From: wiggins@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu (Don Wiggins)
Subject: Re: A Technical Request
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 17:30:57 GMT

>I think Clinton will do more to heal the various social rifts in this
>country, especially the racial tensions, which are largely economic in
>origin.  I don't think the party of David Duke has been good for this
>country.

The simple fact is that the Democrats have traditionally courted labor
unions and "widows, orphans, and people on fixed incomes" for their
support.  In recent years the power of labor unions has dwindled to
practically nothing.  Democrats of course blame Republicans, but the
fact is that the unions are full of holes from shooting themselves in
the foot.  The poor of all races tend to vote for anyone who promises
them that total government support is a "right" that they've been
denied.  From FDR through James Earl Carter, that has been the
pattern.  Clinton is no exception, regardless of his "New Democrat" tv
commercials.


>this.  Yet, it's the President's job to work with Congress, and Bush
>has shown himself unable to do this.

You neglected to mention that when Bush did negotiate with Congress on a tax
increase so that they would agree to pass some of his own legislation, Ron
Brown and the Democratic political machine used it as one of their primary
weapons to bring down an extraordinarily popular incumbent president.

>Also, Clinton has a more coherent plan for providing health care for the
>37 million U.S. citizens that aren't covered by health insurance now.  
>I like that.

As one on the leading edge of the baby boom, I can tell you that I
never in my life felt that I was "entitled" to government-provided
health care.  In a real emergency, health care is available to
everyone...period.  However, if you walk into the emergency room of
most any hospital, you'll soon see how most of the runny noses and sore
throats are handled in this country.  There has already been enough
debate on this board on this subject, but it really comes down to only two
choices:  (1) You believe in socialized medicine or (2) you don't.

Along that same line, I've recently seen several stories in the news about
the sorry state of our schools, and that things are so bad that students
even have to buy their own pencils and paper!  Here's a hot news flash:  In
all the years I was in school, we _always_ bought our own pencils and paper.
After all these years I now realize how deprived I was, so perhaps Mr.
Clinton can also provide some sort of rebate for this terrible injustice.

>Also, Clinton plans to cut U.S. forces in Europe faster than Bush does
>and I approve of that, too.

One little detail that Clinton left out of his comment during the first
debate was that the 50,000 additional troops coming back from Europe
will mean 50,000 more people competing for jobs in the civilian job
market.  We simply don't need 50,000 more troops in the States.
Anyway, the cost of maintaining those people at overseas locations really
isn't much more than here at home, so to suggest -- as both Perot and
Clinton did -- that we'd save a bundle by bringing the troops home is
nonsense.  The real issue, of course, is whether we need troops in 
Europe at all.  But as usual, Clinton gave a simplistic answer to a 
very complex issue.

During the past four years I have been furious at times with the Bush
administration over various issues.  The Republicans have sold out to
certain special interests just like the Democrats, but I feel they have
generally tried to do the job they were elected to do by a majority of
Americans.  I am not at all in tune with the arm of the party that wants to
force its values on me, for example, for the same reason I've always
rejected the Democratic position of providing all things to all people.
I simply don't see that as a legitimate role of government.

After watching Mr. Clinton last evening, I've concluded that I simply
don't trust him.  Some say they see a compassionate individual who only
wants to make things better.  I see a shallow, egotistical individual
who will say and do _anything_ to achieve his ultimate ego trip.  At his
recent $1,000 per plate Hollywood fund-raiser, Mr. Clinton said that he has
always aspired to be one of the cultural elite.  I am not at all surprised.
Acting is clearly what he has always done best.

It's going to be a very interesting four years.

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 |Don Wiggins                           | Success is getting what you want. |
 |USACERL Environmental Lab             | Happiness is wanting what you get.|
 |Champaign, IL                         |        Brother Dave Gardner       |
 |Internet: wiggins@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu |                                   |
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