night quadclers and panty raiders the same consideration. Leslie S. Hyman ’86 Easter quotes Editor: As we approach the celebration of Easter Sunday, irrespective of the rub bish in the Buttalion, comments by the early 20th Century Biblical historian, Philip Schaff, continue to provide re levant insight into the person of Christ: “This Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caeser, Mohammed and Napoleon; without science and learning, He shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of schools, He spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since since and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writ ing a single line, He set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise, than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times ... Systems of human wisdom will come and go, king doms and empires will rise and fall, but for all time to come Christ will remain ‘the Way, the Truth, and the Life.’” Shane Sanders ’80 Graduate Student Parody complaints Editor: distributed around our campusandi I munity I feel some constructivecrili I is in order. 1 will make no preteffi I being the best of Christians butJl I same time confine my remarkstoson I the articles in the paper regarding^ I While I believe we at A&Mcaniii I find things to laugh at together I fid I humor in the irreverence of somed I articles in the Buttalion. Therearefl I of aspect s of Aggieland we can maid I of and do so in a manner that fortfiti I part will harm no one. As foranysll religious belief s of any kind thereisi I lately no place for them in any put I tion. Individual preferences toward I gious beliefs should be treated I utmost seriousness, respect and 81 ence. It is true that a publication of #_ ture can be quite humorous whennii I in a proper fashion. In future pud lions I would hope that the writers^ paper will ask t hemselves some si questions before publication; Istfi* the benefit of the University andi [ munity? Will this paper take lightjl belief s and convictions of the put Upon reading the recent publication Frank A. Hai® I Berry s World “Say, here’s some more good news — prices for home-video cassette are expected to drop.’’