Monday
Editor in chief: Jack Clifford
Managing Editor: Jessica Blanchard
Newsroom: (541) 346-5511
Room 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-maii: ode@oregon.uoregon.edu
EDITORIAL EDITOR: MICHAEL J. KLECKNER opededitor@journalist.com
Enlisting distrust
The whole country is talking
about the voting irregularities in
Florida, and much of the country
is upset about it in one way or an
other. Here on campus there were
also some irregularities related to
the election — not the votes, but
the voter registration. The ASUO
let its voter list get away. This in
cident may not cause the contro
versy that C. J. Gabbe and Peter
Larson's purchase of cookies and
coffee did during last spring's
elections, but it's a sorry state of
affairs nonetheless.
Here's a brief rundown of the
ASUO’s gaffe: The ASUO com
piled a list, with names and
phone numbers, of all the stu
dents it registered to vote. The list
is being used for a Yale study on
student voting. But a member of
the ASUO gave the list to some
one who wanted to call students
and ask them to vote for a particu
lar candidate. An ASUO senator
also took names off the list to
make phone calls. Some student
voters were called before the mis
take was caught. Another student
discovered the release of the list
and asked that, out of fairness, it
be given to anyone who asked.
We are concerned about this
lack of discretion. OK, to be fair,
anyone can pay the Lane County
Elections Office to get a list of all
registered voters and then whittle
that list down to students. It’s pub
lic information. But students are a
highly sought-after demographic,
and a pre-sorted list of student
voters would be valuable to many
campaigns.
Students who registered to vote
with the ASUO surely did not ex
pect that, because they gave their
registration card to their student
government instead of mailing it
themselves, their information
would be given out to partisan
causes. And these students
shouldn't have had to expect such
shenanigans. The list should have
been confidential.
Students were barraged this
election season with the message
that their votes counted and that
voting is the most important thing
they could do. Voting is what
keeps our democracy running,
and it is important. With all the
talk of how critical voting is, and
all of the good work done by the
ASUO to register students and to
be involved in a potentially im
portant study of voting, why was
this list not treated with the ut
most discretion?
We’re not that concerned with
the possibility that a few students
got phone calls. Many calls were
made by groups all across the
country, asking voters questions
and stumping for a candidate or a
cause. We’re not even so
And the 'winner' is...
SAINT AND
PROFITS
ERIC PFEIFFER
Even as we wait for a new
president amid threats of
a “constitutional crisis,”
American voters have al
ready been declared the winners
in this year’s election.
Several trends have appeared as
we inch closer to the moment
when a winner will surface as the
43rd president of the United
States.
First, the winner loses. Accord
ing to some Washington insiders
and even a few elected officials,
our next president won’t have a
lot of room to maneuver. He will
take office without a mandate, fac
ing an evenly divided Senate and
House. Couple that with an econ
omy already in the process of
cooling, and you have a president
elect whose greatest challenge
will be surviving the inevitable
fallout from Clinton nostalgia.
If the presidency goes to Texas
Gov. George W. Bush, look for him
to once again follow in his father’s
footsteps, this time suffering the
wrath of a public that loves turn
ing on those it once elevated.
And if the office goes to Vice
President Al Gore, he will face a
public almost certainly ready for
change, having had the same par
ty in office for eight years.
The good news for us is that
things couldn’t have turned out
better. While a divided govern
ment sounds difficult, it’s exactly
what our founding fathers had in
mind. What it means for America
is a prescription drug plan, a bal
anced budget, fair tax cuts,
thoughtful military spending and
moderate Supreme Court justice
appointments — all the things the
two candidates promised, but nei
ther would have delivered had
they won on a sweeping mandate.
At this point, only one thing is
certain: Republicans will retain
control of the House for the next
two years. Depending on which
party captures the Oval Office,
Congress could see a dramatic
backlash like the one that put Re
publicans in control in 1994. In
the Senate, the GOP also main
tains a razor-thin majority. With
Washington state Senate results
still coming in, Republicans cur
rently hold a 50-49 edge. Howev
er, even if Democratic candidate
Maria Cantwell prevails in her
race against Republican Sen.
Slade Gorton, control of the Sen
ate will remain in Republican
hands.
In the first scenario, the Senate
is tied 50-50, with the deciding
vote falling on the newly elected
vice president. A Bush-Cheney
administration would have the
vice president casting his decid
ing vote in favor of a GOP
majority.
In the second case, a newly
elected Vice President Joe Lieber
man would be forced to resign his
Senate seat, where a Republican
governor has already promised to
replace him with a GOP ap
pointee. In that case, the tally goes
back to 51-49, with Republicans
piejauig euauiijes iuueAo;9
concerned that the Yale study
may have been tainted by the slip,
although that's possible.
What's really frustrating about
this error in judgment is that it can
make students distrustful of gov
ernment. The national elections
I
may already do that on their own:
According to CNN, only 51 per
cent of potential voters actually
cast ballots this year. The contro
versy about the presidency should
make more people want to be in
volved in the process, but it might
turn some away.
I I I
Likewise, not being able to trust
campus government could length
en the list of students who have
given up on the process — and
that’s one list we do want to let go.
This editorial represents the opinion of
the Emerald editorial board. Responses
can be sent to ode@oregon.uoregon.edu.
1
Official Florida Presidential Ballot
Follow the arrow and Punch the appropriate dot.
Bush— . .^
in control.
Outside the two major parties,
there is plenty of excitement in
the election’s aftermath. Green
Party candidate Ralph Nader
failed to gain the 5 percent that
would have guaranteed his party
federal funding in the next elec
tion. While it’s a disappointment
for Green supporters, it’s far from
a defeat. After all, the Green Party
isn't about big money. Their victo
ry came in the foundation of a na
tionwide alliance of progressive
voters. If they stay united, thev are
the future of American third-party
politics.
As for the Reform Party, they
are finished. The only consolation
in this sad demise of a once-prom
ising movement is the hope that
Pat Buchanan will sink with the
ship.
The best thing for the country to
do right now is to wait. When you
turn on the TV and hear politi
cians or media analysts talking
about a crisis sweeping the coun
try, don’t be fooled. There is no
constitutional crisis concerning
the future of the White House. In
fact, the Constitution is simply
running its natural course and so
lidifying the strength of our re
public. The next great wave of po
litical change in our country is at
least another four years away.
Eric Pfeiffer is a columnist for the Oregon
Daily Emerald, currently serving an in
ternship at the National Journal Hotline
in Washington, D.C. His views do not nec
essarily represent those of the Emerald.
He can be reached at epfeiffe@glad
stone.uoregon.edu.