ustxtxb_obs_1974_09_20_50_00015-00000_000.pdf

September 20, 1974 15 The Outpost Austin’s Best Barbecue 11:30-7:30 Daily, Except Sunday David and Marion Moss 345-9045 Highway 183 North Happiness Is Printing By l ? FUTURA PRESS Mc Phone 512 /442-7836 1714 SOUTH CONGRESS P.O. BOX 3485 AUSTIN, TEXAS Newspapers Magazines Political Specialists Signs and Placards Bumperstrips Office Supplies 100% Union Shop i’a WT Socatsraltss IATZST or nix Hi SSiSSIPPLI 3 ST0110 1K DALLAS 4535 McKinney Ave. 5219 West Lovers Lane 205 South Zane Bentsen for what? I have some questions about votes Bentsen has been casting recently in his capacity as the Democratic member from Texas in the United States Senate. In March, Bentsen voted, with U.S. Sen. John Tower, to restore capital punishment for certain crimes. This passed the Senate 54-33. Bentsen voted, with Tower, to kill a proposal to control the ownership of handguns, especially “Saturday night specials.” The Senate refused to kill this gun control, 68-21. In April, Bentsen voted, with Tower, to kill a proposal to require newspapers and other print media to keep records of paid political advertisements and to send records of these ads to the government for publication before elections. The proposal was killed, 52-29. Bentsen voted, with Tower, to try to kill a proposal to reduce the allowable size of individual contributions to candidates for federal office from $9,000 to $3,000. The attempt failed, 52-37, and the $3,000 limit prevailed. In May, the Senate passed one of the most significant reforms in recent times, national no-fault insurance, 53-42. Bentsen, with Tower, voted against it. Bentsen voted, with Tower, for an amendment to prohibit long-distance busing of students to achieve racial balance. This amendment failed, 47-46. Bentsen voted, with Tower, to prohibit striking workers from receiving food stamps, except those workers whose jobs paid so little they were already getting them. This anti-worker proposal was killed, 52-31. For their votes, Bentsen and Tower . were commended in the Texas Manufacturers Association’s “Executive Digeit” and the Austin American-Statesman. In June, Bentsen voted, with Tower, against a proposalto open the files of the FBI and other investigatory agencies except when a person’s trial rights would be jeopardized. The Senate approved doing this, 51-33. Bentsen voted, with Tower, against a proposal to require yearly publication of the total, but not the items, of the CIA budget. The Senate refused this proposal,, 55-53. Bentsen voted, with Tower, against halving funds for the B-1 bomber and further study of its effectiveness. The Senate refused this cut, 59-31. Bentsen voted, with Tower, against cutting off aid to the government of South Vietnam until it .”has released all persons” who have been imprisoned without trials. The Senate refused this, 57-32. In July, Bentsen voted for repealing l imilisim. “no-knock” and against killing the proposed Consumer Protection Agency, diverging from .Tower on these issues. But in August, Bentsen voted, with Tower, against reducing the defense budget from killed this, 55-37. And he voted, with $82.1 billion to $81 billion. The Senate re..-, N ‘”. 44, …,,,,, YA, “”0.40….i f… .0* ME 4wwe, Tower, against lowering military aid to South Vietnam from $700 million to $550 million, which failed 47-44. We know why Tower casts such votes, but he is not running for the Democratic nomination for President. Bentsen is the man who will tell you, any time you ask him, “You bet I would like to be President.” Texans had better wake up before this guy starts speaking in our name. Strauss & Barkan The blow-up of the Democratic Party’s charter commission on Aug. 18 means that George Meany’s operatives are still a wrecking crew determined to rule or ruin. In this instance, Robert Strauss, the chairman of the party and a Texan, worked with Meany hatchet man Al Barkan’s runners in an underhanded way to erase hard-won party reforms and deliberately affront the McGovern, Robert Kennedy type Democrat. The charter commission was convened to draft a constitution for the party, the adoption of which is the work of the party’s Kansas City miniconvention in December. The week before the Aug. 18 Meeting, Strauss allowed 13 new charter commissionmembers to replace members who could not attend, stacking the commission in this way so that Barkan’s group acquired an illegitimate control. According to the report of the Democratic Planning Group, “Strauss learned the names of commissioners unable to attend. Aides and allies called conservatives, plus a few other subject to pressure, ‘suggesting’ resignation and dependable replacements . . . Lanny Davis, a Maryland congressional candidate who had voted with commission moderates, resigned and was replaced by Barkan operative Doris Hardesty. Davis told DPC he was ‘deceived into resigning.’ . U.S. Rep. Don Fraser noted, ‘We now discover that a whole slew of members are suddenly resigning and it’s clear that it’s no coincidence . . . there has been a concerted effort to get people to resign.’ ” Then, in a caucus, Strauss people joined with the Barkan crowd and adopted the unit rule, so that “Strauss lost control of his own troops” to Barkan. Here is what happened then at the commission meeting, as reported by the Washington Post Aug. 19. There were only three previously unresolved issues, including whether the miniconvention should be a regular event \(most liberals group prevailed on all three issues. But then Barkan got greedy. A Barkan congressman moved to strike out a statement in the draft charter that Democrats should “encourage participation by all Democrats as indicated by their presence in the Democratic electorate.” Compromises had already substituted “encourage participation” for “insure representation,” and the reaction to this Vstts,roaa,,, new move was violent. State Assemblyman Willie Brown of California said the change would be “driving blacks and women out of the party.” Ann Martindell of New Jersey called it “the final rape of this document.” Blanching a little, the Strauss-Barkan forces put the question off until December. But then, working off a “pink sheet” prepared by Barkan’s top assistant, Strauss and Barkan people knocked out a provision allowing the party to “establish criteria for participation” in primaries and other party procedures. Next, on motion of Doris Hardesty, the Strauss-Barkan group proposed to eliminate the ban on unit voting at any stage in the delegate selection or presidential nominating process; to eliminate proportional representation of candidate preferences in that process; and to eliminate the requirement that delegate-selection activities must occur in the year in which the process is concluded. That blew it. Hodding Carter III of Mississippi said, “You’re killing ten years of reform.” Fraser could not see why