ripon forum fall 2004

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Presiden.

Ric1u,,1 S. K=Ic,

u«u(ive Oil'«lo, Elv;, 0.1,')'

Com",,,,,i .:;,, ;o.u Director, Edi ,n,

Jeffrey T. Kuhner

E<lilorial A," i,,~",.

Robin K~"kr K.m:n P"dgcu

I'olilinl Edi to r Sleph~n F. /I,-IJnrr\~lj

C"hnre ~::d i, o .

R",!,..! K. Ayers.

Foreign Policy Edi tor Dr. Gmce VlIotO

D~jgnlAn Oi' N'lion John Boone

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Ripon Forum ' Fall 2004

4 Note From the Executive Director

POLITICS 5 How Bush Can Win - by Jeffrey T Kuhner 6 The Bush Revolution - by Daniel Casse 7 Why Kerry Will Lose - by Donald Lambro

8 The Permanent Republican Majority - by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay

COliER STORY 10 Statesman of Our Time - by Pau l Johnson

INTERIIIEW 13 Restoring the Sunshine State

- Interview with Florida Governor Jeb BLIsh

INIIESTIGATIIIE FORUM 14 The al Qaeda Connection

Justified Saddam's Removal - by Andrew C. McCarth y 16 MoveOn.org: Don't Believe the Hype

- by Roben Stacy McCa in 18 Losing the Kurds - by Julia Duin

MEDICAL FORUM 20 Cutting Back Drug Costs

- by U.S. Rep. Na ncy L. Johnson 2 1 Canada's Broken Health Care System - by Pierre Lemieux

22 Health Care for AII - by U.S. Sen. OlympiaJ. Snowe

CAPITOL FORUM 23 Clearing the Air on Decency - by U.S. Rep. Fred UptOn 24 Perils of Internet Child Porn - by U.S . Rep. Mark Folcy

PUBLIC POLICY 25 The Civil Rights Party - by Stephen F. M;lnfredi 26 A New Republican Majority in California?

- by Roman Buhler 27 Terrorists Target U.S. Economy

- by Rebecca LUllel, York County CorlSt Star

FOREIGN AFFAIRS 28 Kerry-Edwards: The Next Smoot-Hawley

- by U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu 29 Slaughter in Sudan - by Grace VIIOlO

THE JUST CAUSE 30 Remembering the Gipper - by JcfTrcy T Kuhner

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4

Note From The Executt've Director

O n behalf of The Riron Society, I welcome you to {he 2004 Republican Nat'ionaJ Convcmion issue of Thl' Ripoll Forum.

A few things have ch:mged since our laSt publication in June. \'Ve lost ont' of lhe greatcst Republican presidents to J debilitating disease (see the article on Prcsidell[ Ronald Reagan on page 30). We also lost a promising young Illinois politician 10 irony :15 the typically liber-II press saw fit to chast ise a mall for allegedly "liberal" aaions with his spouse. On the positive side though, Messrs. Kerry and Edw:trds experienced only a minimal "bollnce~ in the polls coming out of Boston. Th:u should inspi re all of us [0 increase our etTorrs to educate America about the accomplishrncnrs of the GOP and our PrcsidclH .

Speaking of Bosron and New York City, read senior W'llShingtlm Timrs journalist Jul ia Duin's investigatil'e piece on the plight of multi-ethnic diversity in Northern Iraq. There arc as many eth nic backgrounds reprcsemed in NYC as there are taxi cabs, yet nlany countries in the Middk, East con tinue 10 promote extreme xenophobia in the name of"ethnicc1eansing." This is wrong and it ought to SlOp.

Thr Ripon Forum is indeed a true fo rum where open debate is wcicome. As an example, our previous issue a tollcd the vi rtues of protecting the First Amendment unconditiOll ~t JJ y. In this issue, Representat ive Fred Upton (R-MI) provides a countcrpoll1t in defcnSl' of his reccru legislation. Long live our unahridged freedom to debate!

I am particularly intrigued by nationally syndicated columnist Donald Lambro's auide, wh ich details the Aip-floppin g nature of Senaror John Kerry's voting record. It seems very dangerous to have such a mercurial and indecisive person in the White House, potentia!!y. Is America re~tdy for :t waffiing, unprediCtable President ? We think not.

Our Forum cont inues to offer:l strong mix of international politics, national issues, and deeply provocarive reporring. To tklT end, Nl/lioll(ti ReIJirw Olilille contributor Andrew McC:lnhy firml y displays the un(ler-publicized links between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. Representative Na ncy L. Johnson (R-CT) and $en:ltor Olympi:l J. Snowe (R-ME), respectively, olTer concrete re:lsons why drug discount cards and health coverage for uninsured Ameri ca ns are poslHve Republican talking poims. And, Dr. Grace VUOlO updates us on the ongoing Sudanese genocide.

Special thanks must go OUt to our member companies and those forum subscribers that allow The Ripon Society its continued pattern of growth. In this pivoral election year when funds and time arc at a premium, so many of YO[l have chosen to support our educ.ltional mission, and even more have shared our messages with f.1mily and co-workers. That is truly gratifying. On behalf of our president and staff, thank you all for your cominued dedication ro The Ripon Society.

Hest regards to you at rhe 2004 Republican National Convtntion and beyond.

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Sincerely,

Er?:::~ Executive Director ([email protected]


How Bush Can Win President needs to get his message out - or risk losing __________ ---'By JerrI'(}' T. Kuhner

President Gcorge W. Bush's greatest weakness is his inabiliry 10 eirt"Cfivdy communic:ttc a coherem theme reg-ud

ing his governmg agenda. Despitc numerous successes in domcstic and foreign policy. the prcsidclll thus filr has 1x>Cll un:lble to Iranslall' these viclOries inm sO:lring popularity r.ltings. The nalion remains closely divided. Unless he starts gt"ning his mcss:agc across, he risks losing the "k-etion in NoV(:mbcr.

There is indeed a clear paucrn to

PresidclH Bush's policies during the past three :lI1d a half years. He has fushioncd an original ,tpproach to governing, :lnd has the potcntial to creatc a clornin:mt GOP majority.

From (he stan President Hush Ius ddint'(\ himsco1f as a "comp3SSion,uc conser\'3I i\'('," On Ihe surf.·lCC~. [he term ~ms [0 be murky and commdicwry. Conservalism, in theory at leasl, is :m)'l:hing bur ~comp3SSion

:lIt'.M II champions (he fIimy \'inues of slllall governmem, self-reliance and person31 responsibility.

The presidem and his advisors, how('\'cr. under5und [h:!! if rhe Republic Uls arc to

remain the majority party [hey must also come (0 terms with a fundamental reality: most Americms suppOrt Big Govcrnment. Since Presidents Nixon 3nd Reag;m. Republic lrl leaders have faced rhe dilemma of om ek'ClOr:lre that likes tile rhefOric of con~rv:l.liSIll, bUl remains arl3ched [0 social liber:llism. This is why, despite Nixon and Reab'3n's (Icsire to roll back many of rhe 1:1\'ish programs of the Great Society, 111<.1' succ~ed only in nibbling around irs (,dgcs.

I-kncc. the challenge f.teing th(' Hush adminisH:J.rion is how to ["('Coneile GOP val ues uflimi[("d govern ment and individu:tl re5]>onsibili ry with the TC:J.lilics of Ihe modern wdf:J. re sl:J.[e. President Bush's :J.llswer has been 10 cre:lle:J.n Mownt'rship sociery, ~ which will enable:: all Americans 10 become inves tors by aU:J.ining more comrol O\'er their t-ducuion, he3lrh care :J.nd pensions.

A case in poit\[ is Social Security. The centerpicce of the president's long-[ernl dOlllestic ;Igenda is 10 partially privatize

Ripon F()rum ' FalJ 2004

Sociery Securiry, enabling workers w itWCSI a ponion of their payroll Ia."es in Ihe stock marker in order 10 accumulate more money for their [(,tirement. He has taken a similar appro;lch wW3rd heahh Clre ;U1d educ.1tion by a(kocaring health savings accounts and <.-duC3tion accowliS. The objective is the 5.1111 C: empower indi ... idu3ls to have greater ownershi p O\' (, f such b;lsic need s 3S re riremem. Im.Jical care and colk-ge tuition fOf Iheir children.

The prL'S idelll's auempl 10 forge 3 nalion of middle-class inveslOrs in combination with his large ['".lX cur~ is an l'Conomic Str:l tcgy th;n has the polt:t1Iial 10 unleash a political revolution - onto Ih:1( could bent'fir Republicans for decadt) to collle. By slashing marginal tax r:ltcs and inslilUting entitlement neform . the administration is laying the groundwork for broad-based l'Conomic expansion. T his will provide new oPl>ornlllitics for Americans 10 become richer. As more citizens emer {ht, middle and upper-middle class. [hey will likely \'Ote for Ihe Republican Pany.

Furthermore, Pr~ident !lush's strategy is more d13n si mply a way 10 get additional \'0Ie5 for dlt GO]~ II is .1 1>oId anempt to reconfigure U.S. 1>olilics. The ;Idminisna tion is belling that Big Government can no longer adequately deliver SOCi;11 benefits. In f.lct, Medicare and Social Securiry wi ll go bankmpt unless dra.'ltic :lClion is (;lken. The solution, howe\'er, is nOi [0 repeal these popular programs - which would be polit ical suicidt, - but 10 modernize Ihem.

The presidelll understands Ihat the pri\~lI e secror can bener serve the primary purpose of thewelf.1ne s[ate - providing :l social safer)' net - rhan the tr:tditional nlL'Chanism of government. S[alism, which emails a government monopoly on elllidement programs. is a 19th century concept . ' I""his is outdated in Ihe 21st een[ury world of economic globalil.1 tion and ncxiblc labor markelS. Hence. [he adminis(r:uion is S<.......-: king to use 1l13rkel reforms 10 p["('S('rve and strengthen th~ social prolcclions denl3nded by most Americans. AI 1he S:lmc lime. Ihe president is alf(~ll1pting 10 fm[cr persollal rt"Sponsibiliry.

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CTC:J. te .... '{'alth and provide smaller, more efficient governmetll .

Compassion~re conservatism, Ihcreforc, is dIe at["empt to re\'erse the political [r:1jeclOry of rhe paSt 70 years. Ever since the New Deal, (he DemOCr:lrs hal'e lx.-cn percei\·<.-d as Ihe parry of reform and the R~publicans are vie\vcd as the defenders of corpor:lte plutocr:lC)'. The administr.uion is challenging this lI":adi(ional perception. TIle Bush-led GOP is now Ihe pany of hold innovation. while the Democrats 3re prOtl"Ctors of the brokt:n stalUS quo; they arc hostages 10 hloor unions, public S<.'Cror cmploy("t's md trial law),ers.

IT is well-known dtal the president considers Re;lgan 10 be his poli[ical hero. Although they havc much in common. especially a 5hare<1 idt"ology, Reagan is not quire the right role model for Presidelll Bu.sh. Instead, he should look [0 :lIlOlher Republican giant: President Theodore Roose\·eh. Like Presidenr Bush, Roosevelt gO\'erned at thl' beginning of:l new cenlUry and in an emerging age of international connicr. (Then the problem was nationalism; IOday it is terrorism). The Rough Rider's response was 10 set forth a sweeping, reformiSI agenda both at home and abroad. Rooscvelt curbed the powcr of emerging corpof3re behemoths, modernized government 3ud transformed America imo a milirary colossus. T ile result was nearly dlret' dccadcs of almoS( unbroken Republican rule.

Now, the Republicans have a chance 10 follow in Rooscvell's foomeps. They can again bt"Come America's dominant pany Prt"S idcnl Bush has embraccd Rooscvelr-sryle rcfor11l~. BUI he has failed 10 imitate Rooscvelt in one important respect: usi ng the Bully Pulpit 10 cffecri\'e!y communicate his mewge to the wider public. The Hush presidency has been one of the least rhelOria / in history. Ifh ... should lose re-election. it will 1I0 [ be ix.'ClUSC of his character or his policies. R:llher. it will be because he f.liled 10 understand Ihat the modern presidency dqx:nds ul>Oll th~ power of rhetoric to transmil id~as and ~xplain ]>olicy.

President Bush's rducrance 10 COlllller tht, Democf3ls' ceaseless :J.1[3cks has le(r many l'OIt'r5 confused aoour Ihe goals, successes and fUlU fC direcrion of his :ldrninisl ratiOll . Voters \valll 10 support a genuinely compassionate and innovali\'e conservalive. The prcs idl' llI is their m3n. II 's ahoul lime they reali7.cd this. (:"I

- Jdfiry T KlIl)IIrr is tlu dilor ofThr Ripoll Fomlll.

5

iC " • •

The Bush Revolution Some overlooked domestic policy daring

-----=:=------____________ ---'B"y_D=anid Cassc

This much is certain about this year's president ial campaign: it will 1101 be defined by domestic policy disputes.

Not since: the Viclnam-cr:l C:l1l1paigns has foreign policy played such :tn all-consum· ing role in a presidential election. Over every political :lTgumcnl this year, Jr:t<] is hovering. c:\Sting its long shadow.

To be sure, bot h I'rcsidcrH George \VI, Bush and SC Il , John Kerry will offer what :I rc now a wcll-rchclrscd list of domestic policy differences bctwc('n Dcmocrars and Republicans on taxes, hcahh C'.I re. Medicare and eduC:lIion. 13ut is there :myrhing decper at sr-.1kc? Is there 3nything nl'\\! to be fought o\"(.'r~

From the Republican IlCrsPCClivc. lilt,

answer is um]lIcslionably )'t'l>. Although it has rec('ived liale ancmiOIl, ('Vt'n from his own \'(Ihit(' Housc, Presidcm Bush has O\'er tht: p.IM thrL't: :lIld a half rears, ojTered. in a fragmcmed way, a dramatic rt·thinking of some of our pressing public iSSlIes,

1'0 bOlh the pr('sidmt 's critics and partis.lIls, the thoughl of a rC'volmion:lry Bush domestic policy Sl'Ctll5 unlikely, if not ri ~ible. BOIh Democrats .lIld Republicans have chastise(1 the White /-Iouse for its allegedlr rt:ckless pursui t of spending. The president's significant tax ClltS are said to have produced growth but insufficient johs. T he co mpassio nate co nse rvative theme on which he rode to office is now barely mentioned . if rcmembered .It .111.

Ye t thc presidell ts most significant forays ilHO domestic policy h:lve altered th(' way the country approache~ certain ideas while simultaneously shifting Washington's priorities. In his propos:l. ls on education, immigration and global AIDS funding. h(' illlroduced an dement of fundamenral changes in Vil'll. if not alw:tys prominent , national policies.

Stan with thl' much-discussed No Child Le ft Behind Act, siguLxI int o law over tWO :Iud a h:llf ye.lrs ago. Now. like then, the measllre mces criticism. '10 be su re, the legislation was marred:lt birth b), considerable congressional compromise, Still. the legislation insisted. fo r the fi rst time, 011

testing ever)' student in third 10 eighth grade in math a1ld science. AI:t time when

6

the Chinese are geHing ready to ecl ipsc us in the number of m:l lh and science gradu. ates, this sudden intrusion of :lccoUlllabi li· ty and published results in public schools is a significant shift.

Critics, Mr. Kerry ~mong them. will complai n that lhe legislation does nOT provide sufficient fu nding 10 ~chools - a predictable yet dlt r.lble Dcmocratic argumCnt.

In the past. Republic.\l1s could onl), rcspond by trying to oUlbid lheir 01'1'0-Ilems. Under Presidclll Bush. the debatc has sraned 10 change and in the years ahead. schools will be judged increasingly by performance. nOt exclusively b)' their allllual budgets.

The president's most significant forays into domestic policy have altered the way the country approaches certain ideas while simultaneously shifting Washington's priorities .

A morl' powerful ch:lIlgc in domcstic policy ca n be seen ill immigration . The president's temporary worker progralll , while far short of thc .HHnesty program advocated by some. signifies the first time that a president has sccn Mex ica n immigration as a major COIHPOnelH of ou r cultural and economic life. As eOllHllClllator [);Ivid Frum recently pointed o ut. it seems inevitable that the Mexic:m and American economies will become f.'1r more in tegrauxi. However, until now prC5idenrs and presidenri3.1 candidates have spokell almOSt exclusivel)' of tightening borders and catch · ing illegal aliens. President Bush's focus on how to deal with immigration - legal :.nd illegal - as 3.n economic reality will surely shape America's increasingly complex policy toward our southern border.

The president's initiatives towards those suffering with AIDS is still onc more policy Ihat breaks wit h past Republican priorities but , Illore imr,onand)" redefi nes the way we thi nk about this unprt.'Cedcnt{x1 crisis in health policy. All past deball's were shaped by the demands of AIDS activists fo r more fundi ng. In :. single sHoke, President Bush defused that atlack by

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proposing the largcst AmericaJl effort to

rackle this global pandemic in his 2003 State of lhe Union Address ($ 15 bill ion over the next live years).

What is imporl'3.1lt here is not JUSt tlie fumling level - although it dwarfs the global AIDS funding of any other Western nation. Rather, the policy is :a bold assertion that the United States is determi ned to lead the \VOIr on disease. alone if necesS;lry.

T his message is a potenl one :II a l im{' when the developed world uses its \':ISt app'lra{Us of price controls and regulations to discourage drug research and limit access to care in their own country. T aday, every signifi c-.lIl1 drug used to combat AIDS has been dcveloped in the Unit{x1 Statd, T he result is (hat U.S. citi«ns now subsidize the world in combaring illness - a f.let often o\'erlookl-d by Canadians and Europeans who boast of lower prescription drug prices. By making the effort to combat and treat AIDS - hOlh at home and abroad - a high priority. President Bush has established a policy that the United States will be the leader in taking on the glob3.1 nature of health can' crisl'S thai will be with us for 50mt· time.

