THE YEAR 2003 rolled in two weeks ago with fireworks, fanfare and of course, resolutions. People vowed to lose weight, earn more money, spend more time with their families, and generally improve their lives. But just as quickly as the ball dropped in New York City, resolutions were abandoned and forgotten. We all break resolutions. America's politicians would benefit themselves, and the nation, immensely with just a few changes in their political ways.
For starters, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle and the rest of the lessening Senate Democrats should resolve to no longer practice hypocrisy when it comes to not-too-peachy political pasts. The Senate Democrats defeated U.S. District Judge Charles Pickering's nomination for the federal appeals court last year, and vowed to do so again, citing Pickering's past in supporting segregation. Daschle vowed, "We are going to do everything we can, everything we can, to stop that nomination on the floor and in the committee" ("Frist says Democrats are 'playing politics' with Pickering renomination" FOX News, Jan.12).
Daschle also helped lead the fight against ousted Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott following his remarks at Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party. Judging by Daschle's ability to rant at real and perceived racial prejudice, it would make sense that the honorable gentleman from South Dakota would lead the fight against a former Ku Klux Klan member trying to pose as a West Virginia senator. Surprisingly enough though, there has been no moral outrage, demand for apologies or resignations from Sen. Robert Byrd -- a Democrat and a KKK member in the 1940s. It was only 10 months ago that while on a Fox news show Byrd used the term "white niggers" to describe a group of people. Yet still the tidal wave of moral outrage never came from Daschle and his cronies. It appears to the Senate Democrats that you are allowed to be racist just as long as you vote the way they do.
Democrats aren't the only ones who could do with some improvement. Illinois Gov. George Ryan should resolve to stop procrastinating. The outgoing Republican governor waited until two days before the end of his term to announce clemency for all death row inmates in Illinois. His intentions may have been good
-- no man should be put to death for a crime he didn't commit -- but his timing is not to be praised. It's curious that Ryan felt strongly enough about the "evils" of the death row judicial system to take unprecedented action but waited until just before the end of his term. His late action left him with no way to help improve a situation he felt strongly about and served as an easy way out of the political backlash. He just left the mess for the incoming governor.
Speaking of governors, Virginia's own Gov. Mark R. Warner could do with a few resolutions. First, he should vow to stop making idle threats. Just last month he threatened to cut 12 Virginia Department of Motor Vehicle offices in order to save money. When a political backlash began to brew, Warner managed to "find" $6.4 million to save the endangered stations. Now, Warner is vowing to cut any economic bill that does not include stipulations for tax increases. Warner may be able to follow through on his threats, but if he backs down on his word again he will just appear weak and untruthful to the Virginia people.
The year 2003 will also bring about the beginning of the hard campaigning for the 2004 presidential campaign. Both parties would do well to go forward with one or two resolutions.
President Bush and the rest of the GOP should resolve to maintain focus on the issues at hand -- the war on terror, the crisis with Iraq and the economy. The public, based on poll numbers and midterm elections, likes what the Republicans are doing. Separate CNN polls show that the American public expects the GOP to make Congress more productive and the people approve of President Bush's councils and advisors; in general,more states are beginning to lean Republican. Therefore, the party should keep their hands clean of campaigning too early and causing eventual voter burnout. People can quickly grow sick of a party that's not focusing on their work and spending their time bashing their opponents.
The Democratic party should resolve to keep their own primaries from looking like a three-ring circus. As of Monday and Sen. Joseph Lieberman's announcement that he would run for office, five Democrats have made bids for the White House. They certainly won't be the last. As more and more candidates join the fight for the Democratic nomination, the Democratic campaign will veer farther and farther from attacking the issues and closer to internal fighting and side-taking. If Democrats want to have any sort of a chance in 2004, they need to pick a strong leader and support him wholeheartedly. On second thought, maybe the Democrats should just resolve to let anyone run and let it turn into a circus. The GOP will benefit.
(Maggie Bowden's column usually appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at mbowden@cavalierdaily.com.)
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