1996_03 The Daily Collegian March 1996

              THE DAILY
COLLEGIA
Thursday, March 7, f>96
,f>9<
Opinion
Opinion Editor: Matthew Hart
Telephone: (209) 278-5732
Hungry Republican
will work for food
News Not Worthy
By Shannon Wentworth
Columnist
It is one of the great oxymorons
of our time and it just got more
absurd. I am talking about minori¬
ties who pledge their votes and their
voices to the Republican Party. I am
talking, specifically, about Alan
Keyes.
The oxymoron doesn't have as
much to do with the stated ideol¬
ogy of the Republican Party as it
has to do with the racism in the
• application of this ideology. This
weekend Alan Keyes demonstrated
that the "race" for the Republican
presidential nomination is not just
right-wing, but white-wing as well.
For all of Jesse Jackson's
disappointments in seeking the
Democratic nomination for
President, he has Jtever been
dismissed or ignored in such a
convincing fashion, nor has he ever
been forcibly removed from the site
of a debate. x
The treatment of Alan Keyes, an
African American former member
of the Reagan administration now
seeking the Republican nomination
for president, shows how, on a
larger scale, the Republican Party
abhors diversity. One can easily see
this abhorrence of diversity in the
uniformity of Republican
supporters and the audience of
popular Republican talk show host
Rush Limbaugh-they look like they
just left church and are preparing
to audition for a WorTrJeroread
commercial.
While the ideology of the
Republican Party may, along
economic and moral lines, appeal
to a diverse group of people, like
The Loghouse Republicans (a gay
Republican organization) and
people of color and the working
classes, the actual Republican
agenda and the party does not
adequately address the social issues
of the aforementioned groups. In
fact. Republicans wholeheartedly
ignore many of these issues—happy
to take the votes frjeely surrendered
without including these people in
their platform.
The oxymoron of minority
Republicanism stems from the
categorical exclusion of minorities
from the Republican Party. You can
follow this club around, you can.
sing its praises and follow its tenets,
but you will not actually be allowed
to join. Alan Keyes has proved this
unequivocally and I wish him
continued success in his
demonstration of the inequities and
racism in the Republican Party.
To speak directly to the situation
of Keyes, who was escorted in
handcuffs away from the
Republican debate in Georgia
which incidentally did not address
the issue of the disproportionate
number of African American men
in jails and prisons across the U.S.,
he is fighting a losing battle not only
for the Republican nomination for
president, but for inclusion in the
Republican Party. They still want
him to drink from a separate
fountain.
Alan Keyes has a lot to say and
adds a good deal of^vigor and
freshness to the race for the
nomination. He provokes debate
and is a fierce, vociferous
proponent of Republicanism.
So why won't they let him
speak? He has as many primary
wins as Lamar Alexander who is,
despite his inability to win a
primary, still allowed to speak with
the other contenders. Alexander
doesn't even have to ask.
Not only has Keyes asked to be
included in these debates, he has
begun a hunger strike, a sit-in like
vigil and tried to force himself into
the fray. All of these things have
been for nothing.
The Republican Party will not
acknowledge his legitimate
nomination by allowing him to
compete on a level playing field.
Who could have asked for a more
poignant demonstration of the
inequities that the Republican Party
denies exist? So if, as the anti-
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affirmative action party says, all
things are equal, why can't Alan
Keyes find a platform to speak from
within the Republican Party?
Such a tremendous speaker and
debater should not be starving for
attention. Keyes chalks up his
arrest and his need for a hunger
strike up to a 'media dictator' who
is denying him a public platform.
But debates at this stage in the game
are sponsored by local Republican
groups, they are not put on solely
by television stations.
Alan Keyes, the Old Boys
Network doesn't want you and the
more you starve for their attention,
the less you will get (those hippie
tactics won't sway these guys).
Republicanism and minorities
do not mix. A minority may be
conservative in every way, but they
cannot join the rank-and-file white,
Christian, heterosexist, card-
carrying Republicans. Because the
Republicans don't want you. That,
Mr. Keyes, is the sad reality.
You can be as qualified as the
day is long, but you won't get the
job. Your plight, sir, is admirable,
perhaps for its naivete and idealism,
and perhaps in spite of it. The only
lawsuit you should be pondering at
this point is against your party—the
media is merely reflecting its
message of "whites only"
Republicanism.
Mythical tale takes
little, gives much
By Doug Maxfield
Book Reviewer
Every once in a while it is nice
to be able to sit down with a light
fantasy and let all the troubles drift
away. Robert Asprin's "The Sweet
Mythtery of Life" is just such a
boqk.
This fantasy tells of Skeeve a
naive magician of rudimentary
skills and vast reputation. He man¬
ages to get himself and his assorted,
extradimensional friends in and out
of a variety of situations.
This book continues where the
last left off by leaving Skeeve de¬
bating his last predicament, love.
The queen of his home dimension
has given him the ultimatum of ei¬
ther marrying her or assuming the
throne of her nearly bankrupt king¬
dom.
While his crew help* the king¬
dom to sort its financial situation,
Skeeve tries to decide how he feels
The book:
"The Sweet Mythery of Life
by Robert Asprin
about marriage and romance. After
assorted romantic situations and in-
quiring all his friends advice Skeeve
finally must face the one persons
opinion who counts, himself.
Robert Asprin's tales are funny
and entertaining while demanding
little from the reader. Unlike his first
few books which contained a com¬
plete tale in each book he now tends
to slowly drag his tales over sev¬
eral books while not quite knowing
where he is going with his stories.
While being amusing, Asprin
does little else with the story besides
filling space. Anyone who has read
his previous novels will enjoy this
continuation of the series. However.
I recommend Asprin's older novels
such as "Mything Persons" or "An¬
other Fine Myth" to those who are
looking for a good humorous fan¬
tasy.
Shannon Wentioorth's column appears periodically. Letters to her can be dropped off at the Collegian office.
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