T hese disparate policies don't fir neatly into :1 gen{'ral theory of government. The), have ne\'{'r been part of a singl{', Ihematic presidential speech. Yet all of them display a dcgrre of boldness and :I willingness 10

1ll0\'C the domestic policy debate into new arenas.

Without a doubt . (he Bush :Idministration has championetl a number of poor· 1)' cOllcei\'oo domestic policy ideas that have robbed it of a consistent message - the 2003 Farm Bill or the now-reversed efTon to apply qUOtas to imported steel come to

mind. But at its mOTe daring moments, the adm inistration has crc3.trd a few new benchmarks for pol icy thar will shape the way cerrai n issues arc dealt with in (he years to come. They are not yet pan of anr Republican campaign theme. Perhaps the), ought ro be. ~

- Oallil'1 Gwe is srllior dirrctor of 7hl' \f/hiu H OIIS, IfIriun Grollp.

fI Slm/('gy IIlId C01l11ll11l1i(l{/ions firlll.


Why Kerry Will Lose Massachusetts liberal is a flip-flopper

Uy Donald Lambro

Sen. John Kerry's daunting political challenge in Ihis eleclion is 10 con· vince a m:ajoriry of Americans Ih:1.I he

is nOI the man who has been clSling dlOSl' filr-left roll call VOICS in dle U.S. $cn:tIC

these past 20 yean •. All those vOles. he wants liS 10 belicve.

were C;lSI by :1t101 her Illan who was hoodwinked, bamboozled and brainwasht'd into voti ng for measures he would nOt and does nOt support today.

If the M:IS5achuseus liberal is sucttSSfut in selling this Nl"w John Kerry to the \'Olr r), it would be a rr:lIIsform:uion of Dickensian proportions that would make Ebcru.."lcr Scrooge's mcramorphosis pale in com parison.

No one who Ius followl'd Mr. Kerry's Scn<lIC can,'{'f disagrees Ih al he was a reliable vOier for JUS t aboU! every liberal 1I0SHum Ih:u came down Ihe pike. He \'Oled 10 slash defense spend ing. he voted to gtl( intelli· gence progrnms, h(' voted for ewry major soci:11 wc1f.,re spending bill Ihat C::ll11('

before him, he rnrdy met a lax CUI he liked. nor a I.IX incre:tse he dislikcd.

BlI! thaI W:IS :U101her era when i[ WoIS

poliriCllly F..shionabk' 10 VOle the liber.11 line. his su pporters say. Y('S, h(· prob.lhly weill ovcrbo:ml in his vOles d uring Ihe Cold \\lar, bUT he is a ch:mged man. more of;1 ccntrist, a Kcrry adviser IOld me, If rot! will jusl gi\'c me a chance. Mr, Kt'rry is now Tdling voters, I promise Ihat a~ rour president I will nOT gutlhe Pentagon budgct and I hal'e a much bctt('r underslanding since 911 I IIOw c ritically impon::ml inTcllibocnce prog .... lIllS really arc.

Still . how can one man be so specmcularly wrong on the major issues of OUT time? How is il possible 10 caSI so many votes on dle biggest issues and say now ,h31 he no longer hol{ls such views?

Yes. he eagerly vOTed for Ihe Norlh American Free Trade Agreem ent Ih:u President Ronald Reag.lI1 elll'isionro in the 19805 and dial President Bill Cl inton championed in the 19905, But now Mr. Kerry Thinks [hese free lrade ::lgreemellls were b,ul for workers alld if he had to do il .111 ove r agai n, he would vOle ag3il1s1 NAFTA - el'en though it has been one of


Ihe most successful free Ir;lcle expansion aclS of The 20th celliury.

Yes. he 1'00ed for [he Leave No Child Behind eduCltion accountability bill Ihal Presidelll Georgc w. Bush proposed ;Ind signed. E\'en ' I<:tldy Kennt-dy. the sen ior ~enaror from M:lssachuSl:t1s, worh-d wilh Presidelll Bush 10 enact it. But now Mr. Kerry regrets lhal VOTe b('Clusc: PresidcllI Bush refused 10 booST ('(IU O::llioll spending to Ibe maximum lel'els Ihe leachers unions wanted him 10.

Yes. Mr. Kerry voted for thl· resolution 10 give the green light 10 prou't.-d wiTh the mililary invasion of I ... aq 10 lopple Saddam Hussein's Terrorist regime and liberale the lr:lqi people, sayi ng (ha[ $::l(ld 'lnl posed .1 serious danger ro dle United Sr:lles al1(1 to

the world. Bur now Mr. Kerry says he regrelS his

l'O\e, Ihat Ihe administration lied to him Jbolll weapons of mass destruction, that Pn:sident Bush Ivai> in "a rush 10 go 10 war." and thar, besides, Saddam was nOI The gathering thre-al Ihal he had once belicv(-d him to be.

IT happens Ihal Mr. Kerry began changing his posilion on Iraq in the 1l1idsl of the Democratic presidenti:l! primaries when ami-war Glrld idale How'lrd Dean W;IS

cleaning 1\>l r, Kerry's dock in the poll s and looked like he was on :I (.1SI track 10 the Democratic presidt'n lial n01l1In:lllon. Suddeuly. pro- Iraq war Kerry m'Came 3miwar Kl·rl)' and his polls beg;1I1 10 turn in his (;I\'or,

BUI r-,'Ir, Dean IVlS still demonstrating remarkable political and fund-mising strength with Ihe Democralic Parry's large and noisy allli-war baS\.' and Mr, Kerry had 10 do something more TO CUI inlO his support. That's when he cast his vote against the S87 billion mililary supplemental bill I() defend o ur TrOOpS in Iraq and Afghanistan - after saying 011 MM('Ct The Press" [hal it would be Ihe height of irresponsibility to vote 10 send U,S. sold ien into harm's way aud then fai l to gi\'(~ Ihem the resources the), needed to defend themselves and finish Ihe job.

Add 10 all chis, an ami-tax cut vm illg rL'Cord and a T;lx ·ra ising economic policy

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lhat rt·jCCtS Ihe widely accepced nOlion, held by Pr.,'sidents Kennedy, Reagan and Geurg{' W. Hush. that across-the-board lax reduct ions spur business investment, new joh cre;uiOll and f.,sle r economic growt h.

This is TlK' dubious politiC:II record That Mr, Kerry takcs with him into this ei('CTion and all the liberal baggage tl1;II gC)c.~ wilh it.

JUSI aboul e\'er)' Democralic leaul'r and stralegisl I have talked 10 in the pa5t 5e\'eralmomhs beliew that h-lr. Kerry's (;I(e will be cI('ciued by the state of the economy 3nd how I'oters perceive their economic well-being. M::Iny, if nOT Illost. of thes(' Dcmocr::us fOld me That Ihey nuw lldiel'e Iraq will r('cede as an issue. whil{· the brc;,dand·buller economic security issues will move 10 the forefront of Ihe Clmpaign agenda.

I think thai will be Ihe case, too. But I sl il1 believe Ih:lI. in the end, Mr. Kerry's flip-flops on so Ill:Hly nalional s{'Curity issllt·s will be his undoing, Sellsible people can ch'1I1ge Iheir minds on issucs ol'cr a lifeTime in poli t ics. but the sen:lIor from MassachusetTs has gOlle to t h::!1 well ollce 100 many limes for Ihe sake of polilical expedienc),.

The result is Thai Mr. Kerr), comcs off as someone who docsn't hal'e Ihe couragl.' of his cOIII'iClioliS on Ihe crilic.allife and dealh nalional K'Curi ry issues of our rimes. VOlers will give dlt'ir pr('Sidell! some slack to change his mind if :lIld when circu mstances W:lrranr, bUI above all [hcy respect and demand lea(lership Ih:u docs not Ch:lllgC wilh the shifting political wi nd~ or wh~'n till' goi ng gets lOugh,

Mr. Kerry fui ls Ih is fundamelll"al ["CS t ;md that's why President Bush is going TO be rc-elected to a Sl'Cond Il'rrn, f"'"I

- Donold l.Ambro is a IIrltiOlllll1y SJndicntrd (ohmm;st

On the forefront of Hcpublican politic s

and ideas Visit our Wcl) si lO for illiurn1iOHioll and Ih('

lalcsl news al:>oul Ihe Hipoll SOC'icly.

\\ ww. ripI 'Il~()( . ( )rg

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7

ie ." ~ ..

The Permanent Republican Majority The GOP's agenda for America's future

The work of ,he Unitl'd $t:llcs Congress over the lasl fWO years has bt'{'n L'Spc

ciall), produclivc for our seemil)' and prosperi I)'. [n that lime. we ha\'(,' Cut taxes twice, and we plan 10 CUI them again. \Y/c have funded twO of the most rapid, successful, and hUllla ne mil itary campaigns in history. W/e have mer our pressing needs to fight the war on tcrror :md defend the homeland from our enemies.

And we have passed the firsl major entitlement-refo rm legislation in history. wh ich - (Iespilc all the criticism we look for it - has alrc:;ady started 10 transform Ihe way hC:lhh care is ddivc:'r~-d in Ihis country and is on its way 10 bending the COSI cun'c of the Medic;nc program. Ours is :1 policy agenda m C3111 10 prOI{'C1 America's sccuriry, prosperit)" and f.lmilil'S, :lJld it 's :Ilre:ldy working.

Now think back to 200 1. whm our crOIlOI1lY was in trouble.

Rcression and terrorism had leveled m:H1y of the economic gains we made in the 1990s, and corporate sc.J. lldals had exposed many of those gains as h:tving heen hollow all along.

In re~ponse 10 these event's, Congress worked wi th Presi<k'lH G{'orge W. Hush to

cu t I:lXeS, It move which cronom iS[s now concl!dc tunted what would have oct'n :I

terrible rcr{'ssion into one of the shortest lmd sh:lllowcst in hislOry,

Hut Wt' didn't SlOp there. We expedited many of the longer-term t:ax cuts in 2003, bringi ng immediate relief to mill ions of fitmilies and small busi nL'Ssc.'S. C ritics howled , but late lasl year, the Congressional Budgel Officc conceded the 2003 lax cuts had alrc:ady paid for themselves.

Even more recent dat:a shows that the deficit is shrinking at a dip r.,ster than we could ha\'e hoped because of the increased revenues geiler-tied by the economic growth spurred by our !:aX CUIS. In other words, Reaganomics still works.

\'(Ie art' now in the midsI of what appears 10 be a massive economic t'xpansion, wit h morc th:m 1.3 million johs creat(.r! this ye;lr. From the m:muf':\clUring s{'c

ror to high technology to the service indus-

8

By House Majori!}' Lc:lder lorn Delay

tr)" Ihe economy is growing :lIId cr{'ating new opportunities for mill ions of American f.tmili es.

This is th{' economy we need nm on ly to creatl' jobs and Clreers hut 10 provide our cou ntry with rhe resourn's il needs to fight and win the w:l r Oil lerror and nll'Ct our emerging enti tlement crises.

\'(Ie Republ ica ns have cOlHrolled Congress for 10 years now. :lnd we have made man)' gains. but much more work remains to be done. That is why (lur agenda mUSt nOt only look a year or an election ahead, but 10 and 20 years ahead.

We have the ideas on the economy, government reform. entitiemelltS and welf.tre not simply ro make a f(:"oll fixes on the margins, but 10 fundamenully re-im;tgine the way the federal gon~rnmenl docs busi· ness for general ions to come. \'(Ie ha \,(' !lIe opporrunity 10 make, after decades of Democrat domination, a truly RepubliCln national government.

Our majori ty is only as st rong as the com mon values all Republicans share and the bonds that unitc us. Every success we have won over the laSt 10 years we h;l\'c won together. And cvery success belongs equally 10 all of the diverse opi nions represen ted by uur pany.

House Ma)ority Leader Tom Delay

www.riponsoc.org

Conservatives sometimes get a bad rnp for !>Cing intolerant of dissent, but consider our congressional delegation. Consider our presidem ial candidates from 2000 and our leaders arou nd the cou nrry. \'{Iould an imolef3m parry really have as national leaders such d iverse people as 10m DeLay, Rudy Giu li an i, and Arn old SchwarLCllegger?

TheR' is a party today that is growi ng more intcllecmally n:lrrow and less intellectually tolerant every day, but Ihat party is the Democrnts,

While we have a diversi ty of opinion on every issue under the sun , the Democrats' spectrum of opi nion grows more and more narrow. While we welcome intra-party debate, Democrats slifle il. \'(Ihi le we welcome Americans of :Ill

political persuaSIOns, Democrats !:llk open ly of writing off entire geographic regions of our nation.

Not us. \V./t- are a national majority and :I national part)', and we plan to Stay that way.

Republicans from across the coulllry and across the ideological spectrum -from libertarians to fiscal conserv:l t ives \'0

sod:11 conservatives to moderates - have all been e(luaUy r{'sponsible fo r the things we halle accomplished.

What we have done, fr0111 Ihe 1994 congressional takeover to welfare reform to

the balanced budget 10 the ciect ion of President Bush 10 OUf recent successes on lax relief and nalional 5CCuriry, we have done as a united party. And that is the onl), wa)' we can succeed in the future.

Th:ll is Ihe fundamcllIal mission of The Ripon SocielY - to identify and hold filS l to Ihose principles thai have brought our parry to national majority status. Those principles of limited gO\'ernment, r~ersonal responsibil ilY and pc:lce Ihrough strength arc the principles upon which we will build our victor), this fall and our agenda next ye:lr. '>:7

- U.S. Repmmfflril!( t0m Drury is a Texas Rrpllblimll

Ripon Forum · Fall 2004

I • -, " 1----.-..-- -. ,~

Statesman of Our lime

President GeDl"ge W Bush and soldiers from the 10th Mountain DIViSion at Fort Drum. NY. The Dlvi~on was the main lightong fort:e on the ground in Afghanistan in seart:h of Tahban fort:es alter September 11th

U llIil Ihe Sep!('mber lllh atroeiry the presidency or George W. Bush lacked apparent shape or pllTpose. He

appeared to be a man who had run for suprenK' offiee for hereditary and dynastic reasons, who h:td scrambled ilHO it on a minorilY vote (due it was said \0 a quirk in the U.S. Constitution), and who, now that he was in the White House, did not know what to do with Ihe power he exerciscd.

The attack on thc \Vorld Tr;tde Centcr changed thac. It gave President Bush a role III life, his presidency a pu rpose, and his administ ra tion a program of action. At once he knew exactly what he was in the \'\Ihite House for: to alcn Amcrica al1([ the world \0 Ihe <bngcrs of a world-wide conspiracy 10 subvert order by violence and \0 destroy the illlcrnational rule ofbw.

This was :1 Ihreat JUSt as d:lllgerolis as Ihe Nal.i project fo r a "thousam[-year Reich" and the Japanese "co-prospefLly

10

By Paul Johnson

sphere in Asia," or the Soviets' plan \0

est:1blish communist regimes throughout the world. And the size and spread of the terrorist threat, and the targel ing of the Uni(('d Statcs :IS tlK' chier enemy, leli no doubt that America had \0 arm and respond with all its forces - military, diplomatic, financial and psychological -anywhere and if l1(.'ed be everywhere in the world.

President Bush has responded in full measure since that terrible day. He has been ultra-deleTmined, single-mi nded, courageous, resolute and decisive. He has disregarded his personal popularity, at home and abroad, in order 10 do eX:loly what is required to Illee! the terrorist threat. It has become lhe only object which really m:mered in the whole of lhe ad ministration's foreign and milit;lry policies. If COllcelltralion on a single gual is the m:trk or a statesman and the test of a nrst-

www.riponsoc.org

class gOIJcm rncru, then the Bush regime is a WIl111er.

Wh:n :thoU! the results? Prcsidcm Bush (and his allies) have fought tWO successful lighming c:t m p:ligns in Asia against wh'l{ were once regarded as formidable enemies. In bodl cases, allied casualties were light and the mili tary objects were secured in record time. As a result, the Uni ted States is firmly established as the major milit<1ry power in the heart of Asia, with all the bases, refueling stations, overfllglH rights and locI! allies il needs for any foreseeable military operations. This is a remarkable achievement, for which President Hush has received tOO little credit.

It is tflLe that guerrilla ani viI}' conti nues in Afghan isull and (hat in Iraq ccrrorists are numerous and active. \'\Iilat did anyone expecl? [I Ill:ly be Ihat Presidem Bush and his leam underestilllaled tile dangers which remained arler they won an


America 's economic recovery is well underway. Prospects are bright for further gains if we adopt policies that create more jobs, unleash the American spirit of innovation, and help assure the sustained growth of our economy. To maintain economic growth we must:

En(ourage investment and innovation. Our obsolete tax system should be reformed. It should create incentives for new investment and research & development that enable u.s. businesses and workers to be leaders in the worldwide economy.

Improve education and training. America's school children must graduate from high school prepared for college and the workplace. The No Child Left Behind Act is providing more choices for parents, more resources for teachers and new accountability for schools. Job training programs must also be strengthened to give loday's workers the skills for tomorrow's jobs.

Promote trade. New U.S. trade agreements to open up foreign markets are catalysts for economic growth. They faci litate trade and encourage new investment and exports, increasing income and creating jobs here at home.

Growin, the economy. Our most important job.

