Weekly Update - A publication of the Michigan Militia Corps Volume 3, Issue 24 August 22, 1996 The Politics of Compromise Bob Dole a Principled Conservative? In June of last year, Hearst Newspaper's columnist Robert E. Thompson reported that Richard Nixon had once offered Senator Bob Dole some friendly advice. Nixon "is said to have counseled Dole in essence to 'go right, young man' into the traditional heartland of Republican convention delegates. Then, with the nomination in hand, Nixon suggested that Dole begin mending fences with so-called main-stream Republicans." During this year's primary season, perhaps in part to counter the challenge from Patrick Buchanan, Bob Dole sought to distance himself from such political pragmatism and portray himself as a principled conservative. Yet, once the primaries were over and the GOP nomination was securely in hand, Dole did indeed begin moving to the left - just as mentor Richard Nixon had advised. Bob Dole claims to be a friend of firearms owners, but his record on Second Amendment issues is seriously flawed. As a member of the House, he voted for the landmark Gun Control Act of 1968. In 1972, he voted to ban the sale and distribution of the inexpensive firearms which gun control advocates call "Saturday Night Specials.” From the mid-1970s through the 1980s his pro-gun record was virtually flawless. Then in 1990 he voted to prohibit the manufacture, sale, or possession of nine types of semiautomatic weapons. And in 1991 he introduced a version of the so-called Brady bill calling for a five business day waiting period before a handgun could be purchased. In 1993, when President Clinton advocated approval of similar anti-gun measures, Dole voted against both the counterproductive Brady bill and the controversial semi-automatic weapons ban, both of which became law. It is important to note, however, that he personally paved the way for passage of the Brady bill and this year refused to allow the Senate to vote on repeal of the semi-automatic weapons ban. In 1993, after a filibuster by pro-gun senators turned back two attempts to bring the Brady bill to a vote, The bill appeared to be dead for the year. But then Dole suddenly offered a meaningless compromise that served as a pretext for terminating the filibuster and allowing the bill to pass. As the New York Times reported, Bob Dole "wanted to get the issue off the political screen, but he wanted that done with enough political sugar coating so Republicans who hate any gun controls could swallow hard and accept it." Subsequently, when the final version of the Brady bill came up for a vote under a unanimous consent agreement with only three senators (including Dole) present Dole could have blocked the bill single-handedly, but chose not to do so. He later told reporters that he and his GOP colleagues were "happy to have this issue behind us." In 1994 Dole voted against an amendment to ban certain military-style rifles unfairly characterized as "assault weapons." But later in the year he voted for the crime bill. This year, after the House passed legislation to repeal the "assault weapons" ban, Dole squandered a splendid opportunity to undo some of the damage he had done by supporting the crime bill. He explained that the repeal measure was "not a priority" on his Senate agenda, since "I am not optimistic that there is sufficient support in the Senate to pass the repeal." It was a lame excuse. In this election year, a roll call vote on the matter, even had it failed, could have provided a crucial election-year litmus test of each senator's commitment to the Second Amendment. In other instances, Dole has not hesitated to schedule votes on issues that were doomed to defeat, provided that it would enhance his own political position. In 1993, Senator Dole both lobbied and voted for the mammoth 1,700 page North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which has more to do with transferring trade policy to an international authority than it does with genuine free trade. The next year, he campaigned and voted for the 20,000- plus page General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which created the sovereignty-ending World Trade Organization (WTO). President Clinton could not have succeeded on this issue without Republican help. Dole also supported the President’s deployment of troops to Bosnia and the continuance of most favored nation trade status to the despotic Communist Chinese regime. Dole, like Clinton, is an internationalist. In a June 6, 1995 New York Times op-ed piece, Bob Dole condemned "isolationism," proudly touting the GOP as the party of true internationalism. Dole voted for the 1991 Civil Rights Act - the "quota" bill which now serves as the main federal affirmative action law. And in 1985, he