Opinion

---

Big business has more influence in elections than voters

Some have called this 2012 election historic, reasoning that it has ushered in the most female senators in U.S. history and had the highest turnout of Latino voters in any election thus far. While this is certainly significant, this past election was particularly historic in the fact that presidential campaign spending reached its highest level in American history, with collective spending between President Barack Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney nearly reaching two billion dollars. This increase in spending wasn’t limited to the presidential race, however. Congressional races around the country also experienced large increases in campaign spending, with some outside groups spending more than the candidates themselves.

Scott Resnick sheds light on city issues

When UW-Madison students arrive on campus, they are greeted with a wide array of resources to make their time at the university as productive and comfortable as possible. Arguably, some of the most helpful yet underutilized of these resources are the Madison city alders. When this editorial board met with alder Scott Resnick recently, we were welcomed with a wealth of knowledge about the inner workings of the city. Resnick exemplifies many characteristics that foster a productive relationship between the city and its constituents. Students and the city alike would benefit from more involvement from individuals with Resnick’s dedication and initiative in city politics.

College athletes should not be paid unless it is for education

It’s not a new story, but it seems as though there is no escaping the constant struggle for money. And the question of whether college athletes should be paid is about one story away from being as burned out as Ryan Leaf. Seeing as how there has been an article in The Daily Cardinal this year addressing the issue already, I feel it’s my responsibility to test just how close we are to beating the question to a pulp.

Tea Party’s extremism alienates voters

I would like to consider myself an independent voter. In truth, I am probably more of a moderate Democrat than an Independent, but I have always disliked labels because most things factoring into them are contingent and malleable. Tuesday, Nov. 6, I was forced to do something that I hope I never have to do again: vote straight democrat. It isn’t that I will never again vote straight Democrat or that I never again want to vote straight Democrat. Rather, I hope with all of my heart that I never again feel it absolutely necessary to do so. In fact, I sincerely want to be able to one day endorse a Republican candidate.

The election is finally fading away, and with it goes challenging our beliefs

Whether my guy won or lost will be decided by the time anyone but the editors read this. But as I am writing this, the decision of who will become president is still very much in limbo. It’s exciting, invigorating and just a tad bit terrifying to contemplate that this year’s election is a bit more up-in-the-air than any in my recent memory.

Gossip, expectations can limit our interactions and growth

This morning, as I was making my usual breakfast fare of bean-mush and egg, one of my housemates came in to make her usual eggs and oatmeal. We talked, as housemates will, about our other housemates. Onions frying, she told me that the night before she had heard the names of her and her boyfriend float into her room from the common-space. She was being gossiped about! It had taken her by surprise, and made her wonder: Did our housemates often talk about her behind her back? I said I supposed our housemates talked about everybody.

Natural-Born Citizen Clause outdated

Donald Trump’s hair and the big orange person it sits on top of were on television again. As many of us know, Trump’s hair has been conducting investigations on President Barack Obama’s past in an effort to prove he was not born in America. The wispy blond strands made news two weeks ago when the person underneath them announced he would write a check for $5 million to a charity of Obama’s choice if the president released his college records and passport paperwork. I imagine the president will choose not to dignify this message with a response. Sometimes the best way to get a child to stop crying is to ignore him.

Letter: Romney will deliver recovery

President Barack Obama visited Madison yesterday for the second time in a month.  This visit also marked the third time he appeared in Wisconsin in the five days leading up to the election, a time candidates only spend in states that they realize are highly contested in the election.  After winning the state by a 13-point margin in 2008, the Obama campaign has reason to be concerned because polls now show that the race is dead even in Wisconsin. Obama has a Wisconsin problem and Mitt Romney has been gaining momentum in the state.  Wisconsinites have clearly come to realize that President Obama isn’t all he said he would be when we elected him in 2008. We gave President Obama four years to produce an economic recovery. However, 23 million Americans are still struggling for work. Nearly one in six Americans are now living in poverty and nearly 47 million Americans now receive food stamps. Wisconsinites are not better off than they were four years ago and neither are our students.  Obama has left us an economy where half of recent college graduates cannot find jobs in their field of study and he has added $5 trillion in new debt for their generation to pay off.  President Obama can visit Wisconsin as many times as he wants to, but he cannot hide from the fact that we are not better off as a result of his policies. Our nation is at a turning point. America gave Obama a chance in the last election and he has failed to produce the results he promised us.  Americans can’t afford another four years like the last four years under President Obama’s failed policies. Four years ago, President Obama overwhelmingly won the youth vote based on his promises of hope and change. Today, young Americans in Wisconsin and across the nation will realize their priorities and vote for Mitt Romney because he will work with Democrats and Republicans, put the interests of the American people first, and deliver the real recovery President Obama could only promise.

