VIEWPOINTS
EDITORIALS. OPINIONS LETTERS TO THE EOITOR
Anti
aren’t
*nm sentiments
un,lne to Euge
ne
■ OUR OPINION: Co!' • KJt .
attempt to push back
immigrants won't work
Welcome i<i beautiful
Boulder. Colo.
Don’t slav
Citizens in Boulder and
five other Colorado titles
are sick of big city folk mov
ing in and destroying their
bucolic wav of life Voters
went to the polls in tie*
Ktx kv Mountain slate Toes
day to decide whether they
should limit the number of
commercial building per
mits available to would be
builders.
In Aspen, slow growth
activists are trying to pro
vent the airport from
expanding its runway to
web ome more out-of stale
skiers.
Does any of this sound
familiar?
Eugene is not alone in its
desire to keep the city small.
As urban states su< h as Cali
fornia have become over
populated and overpriced,
manv people are (loc king to
scenic, remote and inexpen
sive slates for some perma
nent K and K So far, Eugene
has elected to not widen the
Ferry St root Bridge and
seems dead-set on keeping
Hyundai out of our wet
lands.
It's not clear, however, if
any of that will prevent the
rising title of interstate
immigrants t rushing into
our borders.
Boulder put rt cap on resi
dential housing back in
1976 that is still in offer t
What d has done, however,
is increase the number of
people living outside the
city and c ommuting to work
in the booming telecommu
nications industry So while
the Eugene-si.ro citv may not
be overcrowded, 40.000 cars
are snarling to get into its
serene c onfines every day.
Proof lhat even if you
don't build it. they will still
come.
l.ike u or not. the scenic
West's se« ret is out. and it's
impossible ter put the genie
hat k in thi> bottle What we
have to decide, and soon, is
how we are going to deal
with new arrivals instead of
spending so mm li energy
and ire on preventing them
from coming
li Eugeneans don't wait!
increased traffic and pollu
tion, not expanding the
bridge won't lessen the
numlier of cars Rather, the
city should take a closer
look at what it c an do to
encourage people to use oth
er modes of transportation
More hike paths are a
good idea, hut it rains so
often here that the idea of
pedaling to work in a down
pour is enough to push most
environmentalists bac k into
their Volvos Rather, it’s
time to take « serious (and
tax-funded) look at improv
ing Inis service.
Currently . bus servic e is
infrequent enough to give
many citizens an excuse for
hopping behind the wheel
Faster buses that show up at
more stops more often
would make it easier for
people to get where they
want to go cpiic k!v If the
number of buses doesn't
grow, neither will the num
lier of drivers.
There is one possible
deterrent, however
Inc reased population usual
ly means increased tax rev
enue. Unfortunately, Orego
nians lowered property tax
es a few years ago. Perhaps
it's time to raise property
taxes again It might deter
people from moving here,
and who knows/ Perhaps
wo could ac tually fund our
schools with the revenue
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Potpourri: Politicians, pundits and polls
As (»political writer. 1 irv to keep my
eyes on current events ns mui h as pos
sible I form bits an<f pieces of works
in tny head, ami when one fleshes out
in a somewhat decent fashion, voile! 1 have a
column
The last fmv weeks have been somewhat
problematic, however. because of a flurry of
information that 1 feel must somehow reach the
page So this week, for vour reading pleasure, 1
give you mv random musings on Washington
/<<>/> Dole As the Republican
front-runner continues to si ion*
up his right flank, he looks
mure and more like Pete "Flip"
Wilson, the t-aliforma governor
who recently dropped from the
GOP presidential race.
Dole has now changed his
position on the issues of gay
rights, affirmative action, gun
control. Medicare the list
continues
Mm ill
It is obvious to the rank-and-file of the Repub
lican Party that Dole's newfound conservatism
is simply a defensive tactic against a Colin Pow
ell presidential bid
Not a single poll shows Dole beating Powell
in a head-to-head competition, and the Senate
Majority Leader hopes that the far-right of the
party can help him squeak out a victory. Let's
hope that he doesn’t count on it
Pat Buchanan This gentleman is the main
reason that Dole cannot count on the foot sol
diers of the Christian Right in the upcoming
presidential rat e Ralph Reed's and Pat Robert
son's dirty little secret is now slowly luting let
out of the hag.
Most Christian conservatives are pro-life, anti
gay. working-class people — voters who would
let Democrats if it were not for social issues
Buchanan gives these people the generosity of
New Deal isolationism and the austerity of aid
school Christianity all in one package.
Buchanan figured out the secret of the Christ
ian far right long ago; while Dole and the "revo
lutionaries" of the House have attempted to bai
ant e the budget and reform Medicare, Buchanan
has understood that this faction's agenda has
nothing to do with finances.« onomics or even
politics.
Its principles are based solely upon pushing
its version of morality on the general public.
Dole has just started campaigning toward
them retently, hut Buchanan has been there
from the beginning Although Dole thinks differ
ently, the Christian right will not be fooled
They know that Dole's swerve to the right is
simple political opportunism
Ban Wvden: In a tot al Senate campaign.
«
Ron Wydrn is running a fine Republican
campaign, it's just too bad he is a Democrat.
-„
VVyciHii has siaUnJ iji umj vt lus cure i unrein Is that
some of the main points of his philosophy aru
sending power from Washington bock to Oregon
and being tough on crime, lie’s running a fine
Republican campaign; it's just too bad he is a
Democrat
Newt Gingrich It is ironic that Gingrich is the
absolute prouf of bis main philosophical theo
rem. This theorem, as most of us know, is that
there is too much power based in Washington
and not enough based locally.
Ret ent polls have shown that Newt's approval
ratings are far below that of Clinton or Dole, and
that ii ho ran for president, as he is thinking of
doing, he wouldn’t have a prayer against Dole,
Clinton, or General Powell
How is it that someone who is popular only in
a small, wealthy suburb of Georgia and among a
few key House members has so much influence
nationally ? Simple Too much power is concen
trated in Washington
Gingrich is proof that the Washington
machine serves not the American people, hut
the machine itself.
Alexander, Doman, Forbes, Gramm. Keyes,
l.ugar and Spector. Do any of these names look
familiar? 1 didn’t think so.
Guess what? All of them would like to lie your
nest president
Yitzhak Rabin, To the most serious matter of
the last few weeks. 1 would like to pay my
respects to Rabin, who 1 hope will be treated
more kindly by history than he was by the many
detractors in the political field and the media.
We should remember that like all loaders, and
all people for that matter, the Israeli Prime Min
ister was not perfect Hut as far as statesmen go,
he was one of the finest that we have seen in our
lifetime
Rahul was a key player in a fragile peace that
was politically risky and not altogether popular.
As we watch Gephardt, Clinton, Dole and
Gingrich bend statistics and follow every whim
of their pollsters to buttress their popularity, we
should remember that leadership is not about
votes It is about an eye to the future.
This is what Rabin brought to his people, and
those of the world, through his central involve
ment in the Middle hast peat « prrx ess He will
lie missed dearly.
Primo A / Fontana, a senior majoring in eco
noma s, is a columnist for the Emerald