Editorial
Politicians should avoid
special-interest funding
Thom has been a growing national concern over
political campaign contributions from spec ial interest
political ac tion c ommiltees
During the* ‘80s the number of spec ial-mteresl
groups small anil large, increased tremendously
(iroups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving. I'eo
pie tor the Kthic .1$ Treatment of Animals, and National
Abortion Rights Action League have gained member
ship and greater clout
We have seen the same trend here on campus
There are now more than 100 student groups on cam
pus. many with special interests, and quite a few of
these groups arc1 active in c unipus elec tions
This year the ASt C) is tr\ing to play more of .1
watchdog role in the election process Candidates run
ning for elected positions in this veal s race w ill Ire re
quired to report information on all campaign contribu
lions now much they worn, where the Hinds came
from and how they were spent
Candidates also will have to report "in kind" con
tributions. such as supplies, copying and donated re
soon es This is an addition t<> the past rules, and will
help ensure honest and open elections.
It is good to see the ASUO making stringent efforts
to keep an eve on the who. what where, when how
and w in ot campus i ampaign contributions All candi
dates' contribution information is open to the publit .
so interested students c an lind out u ho and what the*
candidates are affiliated with
Student groups have long Ireen active in political
iai.es here on i ainptis and in the community There are
no limits on the amount of funds .1 student group can
donate to a c andidate, but groups that receive IIC
funding can only donate money from their own fund
raising accounts thus ensuring that student fees are
used within the group.
There are many problems with special-interest
groups donating money to political candidates, wheth
er they are campus, local, state or national politicians.
When a politician accepts money from a PAC, they
are affiliating themselves with that group and its ideol
ogy. That group will most likely expect the politician
to support its causes through word and action. Hence
the |Nililician is pressured into supporting, or intro
ducing any legislation or actions that the group is
tracking because if he or she doesn't, the group might
slop contributing to the campaign fund.
And what if a politician finds that he or she dis
agrees with a particular piece of legislation that the
group supports? Whul happens then?
What about politicians that receive contributions
front numerous different PAC Is? These elected officials
could Ire selling themselves out and taking on the ideas
and causes of their suouurters.
Tin' power of those groups is growing. People are
liniting that by joining a PAC they can have an impact
on the people in power The media is giving more cov
erage to PAl.’s. and in some cases ton ing politicians to
become manipulated by the; groups and their causes
There has been enough concern in Oregon alone to
warrant a ballot initiative limiting the amount of cam
paign contributions politicians can accept from spe
i ial-inleres! groups. This is not the first time- this has
< omeup
Rep Mike Burton. D-Portlancf. introduced legisla
tion in Oregon last year to In and get the- state govern
ment to watchdog itself and limit PA( contributions
His legislation was not well-received in Congress and
never got close to passing. So he vowed to take it to the
ballot this vear.
Nonna Paulus. former sec rotary of state, believes
that if the measure goes to the- voters it will pass
Ilopefullv it will.
PAC funds are making up an ever increasing por
tion of campaign contributions, and because of this,
the cost of running a campaign is increasing every
year
Oregon voters could sot a nationwide prec edent by
approving the initiative. Politic ians should be support
ed by their constituents at the ballot box. not by PAC
dollars.
Perhaps if the initiative passes, the ASIJO should
consider limiting the amount of funds each student or
ganization or special-interest group can contribute to
an ASl’O candidate’s campaign It would help to en
sure the intent and integrity of our student officers.
f
UDIES AND
I REERETTO REPORT
WE'VE U£>T CUR ENGINES.
