Ethics And Politics
Much has been said about the impor
tance of the November, 1984 national elec
tions in part because of the clearly
delineated political philosophies that the
presidential candidates represent, in part
because Reagan’s reelection could dras
tically alter the philosophical underpin
nings of the U.S. Supreme Court, and in part
because of the impact and tactics of
extremist conservatives like Sen. Jesse
Helms and fundamentalist theologians like -
the Rev. Jerry Falwell. ~
in me miter case, we have observed in the
past few days how extremists bring out the
best in political ethics and courage in some,
both Democrats and Republicans, and like
wise the worst in others. We are referring to
the courageous positions taken by both
Mayor Harvey Gantt, a Democrat, and
former City Council member Ralph Mc
Millan, a Republican, on the issue of Mr. *"
Gantt’s decision to not attend President
Reagan’s political rally.
We are also referring to the not too
surprising announcement that former
mayor Eddie Knox has been named
National Co-Chairman of the- National
Democrats for Reagan-Bush. Likewise, we
are referring to the 22 Republicans whose
names appeared in a full-page Charlotte
Observer letter to President Reagan acTas
“Republicans for Hunt.”
mayor oarni maae a conscious and wise
decision to not attend President Ronald
Reagan’s political rally near SouthPark on
Monday because it was just that, a political
rally. In essence, Mr. Reagan’s Charlotte
visit was for purely partisan political
reasons - to support his own candidacy and
that of North Carolina Republican poltical
Tiopefuls^and nbrasPrestdentof the nation.
Former Council member and Republican
Ralph McMillan, one of the rally’s or
ganizers, echoed Mayor Gantt’s action
when he said the decision for Mr. Gantt to
not attend the President’s rally was
mutual. -He added, “I want to make that
clear: Harvey didn’t slight the President,
and we didn’t slight Harvey.”
These were decisions by honorable men
who hold fast to their political viewpoints
and respect each others’ rights to support
different political philosophies. Likewise,
the 22 Republicans whose names appeared
in the Charlotte Observer political ad under
the banner, “Republicans for Hunt” took a
strong stand against Jesse Helms’ “nega
tive, divisive campaign that we’re ashamed
of. It has hurt North Carolina and the
Republican Party (by) alliance with right
wing extremists....”
these were acts of courage because some
may nevertheless criticize Mayor Gantt for
not greeting and welcoming President
Reagan to. the city, regardless of the
circumstances. Others may criticize Mr.
McMillan for not attempting to exploit for
political reasons Mr. Gantt’s position in this
• matter. Some too may be critical of the 22
Republicans who, because of ethical values,
are opposing Sen. Helms’ bid for reelection.
In the same context, many North—
Carolina voters, already displeased with
former Charlotte mayor Eddie Knox for
jumping on Sen. Jesse Helms’ bandwagon
after losing his gubernatorial bid, are
undoubtedly further alienated by Mr.
Knox’s new position as National Co-Chair
. man of Democrats for Reagcm-Bush.
While Mr. Knox’s actions may be con
sidered courageous, too, his reported rea
sons for supporting Reagan-Bush-Helms - to
get money to pay off his gubernatorial
campaign debts and his allegation that Jim
Hunt failed to repay a political debt by not
supporting his gubernatorial bid - reminds
us of the Biblical character named
Judas, who betrayed Jesus for a mere 30
pieces of silver. i
By these observations, "we "have seen ~
examples of how the pressures and forces of
contemporary politics have renewed our
faith in the characters, convictions and
steadfastness of some - Gantt and Mc
Millan - and show the deception, greed, and
gutter campaign tactics of others - Helms
and Knox.
Let The Poor Go Away!! _r4——
John Kenneth Galbraith’s recent article
- in The Charlotte Observer reminds us that
the poor are still very much a part of our
society. However, because we are em
barrassed by major pockets of poverty in
the richest nation in the world, we have
begin to deceive ourselves that the poor
simply don’t exist.
President Reagan has said there has been
no “appreciable” increase in poverty within
the past year. With the President telling a
lie that too many people want to hear,
Congress has proceeded to pass legisla
tion primarily to benefit the middle-class,
businessmen, state governments, large
labor unions, and big farmers - all people
with considerable political clout.
These actions by the federal government
are encouraged and supported by polls such
as a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll
which reveals a dominant theme of greed:
let me look out for myself and the hell with
everyone else. In summary, the poll shows
that while many people who claim that they
' think Mr. Mondale would be a better
President for the nation also indicate that
they will vote for Mr. Reagan because of a
belief his program will be better for them
individually.
Therefore, the actual increase in the
number of people living in poverty of over
800,000 over the past year which Mr.
Reagan simply ignored, will find theii'
needs not being responded to by an in
different Congress, an unsympathetic
President, and a middle-class population
mentality among the larger population that
say poor people simply go away. Such
thinking usually goes |n historic cycles, we
hope this part of the cycle is short-lived.
| The rharlottePosT""""")
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From Capitol HiU
Two Million More Blacks To Vote In November?
