European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 22, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse Poge 12 the stars and stripes tuesday August 22, 1978 John Roche huh those conserva ves have earned of use weapons of liberals my idea of a vacation is to disconnect the switchboard and go oif the map for a few weeks. Martha s Vineyard has prove Ideal for this purpose we annually gather with friends of varying backgrounds Whoso More wish to talk physics psychiatry histology Law or engineering than i want to pontificate on politics. Somewhere out there Are permanent shifting cocktail Par ties where coteries have relocated from new Vork or Cambridge without spilling drop but we maintain our aloof self contained , total escape is impossible particularly since some of the social Type seem to think the Beach an Ideal location for political Ca Cusing. Normally this per columns comments behaviour can be avoided by going10 . And after 4 in the afternoon i the cocktail Bell ring but the oth a Day we were trapped. At 4 30, when we id the place almost to ourselves about 10iples appeared settled Down up wind a began a vigorous discussion. Like an old cavalry horse responding to " e trumpet i had to listen. My wife imme ily accused me of violating my vow of ical celibacy and suggested we move,11 was hooked. Their topic was the con Active conspiracy subverting theotry. By the time we departed fascism _ j racism were infecting the masses and had a Hunch they would head directly to their passports. They were Well de for a fast getaway in the Park with our Humble Plymouth werer Mercedes one porsche and a Rover ensuing developments indicated it waste go Home i had vacated Long go. As i sat looking at the sea from thei door i was no longer suffused with id s oceanic sense. Instead of feel immersed in eternity i was Busy Coli ing on the conservative ii Jane often heard this tape before once in pee Early 1950s, when the intelligentsia re rated to the election of president Eisen Tower. On election night 1952, a leading Terai politician outraged announced we Are the victims of a right Wing conspiracy a sturdy Stevenson supporter i had been dumb enough to believe my own press releases and to the genial amusement of my Haverford students predicted Adlai would win. But to attribute Dee s Victory Toa conspiracy was pushing things too hard since a substantial majority of Amer ican voters were Active co conspirators. I vowed never again to permit personal wishes to dominate analytical judgment an impossible Ideal but one Worth pursuing the left intellectuals started a growth Industry in books on alienation the Point of which was that the masses hooked on false consciousness were incapable of their True Lead in the left intellectuals. Indeed some nuts wrote the United states completely of f to the i recall a mind blowing session where an eminent sociologist announced that Eisenhower was the Ameri can Joe Mccarthy the american Hitler and. As in lira Ger Many the military president would install the dictator in the fact they were wrong in predict ing fascism in the 1950s, or later under Nix on. Does not demonstrate the Chic rads Are wrong today in perceiving a sinister conspiracy. With their track record the pre sumption is they Are cockeyed until prove accurate but let s look closely at the cur rent surge of conservatism for evidence. The Beach caucus kept talking about the Success of proposition 13 in California and its imitations elsewhere As proof positive of their Contention. But what this tax Limi tation Victory indicated was extraordinary political skill by conservatives. I am cer Tain this rigid measure will self destruct Over a period of time but that s a different subject to put it differently the conservatives Are behaving like smart american politicians while the liberals Are Lazy. Complacent and succeeded in the past by convincing the majority that liberalism reflected its self interest. Now an increasing percentage see us As supporters of selfish special interests once the Liberal Bat the cry and conservatives As spokesmen for the Little in Short they have Learned and with great sophistication reusing our traditional weapons against us. It is infuriating to see a majority endorse the wrong position on major social issues but the appropriate response is notto growl darkly of conspiracies but to re turn to hard work in the political Rule is the Only game in town and i be never seen anyone successfully work precinct in a porsche. R Ili James style not politics is what coi a recent study from the historical research foundation confirms a conclusion that less scholarly analysts reached along time ago politics can be a Wacky in this sense n congressional elections and in Many other areas also things that theoretically ought to matter simply Don t matter. At least they Don matter decisively. And the corollary proposition is that things that should t greatly matter in a representative form of govern ment often make All the difference in the world. Those of us in the pundit business put great store by issues. Public opinion poll sters do the same thing. Such diverse out fits As americans for democratic action and the american conservative Union Are forever drawing up neatly tabulated Box scores of How members of Congress Are hitting or erring. Because we commentators tend to get All wrought up about National health insurance Aid to education and the equal rights amendment we fondly suppose the voters Are equally concerned with these issues. Well they re historical research foundation set out to study some apparent inconsistencies to the House of representatives. Directors of the project first identified 16 congressional districts in which voters apparently had acted in some inexplicable Way. A presumptively Liberal District had elected a conservative or vice versa. A team of interviewers undertook to find out Why these anomalies had occurred. In the end. The re searchers settled upon six districts for in Tensive analysis. Their findings would make a political scientists cry. What matters most is not a Congress an i.vot�?g record u s a he Friendly energetic accessible does he have a Nice smite does be answer Ismail against these considerations party labels Pale into insignificance. Political philosophy matters utile. Did the Nice Young congressman get Uncle Joe s social Security straightened out did he look after Leroy s benefits under the i Bill frights did he Send us the baby Book two factors have replaced Many of theold rational reasons for supporting a particular candidate. One Factor is personality the other is constituent services. For a specific example consider the second District of Colorado. It is a predominantly affluent suburban District to the West of Denver with a record of supporting conservative Republican candidates. Yet the second District has twice elected Tim Othy e. Wirth a Liberal Democrat. One on Issue after another Public works spend ing common site picketing natural Gas. A Banc Wobu. Repeal of the Hatch a$3the Liberal line. How come be win 1articulate and ate degrees from Iford. He is a former1 the foundation s gave him High Marks and leadership. Turned him to i were going heavily pc presidential race. The study turned rational View this Lar heavily bled District bad no conservative 1 District chose turned him in ubic. I reasons can explain Liberal Democrat conservative he voted on 101 took the Liberal ska Long Island vote j Home every a Mobile vane ing favors a Chorea and he my guess misidentified by the 1 tricks will bedtime goes on. The i very nearly total voters ii to 8. see Masl logy As they Are Many Amer a i Gress is a Friea Aljewell supplied we _ and something to a he votes wrong now
