THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 11, 1996 TAG: 9602100021
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 27 lines
Regardless of which side of the budget battle the individual voter may prefer, there is one great danger in the Republican stance. Our founding fathers, foreseeing the possibility that the president and Congress might disagree on policy, provided that a two-thirds majority vote is required to override the president's position - thus ensuring that the people really have the final say.
The Republican approach today is to replace this requirement with one that says a simple majority is all that is necessary (theoretically as small as one vote) or the government will be shut down by withholding the funding for its operations.
I can't believe our founding fathers would approve of this no matter how well-intentioned the ends might be.
EDWARD C. ATKINSON
Virginia Beach, Jan. 31, 1996 by CNB