Word: plank
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...mark it down as a grueling but unavoidable duty? One could vote for Humphrey--were the country still not reeling under the impact of a liberal Democratic administration, had Humphrey not allied himself in Chicago with the repressive chieftains of his party, had he not stood against the minority plank on Vietnam, and were he somehow able to throw off the oppressive wieght of his own rhetoric...
...C.I.J. members argue, however, that Reagan's standards go beyond philosophy to predetermined positions on key social issues-all the more so because he is running on the Republican platform plank calling for judges who "respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life." Says Marvin Frankel, a former U.S. district judge: "It's the opposite of the open-minded, receptive approach, ready to hear arguments before making a decision." Since his nomination, Reagan has reaffirmed the plank when asked about it, but he has not pushed it zealously. "The Governor takes that phrase...
...twice more in the din, and the loyal O'Neill had his orders. He quickly gaveled the decisions through on voice votes, obviously being guided not at all by the comparative volume of the ayes and nays. When O'Neill declared the President the victor on the plank on wage and price controls despite the fact that the Kennedy forces were almost surely in the majority, the Carter team in the trailer howled with laughter. "That Tip," said Strauss, watching in admiration. "He told me not to worry, that he'd do it in 30 seconds. Look...
...every four years, party members battle over their platforms as if they were writing another Constitution. They demand that certain planks be added, others withdrawn, and insist on nuances that would baffle the most finicky pedant. The fact is that platforms are greater than the sum of their planks. They indicate the direction in which a party is heading; at the least they exercise a subliminal influence on the nominee and, if he is elected, on his policies. Occasionally, vital issues are at stake. The refusal of the Republican Party to compromise with slavery in 1860 marked a turning point...
...because there isn't any way you can really discipline somebody with tenure--except to strip him of his job, and that, of course, would be admitting that Harvard failed. And they, of course, are the lucky ones because they are here for life and will not walk the plank like most of the junior faculty, who do most of the teaching here and then have their contracts...