B~ Business Roundtable

www.businessroundtable.org

olLlriglll miliury viclOry in Iraq. 13111 they are plainly lea rning the lessons and, Illeanwhile, Iraq is progressing painfully IOward democracy and the rule of law.

President Bush has never wa\'ered ill his determination to bring this about. He has shown patience and long-term courag(' in pursuing his aims. Nor should we undercstimate his success in figilling the terrorist threat itself. It can no longer moul1I major operations 011 the li nes of9/11, cslX'cially in the United States itself. It now aims at soft targets. usually in T hird World count cies. Nor cau it operate at wi ll from any sovere ign states. as 1\ once d id in Afghanista n. No state on earth now dares 10

give opcn or :Ivowed support 10 terrorism. To [h:1I extelll the Bush pol icy of pre-emptiV{' action has succl'Cded completely. And. throughout the world. most states ace taking steps 10 root OUt terrorist cells and bring the ki llers 10 just ice. Many thousands of terrorists are now behind bars awaiting trial, on trial or servi ng long-term sen!eIlCes. Large numbers ha\'e !xcn killed.

The Bush administration has been weakest on the propaganda front. It has ix'Cn ineffcctive in putting its case 10 the world. The adminiSlration has nO! cxplained exactly wh:u it is doing and why. II has F.tiled to prcscnt President Bush as a Statesman who is doing for the world wl1at the world is tOO w('ak, divided an<1 irresolute to do for itself. In E\lrope, in particul:t r. Presidenr Bush is consistently underrated, caricatured, demonized and hated.

Now it is worth rememberi ng - [ ccrtai nly remember it vividly - that therc was :1 time, in the early 19805 when President Ronald Reagan was similarly caricatured. deride<i as ~a second-rate movie acwr~ and lam·led a dangerous man who foolishly used provocati\'e expressions like "the Evil Empire.~ Now he is hailed as olle of the greal hiswrical figures, the man who won the Cold War. [ ha\'e liule doubt Ihat, in time, President Hush will be haik'(i as the man who won the \\':Ir on lerrorism. In Ihe meantime, however, something effecti\'(' must be done to prCSCnt him birly and accurately to the world. Unlike President Reagan he is not and never will be the Creat Communicator. IhLl what he personally lacks in articulat ion :lnd charm can, and Illust be, supplied by the resou rce of professional skills. Here. the admin isrration has f.1iled and a fresh effort must b(' made to repair the damage.

It i .~ no accident th:n President Bush's


The remaining tower of New York's World Trade Center bums after the first twin tower collapsed September 11 2001 Three hll8Cked planes crashed Into m<I)OI' U S landmarks. destroYlll9 both of New York's mtghty twtn tow{)rs and plung'ng the Pentagon III Washington Into flames. III an unprecedented assault on key symbols of US mltltary ar.d fmaneml power

global standi ng is at its lowest in Europe. especially in what he h:ls designated Old Europe. For in the criticism of Prcsid~'JH Bush there IS a large dement of envy. Old Europe hls done badly in recent years. and the contrast with Bush's America is bbtam and growing. The Europe of the EUfo is S[agnant, old fashioned and increasingly left behind in the world. France has no growdl. Germany is contracting. Product ivity is low. UnemploYlllcnt is high and growing. In somc of the key European cou ntries. population will soon begin to fall in absolmc rernlS,

By corurast, Bush's America 11as emerged strongl), III the 21st century. Growth IS high and continuing. Productivity is rising. Unemploymellt is low. Ncw jobs arc being created at some of the mstest rates in history. So mr th is year about 1" million new jobs have been registercd - a surprisingly high proportion of them in lllanuF.tcturing. The total by the elld of thc year may be as high as 3 million. To O ld Europe, where nct jail-losses :lre

""",,'. r i po IlSOC. org

the grim normality. such figures seem inCfedibk·.

Above all, there IS sti ll hopc. ell1husiasm and r:lilh in the fu ture in Bush's Americ:l. Th is contraStS strikingly with th(' lX'ssimism and apathy of Brussels, P:lris, Herl in lnd Rome. T hat America faces problems no one will deny - deficits and budgetary shortfalls being among the most severe. Yet President Bush has shown himsel f to be a man with vigorous responses to challenges, who will take bold decisions and pursue them with persistenc<-' and courage. He isix-ginn ing to look, in his own way, a formidable figure. jusl as. in a different way, President Reagan did in the mid- 1980s. This is not a bad <Iual ifica tion fo r a s('Cond term. (:'11

- Plllt! Johmon, noud historian alld jOl/rnalist, hilS writtrn 1/11111rrOIlS books,

illr/lldillg ~A10drm Timrs" alld '/I History of tlJI' Amrri((lfl Prop/r . . , His mosl r«tnt

work is '/1,,: A Nrw History . ..

11

Since 1969 Countrywide has been focused on red ucing the barriers to homeownership and lowering costs. Fannie Mae shares this vision, and together we're working harder than ever before to make homeownership accessible to more Americans. "When we started, we offered one product; today we offer over 180, many designed with Fannie Mae, to make homeownership more obtainable for more people. Right now only 50 percent of minority families own homes. The task for companies li ke Countrywide is moving it from 50 percent to 80 percent. Fannie Mae is invaluable in helping to reach this goa l. Our unifying mission is to close the gap in minority homeownership:' states Angelo Mozi lo, chairman and CEO.

As Mozilo notes, "YOli can't quantify the emotional impact of homeownership in people's lives." So as long as there is a gap in the homeownership rates, Fannie Mae and Countr)'\vide will continue to make sure all Americans have the chance to reali ze the d ream of homeowners hip. Because as the American Dream grows, so do we. ™ ~FannieMae

www.f;tnnicmJc.cum

Restoring the Sunshine State An exclusive interview with Florida Governor Jeb Bush

By JefT'rq T. Kuhner

Jeb Bush was born in Mid[;md, Texas, on Feb. II. 1953. Aner arr iving in Florida. he helped Sfan a rcal e<JW IC dcvclopmclH

company that today is one of (he largest, filII-service COlll mercial Tt':l.[ csca!e companies in South Florid:!.

Mr. Hush was dccrcd Florida's 43rd governor in 1998. He was rc-elCCted in 2002, thus becoming rhe first Republ ican 10 be rc-elected governor in lhe srmc's history. Since raking oRlcl', his priority has been 10 create a world-class eJuCltioll system by emphasizi ng high H;lIIdards and increased accountability. 10 achieve (his goal. he has provided a rc<:ord four-year increase of$2.9 billion (26 percent illcrcasc) in K· 12 funding.

Mr. Bush has also booSllxl the swe's rL'SCTVC funds while reducing the slate's tax burden (0 ils lowest level in a decade. He is del ermined (0 protect Florida's natural environment : he has made an his(Oric $2-billion cOllllllitmelll (0 save Florida's Everglades.

Mr. Bush is married and has tlH('C children.

The governor kindly agrc..x."d (0 an imcrview. We also wisl1 ro thank his Starr for their cooperation and generosiry in making the interview possible.

HF: Governor Bush. I'OU have made education rrform the celllerpicce of your administration. \'V'hat do YOll consider 10 be your ad ministration's primary accomplishmems?

Governor Bush : Our primary accomplishment is Ihat we are S(.'Cing rising student :lChievcment in our Slate. Florida is the only state ro show significant gains in fourth grade reading on the biannual NAEP test, commonly known as the n,uion's report card. These rt:sults lllirror wh,1t we're seeing on the FCA1~ which is our statewide assessment 1001. \'(Ic aTe proud of these results, bur we arc not satisfit-d with them. Too many of our thirrl graders cannOt read on grade level. and the achievement gap among minoriry Slll

dents is still tOO large. But the scores arc rising and the gap is dosing, so we are encouraged that education policics built on high expectations arc working.

A rebted accomplishment IS Ihat we


haw given parelHs and communi ty leaders more information on Ihe performana.· of both their schools and their smdems. Our new school repon card provides :1 school's grade under Florida's 1\+ Plan for Education. along with information 011 which areas may IItxxl improvemenr ull(\er the federal No Child lefT Ikhind Act. The report card ,1150 compares stlldenr perforrmUlce 10 resources spent at each school, thlls measuring relUrtl on invesTment.

This infOfl1l:nion is nOt merely instructive to po!icymakers arul education leaders. Over the past five years. we h;1Ve SLoe11 COIli

munltles ral!y arou nd low-performing schools and help turn thclli :Iround, and none of it would h:we haplX"llcd witilOut the information th~ state now providcs 10 assess progress.

L1.~tly. Florida leads till' n:Hion in promoting school choice. We h:lVe three scholarship programs in our S£ale, and we gre,Hly suppOrt our charter schools and provide opportunities to paretlls who choose 10 home school their children. We believe that choices and competilion enrich learning opportunities for all students ill Florida.

IlP: Florida's economy has recently rebounded following the recession of 2000-2001. C.11l you discuss your administration's economic strategy 10 srimubte job creation and attract domenic and inrern:Hion:-.l in\'cstment?

Governor Bush: Inves tment is the key to

econom ic growth. \'(Ie use Hate policy to

encourage privatc investmcnt in St.'\·eral W:lys. We have 10wer('{1 state laxes by ovcr $8 billion. \'(Ie have streamlined regulation. We have forged SHonger busincss tics with our key overS~';IS trading panners. solidifYing our statc's PO$ltlon as tht Garew:lY to the Amerias.

Florida also funds economic incentive programs ro encourage private itwestmcnt, CSlx'Ci:-.lly in kty high-growlh sectors of our economy. These include the lift· sciellces, inform,llion technology, aViatiOn and a('rospace, homeland secllrity/defense, and finan cial/profess ional services. Most dramatically. Florida h:-.s become a major participant

www.riponsoc.or&

Governor Jeb Bush

in b iotechnology research by SL"Curing the expansion of the Scripps Rese:Jrch Institute 10

our stall'. Our most widdy used incentive. the Qualified Target Industry T:'lX Refund, has help,."d induce more than 300 projects which have creatoo over 74,000 high-wage jobs and secured $6.1 billion in private sector investment since the program's Inception III

1995.

I{F: You esrablislled the Florida Office of Drug Comrol to ;lddress the problem of d rug abuse in your state. Can you briefly describe the fUllctions of the OAlce and discuss how succt'Ss!i.11 it has been in stem ming the flow and lise o f ilk-g.11 narcotic.~?

Governor Bus h: Prcvcntion, m:attllCnt and law enforcement are the tlirl'C pillars of our drug control Str:ucgy. and it is working. For exarnpl t, ecstasy usc among our youth is in dc.."ClinL', and youth smoking h:-.s dropp~ ... d from 18.4 percent ill 2000 to 1 1.5 percent in 2003. \'(Ie are on pace to achieve our statewide five-year goal to reduce drug usc by 50 jX'rcclll by 2005. Our Office of Drug Clmrol works under the auspices of nly office to coordinate these efforts :llliong the variolls fcder:ll. s\"ate and local partners who have made th is success story happen.

Florida's Drug Court system is a perfect illustration of how law enforcement and treannent C HI be achieved simultaneously. Drug offenders under drug court supervision r.1ce very strong incentives to suy with the rreatlnent program. 'C7

- J1firy .,: K"hnrr if tlx editor of71}l' Ripoll Forum

13

The al Oaeda Connection Justified Saddam's Removal Why President Bush was right to topple the Butcher of Baghdad

Ily Andrt·w C. McCarthy

Was Ihere a connect ion between the now-deposed Ir:tqi regime ;1I1d the al Qal'u:t terrorist network? T he

:tnswer is:t resounding "yes,~ In f.t CT. giv('n the incrc.lSi ngly o"crwhc1ming evidence of tics, (he more interesting issue is: Why is this a qucstion at all? There ;l re two principal reasons.

The roremost is political. Prcsidelll George \'i/, Bush is nOI Ihe f.lvOted c:tndidalc of the Left or the mairmream media. While these group~ h .. ve atlackt.-d other I)OSI-9/ 11 nalional security measures wilh onl), mix(-d success. their relentless saV".J.gi llg of i'residelll Bush's Ir:tq policy - cs()('(ially Ihe failure to locate stockpiles of Ir-Jqi WM D - has effectivel}' cut into the president 's elecrion year appro,'al r-Jlings. Obviously, that Irend would I'('\'CfS(' dramatic:tlly if Ihe American public was pcr~uaded th:1t Iraqi dicfamr Saddarn Hussein Ilad been in le:tgue with al Qaeda leader Os;ulla bin Laden. the :l rchitCCt or tile." 9/ 11 :llrocilies. So, unsurprisingIy, Ihe SlOry It:1~ been buried and hclittk-d.

In th is, the prcsidctll's opponents have an unexpcclt.,(j ally: the U.S. intelligence community. Our spy agencit-s, having biled to foresee 911 1 much :tS thl'}' missed telltale signs of the &lI'i(,1 Union's coll.tpSt'. h,we come in for immense criticism and calls for draslic rerorm. They arc of a mind 10 al'oid another embarrassing misread, and proof of Ir:tq-al Qat.'(ia collabomtion would be anOther example of Iheir long line of intelligence failures.

Many analysts h:we mai ntait1(-d thaI there could be no connection because seeming ideological adversaries like Saddam's secular Iraq and fundamentalist al QJt.-da would nC\'er collude against a common enemy. H istorically, such a Iheor), is frivolous- it is nOt for not/ling thai ~the enemy of my cne1l1}, is my fri end" is a CCllIuries old truism of foreign relations. Bur doctrinaire insistence on a b ck of ti t·s is plainly easil"r th:m

14

grappling with interactions that , though nu merous. remain murky - in large part because they have not yet been adctlU:uely irwestigatoo.

YCt. a funi\'e connl.'Clion docs not meall an unscrious one - quitt· the opposite. As Stephen F. Hayes recounts in his reveblory book on the SUhjL"Ct. ~'nte Conncc{ion~

(HarperCollins 2004), ooth Iraq and al Qaeda had deep imeresrs in keeping their rclalions secrel - Saddam because he sought to thwa.n Ihe Uni{ro Start'S but aVOid a ruinous conrrontation Ihal opc.'11 alk'giancc with al Qaeda might have provoked; bin Laden because he was u yi ng to h,.·p together a wary network of Isbmic milil:1I1Is. including some Saddarn skeptia .

Roots of the Connection But though wdl concealed. lhe connec

tion has bt."Cn enduring. Its roolS tr:tce back to the early 1990's, when bin Laden moved the Oedgling al Qaeda network from Afghanistan 10 Su&m, where Surmi Muslim r:tdicals had seil("d control. Stridently al1liAmerican Sudan had supported 1r:t<1 during the 1991 Gulf War. and Saddal11. therelOrore M."CII as an ardent 5CCul:lrist, f"CS I>onded by ovcrtly cmbr:tcing militant Islam: hosting imernalional terrorist conferences, adding some eiemct11s of the Sharia code to Ir-Jqi law. and even adding tbe slogan MAllahu akbar~ (God is great!) to tile Iraqi flag.

AI Qaeda saw the green liglll to collal>oranon. By 1992, according to Iraqi Intelligence Service (115) rt.'Cords recovered last year, bin Laden was ;llread}' rt.'b':l.rded as an 11 5 asset, while Arman Z:1\ .. ,.ahiri, {he em ir of Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) who would later become bin Laden's St."Cond-i n-com· mand, was Ix'ing hoslt.-d in Ir:tq, B}' 1994, [he rwo sides came to :tn lLnderstanding. which was lau.:r expressly allcgt.'(! in lhe first ( 1998) indictme11t Ihe Justic(' Dcp:lrtmell! obtained against bin L'Idm: ":II Q:led;t

wW\\'. rtponJ;OC.org

would not work ag.'1 insr [Imq] and ... on particular projects, specifically including weapons de\'c!opment, al Qaed:t would work cooperatively with . .. lraq.~

More is continually learned about the early {ies, thanks to the trove of records found after Saddam's ouster. For example, during the mid- 1990's, Ir:tq broached with bin Ltden the possibiliry of joint efforts against the Saudi regime, which w;tS thcn hosting U.S. forces. Over the rears. moreover, [[ S providoo al Qaeda with phony passpons and desper:lIe1y nt.·t:ded bomb-lIlakillg (Utelage. Iraq also set up secret tr-Jining camps for terrorists - particularly at Salman Pal.:, outsidc Baghd'id - where the l iS special opcr:ttions division providl-d schooling in assassinat ions, kidnappings, hijackings and all manner of tt:rrorist operations.

In {he late 1990's, as both Iraq and al Qac.-da bccaml' increasingly emboldent.xI by weak-kneed U.S. responses ro thl' ir provoca+ tin: beh:lvior. ~ympathetic comacis bct\\'t.'t'n the tWO also appear ro hal'e increased. In carly 1998, as Saddarn taunted the Clinton administration by mocking the U,N. weapons inspection process, Mr. H:l)'es reports that al Qacda's number tWO, Zall'ahiri, was tn Baghdad collccting $300,000 from the 115, Shortly thereafter. 115 records (found by journalists last year) indic:ne that Iraq was readying for a visit from another bin Laden envoy. which occurred in March - just aftcr bin Ltden issul-d his infamous bt\V3 calling for the murder of Americans all over rh t' world.

Bin Laden, of course, \\~J5n't kidding: on August 7, 1998, al Qaeda oombed the American embassies in Kenya and -ral12.:lllia, killing O\'Cr 250. So cenain w:tS rhe C linton adrninisualio n aboul the lraq-al Qaeda conlIC(lioli that il retalialed. ill part. by cruise missile strikes againsr a Sudanese pharmaceutical ['1ciliIY that, il maint:linoo, was a coven chemical weapons hub (hat combined bin Laden fi nancing and Ir:tqi l"t'Chnical know-how. The embassy oombings, rncallwhilt·, inspirt-d Sadd:uTI's s,1distic son, Ud~ }',

m publish in the stme-comrolled Ir:tqi press ~u t.-ditori:tl liouizing bin LadeD as ~:tn Arab :l11(ilslamic hero."