implored President Reagan to leave intact President Lyndon Johnson's Executive Order 11246, which mandated affirmative action for businesses with federal government contracts. In 1993, Senator Dole offered to compromise with the Clinton Administration on health care and helped push a bipartisan bill though the Senate. During an appearance on CNN's Larry King Live program, he praised First Lady Hillary Clinton's efforts to collectivize medicine, declaring; "I'm impressed with her" and offering to support a "one-time exception to the anti-nepotism law so that President Clinton could make her an official member of his Cabinet. This year, Dole promoted and voted for the controversial Kennedy- Kassebaum health insurance reform bill. In 1982, Dole was instrumental in convincing President Reagan to sign the largest tax increase in American history to that time. House Speaker Newt Gingrich labeled him "the tax collector for the welfare state." In 1984, Dole helped ram through another $50 billion tax increase. The March 11th New York Times noted: "For all the oratory during the Republican primaries about replacing Mr. Clinton with a devoted conservative, both Mr. Dole and the President have reputations as split-the-difference Washington Insiders." The same article quoted Robert Strauss, former Democratic Party Chairman, as saying of Dole and Clinton: "For two people who appear to be so different - from style to age to background to records - it's amazing how much they have in common." In short the Republicans want to go to the same place as do the Democrats, only a little less quickly. It is something to keep in mind as Bob Dole continues his move to the center. By Robert W. Lee, The New American, August 5, 1996 Big Brother Wants Your On-Line Keys A computer security specialist, Jim Bidzos, president of RSA Data Security in Redwood City, California, says that a new plan being imposed by Attorney General Janet Reno is like "giving copies of the keys to all your file cabinets and all your doors" to the government. Under Reno's proposal, Internet users would be asked to give the government the digital "keys" to their computers in exchange for more security when doing business on-line. The "keys" in question are the encryption codes used any time a business or individual conducts a financial transaction on-line. While such a measure might help to curb on-line business fraud, it also would allow the federal government access to all private and commercial transaction conducted on-line. Reno wants to create a new government agency that would oversee all digital encryption, but Bidzos says such oversight is not necessary because all companies can keep copies of their own encryption codes that could be subpoenaed, if necessary, for evidence. "Stalin, Franco and Bill" With regard to the notorious scandal of the hundreds of FBI files that mysteriously found their way into the White House, them is one House Democrat who isn't buying the White House explanations. Rep. James A Traficant had this to say: "who in God's name gave the White House the power to snoop into our private lives? Who at the FBI has the right to violate the Privacy Act? Who at the Internal Revenue Service has the right to violate their oaths and betray American taxpayers? When Congress allows the White House to act like the KGB, Congress allows the government of Jefferson and Lincoln to stink lust like the governments of Stalin and Franco." PAC Man Rep. David E. Bonior, Michigan Democrat and House minority whip, got zapped recently for ignoring his own admonitions. Mr. Bonior, "who denounces the role of 'special interests' in American politics, has accepted more campaign money from political action committees representing labor groups than any other House member from Michigan," the Detroit News' Jeffrey Savitskie reported. Since the beginning of 1995, Mr. Bonior has collected $179,940 from labor PACs, the reporter said, citing Federal Election Commission records. "The labor total nearly reaches the amount raised from individual contributors - both in and out of his district - and doubles the amount received by his closest Democratic peer, U.S Rep. Sander Levin." The Washington Times, July 21, 1996 Husband tells of Secret Service quiz The Chicago woman who was detained by the Secret Service for "insulting" President Clinton was questioned under subpoena in Chicago July 13 by agents who took her fingerprints and her photograph and asked questions about her "sexual orientation." Patricia Mendoza was questioned as part of a grand jury investigation into allegations that she threatened the president's life. The agents questioned Mrs. Mendoza for about 45 minutes on July 13, according to her husband, Glenn. "They asked her about her sexual preference, but our lawyer said, 