By Alfreds L. Madison
Special To The Poet
The rallying cry for enlisting the
seven million unregistered Black
voters is “Two million more in ’84.”
The registration campaign receives
financial support from Carnegie,
Ford and Rockefeller Founda
tions. Tax-exempt voter registration
groups have doubled since 1983,
because of special IRS tax-exempt
status. This special status requires
that at least 85 percent of the
recipients’ incomes must be spent on
non-partisan, educational, or charit
able voter registration programa in
five or more states and remain
active for more than one election
period. So far only the National
Coalition and Voter Education Pro
gram, out of 12 groups .have quali
fied for the IRS tax-exempt status.
Great emphasis Is being placed on
registration and voting strategies.
Brief Informational radio or tele
vision commercials for a specific
public service or cause will play an
important role in persuading more
eligible Blacks to register and vote.
These free of charge broadcasts are
accepted only from tax-exempt,
non-partisan organisation. These
commercials are carried by all
three of the national television net
works and the top SO Black radio
stations in the country. ,
A special project is the Black
Women's Roundtable on Voter
Participation which seeks to train
Black women to develop leadership
skills, emphasize the Importance of
the woman’s vote and ensure the
involvement of Black women in
discussions of the ’gender gap,” as
an Influence in elections In nailing
down the necessity of Black wo
men's involvement, an intereating
poster is being distributed which
•ays. "Black Women Vote - It’s
Their Heritage. "
The Clearing House Project which
was formed by several voter
groups has three tasks: funding of
local voter registration and get
out- the-vote drives, administra
tion of these efforts, and ensuring
the efficient use and exchange of
information and limited resources.
National Coalition and Voter
Education Programs will be
responsible for using funds they
receive to initiate non-partisan
registration and get-out- the
vote campaigns in states with a
sizable BlAck population. In each
state, coalitions, wtil be formed
between local branches of national
organizations, church groups, public
officials and the National Coalition
and the Voter Education Program.
These responsible organizations
are. local branches of A. Philip
Randolph Institute, NAACP, Nation
al Urban League, Congress of
National Black Churches, women's
organisations, sororities, fraterni
ties, and community-based organ
izations Decentralization enables
Black public officials tot stress the
impact increased registration may
4»ave on local races.
No one can deny the fact that Rev.
Jesse Jackson has done more to
register more voters than any other
person in the nation, and he has not
stopped since the two political
Party conventions. Just recently he
returned to South Carolina, Missis
sippi and throughout the New'
South, following unity meetings with
Democratic Party leaders. Jackson
urged the seven million members of
the National Baptist Convention to
support the Mondale-Fesraro ticket.
He urged the convention delegates to
"stay with me in September and
October to elect Mondale in No
vember. So Reagan can go home in
December.”
Referring to the growing religious
issue of separation of church and
state, Jackson explained that the
National Baptist Convention has not
endorsed any presidential candi
date. White House Press Secretary
Larry Speakes. said Rev. Jemison
informed the Administration that
the convention does not endorse
candidates. Jackson told the group
that they supported him as one of
their own when he made a dash for
President. He stated that Blacks
have a thousand reasons to vote in
this election because of the large
number of Blacks who are running
for local offices.
The myth that many naive
whites have of Blacks is being
dispelled by Black leaders, “that
Blacks who wanted Jesse Jackson
will fail to vote in this election."
Black leaders are forging Intensive
and extensive efforts to defeat
Ronald Reagan Republican conser
vatives, including some boll weevils
and gypsy moths.
Reasons given by Black leaders
for the Republican defeat are: the
scarcely or no mention of civil rights
in the Republican platform. The
platform calls for a vague civil
rights policy, premised on the letter
of the ’64 Civil Rights Act. yet, it
does not call for enforcement of the
Act, and its only strength is found in
its strong objection to quotas.
The Black vote is crucial to the
Democratic victory, becatwe it Is
estimated that Blacks will make up
80 percent of the National Demo
cratic vote. White progressive
Democrats cannot survive without
the Black vote.
In addressing students at North
Carolina Central Jackson said, "We
are now in the area of economic
common ground. Thirty-five million
people ih America are poor.
Twenty-four million are white, 11
million are Black. He urged the
students not to be influenced by the
popularity polls. "Reagan can lose if
he does not get enough votes."
Practically all Black leaders are
giving facts about the Reagan
Administration’s scarcely existing
burden he has placed, smilingly on
the poor, and are working hard to
get Blacks to see the necessity of
voting for their own survival.
Photography. OonocsL ,
Intermediate photography classes
are set at the Park Road Center
YWCA beginning October 16,7:30*9
p.m. The five- week course la being
taught by Edison Searles, a master
photographer
Searles' photographic works will
be shown at First Union Plasa,
October 5.
His YW course Will include the one
of camera, choice of film, use of
lighting and accessorise. Coat Is |M.
