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Published on 05/12/1999 All articles from this issue

Molly Ivins' political insights brighten Foothill College speaker series

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By Clyde Noel

Special to the Town Crier

Whether she's talking about her home state of Texas or national politics, Molly Ivins gives you plenty to think about. Last Friday at the Flint Center in Cupertino she spoke with a sharp wit about Clinton and our political nuttiness.

Ivin's syndicated column is run in more than 200 newspapers, including the San Jose Mercury News Sunday edition.

A 53-year-old Southern Democrat and graduate of Smith College, Ivins didn't put down President Clinton like other media people because the American public seemed not to care about Clinton's sexual antics. She indicated she couldn't begin to understand why the Republicans dragged it on for so long.

What does bother Ivins, however, is campaign financing. She claims it is the major problem of the American political system, which is "utterly corrupt by the usual suspect - money. Campaign finances are so out of control there is no way of determining what politics cost this country," Ivins said. "It's all being nibbled away by special-interest money. Two-thirds comes from organized corporate special interests, and the problem won't change until we change the way campaigns are financed."

Ivins latest book, "You Got To Dance With Them That Brung You," talks to the issues of campaign financing, including politicians who are influenced by political action committees. "It's welfare for politicians, and the problem is so bad it's 'the rot of the root,'" she said.

"In recent years we have seen a lot of nastiness. It's the Rush Limbaughs, the Clinton haters, the fundamentalist Christians, and former Representative Newt Gingrich who created it," Ivins said.

"The year 2000 election will be obscene. The safest bet would say that conventional wisdom is wrong," Ivins said. "That means George W. Bush (whom she calls 'the shrub') will not be the Republican nominee and Al Gore will not be the Democratic nominee. Get ready for a wild ride."

Ivins believes there are still heroes in politics, a number of fine, intelligent, decent people who should be written about more often.