European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 1, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday april 1, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 13 commentary Andrew j. Glass the dehumanization of political campaigns House speaker Thomas Foley is upset because some people whom the democrats hire to Tell them How to win elections have been saying that the demo crat cannot possibly win the next election. Consultants who a sup at our table and sleep in our House should not be knocking it in the Public press a the speaker told his fellow democrats the other Day. They gave him a standing ovation. It is time to Tell the speaker that the real culprits Arentt consultants but computers. These machines control the nations political life. In byte sized chunks they manage fundraising polling demographic profiles direct mail appeals Media buys issues analysis and much else. Since most voters either support president Bush or profess to be bored with the process democratic political consultants Are confined to consulting their computers. One such recent digital discourse went this Way consultant what will the party stand for in 1992? computer expanding economic investments protecting Consumers enacting family and medical leaves while capping soaring health care Bills. Also making the Rich pay their fair share of taxes and reforming the Campaign Laws to Dampen the fat cats. Consultant sounds like a solid Agenda to me. Computer no american elections Are decided on issues of War and peace National strength or weakness. And on that score you democrats Are As Mushy As the Springs on my space bar. Consultant but we need to find a credible candidate even if Bush keeps the White House. If we wind up running a Flake Isnit there a risk that our congressional and state candidates also could be wiped out in a Republican landslide computer no. My data base shows that voters increasingly Back individuals and not parties. They also like the notion of Congress keeping tabs on the White House and the other Way around. So competent democrats will do Well even if Bush triumphs. Consultant nonetheless its my Job to work up a strategy for the 1992 Campaign Rhow can i do that when there Isnit a single declared candidate seeking support we be out in Iowa testing the Waters computer scratch Iowa. My memory Banks recall that George Bush swept Iowa in 1930. Look what happened to him that year. On your Side of the Ledger the dig 1988 Iowa winners were Richard Gephardt and Paul Simon. Rolling track balls give me a break consultant i suppose that Means we should focus on new Hampshire. After All that a where Michael Dukakis made his move. No doubt there la be a similar kick off by Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts. Have you scanned his 83-Page paper on a the new american mandate a a a a. Computer scratch new Hampshire and scratch Tsongas. The 1992 Campaign will not jell there. Consultant Why is that after All those campaigns has new Hampshire finally become As a illuminating As Iowa. Computer no new Hampshire is still a Fine place Quot it it for Marvla a a Quot representative. That but editors will opt for Maryland in 1992 As Well More a primary will be Only a week be Hind new Hampshire a. And its next door to Washington . Something to Bear in mind when you re seeking to hold Down Media costs. Consultant until now All you be done is spout negative stuff Back at me. How about telling me whom Well nominate in 1992? computer what do you take me for sir some sort of fortuneteller kindly stick to the facts. Consultant not even a teens Peck. Computer would you believe Tom Foley a. A a Cox news service a a. f. Buckley paper Trail now leads to the computer it has been Many Moons since i have written to bring to the attention of my beloved reactionaries some of the uses of the computer. Converts Are slowly coming around. The other Day movie critic autocrat John Simon of new York was overheard to whisper to someone that he was. Going to get a Laptop provided he could find one that was coloured in Black to suit the reviewers mood. The War will not have been won of course until George will surrenders which will require us to persuade him that those Noble sounds and analytical Catherine wheels of his can just As readily come from a word processor As from his Fountain pen. We Are winning but there Are holdouts and we must be patient. They Hadnot discovered the wheel in Peru when Pizarro got there. Comes now computers viewed from an entirely different Angle a namely As instruments by which to extract information from refractory government sources. A have you considered a a correspondent writes a the doors slammed and locked against us by computers Steven Anzovin of compute Magazine has. And so has Leonard j. Umina a former Republican who is concerned that no honest citizen in Massachusetts can find out what the Hellas going on in the states finances. A Why a a computers. We hear so much Bush Wah about the computers threat to our privacy. Nobody seems to have noticed that facts the Public is entitled to know Are not available because they re no longer on paper they re All on diskettes or magnetic tape. Public business now is private so i chased Down the Trail to Leonard Umina. He ran for governor of Massachusetts last year on a ticket called Public Access computerization. His program Calls for pouring All government information into a mainframe. Into it would go the proceedings of legislative bodies the income and expenditures sheets of government bodies the full text of government contracts. The mainframe would be run by an Independent Agency. Any american citizen would have Access to the material banked in the mainframe. You would not need a computer of your own Public a libraries and Federal and state buildings would have them and your Job would be merely to approach one and dial up the information you wanted. A proclaims Umina proudly a with government a every action so visible waste corruption theft and dishonesty will be with that Promise and some Ham we could have a Ham Sandwich. But do not automatically dismiss the Point. It is Worth pondering. The newspapers and the congressional investigating committees Are supposed to do the Basic Spade work for democratic self Rule. They go and Hunt Down the facts and present these facts to us on the basis of which we make our decisions about future policy. Now the Public Access computerization party is telling us really that there Are sexy facts out there neatly catalogued in government computers that Are ignored by injurious legislators or unto rough newspaper reporters. Steven Anzovin editorialized a Massachusetts is currently suffering through a major recession but the state government sat on the budgetary bad news As Long As possible before making it Public. A this forced local officials to make last minute guesses at future Levels of state Aid. Under Umina a system state fiscal information would be visible at All times making budgetary Guesswork unnecessary and cutting what questions would John q. Citizen think to ask his computer and what would be the level of technological competence of the operator suppose just to suppose that restive intelligence a decided one Spring afternoon to discover exactly How much Money the state of new York had paid out during the previous year to mothers of illegitimate children. There is no question that the data is there to answer that question. But to shake Loose the data would require a familiarity with computer protocols alongside which restive Quot intelligence a might decide he could learn More quickly to play the a flight of the bumblebees on the Umina a insight is solid but John q. Citizen is going to need an intermediary to help him get at the information he seeks. Should the Federal government pay ombudsmen to stand at the door of the Public Library prepared to extract from the mainframe the information desired by the curious citizen Well if we Are going the Way of a full welfare society Why not a computer would in due course advise us How much our computer curiosity was costing us. Universal press Syndicate \
