Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1978)
McCall fighting hard for third round By MARY BETH ALLEN Of the Emerald Former Gov. Tom McCall stres sed his enduring popularity among Oregon voters of both par ties while defending his Repub licanism at a meeting of the Lane County Rubicon Society held Thursday. Government is “too precious a pursuit to leave up to on the job trainees,” McCall said. "The pace has slowed,” in Oregon since he has been out of office, he said, and “the leadership Oregon gave the nation has faded." The former governor, a news man by profession, has been working as a television commen tator since leaving office. The job demands he remain non-partisan, a requirement he finds frustrating. “It’s like being in a fishbowl,” he said. McCall considers his status as a national figure to be a definite ad vantage in both the primary and general elections. He said publi cations such as the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Newsweek and the Baltimore Sun have either printed stories or are planning stories on the Oregon gubernatorial campaign. “A national figure making a comeback” is the emphasis of these stories, according to McCall. The stories are “part of a national image you have given me,” McCall said, referring to Oregon voters. McCall is concerned about a lack of vitality in the Republican party, and is particularly distres sed by the small number of young r? Photo by Dermis Htekofc Tom McCall: Government a precious pursuit Republicans in Oregon. “As we get smaller numerically, we get narrower philosophically,” McCall said. “One counterforce is that Re publicans often field superior can didates,” McCall said. Another op timistic observation he made about the GOP is that "Republi cans are always running on a plat form not geared to partisan guff but tackling the tough problems head on.” The national image of the GOP as a party of “inherited wealth and insensibility to social problems” bothers McCall. “We have faith in the individual and belief in the fam ily,” said McCall. “Were deter mined to maintain a dimate of op portunity.” McCall refuses to support spending programs with no economic base, which he says lead to “broken dreams and shat tered lives." He says, “We must help those who falter along the way, with plans to get them on their feet, not to keep them on their knees.” Government is not a business but it must be run on sound fiscal and management principles,” stressed McCall, “more govern ment is not necessarily the best answer,” he said, and he called for a “count to 10” philosophy of cautious legislation, to “solve the problem, not create new prob lems.” McCall supports strict growth planning and strong environmen tal controls. “Environmental health and economic well-being depend on each other — it’s not an either-or thing.” Fielding questions from the au dience, McCall said if he is de feated in the primary he will return to his job as a newscaster, and in that capacity would be unable to endorse any Republican candi date. The former governor waffled on nuclear energy. “In the energy forest, don’t let go of one secure branch until you have another one to swing to," he said. The analogy illustrates his belief that solar, wind and geothermal energy in their present stages of develop ment, can’t take up the slack that would exist if nuclear plants were closed down. He did call for building nuclear plants as sparingly as possible, and said the problem of disposing of nuclear waste is a concern of “doggone, reasonable Ameri cans," not just a cause for “way out” citizens. McCall has frequently been openly cirtical about Republicans at the state and national levels, and in view of this, a fellow party member displayed skepticism about McCall’s legitimacy as a party spokesman. The former governor replied, “if you want to have a victory (the the gubernator ial race) and a house with Dave Frohnmayer, R-Eugene, as speaker — let’s not take chances with people who can't lead and can’t win.” It may be a matter of opinion as to how well Tom McCall can lead, but it’s established record how well he can win. 1 1978-79 38 Cultural Forum Position Openings One coordinator will be selected for each of the following areas: • Popular Concerts • Heritage Music • Contemporary Issues • Film and Literature • Visual and Performing Arts Pick up applications forms in the Program Office, Suite 2, EMU (Deadline for applying is 5 pm, April 14, 1978) These are non-salaried positions.
