Severely handicapped class arrives - The Lowell

«, IT* Lowell.O.-tober 5. I9S4
OLITICS—
Jessica Leung
GOP
convention
"He'mAe off and began to walk up and down a desolate path of frail
xhf. td discarded favors and crushed flowers."
Iwmd of frail rinds, discarded favors, and cnuhcd flowers, the floor
a-A*ered with pro^nuns. ratten, and directories. Othcrwiie. F. Scott
trrnkTt description was fairly accurate. Of course, he had been
•ctfbingGatsby's party, not a national political convention. But thai
01 fceUag of desolation after momcnU of surrealistic living was com*
•i tot tth scenes.
I thank KALW Radio SUtion whkb gave Eric FasHfl and me the opftunity
to attend the 1954 Republican National Convention u youth
porters. The convention Itself was often described as dull and bortog
ice everyone knew wbo the Presidential nominee would be. So what if
e Dallas convention lacked the fiery rhetorics of Cuomo and Jackson,
that DO historical emit, like the first nomination of a woman nn a nur
Presidential ticket, took place." For me. the wry fact of being at a nanal
political convention was exciting enough.
When I arrived in Dallas on August 19, the first event on lite agenda
is the California Cold Rush *S4. presented by Mrs. Rvth Hunt and the
illas County Republican Assembly. The Hunt Estate (Californians call
OK Hunt Ranch) U a rrpUca of Mount Vcmon situated in acres of four-
* thick grass. Given the Idyllic setting and the 108 degree heal. I
told say that it b the perfec: place for the 1985 Senior Class picnic.
The errnt was a reception barbecue for the California and Texas
legations. Just la case you ever compete in a trivia game show, Reagan
from California and Bush is from Texas. As for the Hunts, they ha«
ag been one of tbc wealthiest famuic* in America. Made it in oil and
ver, so I was toW. I was also told not to eat the barbecue because it was
ttkey tneatl
At the barbecue, several put-down*thc-other*party speeches were
rcn by' MOM prominent speakers. Including our own Governor
7 his stoneidded
belt to do some bclMifhtcnijgon spending In Congress, beginn*
| with Tip O'Neill. From my experiences In Dallas. It seems as If not
any Republicans like the Massachusetts Speaker nf the House. Later in
e week, at a California youth delegation wrnltur. Wlhnn *tatnl: "Tip
Tlcffl wU do as much ior the dcfldt at he wiU do for designer ieans and
cak-dancing,** Notice the allusions he u*cd when addressing a younger
9»d.
From this first contact with the political scene. 1 learned that politics b
rty. More Importantly. I abo learned that mott everything depends on
cmections. It b idcalbtically nice to think tha» delegates, alternates,
td guests attend conventions because they are supportive of thdr party.
f course, most of them do. In varying degrees. But the truth of the matf
b that self interests have a lot to do with such situations. On occasions
ich as political conventions. imporUnt business contacts are made.
ssmess contacts which translate Into prnfit.
My first impression of the convention hall was relief. You see. the
mperature soared above 100 degrees for the entire convention week.
ult* contra/y to S.P. conditions. It b aa established fact in Dallas that
le interior b cooler than the exterior. Thank goodness for airimllrtonlngl
As I expected, security was very tight. One had to pass through several
ecurity checks before proceeding on to onc'sdcstinatlon. Passes consisted
[ many sorts: delegate, alternate, guest, page, staff, security, and
icdia. Except for the major network staffs, the media (that's me!) had
mited acces: passes wiiich each reporter could trade in for a 30-minute
oor pass. And you think that scU-scbcduIu.g day bhectic!
All of the above passes enabled the individuel to go on the convention
oor. Official coavention Identifications were needed everywhere a per*
xi went, but they were worthless without a pass.