OUR mm b DEAD
TUE LANDING GEAR IS
GONE AND WE’RE
OUT OF FUEL
\
THffS rr! l
Ynuanws
Letters_
Rc\il issues
Doesn't the* Oregon l)ttil\
I iiirr.iltl li.ivanything better
to pul on tin' trout page than
tin1 in ilrptli pit’i i‘ ol 1 i'li Jti
u Im h uncovers surprise
the Republican ports is liiinal
mg money to Dave I rohnmay
er's i atnpaign Im governor
So vvliat it the national par
ties and associated campaign
hinds give money to i undidates
they deem worthy That is the
purpose ol organizations like
the Repuhlii an National Com
mittee and the Kepuhln an (an
ernor's Assoi iation The Demo
crats do the same thing with
their parts organizations, just
not as well
If the F.mt'i.ihi sees the issue
as campaign finance abuses,
why doesn't it uncover the
hundreds of thousands of did
lars raised and spent by Neil
(ioldsi hmidt who dei ideil not
even to run after all Why
doesn't it come down hard on
David Ills (who lepresents the
district the 1 niversity is lot at
ed m) \\ hose t ommittees Vlolat
ed campaign reporting rules
and have been assessed record
tines for tile abuses these lines
lieu' levied In Set letari of
Stall1 Barbara koberts now rais
inn millions to take on Irohn
niavi'i I \fr\tiling 1 ruhnmax
in 's i ampaigti is doing is per
Iih 11\ legal
l ln- issue here is not i am
paign film nr e but rather the
/-.mera/i/s desire to slam I rohn
maun and other Kepublu ans
II the I nitT'ild wants to do that
put it Oil the editor id I or make
it an op-ed piei e Passing the
stun oil as investigative report
mg is dei eptive Pile i artoon
at i ompanv mg the artii le is
vvortln ot the tabloids and
nothing better I lie editor tib\ i
otisk ran t slam f'rotinmaxer s
i bar.a ter or find a real issue to
altat k him on
Frit Stinernates
Student
Abolish
l or Steven Weidman |()/)/
1 eb 2 ?) to ,n i use the "i oriillitl
mst dominated Afric an Nation
al Congress'' ot not having re
nouni ed m i klai mg' and
murdering of thousands of "in
nocent black Afrit .ms is ,1
statement conceived in igno
ram e of the politit al realilv in
South Alru a
I'lte fai I is the AN(! has never
endorsed net klacing " More
importantly. the A\( lias pm
sued a polit \ ol strii I
none ioleni e lor almost '.(I
years with the sole reward of
escalated government brutality
and more apartheid laws
V\ hen in 1 m.O the ANl was
simply outlawed. Nelson Man
dela and others formed a
guerilla organization to engage
in anti government sabotage
The AM never killed thou
sands of "innocent black Afri
i.ins, this statement of VVeid
man springs of pure fantasy
"Bloodshed" in South Africa
has not been caused by the
AM’. but by a white suprema
tist government’s policy of
apartheid vvhic h today still op
presses and humiliates millions
of l.lai ks w ith dozens of apart
heid law s
Moreover, to say that the
AM is "communist dominat
ed is not only factually
wrong, but also completely
misses the point The point is
that the \\( is against apait
hem so is inc Suulli Airn an
( ommunist Party. anil so arc
main more organizations. lib
erals i ommunisls ami capital
ists Also true is lluit the ruling
while i apitalist" National
l‘art\ m power sini e 19411 is
responsible and '\i< t onntalile"
for apartheid and all ol its vio
lent e. brutality and disgr.u e
He holiest the issue is not
i oinniunisiii. i apitalism or
anything ism; the issue is that
apartheid is not something to
be reformed In South Atriia's
ruling National I’artv It has to
be abolished
Thomas t imid
(Graduate student
Delinquents
The Oregon l)ail\ Hnn'rald
oik c printed an art it It' on it1
front page that lamented the
Hush administration for its
In put rttical rhetorit on edut a
tion. saving that it is wrong tor
"the Education I’resident" to
not devote more and more las
dollars to funds that, among
other things, would provide lor
more student loans But how
unit h more money should he
appropriated tor such loans
w hen ‘I percent of them in Ore
gon become delinquent each
year7 (Rt>gister-(-uanl. Mai t|
Bush, unlike the authors of
the article, seems to realize that
more money is not the end-all
solution to better education
We must get a certain commit
ment from the Beneficiaries
The grassroots answer to bet
ter education doesn't start with
more money It starts in the
classroom with professors who
know the value of teaching and
involvement versus lecturing
and passivitv It starts in the
i lassroom w ith higher atten
dance rates, even on sunny
davs
i mini woiHirr h <ti mr « mi
versitv issut's sm li as animal
rights and gav rights and
even writing personals in thi*
i'.mcnthi. overshadow a< udem
it s !o sui h a degree that i lass
rooms ,nid books are imarlv su
perlluous
It is correct and traditional
and even desirable that univer
sities are (orunis for progres
sive. enlightened expression
Hut after four. five, or even six
years at a university, mam stu
dents cannot svnthesi/.e infor
mation and write < oherent par
agraphs Mindlessness in those
who are enlightened is still just
that So let's start there
Michael Jordan
International studies
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