Top Dem. Candidates Take Stand On Issues — Jackson Stresses More Israeli Aid (Vol. 42, Issue 11)
The following article does not constitute an endorsement by The Commentator.
During campaign years it is fashionable for candidates to promise everything only to forget those promises as soon as they take office. In this area it is best to look at the past and to see where the candidates stood before the campaign. Since his visit to the liberated Buchenwald concentration camp Henry Jackson has been Israel's most consistent supporter. He is the author or co-sponsor of almost every piece of legislation ever written calling for aid to Israel. The massive shipments of American supplies to Israel in recent years were made possible by the Jackson Amendment to the Defense Procurement Act of 1970. The Jackson Amendment calls upon the United States to supply Israel with material to offset the Soviet supply of arms to the Arab states. The Jackson Administration will be committed to maintaining the balance of power in the Middle East and will be sympathetic to the needs of Israel’s defense burdened economy. Henry Jackson has always been Israel's leading supporter and as President he will continue to be a staunch friend of Israel.
The PLO is a terrorist organization. They began by massacring Jews in Munich, Kiryat Shmonah, and Maalot and are now murdering Christians in Lebanon. Israel should not be asked to negotiate with this group of madmen and murderers.
Senator Jackson is the only Presidential candidate who has proposed a plan for reduction of US and Soviet forces. This proposal would allow weapons on poth sides to become obsolete without being replaced. This would enable us to reduce our defense budget and to lessen the risk of war. But progress toward detente must include progress toward human detente. If the Soviet Union wants to receive US technology and grain it must agree to basic human rights such as emigration.
If Senator Jackson's bill which called for Federal guarantees for municipal loans had been passed New York City would not be in the deep trouble which it is now in. Senator Jackson is in favor of having the Federal Government assume the cost of welfare rather than having the cities bear a disproportionate share of the burden. The Senator also favors having the Federal Government assume one third of the cost of primary and secondary education, an increase over the 7.5% which the Federal Government now pays.
In 1971, long before anyone else realized the danger ahead, Senator Jackson warned of the coming energy crisis. He conducted the investigation which exposed the windfall profits of the oil barons. Senator Jackson is the Senate’s acknowledged expert on energy matters. He has authored legislation to establish a National Energy Mobilization Board to oversee the exploration and development of America’s domestic energy sources, particularly the vast oil and gas reserves on public lands, the Outer Continental Shelf and in Alaska. Senator Jackson's research and development plan would not only enable the US to achieve energy independence but would also provide desperately needed jobs. Jackson has also authored legislation to keep the lid on domestic oil prices to prevent the oil companies from taking unfair advantage of the present situation.
