European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 29, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 12 the stars and stripes wednesday june 29, 1977 James Reston europeans Overlook Power of Congress ix5ndon in the debate Over the communist bid for influence or Power in France and Italy and what the . Would do about it one vital Factor seems to be missing in Europe s analysis of the is How the Congress of the United states and the american people would react to coalition governments including the communists in Western while it is interesting and much discussed in political and intellectual Cir cles in Europe How president Carter. Secretary of state Vance and former Secretary Henry Kissinger would react to the Success of eur communism . Congressional and Public opinion would undoubtedly react much More negatively and in the end be decisive. Even some of the most prominent Politi Cal leaders and journalists of Western Europe seem to have forgotten the Rise of congressional influence Over . Foreign policy since the tragedies of Vietnam and watergate. The White House has not be enable to Block Congress from limiting the War making Powers of the president. The Carter administration has not been Able to gel its Way on military appropriations. Carter regards Turkey s geographical position and manpower As vital to the defense of nato in the Eastern Mediterranean but despite the backing of the Penta gon he has not been Able to implement his turkish policy Over the pro greek ele ments in started his administration by putting Public pressure on the Rabin government of Israel to make territorial con Cessions and accept his recommendations for a Compromise settlement in the Middle East. But the counter pressures on Capitol Hill were severe and now the president is assuring the new israeli government that it will get All the military arms it needs for its Security before he knows what the new israeli government thinks or evidence of rising congressional Power could be expanded but this is enough. Congress is not a creative but a negative Power. It is not very Good at Start ing things or foreseeing the future but it is very effective at stopping things especially when some Thunderclap in the news like the election of a socialist communist government in France or Italy hits the head line accordingly it is Odd that so Little Atten Tion has been paid Here and on the Conti nent to the views of the new congressional leaders on eur communism. For Robert Byrd of West Virginia the new democratic Leader of the Senate Thomas p. Tip o Neill of Massachusetts the new speaker of the House Clem Zablocki of Minnesota the new chairman of the House International relations committee and Frank Church of Idaho the rising Leader of the Senate foreign relations committee Are All violently opposed to doing business with communist influenced governments in was not a favorite with All these men when he was at the state department but he Speaks their language on eur communism. He clearly warned in his Woodrow Wilson International Center speech that introduction of communist Power in major Western european govern ments would undermine the moral and political base of the Alliance and Transfer the Alliance into a vague association dominated by Washington and Bonn. They Are probably wrong As Well in this part of the world in thinking that there is a difference Between Kissinger s View of the threat of eur communism and Vance s. Actually. Kissinger and Vance Are in sub Stantial agreement. The differences arc merely that Kissinger is out of office and Speaks More Paradox of this whole debate is that communist political influence seems to be rising in Western Europe precisely when it is declining in Eastern Europe and when communists in the West Are saying that the Moscow Model has no relevance to their economic problems. We Are entitled to certain scepticism Kissinger said about the sincerity of declarations of Independence which coincide so precisely with electoral self interest. One need hot be a cynic to wonder at the decision of the French communists traditionally perhaps the most stalinist party in Europe to renounce the soviet concept of dictatorship of the proletariat without a single dissenting vote among 1, 700 delegates there As they did at their party Congress in february 1976 when All previous party congresses had endorsed the same dictatorship of the proletariat by a similar unanimous vote of 1,700 to Noth in the end of course Kissinger con ceded that it was up to the voters of Europe to decide whether they wanted communists in their government but he thought they should calculate the consequences on american policy if that was their Choice. What he did not say was that american policy in that event would probably be decided in Congress and that is a vital differ ence. For nothing enduring for Good or Illin .-european relations can be settled by the president alone. After All America intervened very late in the two world War snot because Woodrow Wilson and Franklin d. Roosevelt wanted it that Way but be cause Congress and . Public opinion held them Back. Cd nem Vork time William f. Buckley Calm Down hear abortion facts you would think Reading the new York times editorial that the supreme court of the United states had just voted. 6 3. To authorize the spending of Public Money on concentration Camps. The sheer hysteria with which the court s abortion decision is being met by this tuning Fork of Eastern Seaboard liberalism sometimes makes the impious wonder where was abortion when we needed it should Calm Down and listen carefully to the facts of the matter. 1. Do we believe in self government tic answer is of course yes. 2. Do we believe that constituted Politi Cal authorities for instance the state of Connecticut the slate of Pennsylvania the City of St. Louis should decide How to spend tax Money the answer is a Quali fied yes. It is a routine exercise in political democracy to take funds from the entire Community for the Benefit of certain Mem Bers of the Community fur specified social purposes. There is often disagreement about what social purposes Are desired arid in some cases there Are constitutional prohibitions. A Community cannot for example declare that education in the dogmas of christianity can be subsidized by Public funds. Public funds can be used to buy electric chairs but people who occupy them Are selected by a different process.3. Along comes abortion and the Politi Cal entities listed above decide that elec Tive abortion is something Public Money will not be used to subsidize. That would seem to be a decision entirely within the competence of the respective jurisdictions of Connecticut Pennsylvania and St. Louis and that is All the supreme court said. The abortion hungry press has trans muted the supreme court decision of 1973 which was bad enough As it stood into something entirely analogue is Brown is. Board of Edu cation in that decision the court ruled in 1954 that no state could discriminate in education based on race. Before Long every state was being urged to discriminate in education based on race Only they Call it affirmative the abortion decision of 1973, the court said that no state could forbid Abor Tion. That decision was transformed by the abortion lobby into an obligation by the states and the Federal government to subsidize abortion. Not Only is the argument bad logic and ignorant history. It is a moral rip off. For Many americans Abor Tion is a grave moral wrong. It is rhetorically convenient for the Abor Tion lobby to concentrate now on the new victims of the abortion ruling. It i tacitly agreed that the aborted child is not to be considered a he is spoken on merely As something of a social nuisance the detritus of a concur scent evening be tween Young lovers. The new York tunes editorialist Speaks of abortions As now Only available to affluent women referring to the court s decision to Cut off poor women from abortions leaving them to unlicensed butchers or their unwanted children to a couple of Telephone Calls in new York City establish that you can get an abortion for $150. Good stuff. Licensed doctor. Pri vate clinic Good free Enterprise rate. Out Side new York things Are generally cheaper. At $150, that s about a week s wages for a Guy or in a joint venture half a week s wages for the Gal half a week for the Guy. The Price of a Black and White television set. Six tickets to the led Zeppelin. Three years of time Magazine. Two years of Hustler. Surely that s not too High a Price to pay for saving yourself the nuisance and High Cost of a child la