'No way does she have to answer that.'" The agents asked other questions about Mrs. Mendoza's parents and Mr. Mendoza's mother. The incident, widely reported in Chicago but ignored by most media elsewhere, caught the attention of Reps. Robert L. Livingston of Louisiana and Sonny Bono of California, both Republicans. It also has been a topic of conversation on C-SPAN and several national radio talk shows. Many callers accuse both the president and the Secret Service of harassing the Mendozas for public disagreement with the president. The Washington Times has obtained video footage of the incident broadcast by WMAQ. It shows Mr. Clinton shaking hands with the crowd at an impromptu stop at the Taste of Chicago festival on July 2. After Mr. Clinton shakes Mrs. Mendoza's hand, someone - apparently Mrs. Mendoza - can be heard to say, "You suck," in a derisive tone. The broadcast narrator notes That she said it four times. Mr. Clinton moves past Mrs. Mendoza and summons White House Deputy Counsel Bruce Lindsey to his side. Mr. Clinton points toward Mrs. Mendoza and says something inaudible to Mr. Lindsey. A Secret Service agent then pulls aside another agent and gestures in Mrs. Mendoza's direction, appearing to give him instructions. The tape does not Show the incident's aftermath, when two Secret Service agents confronted Mrs. Mendoza. It was at that point, Mr. Mendoza has said, that he began shouting at his wife, telling her not to say any more until they could get a lawyer. The two were then arrested on charges of disorderly conduct by Chicago police and spent 12 hours in detention. Chicago police officers say her comments were threatening. Police spokesman Patrick Camden said Mrs. Mendoza had "hinted" at "blowing up the president." "She said something to the effect that 'He [Mr. Clinton] should have been blown up instead of the 19 servicemen.'" Secret Service spokesman Amette Heintze earlier disputed the Chicago police account but says Mrs. Mendoza made a verbal threat against Mr. Clinton. He has declined to say what the threat was. No federal charges have been filed against Mrs. Mendoza. The Washington Times, July 28, 1996 Another Foothold for Educrats? The National Governors' Association (NGA) held a four-day meeting in Puerto Rico the week of July 21, 1996 for the purposes of organizing a multi-million dollar agency that will serve as a clearinghouse for the setting and monitoring of state developed academic standards for elementary and secondary education. Whenever such a large group of powerful politicians meets, of course, there is always need for concern. And this proposed entity should give any one concerned about education more than enough pause. Early on, some of the usual suspects seemed poised to make their appearance. In a particularly frightening prospect, Colorado Democratic Gov. Roy Romer has floated the idea that the New Standards Project (NSP) could assume the role of setting the benchmarks for the skills students should have. NSP is a hard-left organization whose services the GOP-dominated governors association could well do without. In a 1993 article in the Journal of Educational Leadership, Warren Simmons, who is NSP's "Director of Equity Initiatives," and Lauren Resnick, the director of NSP itself, assure their fellow educrats that NSF is "taking steps to ensure that the standards adopted and the tasks and activities developed reflect the experience and aspirations of diverse groups in our society." They commit themselves to obtaining input from the national equity advocacy associations." To solidify the diversity-infused nature of their "Social Compact," they assure us that their "advisory groups include scholars and practitioners with expertise in culture, gender and language issues." Practitioners? In an 18-page letter written a week after the 1992 election, Mart Tucker, president of the National Center on Education and the Economy, the parent organization of NSP, begins: "I cannot believe you won. But utter delight that you did pervades all the circles in which I move - My own view and theirs is that this country has seized its last chance." Another cause for concern was the involvement of the leftist Pew Charitable Trust Foundation, whose funding may bankroll part of the new agency clearinghouse. A recent study of the Pew Charitable Trusts revealed that in 1994 they gave 22 times as many grants and 40 times as much money to liberal groups as they gave to conservative groups, mostly underwriting a radical environmental agenda. The Washington Times, July 25, 1996 Posterity - you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it. John Quincy Adams *** To subscribe to the Weekly Update, put out weekly by Michigan Militia Corps state command, simply send a message conveying that to xxx.