Ripon ForlLm · FJ.II 2004

IraqHiI Qaeda Meetings By late 1998, 11'3<] had ouslt'd Ihe U.N.

inspectors, prompling :lnOlhcr ineffectual round of cruise missilc rel"a li:llion. Saddam miponded on at 1C'.1S1 tWO fronts. although. yet :lgain, lack of im'cslig:lIivc inH~resl ha.~ left us with only troubling outlines and unconneclt-d dolS. FirM. li S officials were disp:ncht-d 10 PakiS!:ln and Afgh:lniSian (where al Qat-d:1 Im\ by then relocated) to Illttl with bin L:lden, 5<.'1:ond.:llI ([S operative under diplolll;uic cover in the Cu-ch Republic was alloc:lted .;mds 10 rl.-'1:ruil n:rroris!.s for the bombing of:Ul AmeriClII target: Radio I:rl.-"C Europe (RFE) in Prague. The buer plOi was sta lled when the [[$ opcr:uive was "f1iplx:d" by Wcstem inrclligence serviccs. but fear of it s rcv ival Sllrgl.--d in 1999 whcn tht· compromised diplom:u 's I\.·pl:tcelI1e111. liS agent Ahmed aI-Ani, was observed Sl:eminglr (':Isi ng the large!.

Given the extensive, historic and

perilous nature of interaction

between Iraq and al Oaeda, the

most curious part of this story is

why the Bush administration has

not pressed harder for an

aggressive investigation.

AI-Ani is crucial fo r prc.«:nt purposes because a w:llcher for C7.C<h illlel[igrnce (t'porred seeing him nK~t lOp hijacker Mohammcd Atta in Pr:lgue on April 8. 2001 ~ jusl ove momhs hel,}re the 9/11 JIIacks. Although naysayers h:IVe cast doubt on th is rendC'lvouS. the UJ.:chs h;lve stood by their accoullt. and corrobor:.lfing cirCllmSr:lIlCCs ;Ibollnd. An entry in :ll -Ani's calendar indicates an :_ppoimmel1l 10 ml~1 wid) a MHamburg sludeOl H (which AII.t WlS known both to be, and to dt'SCribc him'iClf as. on official forms). Furthermore. AU,l. who ck":lrly had aecm ro falsc rr:.I\"(·1 document,). is known 10 have withdrawn 58.000 in (':Ish in Virginia 011 April 4. 2001. and no WiIlK"SS c;m place him in Ihe Unill.-"(I Statcs again until April II - in ot her WOf(is. Itl· ha<1 Ihe means to make:l. SClTel trip, and ahhough his cell phont'o according 10 records, was u'i(.'(l in Florida dm week. thai could casily havc been done by his fellow hijacker. M:lrwan :tlShelthi.

1"' 051 sign ioc:1JlI[)'. in mid-2000. evCll Ihe naysayers CUlIlOt deny that AU3 made

Ripon FOrll111 ' Fall 2004

two highly sU5picious Irips 10 Prague :1\ a timt' when we know, becausc of the RFE plot. Saddam was promoting allli-AnH:ri(':l1l lerrorism. The firsl, on May 30, wa ... evidem[y so importam tl13l Atra could nOI delay for jusl a dar for his "is:. to be I\.":ldy ' rnal is, although he had to kllOw he would not be permitled to enll'r thc COIIIII I)'. Alia Ir.wek-d to Prague jusl to sit in an :Iirporl lransit loungt' for six houl"l> - managing to dude ohscrv:llion. which suggests:t ml'Cling with someone who knew the complex sur\"eiil:lIlcc SCI-UP ~ before he;tding b:lck to Hamburg. Then. three days la ler (011 JUlie 2). Ana fftUrtll"Xl 10 Prngue, this tillie by bus and wilh a visa. No witness has accounted fiJf the 20 hOllrs he spelH Ihere, btu it is known thai (his was Ana's [ast StOp before heading 10 (he United Sr;ucs. Did he mett with aI-Ani? Why would he 1I(:cd 10 do th;lt right before bt.-ginning his 9111 pre]>:trJlions? Doesn't this suggesl that the April 2001 mccting happcnt-d? \,(lhy would the lOp hijacker take time 10 meet wilh a Saddarn henchman in the middle of plouing 9/11? These qu(~ tions h;l\'e been deflccled. bUl never answen.-d.

Saddam Supported Terrorist s F..ljually interesting is [he 1:1le of Ahmed

Hikmal Shakir, wh ich seized rr-cords indicue W;L~ a liclllenant colonel in Sadd;tm's elitt, F~"'(Ia)"ccn. In 1999, he gOt a job as :1 Malaysian ai rlines "grl.-'Cler" (a fUllcrionary who helps arriving VIPs get through the customs process) through the li S. which con· trolk-d his work sclll'dule. The VIP Shakir was dispatched to help on Janu.try 5. 2000. was Khalid al-Midhar ~;111 c'VCIlIl1:lJ hijackefof Flight 77 (which ;1O:tckcJ the Pemagoll on 9/11).

Shakir not only hclpe.J Midhar through CUStOIllS but also csconed him to a Ihree·day u1cering, auended by a[ Q:lt-da opcrJtion:ll [C'-lders. thar was plainly a planning se<is iol1 not on[y for 9/11 but, in addit ion, Ihe Oclobcr 2000 bombing of the USS Cole. Following the mt'Cting. ~'I idh;tr and fellow hijacker Nawaf al- Hazl11i headl.--d to the Un it~>t:I Smes (vi3 Ihngkok) \0 begin prep:lring for the suicide hij;tckings: Shakir remrncd 10 work for IWO days and then never again - the purpose of his assignml·!lt having evidem l), lx'Cll accomplishc<1.

Six days aflt'r Ilt t' 9/11 auacks. Shakir WlS briefly dl'laincd in Qalar. and found 10

be in posscssion of C011l:Kt inform;uion for major al Qaeda·linked 1(·rrorislS. Upon bcing released. he ,tnxiousl), sought 10 rewrn to Baghdad but was Stoppt-d at his COll llCC-

w .... "'·. ripol1'1OC.org

don in Jordan. There. he was held for sc\'er:11 momhs and made a\~-lilable to the C IA. which concluded Ihat he had sophisticarcJ coullIer.imcrrog;Jtion (raining. Ultill1:1tcly. Jord;tn C::l\'cd 10 pressure from Saddam's regime 10 return Shakir home 10 [rJq - the C IA reportedly agreeing in !he Pollyannaish hOI>l.' d13l he might be pcrsuadt-d 10 Ix-come ;t double agelll. He has 1101 been sccn since.

In Ihe intc:rim, Saddam was ,'inually alom' among world leaders ill ce1ebrali ng bin L1(tell'S 9/ 11 attacks. Since the Ira<li tyrant 's toppling. mOfC"Ovcr. addit io nal te rror ties h:wc become manifcst. For a dccade, 1r.l(1 h;lrbored and supported the likc:s of Abu Abbas (of Achille buro intuny) and Abdul Ibhm:H1 Yasin (a fugitive from the 1993 World Trade Center bombing). More trou· bli ng, [r:tq W AS eSpt'ci;tlly hospirable [0 tlte world's most d.mgerous al Q:leda-linked Jerrorist. AIm Mus;lb l..1rqawi: opt:l1Ing ils doors so Zarqawi could receive medical lre:ull1ent in 1002: permitting him [0 U'iC Ihghdad :IS a sraging ground for his closest associarcs; -lnd covertly supporting Ansar :11· Islalll. Ihe rmhlcss al Qaed:l-:lffiliatc that once m:lde Kurdish nonhern Iraq its home hase and dlJi has spearheaded. along wid1 regime loya[isls, lerrorisl resistance 10 Ihe American·lt-d coalition's Iraqi OCClIpal ion.

Given Ihe eXlensin', historic and perilous n;uure of intcraction between Iraq and al Qa~'tla, Ihe most curious part of this story is why the Bush administration has nQl pressed ha rdt'r for an aggressive investigation. It could o nly underscore the righlness of President Hush's refusal, post-WI], to

Ica\'l' ill power so assiduous :1 terror promOt er;lS S:lddam.

The i11ldtigellce 11CfC is im pcrft'Ct. :md. after the WMD controversy. perhaps the :ldm i ni~tralion senS<.~ rhat its [rn(1 policy could be funher harrm"Xl ifit presses the iSSlie and f.tils 10 find :In}'lhing more deon;!ive. Maybe it perct'i\"cs thar the intelligence (0\11-

munity'~ manifes! hck of el1lhu.-.iasm for the t:l5k Illeans il is bcs! to lea\"C well enough :llone. Hut 111.11 would be unwise. National SI.-'C urity is best sc.rvl-d by getting to the bottom of Ihis - for what it can reach us abolU al Q,leda's quest for state sponsorship, for the Iqpcy of what hlS been accomplished in [rJq. and !O reaffi rm the Bush Doctrine Ihat terrorism's frie nds will be America's encm ies, and will pay Iht' price. ~

- Alldl"t'llJ C McCmh)\ L1 ""/liollol Rl'lii/'w Ollli/ir cOl/lribllwr. IIHI$ rig

lelul pro$erllwr of dg 1995 urrorism CIISl' l~g(/illSl Sheik Olllllr Abdt! Iallll/lIl11.

15

MoveDn.org: Don't Believe the Hype Liberal group has history of supporting losing causes

Perhaps the most promising omen for President George \Y./. Bush's re-elcC[ion campaign is this: MoveOn.org is

campaigning :lg;JirlSt him. The press has endlessly hyped the

Internet-based liberal group, bill never once h:tS a reponn thought it newsworrhy to

mention MoytOn.org's well-established track T('Cord of f:tilure.

Ron Brownstein of the Los Angrf('s Tim('s proclaimed MoYeOn,org to be "one of the most influential, .. organi1.:uions in U.S. politics," and he credited them with "revolutionizing dl t' political usc of the !nrernet:' Bur he lcft OUT till" organization's losing legacy:

MoyeOn.org was founded in 1998 during [he Monica Lewinsky sca ndal by California software develope rs Wes Boyd and Joan Blades as an online petit ion to StOp dle impeach~ mell( of President Bil! Climon. The group's l1ame ca me from its stated objective, to h:l\"e Congress ~censure [Clinton ] and mOlle on." Instead, Mr. ClinlOn was impeached in the House on charges of perjury and Obstruction of justice, then tried in the Senate. Next, MOlleOn.org formed J politi cal action commi uee (PAC) aimed Jt defeat ing Republicans in the 2000 election . Instead, Republica ns main rained control of Congress for the founh consecm ive eit'Ction and sell! Texas GOII. George W. Bush to ,he White House. [n 2002, MoveO n.org supported Democrats' e/Torts to fe-take control of Congress. Instead, in a reversal of historic ,fends in mid -term el<.'Ctions, the GOP gained se;ItS III

both the I-louse and Senate. The group has since moved on, as !(

were, to other quixotic ca mpaigns, including spending $375.000 on rad io and TV ads urging President Bush to dism iss Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (who remains firmly ensconced in the Cabinet) .

The yawning chasm betwe('n MoveOn.org's reputation and its accomplishmeJl[s is largely the result of a press

16

By Roben Stacy McCai n

corps 100 lazy to check the group's claims. It is routintiy reponed, for instance, that MowOn.org has mOT(' than 2 millio n members. But having 2 mil! ion e- mail add resses (one of them mine) isn't the same as 2 million members. As of June 30, FEC lnfo.com reported that exactly 2,160 people had comribmed to the group's political action comminee, so 1.998 million MoveOn.org "mem bcrs~ are free riders.

BLUE STATE BUCKS Contributou to MoveOn.Otg PAC by siale of reddence.

4. WA 5. FL

'" %0' 2000

· .101 .. .....• 13.4 . . ... Gore . ,.:r1 ... , .... ,5.3 ... . .. ,Gore ... 37 .. 4.9 .... Gore

· .... 23 ... 3 ... , .... Bush 6. IL . . · .21 . . .2.8 · . .Gore 7. eo · . · .17 .. 2.3 .B,YSh 8. MI · . · .16 . . .2.1 · . .Gore .. .. 15 .2.0 ... .Gore (tiel TX · .15 .. 2.0 · . .Bush

Based 00 COO("buliOOs lor the 2003-04 electIOn cyc:I&. as lisIed 81 www.feanlo.com.June28.2004.

(MoveOn.org's Washington PR firm did not relUrn a phone call seeking information on th e group's membership claim s.) MoveOn.org's basic problem is that it is a "blue state~ organization - overwhelmingly based in rhe states that AI Gore won in the 2000 election - at a time when what Democrats need most is a way 10 win til

the "red srates."' Whtle MovcOn .org has plenty of

supporters in San Francisco, Sea tde and Boston. Democrats' hopes for 2004 depend on reaching out 10 middle-class swing VOters in red states like Kentu cky, West Virginia, Ten nessee and Ohio - "Iact's where MoveOn.org is barely a blip on the poli t ical r:1dar screen. A look at contributors to MoveOn .org's political aClion commitree (see ch:m ) shows thai more than 60 percent arc from four " hlue~ states : California, New York, Massachusetts 31ld Washington state. Mcanwhile the key 2004 battleground states of Florida, Michigan

www.nponsoc.org

and Pennsylvania account for just 7. 1 perce ll! of MoveO n.org's PAC donors.

MoveOn.org is dominated by atlluent liberals. The group IllS many Hollywood supponers. A perusal of the group's PAC do nors turns up left-wing comedienne Janeane G;lrofalo and Leonard Nimoy of "Srar Tn.:k" fame, along with numerous screenwri ters, directors, producers and agents. Beyo nd Hollywood, Ihe group attracts many lawyers and academics.

Overall. MOl'eOn.org's donors aren't exactly the kind of folks who spring 10

mind when th e word "grassroots" is mentioned. Rather, they are the elite of Democratic Party liberalism. By soliciting their invoh-ement in the political process, MoveOn.org does nothing meaningful to

expand the Democrats' base. Meanwhile, MoveOn.org has spun o/T

a "vOler fund ," a separate soft-money group to run millions of dollars of ant i-Bush ads - funded by an evcn more elite set of donors. Of the 58.7 million given to the MOlleOn.org Voter Fund in the paSt two years (through April), billionaire currency trader George Soros and Chicago insurance mogul Pl'ler Lewis halle contributed $5 .1 million. Hollywood playboy Stephen Bing, heir 10 a real-estat(· fon une, gave nearly another million to the fund, so Ihat 70 percent of the money raised by this ~grassroOls" 527 ca nll' from jusl three very wealthy men.

MoveOn .org, with ils deep pockets and media-hyped image, has kindled liberal hopes and Republica n anxiety. But the mill ions Mov(-Qn.org has spent on ads in 2004 seem to have had little elTect on the presidemial race, and there seems li t tle likelihood that a group o f elite urban liberals ca n produce the kind of messages that will fe;lch into the suburbs and small IOwns of America's heartland and win over middle-class voters for John Kerry.

In the filial analysis, the odds arc that on Nov. 2, MoveOn .org will add another fJilure TO its long list of liberal losses. ~

- Robat StllCY llt/cCllin is 1m IISsiS{lIl1t IIlIIiollll/ editor for The IfIllshillgton Til/us.


entertainment software association

Acclaim Entertainment, Inc.

Activision , Inc.

Atari

Buena Vista Games

Capcom USA, Inc.

Eidos Interactive

Electronic Arts

Her Interactive

id Software

Konami Digital Entertainment-America

lucasArts

Microsoft Corporation

Midway Games, Inc.

Nameo Hometek, Inc.

Nintendo of America Inc.

Novalogic, Inc .

SEGA of America , Inc.

Sony Computer Entertainment America

Square Enix U.S.A. , Inc.

Take·Two Interactive Software, Inc.

THO. Inc.

Ubisoft Entertainment

Vivendi Universal Games

Wild Tangent

Losing the Kurds • U.S. needs to give more support to Its ally

S ULAYMANIA, Iraq - The biggest shock J had in crossing the lral.ji border from Turkey on July 11 was the

sign: "Welcome to Iraqi KurdiStan.~ It did not read "''({dcorne to lr:lq." Ku rdist3n is the emOtion:l! and physical center of the I world's 25 million Kurds who spread across the rnounrainous and oil-hearing regions of Syri;J, ira(1' Turhy and Iran. The experience was like crossing from Mexico intO EI Paso :lIld being grectc<] with :l welcome sign !O

the Rcpll!>1ic ofTex:ts. The common folks I interviewed dur

ing my two-week investigation do not nus! dw (emf:'] g0\,crnrneru. They arc equally W:lry of the United $r:lt'cs. Kurds sufTered horribly under Ill{' brutal dicr:Horship of Saddam Hussein. For example, during the late 1980s, in a campaign known as "Operation Anf.--d,~ Saddam's se(:urity forces unleashed a wave of terror th:1[ led to the deaths of more than 180,000 people. til<.' deporration of 2 million Kurds and the destru(lion of 4,500 villages and tOwns, For (heir opposition to Saddam's iron-fisted rule, the Kurds have paid a terrible price.