' j * - ' V ' . -I
* BLACKS'RETICENCE TO SEIZE THE INITIATIVE TV ORGANIZE THEIR
COMMUNITIES0 SAID DOUGLAS G. GLASGOW, DEAN OF HOWARD
UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK, ISA MAJOR FACTOR AND
-ANIMOnOTAVj fUfTQP CONTRIBUTING TO OUR COMMUNITIES•
UNDEVELOPED STATUS” ---
POL/TICAN
BUSINESS MAN
DOCTORS
LAWYERS
ARTISTS
TEACHERS
MINISTERS
WORKERS
COMMUNITY OROAN/ZAT/Oi
. SOCIAL WORKERS
FRATERNAL GROUPS
FINANCE
COMPUTER SCIENCE
INSTITUTION ADMINISTRATION
ENGINEERING
PLANNING
ARCHITECTURE
BLACK PRESS
= Car* '* dates’ Vlnffi
Continued From Page IA
have to make recycling a part of how
we dispose of solid waste. We can’t
rely on the voluntary approach.”
It’s also important to this
candidate that the human services
consolidation has no adverse, effect
on either clients or employees. “So
far they’ve been left out in the cold,
which has affected morale,” he
remarks of human services
workers.
HEAflLEy
For C. Wayne Heasley, “education
is always an issue that will be of
concern,” this candidate asserts. It
is his position that whatever budget
is proposed by the Board of
Education should be approved.
Otherwise, the Board cannot be held
accountable for education in the
county.
aona and hazardous waste
disposal is also an issue to be faced
and dealt with. Hensley’s approach
to solid waste disposal would be to
reduce .the county’s dependence on
landfills by investing in a minimum
800-ton unit for resource recovery
and Incineration. Larger units (such
as 800-ton) are. more economically
feasible to use, says Heasley, and
waste heat could be sold to produce
other energy.
Mecklenburg County produces 17
percent of the hazardous waste in
the state, according to candidate
Heasley. The county should employ
other methods besides landfills to
dispose of these toxic substances, he
believes. He advocates pre-treat
ment and resource recovery as
alternatives.
Day care, too, is an issue.
Heasley’s approach would be to
have the county allocate substantial
funding to increase day care spaces
in private centers. “At present,
there are 7,000 children living in
poverty who need high quality day
care,” he notes. “We are only
paying for 750 children now.”
, ii Rod Antrey
in the area of land one planning.
Heaslev believes there should be a
fair planning .process. “Let
everyone with an interest have
input," he advocates. "The planning
process shouldn’t give the
advantage to someone who has
power or wealth. Whenever public
and private interests conflict, the
public interest should prevail,” he
insists.
Next Week: Other Candidates
Share Their Views.
Charlotte Selected As Newest
Locafa For General Rent-A-Car
General Rent-a-Car, which ope
rates 22 locations primarily through
out the Sunbelt, has opened a new
location at the Charlotte-Douglas
International Airport.
According to company president
William A. Reiter, “Our selection of
Charlotte was based on tbe fact that
it is one of the fastest growing areas
of the country. Also, its busy air
port caters to many business
travelers. While General began 12
years ago primarily as a leisure
traveler rental car firm, during the
past year we have directed our
operational efforts toward the im
portant business traveler.
“Charlotte, due to its being a
natural link with Atlanta-where we
have another location - represents
an important part of our aggressive
expansion plans.”
While all other locations are
company owned and operated, the
Charlotte facility will be managed
under a franchise agreement with ‘
Hardy Spatz, general manager, and
Nathaniel Greene, vice president of
operations.
Well known in the car rental
industry, Spatz previously was a
licensee for Budget Rent-a-Car.
During his 11 years in that capa
city, he supervised the operation of
seven locations in Charlotte and
Hickory.
During the past year, General
Rent-a-Car has created a series of
programs and products geared to
the business traveler. The success of
these programs in other commercial
cities, including Houston, Dallas,
San Antonio and Atlanta, provides
the company with the expertise to
adapt these programs for the '
Charlotte market.
Available in Charlotte will be pro
grams such as:
Eiwidw tipnw Chb <gBe>.
Under this program, business tra
velers are provided with a luxury
automobile (Buick Century or simi
lar) with air conditioning, power
windows and AM-FM stereo radio at
a daily rate of *29 95 This rate -
available at every General location
in the U.S. - includes all the
necessary insurance, including Col- .
lislon Damage Waiver; and un
limited, free mileage within rental
state. Auto rental and check-in are
expedited by pre-prtnted rental con
tracts. Also, a separate area or
facility at each location translates
into speed of service. Also available
are free coffee, telephones and
telephone message service.
Corporate Rate Program. Com
panies may enroll executives in the
program, which features different
levels <rf automobiles for different
executive positions. Upon request
central billing can be arranged
With the opening of this Charlotte
location, General will now have two
facilities in-terminal at major air
ports in the United States For the
moot part, General operates off
airport. The trend today is to
provide business travelers with not
only speed of service, but con
venient locations and quality auto
mobiles that are well maintained. {