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Facing off Conservative Goldberg
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They stand on opposite sides of the political spectrum, but they do not hate each other. In fact, Peter Beinhart, editor-atlarge of the New Republic, and Jonah Goldberg, founding editor of National Review Online, said they are friends even though they differ so widely.
“My view of conservatism is that my view on government doesn’t actually say something about my soul,” Goldberg said.
Beinhart and Goldberg came to Boise State Oct. 6 to argue their views about the differences between conservatives and liberals.
Both discussed education and their respective candidates’ plans. “We simply don’t live in an economy anymore where a high school diploma and a strong back will allow you to provide for your family,” Beinhart said, explaining how young people need to attend college but can find it difficult due to constantly rising costs.
He described Sen. Barak Obama’s plan to give college students a $4,000 tax credit for school in return for 100 hours of community service.
Although neither speaker was aware of Sen. John McCain’s educational plans, Goldberg expressed his view that the price of a college education in the U.S. should be lowered instead of giving credits to pay the high fees.
Another prominent theme in the debate was government regulation.
“The state has a monopoly on the use of force,” Goldberg said in support of his argument against regulation.
Goldberg used Obama’s push for unity to back his argument. He argued that the founding fathers wanted dissention among the government and the people to create checks and balances.
Obama’s plan of unity, however, would only unify the government further in using force.
Beinhart, on the other hand, compared governmental regulation to driving laws.
“I also believe that you need police on the road to make sure people are paying attention to . stop signs,” he said. “That requires a government infrastructure of regulation.”
Both journalists used health care as an example of what they thought government regulation, or lack thereof, would look like.
Goldberg complained that Obama’s healthcare proposal would create a socialized healthcare. With this type of care, he said, some people would use the service unnecessarily all the time and put the costs of the few onto
the many. McCain, Goldberg argued, suggests cutting a check to American’s so they can find their own healthcare. Goldberg called this the “lesser of two evils.”
“Of course you should vote for the lesser of two evils,” he said.
His example: he would rather take a hammer in the head than he would a bullet.
Beinhart pointed out that the Medicare system is government regulated and that, without the government’s involvement, Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security could go away. With Obama’s healthcare plan, this wouldn’t happen and those people who really needed healthcare would be guaranteed to have it.
Beinhart also said that under Obama’s plan people could feel safe moving from one job to another. They wouldn’t have to fear the loss of healthcare and could get out of a dead-end job if they needed.
Other subjects Beinhart and Goldberg argued about included the current economic crisis, the purpose of the U.S. Constitution and the vision McCain and Obama have for America.
“I thought that they were good at poking fun at each other but also keeping it relevant,” Devin Borland, communication major, said.
He liked how a large portion of the debate was focused on questions from the audience instead of just straight lecture.
Members of the Boise community also turned out to watch the debate.
“I think the students need to hear both sides, because when they are getting it just from the media, a lot of times they are watching only fox news or only CNN and only getting one side,” Sarah Fleming, a Boise resident, said.
“Its good to see a conservative and a liberal debating in a respectful manner,” her husband Frank Fleming added. “You can actually sit down and listen to the other side.”
The timeliness of this event was not lost on students, especially those still deciding whether or not to vote in the upcoming election.
“I hope the student body actually took advantage of this opportunity and decides to go out and vote and feels a little more knowledgeable, at least a little more enthusiastic about getting out there and vot[ing] this year,” Vox Discipuli President Michael Reed said.
COLBY STREAM
News Editor