ustxtxb_obs_1984_10_26_50_00002-00000_000.pdf

,s, —-N–:—- C. FOE .1. —. _ ril A HE PEOPt _ c—, 1 ii rA*4 .1 ., 0e / VI; I III.IIP ‘111111111 ‘ ‘ 1 1 IIII 111 1011111 1,11`,1111/ IN’ P1111111 bill* II I li I i . 1: ,c PRI El< 7. ___ s- .,_.--:a.iditir _ ,_t, .-, ..:- ., 11-, rtirille, . -aro --' -'. I 'r 7---- il '1 \(III c .-_..,,_..,_ ,, _._____ ,--- ---.._.-:..--- ----_.>“. …….. .0000,… , TEXAS SERvER The Texas Observer Publishing Co., 1984 Ronnie Dugger, Publisher Vol. 76, No. 21 7-4D=-’77 October 26, 1984 Incorporating the State which in turn incorporated ASSOCIATE EDITOR AT CALENDAR EDITORIAL INTERN: Terri WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: LAYOUT AND DESIGN: Alicia EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD: ville; Chandler Davidson, Houston; bridge, Mass.; Lawrence Goodwyn, Ill.; Molly Ivins, Dallas; Larry Jr., San Antonio; Willie Morris, Presley, Texarkana, Tx.; Susan Fred Schmidt, Tehachapi, Cal., CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Clifford, John Henry Faulk. Ed Laurence Jolidon, Mary Lenz, Sweeney, Michael Ventura, Lawrence CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Osdol, Alicia Daniel. CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS: Johnson, Kevin Kreneck, Carlos Woods. A Observer and the East Texas the Austin Forum-Advocate. EDITOR Geoffrey EDITOR Dave Denison LARGE Ronnie EDITOR Chula Sims Langford Al Watkins Daniel Frances Barton. Austin,; Bob Eckhardt, Washington. Garcia, Austin; John Kenneth Durham, N.C.; George L. King, Washington, D.C.; Oxford, Miss.; Kaye Northcott, Robert Sherrill, Tallahassee, Warren Burnett. Nina Butts, Garcia, Bill Helmer, Jack Matt Lyon, Rick Piltz, Walsh. Alan Pogue, Jeff Danziger, Beth Epstein, Lowry. Joe McDermott, of free voices party but will hew hard to We are dedicated to the whole the rights of humankind from none but our own conscience, the truth to serve the interests the human spirit. their own work, but not for publishing them we do not this is a journal of free Democrat, Rips Dugger Elroy Bode, Kerr D.C.; Sissy Galbraith, CamHendrick, Urbana, Maury Maverick, Austin; James Schwartz, Galveston; Fla. Jo Clifton, Craig Hopper, Amy Johnson, Susan Raleigh, Paul Russell Lee. Scott Van Dan Hubig, Pat Ben Sargent, Gail journal We will serve no group or it and the right as we see it. values above all interests, to democracy; we will take orders will we overlook or misrepresent ful or cater to the ignoble in Writers are responsible for not themselves written, and in that we agree with them because the truth as we find truth, to human as the foundation of and never of the power anything they have necessarily imply voices. Managing Publisher Cliff Olofson Advertising & Development Director Dana Loy Subscription Manager Alicia Daniel Circulation Assistant Stefan Wanstrom Consultant Frances Barton Editorial and Business Office 600 West 7th Street, Austin, Texas 78701 The Texas Observer at Austin, Texas. Subscription rates, including 5 1/8% sales tax: one year S23, two years $42, three years $59. One year rate for MI-time students, $15. Back issues $2 prepaid. Airmail, foreign, group, and bulk rates on request. Microfilm editions available from University Microfilms Intl., 300 N. Zceb Road. Ann Arbor. Michigan 48106. Copyright 1984 by Texas Observer Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced without permission. POSTMASTER: Send form 3579 to: 600 West 7th Street, Austin, Texas 78701. 2 OCTOBER 26, 1984 PAGE TWO Republicanism AS THE FINAL weeks of the presidential campaign elapse, the election hinges on these questions: Will Reagan Republicanism finally be exposed for what it is? Will enough voters know a sham when they see it? President Reagan and Vice President Bush took giant strides to reveal themselves in the October debates, and as Walter Mondale said in thanking Reagan for the first debate, “we all appreciate it.” We appreciate it because by the time Reagan walked off the stage in Louisville we had our best confirmation yet of what the White House press corps has been telling us all along: Reagan’s presidency is a scripted presidency, and when he is out of the control of his producers and directors he acts in ways quite like a man not fit to be president. We saw, in the absence of a script, how important the script is. And as the President tried desperately to achieve a factual performance we saw how inimical is his relationship to the facts. But an even greater service was performed by George Bush in his debate with Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro. Bush was trying to be the Ronald Reagan we lost somewhere in the air space between Washington, D.C., and Louisville. The Vice President tried all of Reagan’s favorite themes the “America is back” optimism, the we’re-doing-all-we-can line on civil rights, the environment, and the arms race. And he also played on the same hatreds and fears that Reagan does he spoke of those Marxist-Leninist Sandinistas who humiliated the Holy Father, those Tip O’Neill liberals in the House of Representatives, those nyet-nyet-nyet Soviets. But when delivered without the Reagan geniality, the sheepish smile and the wag of the head, the Reagan themes are laid bare. There is a mean edge to them, and Bush’s vituperative performance did them appropriate justice. It’s disappointing that Bush’s performance went over as well as it did. The American people can perhaps be forgiven for their affection for Ronald Reagan we have always liked a good show and an affable gentleman. But Bush’s appeal was consciously tailored for the fanatics, the fearful and the pigheaded. Surely women all over the country recoiled when he spoke patronizingly to Ferraro. Millions more must have seen through his one-of-the-boys inanity and his fake smiles, and pegged him as the phony he is. Bush’s phoniness is important because it is a crucial element of the new Republicanism. Both Reagan and Bush try to hide the facts about who has benefited the most from Reaganomics. Bush said “the rich are paying 6 percent more on taxes and the poor are getting a better break.” But numerous studies in the last few months show that the poor are paying more in taxes and that, in inflation-adjusted dollars, social spending has dropped. It is widely understood to be the essence of Reaganomics to revitalize the productive sector the rich by giving tax breaks and “incentives” and to rehabilitate the nonproductive sector the poor by getting them off the government rolls. But on TV, in front of the vast audience, Reagan and Bush knew this would not sell. They appealed instead to voters’ fears about tax injustice and sought to ride the mood of self-interest.