However, this staullch Americtn ally in the Middle East could ~Iip away due to

U.S. ineplitude. AmericJ.ns do nor seem to

undemalld that Kurdistan is an unoHicial nalion: it has iLS own ethnic clothing, tWO main languages, its own flag, parliamtnt, police: lorce, supreme COUrt and even its

Hy Julia Duin

own passpon, Kurdistan even has one functioning airport in Erbi!, the sprawling city Oil Ira{I'S north-central plains, and it is soon to gain anOther here in Sulaymania.

There is also an enormous police force stationed all over Iraqi Kurdistan. KnOwn as "pesillnerga," these solditrs :lTe conStalHIy cltt:cking cars, faces and ID. One cannOI drive f:lr here without gelting pulled over by a group of unsmiling soldiers who demand to know who you Jre, where you arc going and where you arc frurn. All travelers from B:lghdad or Ihose who possess lin'nse plates from the Arab regions of the coutl1ry are SlOpped :tnd searched.

Feeling Betrayed The local proverb here is: "Th,' Kurds

Ita\'c no friends and only tlte moutl[ains arc Iheir friends." Once U.S. troOps leave, the locals have little confidence that tlw reSt of lr:tq will have any use for them. The Kurds believe that. wilhoul American and British overflights beginning in 1991, they would have long since been overrun by ~the Arabs" (their term for all other Ira(lis). Many Kurds wam Americans ro establish :l military hase here or at le:lst to build a consulate in the region.

But Ihe closest consulate is slated for Ki rkuk, a city divided bctween Arabs, Kurds and Turkmens. Mort: logical sites, such ,IS Erbil and Sulaymani'I, which con-

Americans do not seem to understand that

Kurdistan is an unofficial nation: it has its own

18

ethnic clothing, two main languages, its own

flag, parliament, police force, supreme court

and even its own passport.

wwv-.'.riponsoc.org

tain many Kurds who arc sympathetic to

the United Stales, were not chusen. TIte recurring themc of my converS:l

tions is that the Kurds feci betrayed. They have been close friends of America for decades. Since 1971, some Kurdish leaders have cven gone so far 'IS to suggest th,u Kurdistan be the 51st st:lte, When Tmkey refused to :llIow AmeriCi to usc its eastern region as a l:lunching point to invade northcm [r;HI during last year's military cam paign, the Kurds worked with U.S. Speci:11 Forces to ofl'set that enormous setback.

Now it is time to reward the Kurds. Yet they arc Ix:ing shoflchJnged, During JIl illlerview with Mohammed 5:ldik, pn:sidelll of Ihe Universiry of Salahaddin in Erbi!. he asked me why the United Nations Resolution 1546 pass,~d on June 8 was extremely \'ague on the rights of ethnic minorities in Iraq. Mu~t Americans probably have never heard of this document. However, for the Kurds the resolution was extremely distressing.

"Our blood was mixed with Americ,m bloo{] in the (.111 of Sad dam," said Kirmauj Gundi, a Kurd and :l college professor preselll during rhc inrerview. "but the resolution has put doubts in tllt' minds of Kurds :IS to Ihe good will of t lte United States."

Kurds art' asking why they bothcred helping AmeriC:I in til(' first place. They argut' that their arch-rival Tilrh·y undermined the U,S. invasion of Iraq. Yel Presidelll George W. Bush travc:!ed ro Ist"anbul ill Junc :tnd praised Turkty, Kurds eSI}Ccially despised L. Paul Bremtr, former U.S, presidential el1 voy ro Iraq , 1I'li0m they ctJl "Lall'rence of Arabi:!" and whom, they sa)" disfributed Etvots to everyotlc except them,

"\Vc feci Americans hav(' bargained al the expense of the KltTds,~ Mr. Sadik said . ·'The WOrSt person they brought here lI'as Mr. Hremer, who didn't want to rak(' any advice frOn1 the Kurds bur II'ho lI'as willing to bargain with everyone else."


During the 1980s, Saddam's security forces unleashed a wave of terror that

led to the deaths of more than 180,000 people, the deportation of 2 million

Kurds and the destruction of 4,500 villages and towns. For their opposition

to Saddam's iron-fisted rule, the Kurds have paid a terrible price.

An Independent Kurdistan? Kurds are eager 10 emulate Israel's

strike for independence 56 years ago. This is possible if \'(fashinglon would support Kurdish indcpcndcncc - as rhe U.S. supported Israeli independence in 1948. In order to do so, Americans must establish a base in northeast Iraq.

"That would send a clear message to

everyone nOI to do anything to {he Kurds," one of {he guests at {he interview s'lid. "If America suppOrts us, we'd he the mosl loyal friend in the region."

The major U.S. hase in lhe region is in lncirlik, Turkey. But Kurds :lrguc lha! it is a holdover from Cold \'(I:H days wiH:n the United States ncedc(] a pbce from which ro monilOr Soviet Russia. Now, all the action has moved south illto Iraq. If America is looking for:1 dell1ocr:uic, srable and reliable ally, it needs to look no Further than the Kurds.

Also, in order to achieve independence, the Kurds must exert greater presSlIre in Washington - especially by establishing rffective lobby groups and a competent office (0 deal with press inquiries. Thq must learn how [Q emulate the American Israel Public Affiirs Com mittel" (AI PAC), the Jewish lobbying group Ihal has a strong influence on American foreign policy.

Kurds would like to ha\'e some dialogue with Jews, who used to live m their region until they were pushed out in the J 9405 and 1950s. But Kurds ;1Tt;

afraid of the political ramifications. There arc similarities between the tWO peoples: both arc pro-American democracies surrounded by hostile Arab states.

Kurds, however. are disendlallted with the leadership of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the rival Kurdistan Democratic Parry (KDP), which they ft"r l have no vision for ways 10 trallsfOfm Kurdistan economically ;lnd politically. The PUK and KDI~


which h;lve partitioned Kurdistan between them, have Mafia-like control over their populations. [n order to publish a newspaper or establish a business citizens need the approval of one of the parties. It mUSt be mentioned, however, that it was the PUK th;lt told the AmeriC:IIlS where to fi nd Saddam - a £1CI reponed overseas but not ill the U.S. media. Sti ll , Kurds are looking for a viable political party.

There is a danger that if U.S. aid is not forthcoming, the Kurds will look dsewhere for suppOrt. Businessmen arc anxious 10 anran fort"ign inves(Ors. Kurds have had cdl phones and the lliternt"t For years, whl"reas many Ir<lqis arc only now obtaining these items. Thefl·fon·, Kurds art" more economically advanced 1113n other ethnic groups in Iraq. Americans would be wise to seize the opportunity to

nurture a r<lre insl3llcc of a fledgling democracy and burgeoning c<lpitalist economy in the Middle East before the

Turkey

. Inclrtlk

Kurds turn to Chi nese and German In\'eStors.

Kurds arc also turning away from [slanl, which lllany feel is the religion or dIe oppressor. Some are simply atheists, while others are dabbling in Zoroastrianism (the fire-worshipping religion [hat pre(b tes Islam) or lookillg intO some of the new evangelical Protestant ministries functioning here. Kurds arc therefore morc sllscep[ihie to being influenced by Western rdigtons.

Kurds arc desper:m: for help, answers :md sUPPOrt . Now is the timt" to reach OUt to these people who still love sporting Amcric<lll fb gs ill their taxis and who thank those of us who venture h(,re lor coming. It is not trut" thai the Kurds have no friends. They have us. But we need to start acting more lih· dl(' allies we are. <::'11

- jl/Jill DI/ill is ({ smior ifllJestigllliv( jOllr1l({/isII/I Thr \"'0lShillgwlI limn.

\

. ,~,~ I( Irl<Uk .~ . Sut~nl.o

Syria

Mediterranean Sea

Egypt

wWW.npOllsoc.org

Baghdad

* Iraq

Saudi Arabia

19

Cutting Back Drug Costs Drug discount cards save seniors money

By U.S. Representative Nancy L. Johnson

The verdict is In: Medicare's new drug discoulH cards will save people money. In ma ny instances, seniors will save

hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars a year. For staners, any senior with an income of less than $12.500 a yea r ($16,800 for a couple) will get $600 in drug costs paid free by Medicare this year and $\,200 ova the next two years. Seven million seniors in America will qualify for this free $600 credit. ~Thcse people should run - not walk - to sign up.~ said Robert !-laycs of the Medicare Rights Center.

Now, add to that the savings under the new Medicare discount Gird. and the benefits of the new and impro\'ecl Medicare prescription-drug law become obvious.

Here are some examples fo r three commonly prescribed prescription drugs and the prices with and without the drug card at a pharmacy in my district in Connecticut. These examples are for J one-momh supply ofZocor (cholesterol), Nexium (heartburn) and Vioxx (joim pain).

bcuer - a Medicare program that for the fits( lime ever will cover prescription drugs fo r most seniors in the same w:ly il pays for doclOrs' visi [s and hospital st;IY5.

Until rhen, the discou nt cards will help all seniors cope with th(.' high price of prescriprion drugs. Every senior, including rhose wirh drug cover;lge toda}', should look into the program because cards may offer even greater savi ngs on olle or more expensive drugs. -[0 make sure seniors find the right card with the biggest discounts, Medicare is lending a helping hand.

Seniors can sign up for a c:lrd by calling Med it-an:'s lOll-free, 24-hours-a-day hodine (i-800-MED[CARE). Simply provide a list of your prescriptions and ask for the lowest cost pharmacy in the area and the Medicare operator will tell you the card that offers you the biggest savings.

The slOry of 3. senior citi7.en living in \Voodbury, Connecticut, sheds important light on this isslLe. Although he asked that his name not be used for this article, he provided my office with details of his prescrip-

lion drug tlL't."'ds.

Drug Danbury, Retail Price

Discount Co rd Price

Monthly Savings

Yearly Savings

He and his wife pay $2,000 3. year for drugs to

treal a heart condition and oSleoporosis, and at first he wasn't sure if the

""0' $154.79 $ 79.19 $75.00 $900.00 Nexium $159.99 $106.20 553.79 $645.48 VioJO( $110.49 $ 78 .11 532.38 $388.56

A low-income senior who takes all three of the above drugs would save S 1 ,934 a year.

Those who suggest that such savings don't matter to seniors are either out of touch or insensitive to the financial hardships facing many of our older Americans. Shame on anyone who tries to tell a senior that $\,934 in annu;11 savings is meaningless.

The discount card program is pan of the new and improved Medicare law J

helped write last year. The cards, costing betwL"Cn $0 and $30 a year, provide 3.vcrage d iscoulHs of 20 percent off name-brand drugs and 40 p(.'rcent off gcneric and mail or<lcr drugs. And in less than two years, the cards will be replac(.'d with something even

20

discolltH ca rd would save him money. After he called 1-800-MEDICARE and had a 20-minUTe conversation with a Medicare operator, this gentleman [earned that the discount card would sa\'(' him over .5600 a year on these drugs. Given the 30 percent savings, he promptly signed up for the discount card.

The Medicare operator "gave me a much needed education,~ he told me. "Now [ understand how it works and there is a good sa\'i ngs.~

[n 3.ddi l"ion, the official Medicare Web sitc (www.medicarc.gov) providcs for the first lime comprehensive information ;Ibou[ drug prices at ph;lTrll;Kies under each card . This unprecedented price "transparency" and the competition for customers 3.mong cards will for"~ prices down. The \Vcb site

www.npollsoc.org

us. Rep Nancy L. Johnson

is a useful one-stOp shopping resource for those comfortable lIsing the Internet.

Once seniors choose the card th,u's right for them, they can prescnt it to the pharmacist when filling a prescription and save money.

The bigsesr obstacle many seniors fKe is recognizing the misinformation coming from partisans in Congress who voted against adding $400 billion to fun(j Medicare prescription-drug bencfits. Thesc OppO!lC11lS of the bill are now falsely claiming that [he drug card will nOt offer s3.vings to seniors, when the opposite is indisput;!ble. Even the AARP, til(' nation's mOSI respccted seniors group, says these panisans "have gone off the exrreme end. ~

\X.' ith the discounr card program in full swing, Medicare for the first timc is helping seniors pay for the prescriptions they need 10 Sl;!y healthy. The cards are an historic first step in making prescription drugs more affordable for America's seniors - but only a first step. \Vith the full program in place, Medicare will pay 75 percent of the cost of drugs for most seniors. This was a costly, but long overdue, expansion of the Medicare program. Our seniors are worth it. <::7

- U.S. Rep. Nalley }ohmnn is (l C(mnecriclII Repllbiimll {wd c/){/irm(lll

of the f-/ollse \~/ys ,wd Iv!rom f-/I'(l/t/J SlIbcommiul'(.


Canada's Broken Health Care System u.s. should not emulate its northern neighbor

In .he Nrw Eugl'tlld JOllrnal of Mrdicilll' of Augusl 21. 2003, $,dTic Wool handler ct al. wrote, ~A large sum

might be S3vcd in the Unil<'<l Stales if administr;lIivc COSIS could be trimmed l>y implementing a Ca n:tdi.m-style health care sYS\(·I1l." HowevCf, in tht, sanK' issue, an ed itorial by Henry J. A:Hon crillei"l.('<1 ,he \'Voolhandlcr cslimau:s. and I'oill!t:d !O

"the vinual imlX)Ssibiliry (lluring nOTmal limes in a democracy whose Constimtion polcllri:ucs Ihe power of {Ii~scnti ng minorities) of radically resHuclUring the narion's largest indusHy.M

The Canadian public health insul";lllcc system is 1101 only universal and ~frec, M bill

il is also:l govcrnrncnl monopoly. Priv:udy insuring publicly insured services (which include most medical and hospital care) is illegal, as are out-of-pocket paymelllS ro doctors who parlicipate in the puhlic regime. Virwally all hospitals are run by government. Since phy~ic i:Uls who choose not to panicipate in ,he public healt h insurance scheme cannot practice in hospitals, where doctors canllot be paid hy their p:l.{iellls, nearly :tll physicians arc n::gimented.

As hinted by Mr. Aaron, there is some doubt that Amcri c:ms would accept a Canadian-sryle public health carc sySlcm.

Because it is a gO\'erlllllcnt mo nopol y. Canadian public health insurancr.' is Ihe worsr model of socialized medici ne. Among de\'eloped counlries, it is only in Canada that no private p:lrallel system exists. The Illain rcason why health care COStS more in the Uniu_'<i Sta tes than in Canada is that Americans are not forbid den by law to pa}' more for more, or belief. servic,""S.

10tal health ca re consum es 14.6 percenl of GD P in th(' Uni!('d Sr:lIes. comparC"d to 9.6 percell( in Cana{b. BUI there is nm much difference in the public portion of health care expendilUres. which makes up 6.7 l){'rcelH of GOP in Canad.t and 6.6 percr.' 111 in the Unitl:d States. Publ ic health {·xpenditu~ in the United States mostly cover Medicolre and Medicai<1, :tS wdl as some of the uninsured. Although the si!lla tion of till' lalter is no


By Pierre Lemieux ---~'-----

doubt difficult, they rely on COUnty hospitals, the so-calk-d safeI}' net providers.

Dr. Susan W. Walters. a Houston physician, wrote in the April 30, 2004 editions of 71Jr \\'t,,11 5tr((( lfmn/flt about the Canad ian health care system. "[It] resembles the county hospital where I work"· she explained. "Ou r patients pay little or nothing. They wail three mOlllhs for an deClive MR.! sca n ami a couple of months 10 get imo a subspcci:llty clinic. Our cancer patients f.ne better than the Canadians. getting radiotherapy within one to three weeks. The differr.'l\cl' is Ih:1I our patients are said to have no insurance (a tcrm us('d interchangeably with no health ca re) whereas Canadians have 'uni\'ersal coverage. '"

Thus. ther(' is a form of public health insurance in the United Statt."S, although it is only for the poor and does not hear the name. It consumes ahout 6.6 percent of GOP ro cover roughly a third of Americans. In Canada, 6.7 percent of GOP is used to cover the whole population. Guess which public system suffers the worst shortage of resources.

To publIc health expenditur.:s, Americans add the eqlli v~Je l1t of 8.1 percem of GOP (14.6 percent minus 6.6 percent, negleCting the rounding error) in privare (insurance and out-of-pocket) expenditures. Canadia ns add o nl y 2.9 percent of GO P (9.6 percent minus 6.7 percent), simply because they are forbidden to spend more. In C1na(ia, pri vate expenditures can cover only supplernent"3ry insurance and oUl-of-pocket paYlllelliS for non-assured services like dental cart·. or single-bed hospit31 rooms, etc.

\,(/ith a uni\·ersal public system that creatcs etllidemellls and encourages overcoll5umption, and a public monopol>' to run the deli\'ery of mediC"d l Sl' rvices, the Canadian system combines the inefficiencies of governmeill-run eillerprises willl the failures of monopoly. The result is not surprising: waiting lines. T he I:rase r Institute, a free-market think tank in Vancouver, Canad:t. h:ts ca1culatcd ,hat, in 2003 . the ;weragc \V;liting time from referral by a gener:11 practitioner to actual

www.riponsoc.org

treatment \Vas mOTe than four months. Waiting times arc high e\'cn for critical diseases: the shortest median wait is 6.1 wt.'"Cks for oncology treatment , excludi ng radiat ion which takes IOllger. Extreme cases include more than a ye:lr median wait fo r nemo-surgery in New Brunswick. T he median wait fOT an MRI in Canada is three months. Since 1993. waiTing times have increased by 90 percent. A class action lawsuit has been recently laun ched against Quebec hospitals on behalf of 10,000 breast cancer patients who. since OCtober 1997, have had to wait more thall eight weeks for poSt-surgery radiation therapy.