Deceptive, misleading ads unacceptable

The current trend for political campaign ads is bringing an average person in front of the camera. They’ll talk about their values, how their favorite candidate matches them perfectly and then they will openly criticize the opponent.

Welfare enables able-bodied to avoid the workforce

American prosperity upheld by voting

Today, millions of individuals will enter ballot booths across the country and cast their vote for the next President of the United States. Women and men of all ethnicities will vote, as will the rich and poor. And so will Democrats, Republicans and Independents. With a few exceptions (e.g. convicted felons), every American citizen has the right to vote, no matter their race, sex or political ideology. Voting is the great equalizer. One person, one vote. That’s the promise of American citizenship.

Removing government from research keeps scientists honest

In 2005 Elizabeth Goodwin, PhD, a geneticist and professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison, admitted to manipulating data on a research grant application in order to convince reviewers that her lab was worthy of the money it was requesting. She was turned in by graduate students working at her lab.

Daily Cardinal Editoral Board Endorsements

Obama deserves another four years in office:

Our generation is being passed a huge bill

Our generation is getting screwed by the political decisions of the past, generalized apathy and a lack of dedication to real change.  Our vote holds the key to the country. This was shown in the 2008 election when the 18-29 vote represented 18 percent of the electorate compared to the 65+ vote, which accounted for only 16 percent.  We have a great amount of power with our vote and our voice, but we fail to use it.  As a result, our generation faces a combination of issues that—individually—were the landmark issues for many of the generations that preceded us.  It is a common sentiment that this election will determine the course of the country for the next century and we are the only voting generation who will see most of that century.

Republican stance on abortion ineffective and misguided

Recent gaffes from Republicans like U.S. Senate Candidate Richard Mourdock, who said that rape is “something that God intended to happen,” have brought the issue of abortion back into the media with less than two weeks before the presidential election.  Former Gov. Mitt Romney, who originally said he would be “delighted” to sign a bill banning all abortions, has softened his stance in an attempt to pander to the women voters he so desperately needs to win the election.  However, Romney still favors defunding organizations like Planned Parenthood and vows to repeal Roe v. Wade (1973) if given the opportunity.

Letter: ASM campaign encourages reporting crimes, dangerous situations

Associated Students of Madison Legislative Affairs Committee researches and advocates on policies concerning students, and if you are searching for an example of their work, here it is: the Responsible Action Campaign. We feel that this existing campus-wide policy is unknown and we are reaching out to the student body to clarify the existing policy and what it is we are working on. The current Responsible Action policy has guidelines that encourage responsible action in the case that a student requires medical assistance for alcohol-related injuries.  We believe that protecting the student body and making the university a safe place are both very important roles of the ASM.

Extremists embarrass Republicans

I figure that, with the election coming up in the next week or so, I’d best input my final two cents about the political system. I’m becoming increasingly disturbed by what I see going on in the conservative spectrum of our national discourse. There’s been quite a bit of outrage over some comments made recently by one Richard Mourdock involving rape, which is only another grain of salt in a wound opened up by Todd Akin’s now-infamous “legitimate rape” statement made while defending pro-life positions. So I say to all self-respecting Americans: hasn’t this gone on long enough? Aren’t we sick of our elected representatives spewing pseudoscience as if they were some kind of political medium? The time to end this anti-intellectualism has come, and unless it does end, Americans are going to suffer because of it.

Hold employers, society accountable by being willing to quit

Most of us have a love-hate relationship with paid work. We love it because we feel grown-up and because it’s fun to get paid. But we hate it because with employment (in the modern sense) comes a whole mess of mind games and power dynamics. Many of us have put up with bosses that treated us with indifference, with disrespect, with contempt. We tolerate this treatment for two main reasons. First, we’re worried about what might happen to us if we quit. Jobs are often difficult to come by, and a decision to stay in an unhealthy work environment can be based on very practical concerns.

United States - Israel ties 'unshakeable'

This past Sunday, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey met with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Israeli Defense Force Lieutenant Benny Gantz in order to coordinate a joint special air defense drill. Three thousand American soldiers will partake in this drill alongside thousands of Israeli soldiers, pilots and sailors in the largest military exercise of its kind in history. Israel, pronounced by both presidential candidates as our greatest ally in the region, is one of the United States’ closest allies in the world overall. “Unshakable” is the term that President Barack Obama fancies in reference to our bond with Israel. Clearly, ties between these two countries are deeply bound. Some who are unfamiliar with the Land of Milk and Honey often wonder why.

Obama's first term brought change, success

A recurring theme of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s presidential election campaign is that President Barack Obama has failed to deliver the change that he promised in 2008, or that the president has simply delivered the wrong kind of change. The problem with Romney’s claim isn’t that it is cynical and disingenuous. It is wrong. Today America looks fundamentally different than it did when Obama took office in January 2008. And the changes are mostly for the better.