There was abo an arena pass which entitled the owner access to the
mi. The arena looked exutiy like the Cow Palace. Inside, there was a
[ant setwen wnich depicted the action at the podmm and on the floor,
b me. the arena was dreadful because 1) 1 coul^ be more comfortable at
croc watching television, and 2) It was freezing. Luckily. 1 did no! have
> spend too omen time there. But I learned that many local Republican
exam considered ihemsdvet extremely fortunate to be allowed in the
There were the receptions at night no wonder the nxwnlng scnkxis
id not begh until 10 a.m.1 Although there were parties all over the city,
ts main •atherinf place was tile Loews Anatole HotcL The Ana tote, one
I (be finest hotels in DaOat, ottered a spurious new dimension with Its
tria and coottmporaiy *tyle of decoration. (Important connections were
bo rademsush circumstances.) •
In additionito badness connections, political connections were of great
loportance. The Republicans are sure of a heateU race In 196T *or the
'residential Domination. Tbc most Ukcly choke, naturally, b Ceorge
tosh.Not far behind him are Senate Majority Leader Howard B*k.r of
rcanettee and Senator Dole of Kansas, Ford's running mate In 1976.
few York Congrcssmaa Jack Xcmo. representing the cotumatirr
orcs^ b certainiy another tough cookie with whom to coo tend in *8S,
.Wits Fcmro'u the Democratic Vke-rVnldcnthl nominee, tiie
RcpubBcan Parr/ b strewing the role of *cmca within the pa»ty. The
act that President Reagan appoifltd Sandra Day O'Connor as tit? first
moan Justice was often emphasized. Abo, maay top Republican we men
were on Cbplay as tpcak«n at thb convention. Perhaps the mon em*
^hashed one wu. the keynote speaker. Kaibcrine Ortega, U.S.
n*stircr, Vvtcd deady in ber speech. **I believe fat oor Preshfcnt not
becattM Ian ft woman. Not became 1 am of Hbpamc heriuge. But
ibovi all became I am an American/" However, 1 do not think that there
Mondale's tax plan
Mondale displayed "RcagaoCharse** to fUttstrate Reagan's
deficit.
can be any argument agalmt ihe assumption that Ortega was choten to
be the kcync .c speaker became she b a HUpanL* woman.
Among other Republican women. Elizabeth Dole, secretary of the
Department of 1 nmsportatien. certainly had her jliare of glory In
Dallas, Many fator her for the *8S election. Some are even speculating
the Idea of a Dole-Dole ifcket.
Cuomt uid In hK keynote address that t'.ie Republicans would hare to
create diversity in Dallas "by propping up mannequin delegates on the
convention lloor." As lar as ethnic diversity goes, much of the statement
wu true. Out of the 2.215 delegates, there were 75 blacks and 26 Asians.
Out »f -1.474 iklrsalct and jKcmalo, there »«* 167 Hitpanic*. 1 h*d
the opportunity to Inlcnkw toerml A-tUn delegates, and most fell that
the Republican Party his taken grc*t sups in improving the status of
minorities within the Party.
As far as rhetoric goes. U.N. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick's aitdm.%
«as by far the most refreshing. Tcrhaps thb b because she was OIK
Democrat among a week full of Fxjmblican sneakers. Or maybe It was
because of the fact that I felt as if I had "come to bury Caesar" when she
repeatedly manipulated the thane. "But then they (the Democrats)
alwavs blamed America firs*."
Unexpected and funny cvcn'Ji can take place at press conferences just
as in liTe-tclcvbion broadcast*. At his press conference nn foreign policy.
Bu\h addressed a man as a iromen due to the length of the man's hair.
Bush did not realize the mistake until several minutes later and was very'
embarrassed. Johnny Carvm remarked. "It's not that the Republicans
don't recognize women, it't that they can't.**
Tbc highlight of the wrtk was probably the welcome reception for the
President on August 22. The Anatole buzzed with life. Posters painted by
various youth delegation hung from all thirteen balconies of Atrium I.
Prior to the President'* arrival. Maureen Reagan, hb daughter, warmed
the enmd up by leaJhig the cheer. "Four More Years Reagan Bush." (I
myseU was standing \xj the eleventh floor balcony, and the view was not
the greatest.)
