COMMENTARY
THE TAR. HEEL
Kin Sman, Associate Editor
Albon Davis, Acos Editor
Lvnne Thomson, Features Editor
David Mcunnon, Editor
Janet Grady, Managing Editor
Ann Murphy, Assistant Managing Editor
Jeit Grove, A rts Editor
Bos Hemson, Sports Editor
Fbank Claxuon, Photography Editor
Staff: Jackie Blackburn, R.L. Bynum, Jennife Cargal, Ljsa Carl, Stacia Clawson. Matt Cooper, Tooo Davb, Debbie
DeHaaj, Cindy Dunlevy, Dean Foust, Regwa Gasuns, Pat Gervason, Lorna Gralla, Dorothy Gray, Sally Hadden,
Christopher Haw, J.B. Howard, Sharon Johnson, Bob Kims-leton, Dense Lyon, Andy May, Alex McMillan, Tim
Mooney, Mimi Peele, Joan Prick, S.L. Price, Danny Reid, Guha Shankar. Desiree Smith, Al Steele, f""' Up
church, Randy Walker, Clinton Weaver. Mickey Weaver. Scott Wharton. Susan Wheelon, Jan Williams. Chip
Wiuon, D.F. Wiuon. Advertising: Paula Brewer, manager, and Mike Tabor, coordinator. Business: Rejeannb V.
Caron, manager. SecretaryReceptionist: Linda Cooper. Composition: UNC Printing and Duplicating Department.
Printing: HiNTON Pres. Mebane.
Running for judge:
the unknown campaign
By CHIP WILSON
ERA yes
We wish we could offer a few of these recalcitrant state senators the firm hand
shake, the friendly hand on the shoulder.
"You made a mistake," we would urge quietly. "You can still make it up."
In fact, by waiting this long to approve the Equal Rights Amendment, the anti
ERA senators if they still have a majority in the Senate have given themselves
the chance to do much more than just make up for past ERA rejections. Proponents
are concentrating their efforts on four states Illinois, Florida and Oklahoma, in ad
dition to North Carolina in their 11 th-hour campaign to get the three states needed
to make the amendment law by June 30. If North Carolina ratifies it first and
North Carolina apparently will consider it first the other two states needed are
likely to follow, especially given the strong reputation for soundly moderate poli
tics that North Carolina enjoys.
None of the arguments against ERA is as good as the ones for it. The ones the
Senate opponents are relying on aren't much good at all.
1. My constituents don't want it.
Your constituents want it. The recent Louis Harris poll showing that 61 percent of
voting-age North Carolinians now favor ERA was not put together by calling 801
people randomly selected from the UNC-Chapel Hill student telephone directory. If
the people sampled in the poll had been the only people voting in North Carolina in
1980 they would even have elected Ronald Reagan by a slighly larger margin than
the 49-47 plurality he earned, according to the poll results.
2. I campaigned on a plank opposing it
If your constituents want it, you should support it anyway unless there is some
other argument for opposing it. This week in advertisements in the New York Times,
the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal, the National Organization for
Women went public with a disturbing charge that had been madp privately by
front-line ERA activists for some time: that some business interests, not people like
Phyllis Schlafly, have been the real strength behind the campaign to' defeat ratifica
tion, because some commercial interests profit from sexually discriminatory prac
tices. We hope no senators are being swayed by anti-ERA argumenb backed by
such interests, if they exist.
3. ERA will have bad consequences.
Most North Carolinians don't think so, according to the poll. Most think it will
mean that employers will have to pay women the same as men for the same work,
that society will afford women higher status than it does now. Most DO NOT think
ERA will mean that women will have to be drafted for combat or that employers
will be forced to hire,,adrnitted homosexuals.
We agree. Whatever the courts eventually make of laws passed in light of ERA
after its passage, ERA's most important, positive consequences will be in American
hearts and minds, not in American legislative halls. If ERA is defeated those conse
quences might not come about But if North Carolinians believe in their hearts and
minds that these positive results will come about, then they will come about. And
that is the strongest argument of all.
A modest proposal for the Falklands
RALEIGH The race for three seats on
the North Carolina Court of Appeals is the
only contest of statewide significance in the
upcoming Democratic primary. But it has
garnered little attention, either, from the
voters or the press.
But that hasn't stopped candidates from
frenzied traveling across the state to Demo
cratic party functions, bar association meet
ings and anywhere else where people will lis
ten. "Where there are two or more gathered
together eating barbecue, I am in their
midst," said District Court Judge Paul
Wright who is running for the seat being
vacated by Judge Robert Martin.
