Word: simonizers
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...year in which the ubiquitous "character issue" has taken on as much importance as positions on arms control and the deficit, Simon has made good use of his off-beat image, which he advances as evidence of authenticity and personal integrity. After the scandals on Wall Street and in the White House, many voters, especially the legions of Democrats who now rue the day they voted for Reagan, are looking not for the most attractive and articulate candidate but rather for the candidate whom they perceive as the most trustworthy, the most genuine. That's where Paul Simon comes...
...want a slick, packaged product, I'm not your candidate," Simon stressed in the first Democratic debate in Houston on July 1. "If you want someone who levels with you and whom you can trust, I'm your candidate." Simon claims he's the candidate of integrity and courage, the one who refuses to tailor his positions to the prevailing political wind...
UNFORTUNATELY, a Simon victory, like Reagan's in 1984, would be a triumph of image over substance. Even though many voters disagreed with Reagan on particular issues, they supported him anyway with the idea that he would at least stand firm for something. And few paid enough attention to what that something was, or even to how much his convictions really meant to Reagan. So it is now with Simon. As David Axelrod, who managed his Senate campaign, told the New Republic, "Simon's greatest strength has nothing to do with issues. People respond to something in him that says...
...talk about being authentic and honest, Simon has not leveled with the American people. On the one hand, he advocates $71 billion in new domestic entitlements; on the other, he strongly supports a balanced budget amendment. What he hasn't explained is how we can have both...
...nearest he has come to an explanation is the incredible assertion that an $8 billion new jobs program would take care of everything. Not only would the program guarantee every American a four-day-a-week job, Simon says, but it would also result in enough new tax revenue to balance the budget. He has repeatedly argued that, for every percentage point reduction in unemployment, the deficit falls by $30 billion. While appealing, this claim is really just a way to avoid discussing hard political choices, such as a tax increase...