THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 4, 1996 TAG: 9602020537
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By PETE WEITZEL AND TONY WHARTON
DATELINE: AUSTIN, TEXAS LENGTH: Long : 140 lines
What is America asking?
In Austin, Texas, 459 citizens talked through problems of the economy, our stake in the world and troubles in the home. The conversations looked and sounded like people getting together in living rooms across the country. Except the cookies were better and the coffee worse.
And when they were pretty much talked out, they came up with a long list of questions they wanted to ask Republican presidential candidates and Vice President Al Gore.
The questions tell a lot about how this cross section of America is thinking at the start of a presidential election year and a short four years from the millenium.
Unlike what you'll typically hear on the media talk shows or in press conferences, the questions formulated at the recently held National Issues Convention are very basic.
``How would you put traditional values back into families without violating individual rights?'' asked Andy Phillips, of Jonas Ridge, N.C.
Or, as Custer, Wash., resident Gina Wright asked, ``What can you as a candidate do to restore the public's trust in politicians?''
These questions indicate people are frustrated at what they see happening about them, worried about their future, and not at all certain that this country's institutions - particularly big government and big business - will do anything about it.
Indeed, they believe the traditional compact between employer and employee is dead as business trims benefits and payrolls in an effort to please Wall Street with higher dividends. They see a federal government that's pleading poverty and torn over deficit financing, and political leaders who talk to themselves rather than listen to the folks back home.
What came through again and again was a feeling that government isn't the answer but that it must play a role. They're looking to the political leaders to better define that role.
``Do you have a follow up?'' PBS moderator Jim Lehrer asked one woman after a candidate had avoided and then strayed far from the question she put to him on national television Saturday night as part of the National Issues Convention.
People running for public office have a marvelous way of taking a question and turning it into something else, slip-sliding into the issue they want to talk about. That's what had just happened, and the woman responded succinctly.
``No,'' she replied, ``we've heard enough.''
That's not to say this slice of America wasn't hungry for more information and a better sense of where today's politicians are coming from.
``Take care of the big stuff, and the little stuff will take care of itself'' may best describe the attitude of people at the convention. They asked about some of the lasting concerns of the age: child care, nuclear proliferation, a growing income gap, the role of morality in foreign policy.
With the possible exception of the latter, none of those issues are being talked about by the presidential candidates.
Conversely, very few of the issues that will become buzzwords in the campaigns came up in Austin. There was little or no mention of abortion, gun control, school prayer, Bob Dole's age, the latest polls, or any of the other ``hot buttons'' of the campaign trail.
If there was one issue where the two worlds overlapped, it was welfare reform.
Linda Benson, of Enid, Okla., asked, ``If we adopt policies cutting welfare programs, what are we going to do with the kids?''
``What changes would you promote to give incentives to welfare recipients to become more independent and self-reliant?'' asked Carlos Nieto, a student in Los Angeles, California.
There were two significant differences between the candidates' welfare discussion and the one among the convention delegates: The angry partisan tone evident in Washington was missing in Austin; and by talking respectfully together without partisan bickering, the participants generally settled on what they considered a possible solution.
Their answer: Provide a perpetual ``safety net'' for those who definitely cannot work or support themselves. Put a time limit on benefits, possibly two years, for able-bodied recipients. Provide all the job training recipients could possibly use. Limit the increase in benefits per child, possibly at two children. And when recipients do return to the work force, extend healthcare and child care benefits long enough to cushion the transition.
They told each other about pilot programs in their respective states and cities which incorporated some of these elements and seem to be working.
In fact, it puzzled some delegates how they could come to a consensus relatively quickly, when the debate in Washington drags on for years with no end in sight.
Some insights may lie in the responses they gave to a before and after poll. For instance, more than 91 percent said they discovered that people with views different from their own had good reasons for those views, a realization that helped lead to understanding.
Nor did they surrender to oversimplification. Before and after, the participants had the sense that issues are very complicated, sometimes overwhelmingly so.
Of the views expressed, National Issues Convention creator James Fishkin said, ``They are coherent. They represent a good deal of common sense, and people bringing their life experiences to bear. They are a collective voice worth listening to.''
The delegates were asked to address three issues: pressures on the family, the money squeeze most average people feel, and America's role in the post-Cold War world.
Their questions, like the discussions, often revolved around responsibility.
They developed a common sense, for instance, that families are primarily responsible for their welfare and their children's upbringing. But they saw responsibilities, too, for the government and for large corporations, to be sensitive to family needs and supportive of them.
``Good child care is a fundamental part of a healthy community. Should the responsibility of child care fall on the individual family, or should employers and/or government shoulder more of the burden?'' asked Rob Stephens, a Richmond student and a resident of Bowling Green, Va.
Their questions indicate, too, a fear that core values are not being passed on to the next generation as consistently as they should be.
On the economy and pocketbook pressures, delegates tended to look more to the government for answers. A large concern was the growing gap between the rich and the poor, and its implications for the middle class.
``We understand that the difference in income between the rich and the poor has increased. Do you agree this is a problem? If so, how should we reverse this trend?'' asked Vaughn Aldredge, of Seattle.
Interestingly, this issue is now considered pressing by experts, who have been discussing it for some time, and by average citizens, who are beginning to see evidence of a problem, but it is often ignored by the candidates.
When they addressed it in appearances in Austin last weekend, their universal response was to make the economy grow so that everybody is benefited equally. This did not seem to convince many of the delegates.
They were concerned about a couple of specific economic issues: whether the government should raise the minimum wage and what responsibility corporations have to their employees.
``How can we stop businesses from making excessive profits on the backs of American workers through layoffs, lower wages and lower benefits?'' said Donna Chandler, of Lompoc, Calif.
In many ways, the delegates found it easiest to discuss America's global role. They were torn about how the United States should respond to firefights breaking out around the globe, but many of the delegates swiftly came up with at least the same central question.
Delegates wanted to know, what is our vital national interest? Does it include a humanitarian response to prevent or end suffering? MEMO: Pete Weitzel is a visiting professional with The Poynter Institute for
Media Studies and a former senior editor with The Miami Herald. Tony
Wharton is a staff writer for The Virginian-Pilot. by CNB