Quite illierestingly. Canadians are nOt much more satisfied with their health system than Americans. An opinion survey reported in a HrflhlJ Affitirs article said thai, in 2001, mor(' bclow~average-incom('

Americans (35 percent) than Canadians in the same income class (23 percent) are deeply di ssatisfied with their health system , but nOte the small difference; and in the aoove-average-income category. there was no statistically significant differencc in dissatisf.1ction hctween Canada and the United Stares. An older (1999-2000) survey showed thar 40 percent of all Americans wcr(' satisfied COJllP:Ht~d to 46 percem of all Canadians. But dissatisfaction in Canada has been growing fast recend}', and opi nion polls now show that a majority of Canadians would like 10 sec a parallel pri\'ate system.

The American system is far from ideal . but the reason is that it is tOO socialized and fl·gulated, nOt bcC.1Use it needs more government intervemion. And at least the American system leaves room for free market competition, consumer choice and evohuion . Mo\'ing lO\vard the Canadian model would be movi ng in the wrong direction . ~

- Pirr" Lemieux is flit rco flomiu fit thr Uflit'rniry ofQulbrc (lIId tl r("frfl~h follow at the t"depmdem 11Il1;1IIt( ;11 Oaklflnd, Cnlijomi(l.

21

Health Care for All The right dose to cure our uninsured epidemic

By U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowc

Mon: !h:m 43 million Amcric:ms live withom health care inSUr.lI1CC

- one Olll of t-vcry seven peoplewith an additional 2.4 million individuals this year alone. These statistics arc truly sobering.

We live in a time marked by rising health care costs and fragile economics, which cont inue to put a strain upon those who strive to mainwin sufficienr health insurance. At the beginning of the 21st cel1-

tury, health care costs account for nearly 15 percent of the n:nion's gross domestic prodUCT, and health care spending grew by an astounding 9.3 percell! in 2002 alone. What is morc discollcerring, those tfends aTC not likely to decline in th" nelr future.

Despite the effons of p:m Congresses, little progress to date has been made. Uniting the StWngdls and determination of this Congress, Senate Majority Leader 8ill Frisl, Tennessee Republican, formed the "St:n:ue T1sk Force on the Uninsured and Access to Affordable Health Care Coverage:' I was hOllored to be asked to

join and quickly jumped at the opportunity to take a leadership role in addressing this critical issue. I , along with fellow Republican Sens. Orrin G. I-latch of Utah, Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, Don Nickle~ of Oklahol11:1, Jon L. Kyl of Arizona, Jeff Sessions of Alabama, Michael 13. Enzi of Wyoming, James Talel1l of Missouri and John Cornyn of lex as and under the T.1sk Force C hairmanship of Sen. Judd Gregg of New H ampshire, W('fe t3sked to examine the depth.~ of the health care insumnce coverage cris is, :Uld to craft legislative solutions that correct past deficiencies and preveJ\l further devastation. Our mission is de;lr and motivated : to prescrib.: exactly the rigll1 treatment to cure this nation;ll ailment.

On the SUrf.1CC, the task at hand is daul11ing, wilh the statist ic - one our of ever)' seven - painting :1 grim pictllre. However, there arc legislative opportunities avaibble that can provide temporary and long-term relief to the m('n :lIld women, families and children , employed and unemployed who struggle with the added

22

burdens of 1l1oulning medical bills or tilt' extr:lOrd inary fear of an unexpected emergency. \'IIe simply mUSt unlock their pote11liaJ. It is our t:lsk, om obl ig:ltion as :I world It:ader to swiftly address the obsmdcs that keep Ol'er 43 million Americans from receiving cri rical health insurance coverage, and 10 ensure rhat fUllIre adv:lnces 111

science and medicine can benefit all Americans widlOU( prejudice.

One such opportunity, which unequivocally suppOrt, is (he leg:ll creation of Association Health Pbns (AHPs). As Chair of the Senate Comminee on Small Business and Ern repreneurship, I have encountered scores of small business ownns who ~lre desperately balancing soaring employ('e health insur:lnce costs with shrinking profit !1l:lrgins. In their defense, I have imroducl-J ,he ~StnallBusiness Health Fairness Act" to give small businesses ~ the critical hackbone of m:my communities throughout Maine :lnd nuny other smtes - a collective st rcllgth when b:lrgaining within the m:lrket, thus crc:lting nationally structured Ilealdl insur:lncc pbns for pools of small business owners and their employees. AH Ps - :IS righdy highlighted by President George \'1/. Bush during his Srute of the Union :lddress - will help chip away :It this vexing problem.

Additionally, I advocate health insurann' tax cf(,dits for the uninsure<l, which is ro be modeled along the lines o( the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program which provides health C:lfe t:lX" relief for workers :lnd families displaced by shifts in consUlller goods production overseas. As :I member of the Senate Finance Colmninee, I recogni7.e the vital rolc that lhe TAA health care tax credit pbys in providing a (ully refllnd:lblc tax credit in :ldvance th:1t covers III' to 65 percent o f COSt of a federally approved health insurance policy. \'(Iith nine s:lnctioned t:1X credit options under the TAA t'xp:lnsioll -including state employt."c progr:lms, StatCoffered cover;lge, state pooling arr.mgementS :lnd the individual market - dlere :lrt' short-term r('llledies 10 :lssisl in the long-term treatment of our l1:1tion's health

IIIlIIw.riponsoc.org

U.S. Sen. Olympia J. SnOW!!

care insurance crisis. We muS!" now simply utili:!.:e them.

We arc making dccisivl' strid es to institute a re:ll difference in the lives of millions of Americ:lns who arc uninsured. III the Congress, we :Ire conritllting to alloc:lte increased funding for community hospitals :md primary carc centers - with parricul:lr (ocus to\\':lrds rural states sllch as Maineto aid in our relentless efrons to provide (lual ity healdl c:lre cover:lge 10 all Americans. \'IIe arc examining propos:lls to

s:lfely import cheaper prescriplion drugs from C:lnada :lt1<1 ot her industrialized naTions in order 10 comb:lt the skyrocketing COStS of Illedic;uions that further weigh he:lvily on AmeriC:ln consumers.

\¥,Ie arc working with the Bush administT;ltion, with state governors and legisl:ltures, and with private health insur:1I1ce firms and pharmaceutical companies 10 improve the quality of he:llth care for Arl1eric:lns and their f.1r1lilics, withollf increasi ng the COSts. The undeniable truth is tll:ll we ca nnot be successful in our quest for solutions if wt· do not comprehensively examine each and el'ery alt(·rn:ltil'e. And there :lTe 43 million AllI('ricans depending upon our solmions. C';I

- u.s. SnI(l/or Olympia J. 511011'" is {/ M(lill(' Rrpllblicnn and ch(lir of'"''

Sfllnlr Commiller 011 Small Businl'SS

Ripon Forum ' Fall 20M

Clearing the Air on Decency Defending the FCC's crackdown on the public • atrwaves

We aTC now erucring Ihe ho me SHCICh in our figlH 10 dean up !Ill' public airW3\·es. \'(Iho would\·c

known America's fa\'orilc SpOrts rilUa] would SC I the srage for such an importam issue. In mid-January, well before the Super Howl (and Janel Jackson's inf."lmous clOIhing "accident" during the halFtime show), , introduced the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act to significan tly strengt hen Ihe Federal Communication Commission's hand in its enforcement of broad cas I d<.~cn -

9' laws. The '-louse passed my measure in r-" Iarch by a \'01(" of 39 1 10 22 and the Senate approved si milar legislation 99 10 1 in June as part of a Defense spending bill.

1 ch:rllcngc !ll(: ((HI\' den aCIOTS of the legislatio n to rcad the transcripu of those who have already b('Cn fin ed by the FCC for airing indecent material. If'S more th;m a word or tWO - it's often page after page of hard core triple-X SnJUI (hat never , hould ha\'c been on the public airw:l\'es to begi n widl. It 's nO! po litical correctnc~ th:n is being challenged or the First Amendllll'1lI - cwry ont' of tht, 39 1 House members and 99 senators who \'oted for this meaSure wholeheartedly support the consti tutional right to free speech.

\,(/hy target i n dl'cency~ JUSt turn on tht, radio or television - it is inescapable. As a l11elllber of Congress and. more importandy, as a Either. [ am fed lip with the smut and rnw ~ex that has polluted the public ai rYr.l\·CS. If one wall ts to find this trash. they can: pe rhaps 011 S-1telli te radio. cerrnin[y on paY-F~er-v iew s;.ucl [ite or Clble television, or some peep show.

It seems tll :u some broadcasters and shock jocks arc engaged in a "how [ow C:tll you go?~ nH' I1I :llity, constantly trying !O

out do one another. The Americall pllhlic has s:lid "enollgh is enougl{ and they :tr(' demanding change. The puhlic has spokl'n, and we've heard d)(,111 loud :tnd clear.

Some critics :111<1 naysayers ha\'e raised the issue of free sp(:ech [0 divert :melliioll from the real issue. I h:l \'(' tremendous rcspect for the First Amendmel1l and walll 10 make it clear rlla! our bipartisan legislation docs nOl hing w infringe upon free speech. The laws for indect'ncy arc on tht,

Ripon Furum ' Fall 2004

By U,S. Representati ve Fred Upl"O,"'---____ _

U 5 Rep. Fred Upton

books and they have been upheld in the cou rtS. Our bill docs not touch decency standards; il stricti), raises the penalties. plain and simpll'.

What we are !.lIking abom is the public airwaves. which ,Ire owned by the U.S. t:IK payers. Using public-owned :lirwaves comes wi th die responsibil ity to follow the FCC decency sl:tndard~ that apply w progra nlilling that airs during the ("'lIlIily homs of 6:00 a.m. 10 10:00 1'.111. - the likeliest times that children may be tULled in. \,({hen a broa(lcaster appl ies for a license, they arc agreeing to follow decency standards.

There musr be a level of expccl:ltion when a parent turns on the T V or f:ldio between Ihe hours of 6:00 a.II1.- 1 0:00 p.m. rh:1I lhe content wi ll be suirablc fo r chil dren. A parent should nOl ha\'e 10 think rwice about the contcnt on the public :lirwavcs. Unfortunately, this is nOt the Glse.

I commend FCC C hairman Mi chael Powell and all the FCC commissioners, Republican and Democrat :ll ike, for their work to cle:tn ILp the public airwaves. During a speech before the N:uion:LI Prt."SS Club in January, Mr. Powell lamemcd that dlc fines for indl'Cency wcre tOO small and had no impaCi. He :lSkcd and we delivered.

I introduced Ollr bipartisan legislation 10 incrt,:tse Ihe fines the FCC c:tn kvy for airing indecelH material on January 2 1st,

www.n]loll.$oc.org

the first day Congress was in .session this year. We held o ur first hearing in the Telecommunications and Int ernet Subcommillee on J:lTluary 28th and also received the support of rhe Bush adminislralion the \'ery same day. Our bill was al ready on the fa st track. And lilt' n Clille Ihe Super Bowl - bringing the issue of indecency directly illlo die living rOOllls of ne~rlv 100 million homes nationwi,k·.

Ou r legislalion will significa ntly strengthen the FCC's hand in punishi ng those who peddle indecent and obscene material o\'er o ur ai rwavcs. Under current law. till' maximUIll ,he FCC can fine per violal ion for indecency is $27.500, which is hardly a d"tcrrcnt. I ani confi(icnt that b), hilling hrO:ldcasters where it really hurtsin th" ir wallets - they will start 10 thin k twice :Ibotlt pUlling indt:cency on the airW:lVes. Our legislatioo in the I-lollse raises that cap to $500,000 per violation.

The kogisbtion also mand:m:s a license revocation hearing after the th ird oflcnse by a bro:l(lcaster (the FCC currently h:ts the amhori t), 10 hold such a hearing after the first offense, bill is nOI mandated to do so) and also institutes :t lBO-day "shot dock

H

for th t, FCC to dctaminc if bro:tdGlSI"crs w('re in violation of indecency st:lIldard~. t\dditionally, Ihe bill raist,s the amount the FCC Cln fine networks and entertailll'rs who willfully or intentionally violate indecency standards from S 11 ,000 10

$500 ,000. W/c h:tve a grC:lt opportuni ty to deliver

something of rl':d value to AmeriCln families, and I would like 10 think that we c:tn deliver it swiftly. Although thc Sen;lte allached several :Ullendrncms that :t re UllreI:lIcd [0 indece ncy, it is my hope that we will COllle to conse nsus in conference and send a slTe:trll lined bill 10 the prcsidell! 10

be ~igned into law. \'lie passed a goo<l. common-sense bill in tht: House. \Ve arc close to geu ing th is filth off of the aim':lvcs. <::3f

- U.S. Rep. Fred UPIOII is" Mirhigm/ Rt'pllblifillllllld

rlJllimll1ll of tlJI' Howl' SlIbrommill('1' 011 '/f{«OIIIHlllllifilf;OIlJ lind fhl' hlf(,I"1/('/.

23

Perils of Internet Child Porn ___ _ By u.s. lR"P.~~:':~:'.,-,, ______ ..,

Eay, we live in a n('"\v age and it is becoming increasingly apparent Ihat our laws mUSI meet the challenge of prolecl

ing our children in rhe f.J.cc of m'w thrt-:t1S and I\(.'\\' leclmolog)'.

The Internet has brought neo,v opportUnities for education, commerce and selfempowerment 10 millions of Al1lt' ricans. BlII it has also providoo a new window through which pt..J.ophiles :lI1d predators are T(·aching Ottl to our childrm. Congress is working 10 close those windows 10 prot<."Ct our children but F.tcc.~ Ihe obst:tde of keeping bws relevant in ,he filce of continually changing technology while beingabll' to pass musler with a relucr-a m U.S. Supreme Court.

According to Highlights of the YOlllh Internet S:lfety Survey conducled by the U.S. Dt:panment of Justice. ~ol1e in five children (1 0 to 17 years old) recei\'e unwanted sexu:tl solicil"".l.Iions online:· All even more :tb nlli ng st:Hisric from till' National Center for Missing & &ploltl"<l Children says, ~ I in 5 gi rls and I in 10 boys arc sexulily exploi ltXI lx·fore they reach adulthood. yet k'SS Ih:tn 35% of UlOSC child sexual assaultS:ln.' reponoo to authorities. ~ And . in 2002, tht, FBI citoo online child pornogrnphy/scxlI:t1 exploitation as thl' most signifi. cant cyb.:r-crirn ... itwolving cri nlt's against children.

In 1996, Congre.'\!> began [aking a dose look :tt the dlild po rnogr:lphy explosion on the dlt' lHWW technology of (he Interne!. That ye:lr. Congress passed the Coml1lunicuions Decency Act to make it a crime to send obsa:ne or indecclll messages to minors via e-mails. chat-room messages :tud Web sites.

HowC'\'er, the COliTIS have been di ~mis

sive ofbw5 protl"Cting children from scxu:tlIy c~ pli cit im:lges. In the name of the Fir.;t Amendment the U.S. Supreme Court struck down thc D<."Cency law in 1997, saying it was 1"00 vague :lI1d broad. As Congress attempts to rakt· action to protect our kids, the Sup~me Cou rt continues to apply 18t h ccntury tlW to 2 1 st century teclmology.

The Republican-led Congress responded wi III paning the C ll i1d n:n's Onl ine Protcction Act in 1998. a law designed to prohibit rhe commercial distribution of obscene material harmful {O minors. I!ut, once agail1. the Supreme Court - striking

24

U 5 Rep. Mark Foley

tWO major pro\'isions from the law in twO separate mlings as infringements on the First Amendment - has gllned Ihis law O\'er the past two years.

The Internet has become :tn :tnonymOlls and convenient source for pedophiles to get materi~ls Ihey Otherwise would not have access to. Not only arc chil(lren being exposed to sex ual Illaterial and perversion, but they are also being toxJlloited as \'(feb sires seek to make money off s<.-xuaJly provocalive images of kids.

Under Ihe guisc of ~chi1d modeling Web si tcs. ~ smut peddlers h:l\·e designed \X'eb si tes that exploit children ~s young as fo ur, five and six ye:lrs old. For a fcC'. viewers C UI sec photos and video clips of tilt' children in se~ually suggestive poses. c m send the ch ildren provocalivt, clothing and bathing suits to ~lTlodcl" and can converse with them via e-mail.

I introduced the C hild Modeling Exploiration Prevt·ntion Act in 2002 10 combat these \X<'eb sites which are nothing mon: than a way for se~ual dcvianls to get their fix . E\'cn as we wait fo r this legislation to nlove forward and continuc to strengthen oll r laws in the f.1Ce of First Amendment challengl.'S, we Iwve made several important and positive steps th:tr have made our chil<lren safer.

One of our most successful victories in Congress has been AMBER Aler\. As rhe co-chairman of the Missing and Exploited C hildren's Caucus in the House of Represelliarives, I worked closely with law enforcement and government officials to

take rhe AM BER Alert systelll nationwide. AM BER - the ~America's Missing:

I3ro:tdcast Emerg ... ncy Resl>onse ~ plan - is a \'olumary p:mnrrship oc(ween law enforce-

................ ripmlwc.org

rnem agencies and broadcIHers {O ac!iv~tc an urgell! bulletin in the most serious childabd uction cases.

The sYStem grew out of the January 1996 ki lling o f nine-}'ea r-old Amber Hlgcnnan after she w:J5 kidnapped from her Arlington. l exas, neighborhood. Allhough local rndio and television Sl3tions coverw tht· Story in the rt-gular news curs. she remained missing for four days umil her body was found in a drainage ditch a few miles from her honK'. Her kidnapping :Ind murder remain ullSolved.

