Friday • March 3, 1995
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Presidential politicking fools public
Phil Gramm's campaign filled with the usual political rhetoric
Jim
Pawlikowski
Columnist
P hil Gramm is the con
summate politician.
He has so much polit
ical savvy that he knows
exactly what he can get
away with.
He is one of President
Clinton’s most vocal critics,
especially when where Clin
ton’s lack of military service is concerned.
However, Gramm did not serve in the military either.
In 1976, Lloyd Bentsen ran for both the Senate and the Pres
idency. Gramm, Bensten’s opponent for the Senate seat, argued
that incumbents should resign if they are going to run for high
er office. In the 1996 campaign, Gramm will be doing the exact
j;ime thing he so adamantly opposed in 1976.
Gramm’s apparent hypocrisy on these matters should be
troublesome to voters. How can a man who consistently
say® one thing and does another be trusted to hold the na
tion’s highest office?
Unfortunately, he is not doing anything that we haven’t
seen before.
Clinton broke several campaign pledges. He opposed Bush’s
policy of repatriating Haitian refugees and criticized his inac
tion in Bosnia, yet Clinton eventually adopted essentially the
same policies of the Bush administration as his own.
Bush promised no new taxes, yet signed a bill with one of the
largest tax increases ever.
Politicians can get away with breaking campaign promises
because American voters generally do not care. We would
rather hear empty promises than the truth.
Presidential candidate Walter Mondale admitted, in a
1984 debate with Ronald Reagan, that he would raise taxes
if elected because it was the only way to get the budget
deficit under control.
He was right, but who wants to vote for a liberal tax hik
er? If one guy says he’ll raise taxes and the other says he
won’t, we generally vote for the latter.
We don’t think of the consequences. We don’t examine which
argument better withstands critical examination.
Reagan took advantage of our short attention spans, telling
us in 1984 what we wanted to hear — that the budget could be
balanced without tax hikes or spending cuts.
Gramm is doing the exact same thing.
He claims that he will balance the budget without raising
taxes or cutting defense or social security.
This is what we want to hear, so many will probably vote for
him based on this platform.
> Never mind that this plan is totally unworkable in reality.
1 We don’t want to hear that we can’t have it both ways. I
can think of no politician who has the clout to tell Ameri
cans that we must make sacrifices and still receive popu
lar support.
A recent poll showed that 79 percent of Americans supported
the Balanced Budget Amendment. However, when reminded
that a balanced budget would require cuts in Social Security
benefits, support dropped to 32 percent.
If we remain this short sighted, the deficit and all the prob
lems associated with it will continue to grow.
If we do not give thoughtful attention to the promises our
candidates for public office make, they will continue to get away
with winning elections on empty promises.
Gramm has demonized Clinton by painting him as a big gov
ernment liberal who derives pleasure from raising taxes.
Nobody wants to raise taxes, of course, but it may be neces-
If we don't give careful attention to the
promises candidates make, they will con
tinue to win elections based on empty
promises that won't be fulfilled.
sary if we are unwilling to make unpopular spending cuts.
Gramm is certain to run a campaign filled with promises
that are easy to support. He even said himself that he would
run his campaign using “simple” language.
“Simple” language means simple-minded campaign promis
es, which are painless and easy to support.
This is not to say that Phil Gramm is simple-minded. With a
doctorate in economics and years of experience as a public rep
resentative, Gramm is certainly an intelligent man. He has a
firm grasp of free-market principles. He would do as well as
anyone could in making them work.
Gramm surely understands that the budget cannot be bal
anced without strict fiscal discipline and sacrifice, including sig
nificant cuts in Social Security benefits and defense spending.
But he certainly won’t admit that in his campaign. We
don’t want politicians telling us to sacrifice, and Gramm
knows better than to repeat Mondale’s infamous mistake.
This is part of the problem. The nation’s problems are
complex and cannot be solved with rhetoric and empty
campaign promises.
However, we voters are generally uncritical when it comes to
thinking about important political and social issues. Phil
Gramm is'going to exploit that. We must not let him.
