WSW EDITORIAL

In the coming presidential election, where the realistic alternatives are at best mediocre, there are. nevertheless several matters which women should consider before casting their votes. The positions of the three major candidates on feminist issues are fairly clear: Carter and Anderson support the ERA,

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Reagan opposes it; Anderson is pro-choice on abortion, Carter is lukewarm, and Reagan not only supports a constitutional amendment prohibiting abortion, but pledges to appoint only.federal judges who support "traditional family values" and "innocent human life". In short, Carter and Anderson are in

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What She Wants

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general somewhat sensitive to the issues of women's equality, while Reagan wants to return to the “oldfashioned virtues"-and all the oppression of women which those "virtues” imply.

Sad to say, however, women's issues will not be a deciding factor in this election, if they are considered at all by the general electorate. It is necessary, therefore, to look at the three major candidates' positions on other issues in order to make an intelligent choice. This is not easy, since practically the only common denominator among the three is their inconsistency from past positions.

Carter, elected in 1976 because of positions which he himself described as "populist", has moved away from those positions to an alarming degree. In breaking his pledge not to decontrol domestic oil prices and his refusal to support antitrust efforts, particularly in regard to oil, he has permitted the oil industry effectively to dictate this country's energy policies. Also, he has abandoned his promise to revive the cities-welfare reform, jobs for the poor and mass transit programs have been sacrificed to military spending, tax cuts and fiscal austerity.

Anderson, the most attractive candidate intellectually, must also be viewed somewhat askance when his past record is considered. Now promising to minimize the use of nuclear power, Anderson during his 20 years in Congress has been a leader of the pronuclear forces, including advocating extension of the Price-Anderson Act limiting the liability of nuclear power plants in case of accident. He has also voted against many government programs to create jobs, but now states that the government should be "the employer of last resort". Finally Anderson, a bornagain Christian, previously declared himself irrevocably opposed to abortion, but now says he is pro-choice.

Reagan's inconsistencies are legion. Once a liberal Democrat, he is now a conservative Republican. A supporter of ERA a decade ago, he is now opposed. His promise to reduce federal spending is belied by his record as Governor of California, when during his tenure the budget more than doubled. And his proposal for a 30 percent income and corporate tax cut is welfare for the rich-at the expense of the .poor.

'There are of course other choices; Workers World Party, for instance, is running Deirdre Griswold for President and the Socialist Workers Party has a woman vice presidential candidate, both running on attractive and intelligent platforms. But their chances of election are nil, unfortunately, and the positions they espouse will no doubt be co-opted in the future by the major parties. To cast an effective vote in this election, therefore, voters are left in the all-too familiar position of voting for the lesser among evils And in making our choice, we must look to the future as well as the past.

The President of the United States has powers and influence that last well beyond his (let's be realistic) 4or 8-year term of office. He has the power to appoint federal judges, for instance, who serve for life and cannot be recalled by the voters. He can institute policies of spending and military preparation that cannot be reversed for decades. He can, by implementing his personal philosophies through appointments and executive orders,, influence the domestic and foreign policies of the country for years to come. One can only speculate what the Supreme Court vote on the Hyde Amendment, for instance, would have been had Humphrey rather than Nixon had the power to appoint half the Court.

With all this in mind, it is clear that the election of Ronald Reagan would be catastrophic for the country in general, and for women and the poor in particular. Anderson's chances of election are remote, and a vote for him is in effect a vote for Reagan. This leaves Carter, a poor choice but in this situation the only one possible.

-Mary Walsh

October, 1980/What She Wants/Page 1