Southern Methodist University SMU Scholar Hilltopics University Honors Program 11-6-2006 Hilltopics: Volume 3, Issue 9 Hilltopics Staff Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.smu.edu/hilltopics Recommended Citation Hilltopics Staff, "Hilltopics: Volume 3, Issue 9" (2006). Hilltopics. 55. https://scholar.smu.edu/hilltopics/55 This document is brought to you for free and open access by the University Honors Program at SMU Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Hilltopics by an authorized administrator of SMU Scholar. For more information, please visit http://digitalrepository.smu.edu. EXTENDED ELECTION SPECIAL volume three, issue nine www.smu.edu/honors/hilltopics week of november 06, 2006 ‘If we can keep it’: have we really earned our democracy? by Dr. Dayna Oscherwitz This election season, the AARP (As- at the decision to cast their vote for the Presi- sociation for the Advancement of Retired dent? Probably in the same way that many Persons) has been running a television ad Americans do. That is, they vote for a candi- entitled “Donʼt Vote.” The ad features an date because their friends, their family, their Endorsements: impeccably dressed pastor, a political par- Fellow Mus- politician who chops ty, or a television com- tangs endorse their favorite wood, drives a tractor, mercial tells them to, or candidates in the gover- and serves apple pie, they decide (rightly or nors race. Andrea Allen on but who categorically wrongly) that a candi- Carole Keeton Strayhorn and refuses to address any date agrees with them Samantha Urban on Chris serious political is- on a single issue, and Bell, page 3. Lance Webb sues. The ad caught they ignore the rest. on Kinky and Todd Baty on my attention for two It is little wonder that Perry, page 4. reasons. First of all, most Americans feel let it seems counterintui- down and betrayed by Culture: Carter Twitty gives tive to run an ad en- government. The real you an inside look at a titled “Donʼt Vote” in question is whether new internet game: fantasy a country where only elected officials have congress. Find out how to 54% of those eligible betrayed these voters, make your legislators win actually vote. Sec- or whether they have big for you, page 6. ondly, and perhaps more importantly, the betrayed themselves. ad draws attention to the fact that voting, Thomas Jefferson once famously quipped Kinky: Dr. Countryman ex- in and of itself, accomplishes nothing, and that a republic was the best form of gov- plains why Kinky had his sometimes does more harm than good. ernment “if you could keep it.” He was, un- vote—and lost it when he What do I mean? Well, let us start with doubtedly, reminding us that government came to SMU last month. the basics. Of that 54% who will vote in this and powerful interests will always overreach Read the whole story on election, how many will know the names of and conspire to take away the rights of citi- page 2. all the candidates running for office before zens. However, I am fairly certain he was also they show up to the polls? How many of expressing a fear that the voting public would Congress: Dr. Simon gives them will be familiar with the records of the not live up to its responsibility in guarantee- his insight into the mid- candidates and their positions on the is- ing the stability and integrity of our democra- terms with his consumerʼs sues? I am betting not many. Why? Well cy. After all, Jefferson and the other founders guide to the 2006 elections. first of all, because I conducted an informal put in place a carefully thought out system Check it out on page 2. poll among my students, and none of them of checks and balances. However, the most could name all of the candidates running for important check they put in place was that of Be Heard: Hilltopics is always Governor in Texas or all of the candidates the people, the people who would go regularly looking for good sub- running for Senator. If they could not even and assess the success or failure of the gov- missions on virtually any name the candidates, they were surely unfa- ernment. Perhaps this explains the foundersʼ topic. Email your ideas, miliar with their records or positions. reluctance to give the vote to all citizens. It feedback, or articles to My students are not alone. In 2004, ac- seems they were already wondering whether [email protected]. cording to a poll conducted by PIPA (Pro- the people were up to the task. gram on International Policy Attitudes), a I do believe the average citizen is capable majority of those who voted for George W. of fulfilling