<Jim Pawlikowski is a junior
chemical engineering major
The Battalion • Page 7
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EDITORIAL
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Paying & Paying
The Board of Regents should limit any fee
increases to those which are absolutely vital.
This month, the Texas A&M Uni
versity System Board of Regents will
consider, a proposal that would in
crease several student fees in order
to make up for lost state funding.
While funding cuts will severely
tighten the Universi
ty’s budget, Texas
A&M is in a much
better position to ab
sorb sudden, dramat
ic financial stresses
than the average stu
dent.
The proposal
would carry an aver
age cost per student
of $200 per semester.
This jump in fees,
coupled with proba
ble increases of resi
dence hall rent, stu
dent services fees and
the recreational
sports center fee, is
too great to justify.
The University should at least
spread out the fee increases in this
proposal over two years.
Even slight increases every semes
ter would be easier for money-
strapped students to manage than this
immediate fee hike.
If these fee increases are forced on
A&M students, then the Board of Re
gents should guarantee that the mon-
PROPOSED FEE INCREASES
Tuition (per credit hour)
In-state undergraduate: $28 (current)
to $30 (proposed)
Out-of-state undergraduate:
$171 to $176
In-state graduate: $48 to $60
Out-of-state graduate: $200 to $206
Parking
Commuter: $55 to $75
Reserved (staff): $135 to $200
Night permit: $1 5 to $35
Summer: $20 to $55
Garage roof: $150 to $180
Garage priority: $225 to $270
Zachry basement: $225 to $270
Garage inside: $200 to $240
Garage visitor: $.50/hr to $.60/hr
Applications for admissions:
$25 to $35
ey will go toward maintenance, re
pair and expansion of parking facili
ties, and keeping course offerings at
current or higher levels.
This money supposedly is needed
to make up for budget cuts, so it
should be used to
prevent cuts in pro
grams and services,
not to pay for other
University expenses
unrelated to tuition,
parking and admis
sions.
The last thing any
student wants to
hear is the news of
higher expenses,
however, if the Legis
lature cuts the Uni
versity budget, then
raised fees are al
most inevitable.
Students can work
to make the best of
this bad situation by first contacting
their legislators to discourage the
proposed 12 percent higher education
budget cuts, and second by express
ing to the Board concern that money
from any increase be justified and
used appropriately.
Texas A&M should not sacrifice qual
ity because it has to tighten its belt, but
A&M students should not have to take
up all the slack by themselves.
M A11
CAUL
Those assaulted at Gramm
rally should file complaints
As a former Texas Peace Officer and a former stu
dent, I am saddened that some people at the Phil
Gramm rally may have publically violated state and
federal laws.
I urge those who may have been assaulted and/or
denied their constitutional rights, as well as people
who witnessed these events, to formally contact the
University Police department or the local office of
the FBI.
Additionally, if these people feel that these as
saults and civil rights violations are part of an on-go
ing effort of a particular group or that the University
supports these illegal actions, they should also re
quest broader investigations and pro-active protec
tion from the University and other law enforcement
agencies at future events.
Donald Arnold
1 Class of ’84
Dance team supports TAMU,
deserves show of respect
This letter is in response to MariClare Feeney’s
March 2 letter. Yes, the dance team left the stands
with two minutes left in the game. But if you would
have taken notice, the girls were still in G. Rollie
White. The team had been asked to sign posters for
the fans after the game. They left the stands to set
up. They also signed the posters well after the game
had ended. So, to say that they don’t support Aggie
basketball is wrong.
To say that they don’t support A&M is ridiculous.
The dance team shows enormous support.
Ags, how about showing some Aggie spirit and
supporting other Aggies instead of bashing them?
Donald G. Thomas II
Class of’94
Tolerance of homosexuality
only first step, not enough
In response to the March 2 letter concerning
homosexuality, I think it’s great that the Catholic
Church now preaches tolerance. But to condemn
a lifestyle that is not a choice, instead of the per
son living that lifestyle, seems to be the loophole
around that pesky “love thy neighbor” thing.
The Catholic Church has stated that it is OK
to be gay, as long as you remain chaste. But
most religions and governments don’t recognize
same-sex marriages. So homosexuals can’t mar
ry, but can’t have sex with a person unless they
are married. What a way to address the issue of
homosexuality!
