European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 27, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes Tom Wicker wearing a Liberal Label can have advantages Good for Barney Frank the unquestionably lib eral congressman from Massachusetts for reminding other liberals that they re not pariahs. On some of the most important issues facing the nation they re actually in the mainstream As Frank pointed out in an interview with . Dionne or. Of the new York times the liberals problem is their insistence on emphasizing unpopular issues rather than the ones on which americans agree with them. Amons the latter he cited environmental Protection social Security unemployment assistance con trolling military spending opposition to the Contra War in Nicaragua and Homes Tor the homeless. Few candidates Ever lost an election by pushing those and the once dominant democratic pocket Book issues. Bui when Liberal candidates go on to talk As most too often do about such unpopular questions As gun control prison Reform and flaws in inc free Enterprise system they begin to run into trouble with the voters. Such emotional issues Frank noted arc a Large part of the Liberal problem. From far across the political spectrum an Acula american political analyst is in considerable agreement with Frank on these realities of contemporary politics. Writing recently in the sunday times of London Richard Nixon observed that George Bush s 4-1 electoral vote majority Over Michael Dukakis was somewhat deceptive. Liberal and conservative pundits alike have Over looked How close Dukakis really came Nixon argued. . Rosenthal Bush s margin in 11 Stales including biggies such As Illinois California and Pennsylvania was 3 percent or less.". Since Ronald Reagan s inauguration moreover he said despite eight years of peace six years of Prosper Ity an enormously Papular president and two More landslide presidential victories the republicans slipped from 53 senators and 192 members of the House to 4s senators and Only 172 representatives. The former president asserted that had Jesse Jack son delivered a bigger Black Vole in 1988, the out come in some of those Squeaker Stales would have As for Dukakis after he got off the defensive on patriotism and prison furloughs and began to emphasize traditional democratic bread and butter issues two weeks before the election he was a far More effective that May expect Loo much of Jackson and Grant too much to Dukakis who wailed Loo late to Campaign As a Liberal and who did Lille to arouse Black voters enthusiasm. The Nixon analysis nevertheless offers considerable Comfort to liberals and suggests that the democrats Are now Well situated for pulling to Gelhar a Polcyn Lilly winning strategy in 199 2. That strategy As Ninon sees it would be based on those Squeaker states outside the South. And would be Liberal on Domestic issues but conservative on de sense and foreign policy la probably would be led by another northeastern governor Mario Cuomo of Newyork if he toughens up his foreign policy Frank did not venture into 1992 politics but used the Issue of gun control As an example of the failure of liberals in elections. Banning saturday night specials cheap handguns easily available to criminals was not the Issue he said the question was whether a ban could be achieved at the Federal level which Man 1 liberals advocate but which Frank believes is Politi Cally impossible. To advocate a Federal ban makes liberals vulnerable to the charge that they want to Lake All guns away from an american people that has definitively shown that it does not want to five up its perceived right to gun ownership. On the other hand the Public often will support As it just has in Maryland a limited state Law Banning such clearly illicit and unnecessary weapons As saturday night the Point is Clear. On such issues liberals need to rediscover and respect the Art of the possible. It s also implicit in Frank s remarks thai liberals need As Well to Rise above single Issue politics the attitude that if a candidate is wrong on gun control or some other specific matter a or she May not be supported even if his or her general record and views arc Liberal enough to warrant backing. Conservatives of course also can be and often Are single Issue zealots witness the pro life opposition to or. Louis Sullivan Bush s sole Black nominee for his Cabinet. Abortion aside that won t help a new president to expand the Appeal of his party to include More Blacks and it ought to be instructive to liberals disinclined to heed Barney Frank big question for Kemp she Money maybe 1989 will be inc year that americans remain interested in the homeless even when the weather turns pleasant. At least it s a possibility. It is in the Winter that we Are inclined to feel most unhappy about the Home less. Their suffering in the cold seems unbearable probably because the thought comes As we pass by that there but Lor the Grace of birth and Opportunity go we. We feel a shiver for ourselves. Comes warmer weather the homeless seem considerably More Distant but perhaps it will be different now. It will be harder to forget in the Spring that the people lying on the sidewalks or the children playing outside shelters in the night arc exactly inc same ones we fell so sorry for at christmastime. There Are so very Many of them now and perhaps president elect George Bush s astute decision to name a popular conservative. Rep. Jack Kemp to be Secretary of housing and Urban do vol of mini will help keep our minds focused on the homeless. ,. There Are other things a Hud Secre tary is supposed to do like worrying about rebuilding the rotting inner cities and providing the Chance at a Job for some of the people who live there. But Kemp knows that he and what he stands for will be judged on whether he can do something about the National sorrow and shame of homelessness. The country will be watching to see if Kemp can do whal another conservative economic thinker Ronald Reagan utterly failed to do find places where the 1 million to 3 million homeless can put Down their Heads. Kemp s nomination has been an enor Mous hit with republicans particularly conservatives no Surprise there. But his support among liberals is Strong and enthusiastic despite the conservative sup ply Side economics he preaches. Kemp s support comes not just from while liberals but also from Black writers like Earl Caldwell columnist for the daily news of new York. I asked Cald " Well if he had Ever supported a conserva Tive Republican before. He said not one single name came to mind. So it is the Man and whal people Sec in him thai draws the Liberal support no a sudden economic conversion Kemp Speaks so fast you want to ask him to slow Down sometimes but what he says reflects an adventuresome mind and a Busy one two diff real things. He has shown a involvement in the inner cities thai lasts beyond election Day and an eagerness to talk with and listen Loblack workers and White work ers. Liberals understand that inc United states will get nowhere against homelessness. Unless conservatives make the goals i hair own and thai Kemp is the one Man who might do that. That is All very Nice. But the Reagan administration Cut the heart out of Feder ally supported housing from s30 Bil lion a year at the end of the Carter administration to s7 billion now. And it May gel worse. What will Kemp say if Bush s budget cutters come around to Tell him that Hud is just inc department they arc looking for will he be Able to persuade Bush As he has argued that the country should not solve budget problems at the expense of the poor can he convince the new president that to Lake care of homeless Ness you have to Deal nol Only with hous ing but also Job training and care for the mentally ill now wandering the streets Reagan wanted the Federal govern ment out of housing. Kemp seems to want in in Al least deep enough to work with private Enterprise. Fine that is if private Enterprise works up an appetite for Low income housing Ana shelters which it will not unless there is enough Federal funding 10 get things started again. -. Maybe Kemp is right and taxes do not have to be raised. But one Day he will have to answer a question for us slowly where s the Money Jack 6- -. He has a lot of people around the country a Rainbow coalition of his own hoping he comes up with the right answer. At least Kemp May help the United slates look straight at this one terrible fact the richest country on Earth has not been Able to provide All jts people with the simple human necessity of Shel Ter