their responsibilities in this de- Bush (anywhere from 51% to 84% depend- mocracy, but I wonder what Thomas Jeffer- ing on the question) were unfamiliar with or son would make of the electorate in 2006, an misidentified his positions on a wide range of issues. How, one wonders, did they arrive see VOTING on page 5 We welcome submissions from all members of the SMU community. Letters to the editor should be up to 300 words in response to a previously published article. Contributions should be articles of up to 300-600 words on any topic or in response to another article. Please email your submission to [email protected] by Wednesday at 7:00 PM to be included in the following weekʼs publication. Special deadlines will be observed for breaking campus events. The opinions expressed in Hilltopics are those of the authors solely and do not reflect the beliefs of Hilltopics or any other entity. As such, Hilltopics does not publish anonymous articles. page 2 week of november 06, 2006 A Consumer’s Guide to the midterm elections Professor tells why Kinky lost his vote by Dr. Dennis Simon Every two years, political junkies in the United States expe- by Dr. Edward Countryman Kinky Friedman came campaigning to SMU not long rience the electoral equivalent of a Thanksgiving feast – na- ago. Iʼd been thinking of voting for him. Why the hell tional and local coverage of election returns. The upcoming not? But he lost my vote as soon as he opened his mouth. feast will be on the evening of Tuesday, November 7th. The After heʼd talked for a few moments, I walked out. menu includes 435 contests for the U.S. House of Represen- Thatʼs sad. Iʼd regarded him as a joke at first. But I tatives, 33 races for the U.S. Senate, 36 gubernatorial con- began to look at the positions he was taking on a lot of tests and thousands of state legislative and local elections. issues that are important to Texas. I didnʼt agree with As the campaigns peak, the national limelight focuses upon everything he said, but I was willing to find out more. Iʼd the “hot races” for both the U.S. House of Representatives avoided voting in my partyʼs primary so I could sign his and the Senate. I offer the following as a consumerʼs guide nominating petition. for deriving the most enjoyment from the feast of election Finally I found a person with the petition, and I signed returns. it. I found that person at Mockingbird Station on a hot [1] The National Political Climate. The outcomes of mid- morning last spring. I was wearing a white tee-shirt, and term elections are influenced, in part, by the national politi- along with about 500,000 other people I was on my way cal climate and whether this climate is favorable or unfavor- to the immigrant rally. able to the party controlling the White House. The history How ironic, because the first thing that Kinky said after of midterm elections provides numerous examples. As U.S. his introduction by some human boom-box was that he involvement in the Vietnam War deepened in 1966, the Dem- would put 10,000 troops along the border. He went on. ocrats, under Lyndon Johnson, lost 47 seats in the House. Under a Friedman government, any employer who hired Following the resignation of Richard Nixon and his subse- an undocumented migrant would face a $25,000 fine. quent pardon by Gerald Ford, Republicans lost 43 House Then the would-be governor started in about the mur- seats in the election of 1974. In the wake of the Whitewater der of a Houston policeman by somebody who had made scandal and the failure of his national health care initiative, his way across the Mexican border not once but twice. Iʼd Bill Clinton and the Democrats faced a “tidal wave” in 1994 been growing annoyed, but now I took offense. when they lost 53 House seats and control of the chamber I have a policeman son. Born in New Zealand, he works to the Republicans. While few analysts expect turnover to in London. He does a difficult and dangerous job. That reach these levels, the national political climate favors the Houston policeman should not have been killed, but tying Democrats. Public approval of President Bush stands at 37%; his killing to migration says nothing about the very real a majority of Americans regard the war in Iraq as a mistake; issue of American armed violence. Thatʼs when I left. I the “Abramoff affair” which led to the resignation of Major- didnʼt want to hear any more. ity Leader Tom DeLay and the indictment of Congressman Let me be clear. There is a real migration issue to con- Bob Ney is not regarded as helpful to the Republican cause.