Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125885
B.C. resourc~s of CORL at Richardson 's disposal, even to the extent of turning the CORL newsletter into a partisan campaign leaflet. There was to be a big c a ra v a n to mobilize support for Richardson made up of mobile homes and recr ea ti o n vehicles. Hilda Mac anticipated many vehicles . But at the start of the campaign there were exactly two, Richardson's and Hilda Mae's. The first speaking engagement was cancelled by a shopping center manager with no explanation, TIle man didn't even come out to apologize to Richardson . If a major party candidate for U. S. Senator can rouse so little interest , what dreary clouds of apathy must be shrouding the efforts of Jesser cand idat es? In the 'fifties, when Joe McCarthy sta lked the land an d everyone's second ho m e was a bomb shelter, the great charge level ed at the Russian was, "They don't have free elections!" It was true then, as it is true today . But today no one is ta lking about it anymo re because Americans have discovered an interesting I fact: Americans have no more power to change thei r government with their free elec tions than the Russian people do w ith their fixed elections. True, the go vernment will fai th fully abide by whatever the voters tell them on the November bal lot. But the important questions jus t are n't on the ballot. Have you ever been asked whether you wanted our country to make war in Sou th eas t As ia? Whether you want the CIA to screw around with Chile's government? Whether you want ou r country democratically selIing gu ns and mu nition to both the T urks and Greeks, the Jews and the Arabs? Yo u no t o nly won't be asked if you want to spe nd $40 billion on "defense, .. it won't even make any difference who , .I BY JOHNNY HART ~ 5 '3 .. ... ...• .. .. ' lCl COURTESY OF FIELD ENTERPRI SES, I NC . .... Q.) you elect, the same amount will be spent, just as it is. in Russia. None of those questions have been asked and none of them are on the November ballot. But in spite of the fact that we can make no meaningful change in our government by voting, we should still take the time to do it for mathematical considera tions. If by not voting. and by getting a lot of similar-minded friends to do the same, an office would simply remain vacant, not vot ing would make some sense. But that's not the case. Even if both candidates are so bad that only three people will go to the polls to vote for them, the guy that ge ts two' votes will m ake decisions affect ing yo u fo r the next umpteen years . The next consideration is the fac t that. even though none of th e men that yo u have a chance to vote for can or will make the m ost urgen tl y needed changes in government, those men can and will ma ke small changes . that wh ile un im po r tan t to the system, are vitally important to you as an individual. They can raise your taxes or leave them alone (lowering- them h as never occurred), they can require you to add jun k to you r motorcycle or no t , and they can permit you to ride various places or eliminate riding altogether. So in ea ch case where the official can make decisions affecting you, it's impo r tan t to pi ck the one who will do th e least harm. • Only in rare cases will you have an y real idea what the candidate will do if he gets the job. You know, or you sh ou Id at any rate, know that Assemblyman . Z 'berg is an implacable, irrational enemy . By all reports, he isn't much of a legisla to r or much of a person either, so it shouldn't be hard to vote against .him if you live- in the Sacramento area . Perhaps there are other local politicians against whom there is a similar strong case, but most Cases will have to be resolved on broader grounds. In a sport with as many diverse _ interests as mo to rcy cl ing, even a man's voting record isn 't much - hel p . A legislator can easily vote for strong emission controls on one day and vote an appropriation for a motorcycle park the nex t day. Does this make him a friend or an enemy? Iden tify ing friends is just as difficult as identifying enemies. Take the case of Bill Richardson, candidate for U.S. Senate. There is no doubt in my mind that Richardson is tough, reasonably bright, and exceptionally honest. He is a proven friend of motorcyclists and ·o th er ORV owners. Unfortunately , on most other societal and political matters his very honestly held beliefs place him somewhere between H .R. Haldeman and Archie Bunker. And for these reasons 1 cannot support him. Let's look at the other contests . Neither of the major party California gubernatorial candidates arouse much enthusiasm in me. In their public debate my wife commented that they both sounded like angry adolescents and 1 couldn't help but agree. Brown has fought for beaches for public use, so he is somewhat recreation minded, and he seems to feel the same way about oil companies that 1. do, so I give h im a slight edge. 1 just hope if he is elected .0 E Q.) > o Z that he matures ten years between now and Jan uary ; F or Lt. Go vernor 1 have no problems. 1 live in Harmer's Senatorial district, which is roughly the Glendale area: There is no place to ride off road in Glendale (in spite of all those nice hills), and it's the easiest place in the wo rld to get a ticket on yo ur street motorcycles (l've collected a few). Harme r periodically · sends out questionnaires which are set up to be computer analyzed, so writing in yo ur own answer is ' impossible and the Continued on next page TOO HOT TO HANDLE? Super Kool Them Improve your bikes handl ing from start to f inish. : 1. T~icethecooli ngfluid. 2. Superaircooli ngfi ns. 3. Longer lasting shock perf ormance. 4. Fits most leadin g shocks. 5. Detail ed, easyto follow instructions. 6. O nly $24.95 per kit. Sales tax, California residents on ly . Dealer i nquiries welcome . Send check or money order to : MKM D ist., P,O . Box 1344, San Luis O bispo, Calif . 93406 19