Afterwards, a concernoo citizen conracted a Dallas rndio station and suggt'StW that arca rndio stations repc-Jt news bullt·,i ns abom abducted children JUSt like Ihey would scve~ wcatht'r warnings - they might help 5a\'C thc life of a child.

The Dallas Amber Plan was naTted in July 1997 {O help safely recover missing child~n that police believe have been abducted. Now. the AMB ER Alert is saving lives and protect ing our children nationwide.

While we work in Congress {O give law enforcement the tools to prot(:Ct our children, (he most important \\"(';11'011 of all i .~ showing parcms how to ket'p:l watchful eye on the activities of their children; knowing Iht, people who come imo comact witli tlit'ir children in their neighborhoods, schools and online: and using plain common S(:nsc. ":71

- U.S. Rrp. Mark Folry is II Floridll Rrpllb/imll. Hr is the ro-cbnimulII oftl),

COlIgrrSSiOllld Missing mid Evdoitrd Chiidl"(!l C IIIC/lS alld CO/ltililleJ /0 br {III

(/d,'OC(//( of cbiM prouctioll iSSIIfJ.

A few tips to protect your child

• Keep the computer in a central room like the living room or den.

• Make your child aware that many predators will pose as teenagers and kids in order to prey on unsuspecting or naive children.

• Instruct your chitd never to give out their real name or personal address to anyone they do not already know.

Ripon Forum ' fall 2004

The Civil Rights Party The GOP's forgotten legacy

By Stephen F. Manfredi

One of the most persistent. but completely unfounded political assumptions of the prestlll-day is that the

Republican Parry is outwardly hostile tOwlrd civil righls in gcnernl and the interesl~ of Africa n-A mericans in particular. Unforlun:ncly, this potilic:.1 dernonization has succeeded III drawing Africa nAmericans from the p:m y of Lincoln en masse despite the fitilcd Wdr.'lfC, social and affirm:llil'c action po licies championed hy Democrats. In this 150,h ),C:IT since the Republican Party's founding. il seems appropriate to SC I the historical record straight and dearly define the Republican agenda for the fmure.

Wilh the Gr:md Old Pany cu rrendy poised to become AIIH.·ric:t's new majoriry parry. it is oftcn diflicult (0 recall the Republion Party's humblc origins. T he modern-day Republi c-.1Il Party was foundcd on t-.hrch 20. 1854 in Ripon, Wisconsin (henct', the name of Th(' Ripon Socil'ty). Outraged by the passage of thc KansasNebraska An of 1854, which allowed "popular sovcrl' ignr{ (0 detcrmine the legaliry of slavery in ill(' terri(Ori l's. 50 mcn and thr<.:e W011ll'n convened in tht· town of Ripon's Little White School House to crea te :l new p.my dcdic:ued (0 .uresting tht· sprl'ad of slavery.

The you ng party's influence spread like wi ldfi re. enabling Abraham Lincoln , who opposed any further e)(pansion of slavery, 10

be elected prt'sidelll in 1860. Lincoln's principled le:ldership allowed fo r victory in the Civil War. the Union's preservation and the liberation of Southern sb.n:s.

And Lincoln was only a moderate in the Republican Party. Th e ~ Rad ica l Republicans" who controlled Congress after Lincoln's death pl5Sl"<i a series of amendmellls (0 thc Constitution which leglUy ended slavcry. g:l\'e blacks citizenship and e'ven conferred upon black males Ihe right to vo re,' . But they did nor StOp there. Congressional Republicans also created the Freedmen's ]lureau to providt' food and shelter for former slaves. set aside land for black ownership. and even passed the progressive C ivil Rights Act of 1875. which guaranteed equal acccss to all public fucili-


lies. Regrenably, Supreme: Coun rulings and the end of federal intervention in the South negated these reforms lnd allowed for a century of legll segregation and Jim Crowism in the Democratic-controlled "Solid South."

Yet the GOP comi nued to push for equal rights fo r African-Americans. Prevcnted by Southern Democra ts from enacting ci\' il rights legislation in the 1950s, Republicans nevwheless play<."<i a leading role in passing the monumcntll Civil Rights Act of 1964. While Democrats such as John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson !IlUSt be commended for their contriburio ns to the civil rights movc· men!. the decisive role played by congressional Rcpubliclns in passing the Civil Rights Act should no longer be ignol'<."<i.

Although they were the minoril)' pan )' at the time, Senate Republicans led by X n. Evereu Dirksen prevented the success of a Democratic filibuster led b), Sen. Roben Byrd and forced a \-Ole on Ihe histOric legislation. In both houses of Congress. Republica ns out voted their Democratic countcrpans in support of the bill - with over 80 percent of Rcpublicans endorsing th e legislation. In th e Senat c, 21 Democrats voted against the Civil Rights Act compared to only 6 Repllhli "-":I. n ~ . In this W<l.y, Republicans helped lead the charge in passing the most significa nt civil rights legislation since the Civil War l'f'l.

With the legal eq uality of AfricanAmericans and other minorities gu:tranteed , Republicans h3ve been at the forefront of seeking <.-q ualil)' of opportuni ty and economic prosperi ry for all. President George W. Bush has continued this fight nOI o nly by appointing minorities 10 major poSl5. but by pun uing what he has dubbed an ~ownership society." Reject ing the condescension of aflirm:ui\'e action and govcrnment handouts. President Bush has put fort h a bold initiative to reduce the dependence of minorities on gO\'ernment while establishing a soci("ty in which per~on ;11 responsibility, priVlte property and the digniry of employment arc valued.

President Bush's ;tgenda h:ls concentrated on uplifting minorities in all OIfca~ of

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life. H is taX incenti\'es for small businesses wi ll go a long wa), toward helping minoril), entrepreneurs join the business communi t),. In addition , his staunch promot ion of homeownership among minorities through down payment assistance and su pport for affordable housing is already succe<."<iing. Minority homeowner~hip is booming and more than half of all minorities now own their own home. Recognizi ng the importance of educat ion in promoting equality. President Bush made sepa rate assessments of the success of racial minorities a key provision of his No Child Left Behind Ace As:t rl'sult , schools with lLlls:ltisfuclOry mino ri!), test scores will be forced 10 reform t!VCIl if rheir aggrcgate scores meet federal standards.

For too long thc DemocrJts have taken the African-American vote for gra nted. The Democratic reforms of rhe pasl 40 years have fililed to pull disadvantagt"<i blacks from the crippling cycle of inner ci t}' povert),. drugs. in:lde<luare schools anri r. .. mil), brL-akdown. \'<Iith more African-Americans joining Ihe middle-class than ewr before, it is only a matter of time before they return 10 the parry of Lincoln.

Who says you on'l go home ag.1in. "

- Suphrn F Marifrrdi is (hr policy rtirarch diuctor fI( The Ripon So(i(1),

25

l .. (

A New Republican Majority in California? Painting the 'left coast' red

By Roman Buhler

Almost 100 years ab'O in 19 10. a progressive C alifornia Republica n named Hiram Johnson overturned the Slate's

political es tablishment, and with a series of reforms succeeded in reshaping California government and politics. For nearly 50 years. unti l 1958. Repuhl iGllls in the Hiram Johnson tradition domin:uoo state politics.

Today. O ,liforni3 Governor Arnold Schwart.cneggcr has :1 similar potenrial to

transform the stale. Since 1958, the 'ibern l wing of the

Dernocrntic Party has dominated California politics. $ralewide victOries by Republican Go"ernofs Ro nald Reagan. George Deukrnejian and Pete \"Vilson never changed the fundamcnral fucls of life for California Republicans, who remained a minority within Ihe st:ue legislature and U.S, congressional ddegation.

BUI the {t'ClOnic plates of California polilics may be shifting ag:l.in.

In Nm·emlx:r 2002. JUSt ;Ift er C.alifornia. Democraric Governor Grey Davis' crushing ddeat of GOI' c lilditl:i.te Bill Simon, tWO veteran political vis ionaries. l h l Costa, presidl' lH of th t, :tllli-tax gTUUp [\:01'11:5 Advocate, and longtime Hill Thomas politi ~ cal consulram Mark Abernathy. lau nched the idea of :\ gubernatorial Tl'ClIl. With grnssroots clllhusiasm. and eventual funding from millionai re U.S. Rep. Darryl I s~ . the recall qualified for the ballot.

Mr. Schwarlenegger. declari ng his candidacy for governor at thl' last milUm.', won a.n overwhelming vic tory. H e and another GOP c lIldidate, conservative Stale Sen. Tom McClintock, won o,'er 60% of the combined \'Ole, outpolling Democrnts in 65 of California's 80 assemhly districts.

BlIt despire thei r parry's loss, Democrats in the st:l.te legisl:l.lure rem:tined untOuched by tht" Schwar"l.cncggcr tidal wave.

That is bec:tuse a rediStricting plan passed in 2001 by the Dcmocratic-controlled kgisbture prot('Ctc<j nC'J. riy all incum~ bents from defeat in gener:t l dl'1: t ions, Democrnt incumbents, Ihre:l. tCll l.J by the dramatic ri se in the Hisp:lIlic ,·oting population in the state. sought Republica n help to prOteCt all incumbcrus from ch:tllenge. The

26

result was a bipartis.1.n gerrymander giving incumbents safe scats, and which virtually ensures Ihal Dcrnocrnts will rc:tain their overwhelming control of the S~lI e legisl.nure and CalifOf!lia congressional dck-gation.

The eff('Cts have Ix.-en felt by Governor SchwarL.Cnegger. This summer, after sollle ini t ial successes he discovered the limits of his persllasi~ pow~rs . In budget negotiations, the D(·rTlocraric legisbti\'e leadersllip obSlfllcted his calls for spending r('s trainl and government reform.

In what may pro\'e ro be a S("ri0 115 miscalculation, California State Senate President John Bunon boasted that "Evell if lht" governor was cll'Clc<j God~ he could no t change the Democratic ma jori ry in the legis· lallite.

T his, however, may be a fatal misca1cu· larion. Mr. Costa and Mr. Abernathy have:1 new project: a voter initiative ro take the.' redistricting POWt"f away from tht" C ll ifornia legislature.

Under the provisions of the initiat ive. three retired judges selected by lot and who have never served in partisan office, would design a plan that minim izes Ihe d ivisions of cities and counties.

O nce :tdopted, Ihe fi nal plan would go into dlt-ct at the nex!" general c1<''Cl ion. At that same election, the plan would be submittl.J to the voters. If rhe voters approvt", the plan remains in effecl umil the next Census. If the plan is rejected, then a new panel of retired judges musl be selected 10

prepare a new plan for the next elec tion. The initiative, dubbed uThe Voter

Empowerment Act" is now in circulation. If enough signatures arc: collected by the end of October 2004. Governor Schwarl.enegger coold call a special election in the spring of 2005. Passage woold result in new and 1ll0 te competitive districts in 2006.

Polls show the California ek'Clor:Jle is hungry for reform .

The s.1.me combinalion of Republicl.Ils. independents and reform-mindl-d Democrats who voted for Governor Schwaneneggds blend of soci:d tolerance. efficient govern ment and opposition to higher taxes, want to ~ee an overhaul or

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whal they view as California's dysfu nctional legisl:lturc.

In a recent survey ne:J.rly two-thirds of vOiers f.a.or laking the redistricting power away from rhe legislature and giving it to

rClift.oJ judges. More than three-fourths w:tlll

a rt.'(linriCiing plan thai minimizes the rragmcm;nion of California's cities and coumics. Over 80% :Igrr'C that lhe JX-oplc, nor politicians, should have [hI: final So' y over the drawing of new districts.

The Muom line: over 70% of vOlers

would supporr a redistricting reform initiative.

Redistrict ing reform has the I)()tcmiallo 1lave a powerful impact dlle 10 an unusual confluence of events. C."1lifomians are dissatisfied with the legislature's performance and w;!n! change. They also like Governor Schwar.teneggcr's tough reform-minded approach 10 governa nce. California's economy is improving. and Go\'ernor Schwanenegger's prospectS fo r a SHong re-cieCiion viclOry in 2006 appear bright.

If new. competiti" e ([isHins al\'" in pbct" in 2006, the governor could carry with him to vielOry a whole new generation oflegislative and co ngressional candidates. who would be fur more responsive 10 tht, refo rlll minJoo majority of Gliforn ia voters.

The r('sult could be a dramatic restructUring of California government. Reform s in ('duc.uion could he passed. Many hloated spending programs could be streamlined. In shon. a mol\'" responsiv(' :ll1d accountable k-gislaturc could significl.IIdy improve the staw's qualiry of lif(, and prospecrs for ('Conomic growth.

Wid~ growing suppOrt in the business communtty, a gr:lSSroOlS 1ll0VCmelll IS now building ro qualifY the initiative for the ballot. If thai movement is successful, and the governor calls a special election. :15 some amici pale, Califomia's political establishment could be rocked 10 its foundatiorlS. ~

Additional informatio n about the Californ ia iniriati\'e is available a l Ill/VIV. Fttirdistrict.molV.org.

- Romll1l P BII"'~r f~n~d for 14 y ll1'1 (/.S £krriofIJ COlIlIs~1 to the U.S. COlIgtnJ'

"'O/lS~ Admillistration Commiltet. Hr CIIf· rmtry hIlS 1/ lobbying alld (o1lSllltilig pmclier

ill W1tShillgloll, D. C IlIId Ctlifomill.


Terrorists Target U.S. Economy Sen. Susan Collins addresses Sept. 11 report

Note to "nden: 71,iJ (midI' il rrprillud ftom th, July 29. 2004 ,d;lioll of ,b, YO/,k COlmly COllst S",,., u.s. Snultor Swall 11'1. Col/illS (Iddmud (I grOllp of Alaillf RrplibliclIIl1 1/1 (/ Rip()I/ SOc/fry olflrfflch dillllr,. rvt'llt lJeld 011 TlitSt/IIY. JIlIy 27 ill Kmllellllllkport, ME.

KENN EB UNK PORT " Less ,han a week afler "The 9111 Commission Repon" was published, Republican

Sen. Susan Collins of ~bi nc Tuesd:t), spok(' 10 her conSlimcnts in Kennebunkport about her roll' as chair of the Se nate GovernmcllIal Afl:lirs Cornminl"C. She also addressed its responsibility to r(os pollding 10

Ihe CommissiOlls numerous n:commcndalions wiTh sw(:cping legishuion by Oct. I.

The L"VCIH was spon~r(-d by the Ripon Society. a moderate Rcpublic:U1 organi7.alion that has cmharked on a nationwide om reach policy for members of Congress and their constilUents. The Ripon Sociery W,15 named fo r the city in \Xlisconsin where the Republica n Pany W<lS first n,lmed in 1854.

~\Y.Ie walll to give ml'mbers ofCongrcss the opportuniTY w meet with their constituents. This is our fourth evell! like thi s.~ s,lid George McNeill, Ripon Society member and coordinator of the cvcnt.

McNeill explai ned tll<lt not only is this type of event imporrant for Collins. but it also gi\'cs the people of Maine a comfortable opporrunity 10 spe~k with their legislator.

wThis is not a fundmiser,~ McNeill said, which makes it a unique political !;:Veil( especially this time of year.

Republic:tns from both ends of the spectmm g<lthered on ' Iile.s<by to mingle and IIK"<:t Senator Collins.

Ruth Cooke of Kennebunkport attendl-d ix"Cluse she has been active in Republican 1x>litics for many years and the Hush C1mp;ligll this year. She said she thinks Ilush carries with him the values we nC<.-d and hc sticks 10 his goals.

Michael Conway is the Rcpublican Town Ch;l ir of Acton <lnd said tll<ll. while nOI a member of til(' Society, he sUPIx>rts their rtleSS;lgc.


By Rcbecca L:UllCt, Yo,k COlil/ty ConIl 5111,

U S Sen. Susan M Collins

"The potential loss of life

could be catastrophic, but the

terrorists' true target would

be the American economy,"

Collins said.

M:line has tWO highly respected SenalOrs who both dmw support from their emi re consriruency, L"Ven across pany lines.

The Ripon Socie[), repfCS<.'l\I's politiCi<lllS who arc ~ rnllch more OIX'1I minded than what p.::opk· perceive as the stand<lrd Republican Pan)',H said Conway. He said he has supportl·d Collins :!nd Ih'publican Senator Olympi:t Snowe beC"Juse Ihey vote and speak their conscience.

The evening's dinner was also :tn opportunity for Ihc Society to present tlH<.'C scholarship :!w:trds tQ Mainc students. Liz Johnson of South China, S lI7~\l1tI C Sh,l\v

"",w.ripollsoc.org

origin:!lly of Ellsworth, and J:lrnie Carter of Portland each reCl·ived $1,000 roward their highcr education.

The Soeiety chose c:tch recipient basC(1 011 thcir aCidemic record and .lleril.

~Onc imponant fact about thesc youlig women is they all worked for 1111.',"

said Collins. Johnson attends St. Michacl's College studying Spanish and Politics and Shaw :l.Itends the University of Mainc Law School ill i'oreland. Carter, still in high school looks forw:lrd to attending:l university ill W;lshinglOn. D.C.

Following the award presentations, Coll ins spoke :IOOUl her responsibility to Il'gisLtte on the rccommendations of the 9/11 Commission. and determine the be,<;t way to prou'ct "ourselves :lnd our libl·rt)" in this unprecedellled type of w:uf."ue. H

Collins is working with Sen:ltor Joe Lieberm<lll and hC'r commincc to establish a N<llional Counter-lcrrorism Center and National Imc1ligence Director to unify imclligencc ol>cmfi ons.

