Civil Rights Restoration Act
The vote to override President Reagan’s veto of the Civil Rights Restoration Act has given voters an opportunity to size up the caliber of political leadership they can expect from the Congress, the President, and the presidential candidates (“Congress Rejects Rights Bill Veto,” Part I, March 23).
Congress is to be applauded for its courage. Despite a near-hysterical campaign of misinformation waged by the Moral Majority, and intense pressure from the White House, many Republicans joined Democrats in voting to override the President’s veto.
Meanwhile, on the campaign trail, Vice President George Bush and former GOP contender Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kan.), unfortunately, provided us with a spectacle of indecision, evasion, and contradiction. During the week, they appeared to take positions both for and against the bill. Their positions were often qualified by the suggestion that under different political circumstances they might indeed take a different position.
These two men have failed the test of political leadership.
AUSTIN GALLAHER
Pacific Beach
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