Word: sargents
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
THERE WAS no real surprise last week when election-year polities entered into Governor Sargent's signing of the Massachusetts bill challenging the Vietnam war. Because of the potential importance of the new legislation, however, it is a little annoying to realize that its development was heavily influenced by Massachusetts party polities...
...bill passed through the Democratic-controlled legislature swiftly. Two Democratic candidates for governor this year, Kenneth P. O'Donnell and Boston Mayor Kevin White, both indicated support for this bill in its early stages. On the Republican side, the liberal Ripon Society supported the bill while Governor Sargent remained officially neutral. Once the legislature had passed the bill, it was submitted to the governor. The bill could have been become law without Sargent's signature, which would have allowed the governor to indicate moderate disapproval with the bill's content. As Sargent explained when signing the bill, although...
Strangely enough, although verbally Sargent downplayed the importance of the bill's political stand, he took definite action under his power as governor to push the bill and give it implicit support. Not only did the governor sign the bill instead of letting it become law without signature, but he added an emergency letter to the bill making its legislation effective immediately, instead of waiting the usual 90 days before becoming law. Governor Sargent thus managed to create two impressions in his act of signing the Shea Bill. His expressed doubts and reservations will mollify conservative elements in the state...
...Sargent's counterbalance to this dovish image, his speech stressing the problems with the bill, should keep him in favor with the state and national Republican parties. After all, the Republicans want to maintain power in the Northeast amidst the liberal challenge, and presumably will support Sargent's reelection campaign this year. Sargent emerged from the nationally covered signing ceremony looking like a dutiful, and moderate, public servant-undoubtedly the sort of image the governor hopes to maintain in the months before election...
...case now and deciding which way to present it to the courts. There will be a number of individuals named along with the state in bringing suit, and presumably these individuals will have immunity from serving in Vietnam as long as the case is being heard. The day after Sargent signed the bill into law, one soldier, Pyt. John Griffin from Holyoke, filed suit to obtain release from orders sending him to Fort Dix, preparatory to going to Vietnam. Lower-level courts refused to hear his case, but he will probably not appeal to the Supreme Court under...