European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 22, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes sunday september 22,1985 columns William Safire Dee sense May be Best offence for . In 1985 Dee fender cry the fans. From Grid wars to Star wars to Trade wars 1985 is shaping up As the year of Dee i Csc. In pro football cornerback defending against the pass Are no longer required by officials to treat receivers As untouchables. As a result of the Rule change interception abound. In strategic arms Star wars has taken hold. Napoleon s general Jomini advised offence is the Best strategists reply defense is the Best some . Scientists scoffed at the feasibility of a shield against incoming missiles but the soviet Union Snear frantic Campaign o Stop us from offsetting its offensive Lead proves that Moscow has greater Faith in our technology. Its assessment of our ability to leap Frog its advantage in warheads has ended its arms control stonewalling. In our Trade deficit the emphasis has shifted to defense against unfair attack from our overseas competitors which comparatively advantaged economists like to Call in theory free Trade in open markets is Best for All but in practice we were blindsided by those nations that want to Export to us but re fuse to import from us. To enforce free Dom of Trade we must rely on retaliation which supporters of defense Call reciprocity and opponents Call Trade Reagan s first Post operative new conference dealt mainly with this subject of strategic and economic defense. In Anu hell he and most republicans and cont that Ives Are for Star wars Buta Gaii Trade , most democrats Liberal Sand drives Are against Star wan but for is see wan. If the word wars is fair or. Characterizing the military position As belligerent it s fair in attacking the Trade petition As belligerent most of the american people Are not so policy split. Most of us Are More consist ent than the contending political forces i Washington. Our common denominator is nationalism both a military and eco nomic patriotism which inclines us to the Side of pervasive National defense. James Kilpatrick deficit. s it 3% i Depenso ?.see How 6tf?om6uje are1 what pock people ?. A jews never 8��n Here is Why so Many of us embrace protectionism against missiles what the russians think of our ability to mount a space based defense is what counts in today s negotiations. As Henry Kissinger said before a Nixon Brezhnev Summit meeting it does t matter if behave Talcum powder in our warheads if the russians think it s a nuclear warhead it s just As Good As a nuclear in the same Way if Moscow believes our space defense is a real likelihood then the very fact of our working on that defense becomes not merely a bargaining Chip but a new deterrent in itself. Deployment is negotiable but testing is part of re search which is not on the table. If defense against incoming missile were not such a Good idea for us the russians would not be so worried about it. Instead of being deterred by maybe i la get killed too a potential attacker will be deterred by maybe my attack won t succeed and then i la surely that is a stronger deterrent. Star wars appeals to common sense the Force of which is usually scorned at the Start. Now to the other defense. Here is whys Many of us embrace eco nationalism in defending against one Way Street Trad relations South Korea Sells us s4 billion More than it buys a chunk of which is in to sets and video recorders. We provide the Market for its factories and treat it As an underdeveloped country waiving Man of its products through customs duty free. Yet in its Heaters and on television american film makers Are severely restricted in royalties and in number of films allowed to compete with korean movies. We buy their hardware they re strict our software that s one example of unfairness typical of Many of our Asiu allies. American nationalists that is Mostof us Don t like being victims of unfair Ness. We expect our government to get the victimize is to Cut it out. When Rea Gan chooses to lecture us about the villainy of Smoot and Hawley instead of dealing with today s unfairness he keep Faith with High theory while losing touch with common sense. In this year of Dee sense most politicians Are in half step with most of the people. The Star Warrior Republican should respect the Strong nationalist de Mand for defense against one Way free Trade the Trade War democrats should respect the powerful urge for National self defense against nuclear missiles. If football cornerback finally can defend against penetration by the Long bomb without interference Calls Why can t the defenders of the National inter est c new York times gerrymandering around Fife political thickets Elbridge Gerry As every Schoolboy knows Wasa signer of the declaration of Independence a member of the convention of 1787, vice president under mad Ison. He is remembered for none of these. His greatest claim to Fame arose in 1812, when he gave to american politics both a verb and a tradition. Gerry was then governor of Massachusetts. An ardent Republican he loathed the federalists of that Day. When it was decided to draw up districts for election of the state Senate Gerry artfully Drew the lines for the northeastern Corner of the state. He curled a string of voting localities from Salisbury to Andover and Back round to Marblehead. Looks like a Salamander marvelled one observer. Nope came the reply it i a so the custom began. On the opening Day of its 1985term, the . Supreme court will hear argument on a question it never has fully considered before is it unconstitutional u a violation of the 14th amendment for a legislative body to create political districts for egregiously partisan purposes the Case has implication that Are potentially explosive. The facts Are not greatly in dispute. The Indian general Assembly in 1981 was required to draw new District line for the election of state senators and representatives. The Republican party then controlled both the Senate and the House. The Republican state com Mittee put up $250,000 to hire computer specialists to prepare a redistricting plan. Just before the end of the1981 session the plan was made Public. It was a beaut. After the figures were suitably massaged in the com Puter the proposal divided 92 countries 73 times. There were single member double member and triple member districts. Black voters in Washington township were put with White suburbanites in Hamilton and Boon counties. Farmers from Allen and Noble counties wound up with residents of downtown fort Wayne. The lines for Marion county were adroitly Jig gered to As sure the republicans a 12-3 majority. It was a Nice piece of work. The democrats understandably were outraged it was immaterial that in 196s they had done the same land of thing to the republicans. They went into a District court with a petition to have the legislature s plan set aside. They acknowledged the districts were substantially equal in population they agreed that there had been no dilution of the Black vote. Their complaint was that it u just u unconstitutional to Rig legislative districts by reason of political affiliation As it is to Rig them by reason of population or race. Last december a three judge court 2-1, agreed with this Contention ?.T indeed the re court. The the same Contention has been advanced before notably in a 1965 Appeal from new York Tau b5 3� supreme court has refused to Rise to the bait and Hea arguments. The governing principles of rapport Ira Mcnod epoch Marf cases Taffi is Carr and Wesberry is. Sanders Are rooted in the Rule of equal Protection of the the rules that no person s vote shall have a weight greater than any other person s. The High court will have to make a considerable leap into political thickets to affirm the trial court but at least one member of the supreme court Lewis Powell has indicated that he welcomes an Opportunity to review the Issue. If the principle sought by the Indiana democrats is upheld the principle that egregious gerrymandering is unconstitutional a political earthquake surely will follow. Gov. Gerry s games Are played by every legislature in the land. The democrats might Tom Indiana but in a dozen other states such a ruling would help the gop. That explains Why the re Pocuca National committee has filled a Brief supporting Democrat position. Bar i962 when the supreme court voted 6-1to nullify Tennessee s state legislative districts Justice Frankfurter delivered a passionate dissent. That cat turned wholly on population on the decisive and rigid principle of one Man one vote. The majority opinion said Frankfurter foreshadows deeper and More Perva Sive difficulties in he was right on the Mark. C Universal press synd Calt $
