Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 2 November 2000 — Page 2

The Muncie Times, November 2, 2000, page 2

EDITORIAL

Whatever you do, remember to vote on Nov. 7

The first U. S. presidential election of the new millennium is around the corner. On Nov. 7, Americans will flock to the polls to elect the first president of the 21st century. There will also be elections for some governors, U. S. senators, 435 members of the U. S. House of Representatives, plus numerous state, county, parish and local elections. People across the country will be electing people who will be making decisions for the next 2, 4 or 6 years on issues that are near and dear to us. In Muncie, beside voting for president, we shall also be electing the governor, a U. S. senators, the state attorney general,

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superintendent of schools, members of the Indiana General Assembly, as well as Delaware County commissioners. This is a pivotal election. For the first time in 8 years, President Bill Clinton will not be on the ballot (although his wife, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton is running for a U. S. Senate seat from New York). Instead voters will have to choose between Vice President Al Gore, a Democrat, and Texas Gov. George W. Bush, a Republican. On the state level Gov. Frank O’Bannon, Democrat, is seeking re-election to a 4year term, against Republican congressman David McIntosh. As we have said

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before, it is important for all people who can to vote. If you will not exercise that right, then you are abandoning your right to criticize those who are elected if they ignore your concerns. We have a duty to vote and to hold our elected representatives accountable for what they do on our behalf. We need to hold elected officials accountable to .stick to the promises they make during the election campaign. If they fail to do that, then we have a duty to turn them out at the next election. Over the course of this campaign, we have listened to Gore and Bush as they laid out their visions for the future. The issues are clear. There are fundamental differences C Y

The Muncie Times accepts and publishes “Letters to the Editor” under the following conditions: • The letter must indicate the writer’s name, address and phone number where the writer can be reached during the day. Addresses and phone numbers will not be published. ■ If the writer wishes the letter to be published under a pseudonym, that wish will be honored. However, the writer’s

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full particulars must be included in the letter, along with the suggested psedonym. * Letters must be brief, preferably no more than 300 words long and should, if possible, be typed and doublespaced. Hand-written letters will also be accepted. » The editor reserves the right to edit all letters for brevity, accuracy, taste, grammar and libel.

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1 All correspondence should be addressed to: The Editor, The Muncie Times, 1304 N. Broadway, Muncie, IN 47303. M Unsolicited manuscripts will only be returned if the writer includes a self-addressed, stamped envelope with correct postage.

STAFF

Publisher Bea Moten-Foster Editor .- John T. Lambkun Advertising Bea Moten-Foster and Richard Casey Layout ^ Nikki L. Petty Typesetting Samantha L. Overbay

Contributors: Bea Moten-Foster, Bernice Powell-Jackson, Dr. T.S. Kumbula, John Lambkun, Judy Mays and Hugh Price. The Muncie Times is published twice monthly at 1304 N. Broadway, Muncie, Ind. 47303. It covers the communities of Anderson, Marion, New Castle, Richmond, and Muncie. All editorial correspondence should be addressed to: The Editor, The Muncie Times, 1304 N. Broadway, Muncie, IN 47303. Telephone (765) 741-0037. Fax (765) 741-0040.

between the two candidates and their parties on how to keep the economy robust, how to protect the environment, on which candidate will select U. S. Supreme Court justices who will protect our interests, who has the best ideas on how to protect Social Security, Medicare, the environment and on how to improve education, provide affordable prescription drugs for our seniors, end/acial profiling, increase penalties for hate crimes and on fair tax cuts. During the debates and discussions, the Gore/Lieberman team has proposed an agenda very different from that of the Bush/Cheney team. It is now up to the voters to make the decisions on who will win. It is a momentous decision because we will be deciding on whom we want to entrust the responsibility of being president and which party will control the U. S. Senate and the U. S. House of Representatives. For African Americans, it is crucial for

them to vote in large numbers. Let us not forget that there are many people who were attacked, beaten, had dogs and fire hoses turned on them, went to jail or prison, were injured or were killed during the 60s, as attempts were made to register blacks to vote. Even though African Americans were citizens entitled to the vote under the U. S. Constitution, it took the efforts of President Lyndon Johnson and the Congress to pass civil rights law, over the opposition of many politicians, which finally conferred the right to vote on people of African descent. It would be a betrayal of those people who sacrificed and suffered so much and whose efforts made it possible, for those of us here today to ignore our obligations to vote. Our votes can make a difference. But they can only make a difference if we mobilize and go out and vote for the candidates of our choice.

appreciates your support and your business! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please call us at 741-0037 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.