Wright says his biggest problem is telling
people there is an election for the appeals
court which is second only to the Supreme
Court in judicial authority.
"Its confusing for a lot of them because
there are candidates running for three differ
ent seats," Wright says, "We haven't been
getting the attention that the congressional
and legislative races have been."
Once candidates make it clear what seat
they are running for, they then have to ex
plain what the Court of Appeals is, says Su
perior Court Judge Maurice Braswell, a can
didate for Judge Edward Clark's seat
"It takes me an hour to explain the court
to them. Then the person usually says "Oh,"
and I take it from there," Braswell says.
Issues are few in the Court of Appeals
race, because of a Code of Judicial Conduct
which forbids candidates from announcing
their views on disputed legal or political is
sues. It also restricts the manner in which a
candidate may raise money to solicitation
by a committee he appoints.
Ideally, the restrictions would eliminate
the politicking that most want to keep sepa
rate from the judicial selection process. But
Raleigh attorney Sidney Eagles, one of
Wright's opponents for Martin's seat says it
doesn't keep people from asking there opin
ions." "When people ask questions about ERA
or other issues, I explain that I can't under
By LYNNE THOMSON
While browsing in a bookstore last week
end, I overheard the only sensible solution
yet to the Falkland mess. "Simply give each
of the islanders a million dollars," a man
said, "and tell them all tough luck."
The man went on to tell the startled store
owner that while he did not doubt the moral
legitimacy of the British claim and the right
of the people to be governed by the country
of their choice, he was trying to be reason
able. ; . .
There comes a point in international rela
tions when pragmatism has to take prece
dence over moral correctiveness. t am not
saying that might makes right but the cost
of the Falkland situation is much Jiigher than
the worth of Britain's claim.
The Soviet Union is backing the claim of
the Argentinians against the imperialism of
the British who siezed the islands 150 years
ago. This further polarizes the world situa
tion and leads us all one step closer to
disaster. In addition, the United States is los
ing credibility with other Latin American na
tions by siding with the British. Hence, we
are becoming less able to influence the out
come of important policies in El Salvador
and other countries because of this tiny
crisis. The plight of the islands is simply not
as important as the things it is jeopardizing.
The British are spending millions they
cannot afford fighting a war that in the long
run is not winnable. Britain should save her
money and allow the United Nations to re
solve the matter and, if necessary, resettle
the islanders. If the islanders are deeply at
tached to Britain, they can go there. But
they must realize that a declining colonial
power can not defend an empire half way
around the world, and that the costs involved
for the rest of the world are far too great
the Code," Eagles says. "They don't seem to
understand that."
Despite the removal of the judicial race
from typical political fray, the Political Ac
tion Committee of the N.C. Association of
Educators endorsed one candidate for each
of the seats and made subsequent $500 con
tributions to their campaigns.
George Lennon, an assistant attorney gen
eral seeking the seat currently held by Chief
Judge Naomi Morris, says this represents a
special interest group trying to manipulate
the judiciary. The NCAE gave its endorse
ment for that seat to Eugene Phillips, a
Winston-Salem lawyer.
Answering Lennon's allegation, NCAE
President John Wilson says it was only trying
to educate its members about a race which
deserves public attention.
"I think Mr. Lennon's attitude is hilarious,
since he worked so hard to get out endorse
ment" Wilson said.
All the candidates say most of their sup
port comes from people with a particular in
terest in the judiciary lawyers, court clerks
and the like. To hear each candidate talk,
they each have every lawyer in the state on
their side.
The problems associated with running for
office in a low-interest campaign have led
many states to begin "merit selection" of
judges.
But Braswell, who as head of the North
Carolina Judicial Conference once advocat
ed merit selection, says he now disagrees
with that idea.
"Now that I've been campaigning, I think
it's important for judges to be directly
elected by the people," Braswell says. "Their
decision will always be the best"
Since this particular race has an unusually
high number of candidates, it could very
well prove to be an interesting test for the
idea of direct selection. The interest voters
show could either boost or bust the merit se
lection idea.
At present however, Wrighf s observation
seems accurate; "Most voters will probably
go in to the booth and check either the first
name on the ballot or the name that looks
best"
Chip Wilson is a junior journalism and
political science major from Gastonia.
Lynne Thomson, a senior journalism and
political science major, is features editor of
The Tar Heel.
5L ft owns m JS
14 The Tar Heel Thursday, June 3, 1982