COLUMN: In search of the middle way

From Stephanie Cooperman's, "The Velvet Hammer," Fall '98 From Stephanie Cooperman's, "The Velvet Hammer," Fall '98A former pro-wrestler is elected as Minnesota governor. The country laughs. t Charles Schumer beats Al D'Amato in a mudslinging campaign. Newt Gingrich steps down as speaker of the House of Representatives. Suddenly, national politics are not so funny anymore. In the wake of last week's elections, the relative humor that was spurned from victories many deemed implausible, if not completely unworthy, has turned to bitter truth: The people have spoken. Enough of the headlines that criticize Minnesota residents for succumbing to the ridiculousness of entertainment. Stop with editorials that condemn New Yorkers for falling for Schumer's press manipulation. End the finger pointing that blames Gingrich for the heartache that has become the Republican party. Americans, or at least 37 percent of the voting population, don't seem to care about one-issue politics or those that include the infamous "party line." In actuality, the only thing that appears to matter now is who is most unpolitical. Those that are quick to bash Jesse "The Body" Ventura for his stint in the professional wrestling circuit over 10 years ago forget that he comes from a long line of entertainers-turned-politicians. Sonny Bono and Ronald Reagan both benefitted from the psychology that an audience which approves of one's character on screen will most likely be seen pressing his lever in the voting booth. It's the reason why Americans won't see Dennis Hopper on the ballot anytime soon. But a wrestler? Surely nothing could be farther from Washington ideology. Perhaps that is the answer. Not only is Ventura a far cry from the lawyers and military officianados that typically compose gubernatorial races, he is also not among their clan. As a member of the Reform Party, he has become the first non-Democrat or non-Republican to win a major race. Added to the fact that he only wants to sign bills if they are good for Minnesota and he will to continue to coach a high school football team, make him appear to be a godsend in the wake of Washington politics that have become a carnival act around the Kenneth Starr report. But Ventura's election means more than putting faith in a good-hearted person and his bear-like ominance. Ventura may be fiscally conservative, but he also supports gay rights and abortion rights and refuses money from special interest groups. He opposes school vouchers and spending taxpayers' money fruitlessly. When all things add up, he appears to be? well, moderate. Perhaps if Gingrich had foreseen what happened at the polls in Minnesota, he wouldn't have been as surprised with the Congressional results that caused the Republicans to lose five seats while the Democrats held on against the onslaught of impeachment talk. Perhaps he would have realized that his Contract with America, the conservative platform that guaranteed his 1994 rise to power, was no longer the calling Americans wanted their names on. Perhaps he would have become a little more? well, moderate. Maybe conservative Florida Rep. Joe Scarborough got it right when he said, "We've got to reach out and have more than Southern white males running the Washington Republican Party." Minnesota seems to have proven that Republicans and Democrats don't have to be running anything, but if they must, as is the case with the House, then Gingrich doesn't have the answer anymore. However, Louisiana Rep. Bob Livingston, who is in line to become Gingrich's successor, is also, they say, "the classic Republican." He's anti-abortion, pro-business and loves to talk about defense. But while Livingston may be a replacement for Gingrich and while he may come from the same vein of conservativism, in order to prevail against the partitioning of the Republican Party he must become less concerned with far-right social issues and learn to juggle his own power with what has been in the past a distracted Congress. It seems that even the conservative Republicans must listen to the public when they call for reforms in moderation. So Ventura needs to be viewed as a voice for change, not a spokesperson for the absurd. The media must stop criticizing him for his past ventures, none of which, may I add, involved illegal drug use or an ethics violation. The small voter turnout, particularly among Republicans, means that political tides may not be changing completely. But the people that are making it to the polls don't want to waste their time on the representatives and governors that are satisfied with their own insincerity and corruption, their own politicalness. It is the era of the moderate. And Washington shouldn't find that very funny at all.