Collins brought {he realities of terrorism al a major seaport to the forefront as ;11l

demellt of sccurity that would p:lfficularly resoll:ttt' wilh hcr constilUents.

"Thc pOlellti,ll loss ofl;fe could be Clt;lstrophic, hili the terrorists' true target would be Ihe American economy," Collins said.

Throughout her commeilts, Collins C:lrried ,I desire to unite rather than divide, encour;lging intelligence organizations to work togedwr. She is acting on a nccd for unity by working :tcross partisan lines with Lieberman.

JUSt :IS importalll :IS addressing the issues pn.'scmed by the 9/ 11 Commission al <l n:lIional k'Vcl and implementing policies, is kct"ping the public, specifically Maine \'OterS, awart" of what processes and nl'gotialions go into formulating n:lIional securiry policy.

1111: Ripon Socicty h:lS IX"C1I in COI1l:u .. t with Senator Olympia Snowt"'s st;.ff :111(1

hopes to plall a similar event with Snowe. <:::6

27

Kerry-Edwards: The Next Smoot-Hawley The Democratic ticket is wrong on trade

Over the last 25 years, wo rld economic growth has been driven in brgc measure by twO broad and fundamen

tal forces: te<:hnologiClI mnovation and the free flow of goods and services across national boundaries. Yer, on the basis of campaign rhetoric and recent :lCrions, a Kerry-Edwards administration would be openly hostile to current U.S. uade docuinc, placing in jeopardy thousands of American workers :md the firms (h:1( employ rhem .

For dIe first ri me in dec.1des, the presidential election presenrs a real risk that our greatest successes in trade policy will be set aside, new opportunities 10sl , and the U.S. economy relegated to second tier SWtus :15

rhe rest of the world continues to broaden rhe global marketplace without America leading thl' way.

The economic benefits of free trade and the im portant principle of comparat ive advantage were well defined by l'conomist David Ricardo nearly 200 years ago. Free trade and open markets allow workers in different parts of the world to focus on that which they do best and encourages capital to

be allocated more efficiendy; as a result. trade has helped to dram,uically improve U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GOP). the real wages of workers and our overall standard of living.

Since 1994 when NAFTA was signed, U.S. exporrs [0 Canad:! and Mexico have grown from $ 142 billion to $263 billion . and toral uade among the three countries has more than doubk-d. U.S. GOP has grown by 22 percent. and rotal em ployment has increased. An expanding global marketplace and lower barriers to exports allow U.S. firms and workers to demonstrate their superior skills and domin:He in many high-skilled, high-wage sectors.

With few exceptions, the United Smes, under the leadership of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W, Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, has consistently ad\'ocated for &ee trade and the elimination of global trade barriers. Moreover. the consistelll push for open markers and greater trade liberalization worldwide has been a cemerpiece of U,S. foreign policy,

These positions extend nOi only to spe-

28

By U.S. Senator John E. SUllunu

u.s Sen. John E Sununu

cific multilateral or bilater:tl trade agreemencs. but also 10 the renewal of presidential trade negotiating authoriry. Even President Clinton , agai nst the wishes of many in his own party, was comm itted to free trade and cont inuing the trade policics of his predecessors.

Despite this consistent U.s, policy and documemcd rl'cord of success. Democratic prcsidemial cand idau: John Kerry has shown a willingness to dr:tm:uicJlly change course. He has flopp<.xI posi tions, and now opposes NAFTA, and pacts such as Ihe U.s.-Central Am('rica Free Trade Agreemel1l - a milestone for expanding trade throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Mr. Kerry recent ly has stated his desire to create a 120-day f(:\'iew of every existi ng U.S. trade law. This would be done presumably with the option of suspend ing or retreating from our current comm itmel1ls. leaving paSt beneficial agreemenrs behind, creating economic uncerrainry and undermining our credibility with fiLlllrC negotiating partners. \Vould the newly sign<.xI agrecmen cs with Singapore, Chile, Morocco. or AUSlr:tlia be refuted :IS a result of this policy rcview~

For his P:H1. Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards has committed to revisiting and possibly rewrit ing major portions ofNAI-JA (Mr. Kerry echoed similar thoughts just 1 ~!5( year whcn he argued in a debate that ~ if it were before me today, I would votc against it bcrausc it doesn't ha\·e envi ronmental or labor standards in ir. ") In 2002, Mr. Edw3rd~ vOt<.xI against legislation

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to extend trade promotion authority - an approach provided to Republican and Democratic presidents for over 30 years and critical to nl'gotiating and pass ing new trade agreements. Most recently, Mr. Edwards opposed the Singapore and Chile fr('(' trade agreements (ITA) .

The misguided philosophies proposeJ by the new le;lders of the Democr:i1ic Parry would effectively leave all pending trade agreements languish ing or essentially dead. \Ve must correctly assume that any current negotiation or concluded deals not enacted be/ore rh(· November election would die under the weight of the prot('Ctionism promoted by Mr, Kcrry and Mr. Edwards.

This (iram:!tic turn would be in deep comrast to the resl of the world. The everexpanding European Un ion cont inucs 10

CXl'CUle lowcr tr:tde barriers and establish (woTable tmding wnes for its members.

Pcrhaps the greatest impact of a retreat from pro-free tr:tde principles is the lost opportunity lhat frcc markets could help create across the developing world. T he ben<.'fits of a stable trade rL'gime that promotes access to products and services would generate good will and help promOte values of economic freedom and reform in economies that are emerging from decades of socialism. tyranny and oppression . For instance, laSt rear President Bush announced plans to

establish a Middle E.1St Free Tmde Area by 2013. While a Kerry-Edwards ticket would demand greater concessions from trade deals or impose obstacles to new agreements in order to placate big boor and other interests. the Bush adm inistration is atlempting to f:1Cilirate trade agreemcnts that promote long-term ('Conomic vimlil)'.

Economic freedom is a cornerstone of the wealrh of liberti es bestowed upon Americans. How besl we promote econOmic freedom is the role of po licy makers working on behalf of the American people. The right COlLrse of action is \0 push the boundaries of free trade and fr~--e markets. and to reject any calls to return ro the isolationism and protectionism of the past. QI

- u.s. Sm. johll E. 51111111111

is (/ Nrw HlllllpsiJirr Rrpub/iClII/

Ripon ~orum ' ~aJl 2004

Slaughter in Sudan World silent in the face of genocide

----------------------

While world leaders rurn a blind eye, $ud:mc.se ['residell! Oma r El Bashir is waging a genocida l

campaign in wCSlern Sudan. Since February 2003, th,' National Islamic Frollt governmcm has bt'ell using Arab militias known as Ihe Janjawl'cd. 10 SYSfClll:u ically purge nonArabs from the region nfWest Darfur. The victims of this slaughter aTC mostly Arrie-,1Il eth nic groups such as til(" Fur. Masalir and Z.1ghawa. They arc rargclccl by lighterskinned Arabs in an altemp' 10 render d}(~ region "Zurga-frce~ - or fr('e of blacks.

AI leasl 30.000 han: ix'el1 killed and 100.000 have fled [0 neighboring Chad. Human Rights Walch repons Ihal women and children are ocing raped, vil b gcs are ra"o/.cd to ,he ground. and Ihe peopll' arc deliberately SHipped of cssemial resources. The United Nations estimates Ihal 1.2 million Sudanese have fled Ihei r homes. The dislocation li as precipiuted a humanitarian cri sis: men, women :lI1d childrcn seeking refuge in flJ(limenrar), camps are finding onl y deadl by malnutrition , disease and starvation.

13a5hir has relx:atedly denied that a campaign of ~ethnic de:Hlsi ng" is underway. He insists thin the Sudanese army is anempting to restore order following rebellions led by the Sudanesc Liberation Army. The SLA, which cmerged in February 2003, chilllenged [he oppressive policies of the regime and demandl'd greater autollomy from [he ccntl'3l government. In response, B:uhir 1:lunched a ca mpaign whereby his army and Ihe Janjaweed collabor:l.Ie 10 crush dissclH and to decim:ue Ihe 1'01'111:11 ion.

World leaders have been tepid in their response. The most vociferous C1l1s for action have come from Ihe Unill-d Slalcs. On April 7. 2004, Prc..~ idenl George W. Bush insisted Ihat L111' Sudant:SC governmem wmust inHl1c<liately StOp local militias from commining atrocitil'S against the local popubtion and II1USt provide unrestriclCd access to humanitarian :Iid agcn cit·s. ~ During a telephone con\'ers:ttioll, President Bush also rcb)'ed this mcssagc dirccd), to B;lsh ir. '-Iowen-r, die killing continues and the Sud~tnesc govern ment is still iml}Cding


By Grace VUOTQ

humanitarian relief. The Hush administf:ltion has thus far been unable 10 provide effective leadership for it is tOO busy fighting its own \v::Ir on terror and prepari ng for an impending election.

And it is no surprise that European nations ,Ire either passive or an obSt~clc 10

(Iecisi\'e action. The European Union has conde mned the Sud~nese government. Howe\'er. none of the individual European governmelHS have publici)' adopted the cause or exerted their influence in the region. \'(forsc still. many EU members prefer 10 keep the maHer silent for fear Ih:1I forceful dt'nunciat'ions of the N IF will saomage exisling peace negotiatiollS - talks aimed al sen ling Ihe conflict in southern Sudan. It appears that for European leaders. Ihe genocide and (' Ihnie cleansing dial look place in dICir own backyard during World \Var II and in the former Yugoslavia during the 1990's is already a distal1l memory. Once again , their first instinct is 10 rurn to the mcile and foo lish 1>olic), of attempting to appease evil.

Likewise. leaders of AfriCln nations havc not been stirred 10 passionate action b), the suffering of th eir bredlren. Individual African nations have m:lde few if an)' public pronouncements. The Africa n Union has indeed b('Cn involved in peaCe negotiations, but these have nOI materialized in a cessation ofhoSlililics, The AU has thus far been ineflt.'Ctual in securing the necessary resources to monilOr a ceasdire agreement that was eSlablished on April 8, 2004 and which broke down shortly thereafter. They h:n"e pledged 10 send 60 ceascfire monitors and 300 troops - a token gesture not likely to succeed, Thus" the fighting continues unabated.

The crisis in Darfur mUSt be addressed immedialely by Ihe internalional comnlUnity" Ihshir and many in his elltourage should be condem ned as war crim inals, seized by Interpol and brouglll to trial. Rel ief agencies must ell ter the Sudan as quickly as possible. At stake ill this conflict arc not only countless lives. hut also the very reputation of the Un ited Nations as a viable institution for lIt{' preserva tion of illternational law. In 2003. the U.N.

w\vw.riporl5OC .org

",",-

Khartoum . -*

appeared to be litde more than a coffeehouse for chatter amongSI world leaders: It had issued numerous resolutions condcm ni ng Saddam Hussei n prior 10 the Ir~q war ~n{1 yel sti ll fu iled 10 take aCtion. Si nce then, Ihe international commun ity has also bcen entirely ineffeCtual in ha.lting the genocide in Chechnya. Can Ihe U.N. survive another debacle?

Ultimately, however. citirens within Western societies must put presslirc 011 their leaders to halt the Janjaweed's murderous crusade, The AfriCln diaspof:l can be influemial: Ihey should imitate the Jewish, Irish, Cuban and Arab d iasporas who consislendy bring international attention 10

issues pertaining to their rcspeClivc counlry of origin, After the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, Ihe nations of the world pledged -never ~gain." Yet a decade later, AfriCln blood flows profusely. How will we be judgcd by future genef:ltions for this colossal failure to pre\"ent another humanitarian C3taslfophe in a continent whose inhabitants have already suffered tOO much? ~

- GracI' VUOlO is thr forrign polity rditor o/Tlu Ripon Forum and a pro/mor

0/ history III Howard Univrrsity

29

Remembering the Gipper Ronald Reagan's lasting legacy

'---Ily Jeffrey T. Kuhner

The dt.":lI h of President Ronald Reagan triggered an outpouring of grief among Americans. For ten days tll(" media was

saturated widl coumlcss talking heads and former Reagan staffers expounding on the reasons for his success as president. And. with a few notahle exceptions. most of them were wa}' ofT the mark.

After years of disparaging Reagan's policies. Liberal Illcdi~t types were at a loss to c:<pbin his enduring appeal. Many such as Dan Rather. Tom Hrokaw and Peter Jennings credited ,he Gippcr's popularity 10

his Mop[imism.~ his Irish "sense of humor" or his "comforting image."

or Cllu rse, he possessed these ;mributcs - IIll)' were indeed p:ln ofllis brgcr-thanlife persona which C1pti\':ltct.1 so many in this country and lbrOld. But Relgan's immensc impact on the coursc of American and world history had lillie to do with his genial outlook or his pcnch:ulI for winy remarks (alt hough he could be devastating with a sharp quip. as Walter Mondale found OUt in the famous J 984 presidential debate). Rather. Reagan's politiCl1 success was based on a more fundalll\!ntal vi rtuc: he spoke !Ill' truth on the semi n:il issues of his time. To Arnaic:lns WC:l ry of the cynicism :lIId lies of the post-Vietn:lIll, poSt· W:ucrg:He era, his commi tlllent to

spe:lking truth to power lll:lde Reagan the preeminent statesman of the late 20th ccntury.

Upon assum ingofficc in 1981, Reagln SCt abollt ft'\'ersing ;\merica's dl"Cline. His domcstic :lgenda of tax CutS, deregubtion and a l'iglHer monetary policy were responsible for the economic boom of the 19805. By the l'nd of his second term, his policies famed inOation, controlled the runaway growt h of government and created nearly 20 million jobs. By J 990 the U.S. l"Conomy had grown by a third - literally. the size of Germany. It was this spectacular economic e);pansion that enabled Rcagan to finance the military build-up that c\'entually bankrupted the Soviet Union.

The cen terpil"Ce of his economic progr,un was slashi ng incol11e ta ); r;w:s. \Vhen he came to power, the highest marginal rate was 70 perCent. When he left office, it W:IS

30

U, S President Ronald Reagan In Washlf19tOn. OC. 1983

28 perCenl. Like President John E Kenncdy before him. Reagan undcrslOod thai tax cutS sti mulate the economy; a rising tide dots indeed lift all boats. To(Jay. his legacy continues ~ I S members of bo th parties acknowledge [hat cllni ng taxes is crucia l to rewarding hard work, encouraging creativit), and :mracting im'estrnent . Democra[s and Republicans disagree about the I)' I>CS of tax cutS needed , how deep {hey should go and their rargets. But they no longer argue aboU! the oosic merits of the policy.

Yet the Gip!X'r's greatest impact was in foreign policr Re:lgan's gen ius was tim he understood the nature of the Cold \,(far: So\·iel communism W,(S morally and ideologically bankrupt. ROtling from the imide and economically backward, it only ncedlxi to be pushed to collaps.: under its own weight. Reagan set about pushing it into the dustbin of history.

He assaulted the Soviet Union's moral found:lliOlls by denouncing its tot:1limrian political system and its domination of E,astcrn Europe. Despite bei ng ridiculed by the liberal imc1lig('[l[sia for his supposedly simplistic, binary view of the world. he per-

www.ripoJlsoc.org

sis[ed in referring to the $(wiet Union by its appropriate name: the ~cvil empire.- Lenin and Sralin perpcwated the greatcst system of mass murder in hislOry - one which we now know slaughtered over 60 miUion people and imprisoned countless victims in slave labor camps.

Rl'agan rallied the WeSt - along with 1'0pl' John Paul I I and British Prime Minister Margaret Tharcher - 1'0 stand lip 10 Communist tyr:lnny: he challenged ilS claims of mom1 supt:riotity. He therefore changed the course of history precisely because hl~ was determinl-d 10 change il. As early as 1981, in his famous speech al Notre Dame, he predicted rhe collapse of thl' Soviet Union. He called Communism "a s:ld , bizarre chapter in human history whose last pages are even now being writ[en." A yea r later he told the British House of Commons that ~the march of fn:edom" and democracy ~wilJ lea\'e MarxismLcni niSI11 on the ash heap ofhistory.-

Reagan harncssed America's might in order to pllt the economic and militar}' screws into the Soviet empire. He SCn! vital O1ssistance 10 the Afghan rebels (including Slinger missiles), thus bogging down the Russian invasion; he supportt"d Nicar.lgua's anti-communis( gueri llas in (heir s(ruggle aga inst the Moscow-backed r-.oI arxist regime; he championed Poland's Soli<larity Movelllcnt; he ordered U.S. forces 10 overthrow Crellad:l's communist gOI'ernment; he insta lled Pershing missiles in Europe in the f:lCe of nl ~lss ive peace protests, thereby shifting the balance of power on the Continent against tht" SMietS; and finally, he seized the opportunity to wind down rhe Cold \Var after Russian leader Mikhail Corbachev embraced prrrJlrO;kll and gInSl/OII. The result was that in 1989, a year after lea\·ing office, the Berlin Wall fell. A short time bter the Soviet Union itsclf imploded.

Ultimately, the Cipper was a great president Ix-callse he was a great man. He was a visionary who was not afraid 10 spe:lk ,he tnllh aoom the evil nature of Soviet totalitarianism. His lasting legacy is that he cxpandl-d (he sphere of hum:ln freedom and I>cace not only in America, bm around the world. For this he will be rememocred as thc 11Iost consequential president of till' 20t h century. "

- Jeffrry T Klllmrr;1 Ihr alilor of nit· Ripoll Forum Imd fommllllicllriollJ

dirrcror (// 71,( Ripol/ Sociny.


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