European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 22, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes columns Martin Gottlieb House republicans use wrong approach for capturing a Oriff l think that title refers to tour elephants in consider the . House republicans. The cubs or politics. Their Middle aged fans Don t remember Ever having a winning team defined As a majority. And things arc getting worse. The democratic majority is greater than in was. In the Start or what was supposed to be the Republican decade the 1980s. It s greater than ily Ever been in he first Congress Ofa new gop presidency. And it appears More unassailable All the Lime. Fewer incumbents have been Defeated in the last two elections than Ever before. The republicans appear to have no Hope of Ever really controlling the National government m our. Time. The party is approaching this problem in two ways Newt Gingrich and Redis 1 Riding. Boih approaches Are pathetic. Look a redistrict ring. The 1990 Cen sus will result in about 14 More House seats for Stales in the South and West and 14 fewer for. Inc North and East. Theoretically the top should be helped As the old Liberal strongholds lose influence. In fact though this shift of the population has been going on through a Cou pc of censuses now. And in has yet to pay off for inc republicans As a result of inc 1980 census the South and West gained o total of 17 House seals but in inc next election 1982 the democrats gained 25 House scats. It was a a cry Good. Democratic year because of the recession and be cause. California was painstakingly re drawn by democratic officeholders to give the democrats virtually All the new scats Ilire. After the 1970 census the South and Wisl combined gained nine scats. And indeed in the 1972 Nixon landslide the gop gained 2 mouse scats. But it lost four limes thai Many  Elco James Kilpatrick lion after watergate. The South and West gained nine scats after inc 1960 census too. But the gop Only gained one seat in 1962. The truth is thai inc states thai will be gaining scats after the 1990 census could probably do anything they want Wilh those scats make Ihm All Republican or nil democratic. It does t even require gerrymandering. Wilh the Advent of computers the politicians Tan generally get the kind of maps they want without creating Odd shapes. So Why would heavily democratic Legislatures in states like Florida and Texas create a Bunch of Republican districts Republican governors in Florida Texas and California As of today can somewhat balance off the democrats in Rcd Slicting Battles of course. But the republicans Don t need compromises. Any packages hat serve the two panics equally Wilt just perpetuate democratic dominance. Moreover the seals that disappear in states like Ohio which seems Likely to lose two won l necessarily be dam Coralic ones they certainly won t if the democrats in Power have anything to say about it. Besides the fact lha the democrats arc so Strong in stale Legislatures gives them an advantage in Competition involving new congressional districts be cause they be got people for whom con Gress is the logical next step up. Enter Gingrich. Capitalizing on the frustrations of his colleagues no promises a whip ship built around the goal of u Republican majority. He plans to approach this goal by being More aggressive in relations Wilh democrats and by building the 1990 elections Inola nation Al referendum Over what he. Calls Vul House of ill  pathetic. As a historian Gingrich surely knows that great swings in con Gressional membership arc caused by grea1 events a watergate a Vietnam a recession maybe a presidential land Sidic but even such events figure to be less potent than they be been in he past because incumbents arc so protected in so Many ways. And 1990 figures to be a mildly Tough year for the gop. Anyway As the midterm elections generally Are for a presidential party if the republicans have any Hope in lies in changing the system that so favors incumbent House members. Eliminating political action committees would be a Start hey contribute overwhelmingly to incumbents. Public financing of House races would help so that everybody spends the same amount. But will top House members under take these anti incumbent measures after All they re incumbents too Congress should target loonies not weapons lunacy Breeds lunacy. Emotion overwhelms Rea son. On Jan. 17, Patrick James Purdy murdered five children in a schoolyard in Stockton Calif i was a terrible crime but for the past i rec months presumably intelligent persons have ceased to blame Purdy. They arc blaming inc kind of Rifle he used instead. It is like flaming the pot for burning inc Beans. The current Campaign to ban assault weapons makes no sense. In is a manifestation of the Panicky demand that often is made upon lawmakers Don t j is i sit there do something 1 at1 Mes it is Wise Sim ply Osil in arc and one of those times is at hand. The . Senate is praying Over a Bill sj86, sponsored by Howard my Lizenbaum a Ohio. U is a Bill to control the Sale and use of assault weapons compan Ion legislation is pending in the House. At least u stale Legislatures arc actively considering Bills to the same end. The sponsors May be credited with possessing Good intentions hut they May equally be criticized for rostering bad legislation. On superficial inspection the. Maizc Baum Bill appears to take a reasonable approach. In would ban the Sale or Possession of certain named semiautomatic firearms such As the Kalashnikov and the Uzi. One May fairly inquire who needs Icse for Hunting ? the Deer thai is struck by a id round burst soul dam the ground As Venison Stew. On close examination the  Bill loses any semblance of Merit. In is so loosely drafted that it could affect millions of semiautomatic firearms thai Are owned and used by. Law abiding citizens through oui the nation. The Bill would place dangerous and unprecedented Power in the hands of inc Secretary of the Treasury. Some of its provisions would require the confiscation of private property without just compensation none of in provisions would have any significant Impact on drug traffickers or crazies. Perhaps careful craftsmen craftsmen who Knoot least something about firearms could put together a useful Bill but 5.386 in t it. Sponsors of the pending Bills run into trouble at Iii threshold. Exactly what is an assault weapon Mcl zen Baum s definition is the kind of definition beloved by humpty dumpty. An assault weapon is any weapon the Secretary of inc Treasury says is an assault weapon. This won t do millions of Law abiding sportsmen own and use. Semiautomatic rifles and shotguns thai  identical 10 the weapons specifically banned by the Mcl Renbaum Bill. Functionally there is no difference Between the Street sweeper which s.3 86 , and the Remington 1100, which 3 million Hunters regularly like to the Field an additional objection to the pending Bills May lie in inc second amendment to the Constitution a Well regulated militia being necessary to the Security of a free slate the right of the people to keep and Bear arms shall not be infringed 1 am hoi Certai n what the amendment Means and neither is the . Supreme court but obviously it Means something. If it Means that a right to own a Iofi Hilary i pc weapon May no be infringed the Spon sors have a problem i assault weapons arc precisely the weapons a Well regulated m Lilia would employ the amendment docs not establish an absolute right to keep and tear arms any More than the first amendment secures an absolute right to engage in tree speech. Constitutionally speaking a working machine gun and child pornography Are in inc same class Nei ther is protected. All the same it would stagger inc founding fathers to learn thai in a free society no person has a right to own an Ordinary repealing shot gun. The frenzy to pass a Law any Law May be explained in several ways. Pan of me explanation lies in fear one of the most Basic of All emotions. In aur great Urban centers people Are scared witless by gunslingers on the streets. Part lies in mounting hostility toward the National Rifle association. Its current Public relations problems Are exceeded Only by la Mac of Exxon. When the Era characterizes proponents of gun control As enemies who arc Crafty and hypo Nii Cal the Era loses More than it gains such rhetoric is a poor substitute for reason. Bank no weapons like the weapon used by Purdy will accomplish Little. The legislative goal should be to prevent loonies like Purdy from gelling such weapons the first place Jvn tvrs a p i Syndicate