The sixth sessUn of the convention was essentially the acceptance
speech and closing ceremonies. Reagan accepted the nomination after
adhering a carefully designed speech. Even the Jokes were pcfrsUy
chosen. For example, the President said. 'Will Rogers once said he
never met a man he didn't like. If 1 could paraphrase, our friends In tSe
other party norr met a tax they didn't like. . ." The crowd broke inktremendous
appUuse and cheered for several minutes before Reagr *. had
the opportunKy to d-lhrr the punch line: "or hike" Furthermorr. not
only did Reagan effectively appeal to America's sense of patriotism by
nMnlpuUllng the Olympic theme, he named each dty that the Olympic
torch passed through to Illustrate the diversity, splendor, and greatness
of Amcfca.
Aftrr the acceptance speech, Ray Charles led the entire convention
floor m singing "America the Beautiful." The ambience was truly
tremendous. What was even more remarkable wax the spirit of unity,
prk'-e. and optimism displayed by the crowd when they rabed held hands
and began singing "God Bless America.'' Imagine the feeling at Spirit
WeeL magnified a hundred tiaw. Only then win you begin to underst
ind and appreciate the atmosphere.
E«n If the furor over Ferraro's finances nvenhadowed the convention
at times. tV entire event was carefully ttaged and precisely executed.
Where can you blame the weather on the Democrats, rent a baby
elephant for SI,000 an hour, see Fritz Busters in actkn. hear Motcooe
Center referred to as the Tcaple of Doom, and staad up and cheer
wbencvcryoa hear the word "Grenada" mentio oed? Koubere except at the
19e4NationalConventkm.
' The pany was now officUBy over. Some would be back on the ctov
palgn trail, others would continue to work for the Party, and itill others
would go back to thdr normal hVs. Whatever the case might be, 1 am
sure that everyone has bencfltted b terms of experience and exposure. 1
myself learned u great deal about oar political machine and human
behavior. I do feet a Wt saJ now th « all Ae excitement has finished, but
I am certain *hat there will be . ^Ilar occasions to come, be they
Democratic or Republican, as long a> he celebration of fife continues.
You see, although Gatsby never atter, jed another party again. 1 Intend
trc . ' , . ,...•-
ByMkhulLee
Praldcnlia. candid. K Wilier
Mondik released a budget plu
dnlgned to trim the projected
IVM federal deficit from «6J
billion lo ttt bUI'ion. while Increasing
spending in certain areas.
The plan irttludra an J8S HUlon
income lax increase to ofbet the
. delidt.
Mondale's plan, which hi
released on September 10, 1984. b
lo Increase taxes and will not alfect
[amUJcs earning S25.C00 or less '
oer par. By 1989. families with
earnings of S25.000 to 135.000 will
pay an additional S9S in luxes
jrj/lj: families caminR as much at
S4S.C0Q win pajr J20O more: and
families with earnings of up to
JIOO.000 will pay an extra 51600.
The Democratic candidate's admen
said 75 percent of the tax increases
will be paid by the.middle
class families having an annual in*
come of at least MO.000.
A minimum 15-percent tax on
corporations b abo included in the
plan. Critics of the plat: say this
would dbcourage big companies
from donating to charities or
developing programs to benefit
ibe public.
Mondale's proposal Includes a
U0 billion Increase in domestic
programs, includir-j' increased
fueds to schools. He plans to save
S51 bilCon by reducing interest
payments on the deficit, and S5
bllton by streamlining federal
manaKement procedures.
"Seventy-five
percent of the
tax increases
will be paid by
the middle
class."
He alw plans to cut S2S billion
in military spending and $24
billion in domeittc programs from
the projected 1989 budget.
In Mondale's own words, the
budget plan "sets up a deficit
reduction trust fund. By law every
penny o* new revenues will go into
that fund to be used for reducing
the dcficlt*n. X for new spending or
new programs. And it rcst< on the
.principle eyghe
Allhou
ting alto*
tonal-an
' Pteplr
striking
needed 1
tbemsrh
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figures 1