While the church’s policy regarding homosexu
ality is a good first step, there is still a long way
to go.
Margaret Gordon
Class of ’96
Corps serves as keepers of
tradition, preserves history
I’ve been tempted to write many times, but Terry
Cockerham’s Feb. 21 letter convinced me to do it.
Even as Cockerham was cursing the Corps for
not being punished for hazing as a sorority or fra
ternity would have been, an article on the front
page proclaimed that the members of Pi Kappa Phi
would not be punished after all, although most
people I know would classify someone being bound
with duct tape in the bed of a pickup truck as fair
ly clear case of hazing. The Corps does not condone
hazing, just as Matt Segrest said.
Members of the Corps of Cadets don’t really be
lieve that we own the campus, but we are aware
that we are an integral part of the University. We
are called “Keeper of the Traditions,” and tradition
is what this great place is all about.
This is not in any way intended to ignore the ac
complishments of “non-regs.” They also contribute
immensely to A&M.
Cockerham and anyone else out there who may
truly dislike our beloved Corps of Cadets should
simply accept us for what we are — a fine military
organization that breeds leaders of tomorrow.
Don’t take it upon yourself to denigrate an organi
zation and a lifestyle you couldn’t possibly under
stand, unless you lived it.
Katy Carlson
Class of ‘9 7
False information about
AIDS, Louganis spreads fear
I am amazed that Elizabeth Preston was allowed
to write a column about Greg Louganis without us
ing any facts. Her column lacks merit for the follow
ing reasons: the AIDS virus cannot survive in an
olympic-sized pool with chlorine in it, and even if it
could survive, the virus would have been so diluted
that there would have been no chance of infection.
The doctor should have know to wear gloves when
treating anyone.
It’s as if Preston implied that people who get
AIDS deserve it because they don’t take the proper
precautions — morally or by using gloves or con
doms. How does that argument sound?
It is people like Preston who spread the fear of
AIDS because of a lack of knowledge about the
virus. Get educated about AIDS and spread
facts, not fears.
You have accused Greg Louganis of attempted
murder incorrectly.
Nathan Blasingame
Class of ’95
Littlefield lacks respect for
Aggie lifestyle, traditions
This is in response to Kyle Littlefield’s Feb. 28
column in which he boasted that he was an Aggie
and not a “two-percenter.” He thinks he’s an Aggie
simply because he attends A&M. This could not be
further from the truth. He obviously doesn’t un
derstand what this University is about.
A&M was built on traditions, and that is what
distinguishes this school from every other school in
the world.
I would like to see Littlefield name one other
school that remembers students when they pass
away. It’s pretty sad that this University cares
enough about students to remember them, yet
Si
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they don’t care enough to take the time to under
stand what it is all about.
Attending Texas A&M isn’t just enrollment, it’s
a lifestyle. And if Littlefield doesn’t know what it
means to be involved with A&M and its traditions,
then he is not an Agg(ie, he is simply a student at
Texas A&M.
Erick Wes ter holm
Class of ’95
Greek organizations seek to
serve others, not to isolate
It seems in Michael Mason’s Feb. 27 letter, he
believes Greek organizations should be removed
from Aggieland. I know that he is not the only one.
Are Greeks not a part of A&M?
I’m a member of a Fraternity. It isn’t only a so
cial organization; we also realize we have been for
tunate in life, and we work in the community for
those less-fortunate.
The really unnerving idea in Mason’s letter is
his belief that Greek organizations foster “elitism,
segregation and racism by their very existence.”
Mason needs to realize that his intolerance of
dissenting opinions is the reason this campus in
curs conflicts.
His narrow-mindedness prevents him from
meeting hundreds of Aggie Greeks.
If I were never to talk to my non-Greek friends
again because of my “elitist” attitude, I would be
one lonely guy — without a roommate.
Mason believes being an Aggie is a state of
mind. Well in my mind, I judge each person in
dividually. If Mason met me and liked me, would
he quit talking to me when he found out I’m a
Beta?
Jason Penny packer
Class of ‘96
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