Lawmakers, March 22, 1984
Lawmakers, March 22, 1984
Lawmakers, March 22, 1984
Lawmakers, March 22, 1984
Paul Duke in studio, to introduce a commentary. Charles McDowell will tell viewers that emphasis placed on the Democratic campaign can be misleading.
Lawmakers, March 22, 1984
Charles McDowell in front of bookshelves. There s more going on in American politics than Mondale, Hart and Jackson, more than this crazy whirlwind of sequential primaries and television bulletins and projections, to pick the Democratic nominee for President. In a quieter way, in a way that seems oddly old-fashioned and almost deliberative, the voters are beginning the process of choosing a third of the United States Senate and the entire House of Representatives. As we ve seen earlier on this program, the contest this year involves leasing members of the Capitol Hill cast, like Senator Charles Percy of Illinois. A very different kind of Republican, Senator Jesse Helms faces a tough challenge in North Carolina, so do conservative Republicans Roger Jepsen in Iowa and Gordon Humphrey in New Hampshire and the liberal Democrat Carl Levin in Michigan. Significant changes in the Senate are inevitable. The Republican leader Howard Baker of Tennessee is retiring, so is the Chairman of the Armed Service Committee, John Tower of Texas, and so in the old New Dealer, Jennings Randolph of West Virginia. Governor John D Rockefeller IV, a Democratic Rockefeller, is running to succeed Randolph. The Republicans currently control the Senate, 55 seats to 45. To take over, the Democrats would have to win 6 more seats. A net change of 6 seats is a lot seats. And the Republicans are optimistic about holding on to the Senate. The Democrats control the House by the massive margin of 100 members. And not even the dreamiest Republicans hold much hope of breaking that grip. So the battle for the Senate is crucial, a Democratic take over, the loss of the Republican legislative base, could change the momentum of the American government, whoever is elected President. The battle is worth watching, even in the shadows, as we shield our eyes from the glare of the Presidential festival.
Lawmakers, March 22, 1984
Cokie Roberts, Paul Duke and Linda Wertheimer seated around triangular desk. Paul Duke facing camera. Duke wraps up. He and Roberts and Wertheimer never shield eyes from the Congress, will have more to report next week.
Lawmakers, March 22, 1984
Closing credits over footage of Chicago St. Patrick s marchers.
Lawmakers, March 22, 1984
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Lawmakers, March 22, 1984
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Lawmakers, March 22, 1984
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Lawmakers, March 22, 1984
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