The Retort

Blast from the Past: Senator Kennedy Woos Students, Wants Soldiers From Lottery

April 19th, 2010 by Acer E. Porter Of The Retort Staff

U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, of New York, spoke to a standing room only crowd in Eastern’s gymnasium, last Tuesday, on behalf of this year’s campaigning Democratic candidates from Montana.

Waving signs and a blaring band provided the backdrop for the visiting Democratic delegation which also included Sen. Lee Metcalf, John Melcher, Rep. Arnold Olsen, Mr. Paul Cannon, and Mr. Lou Boedecker.

Larry Portis, president of EMC Young Democrats, introduced Eastern’s President, Mr. Stanley Heywood, at the opening of the program. Pres. Heywood expressed his feelings about the importance and necessity of today’s lawmakers coming to the campus, and to the student. The President congenially concluded, “Our gate is open.”

Senator Metcalf introduced the young Senator from New York to hundreds of citizens and students of Billings. Kennedy then praised Montana’s Democratic office holders. The Senator expressed his desire for Montana citizens to promote and vote for a unified Democratic representation on the local and national levels.

Sen. Kennedy began by pointing out problems which will never be solved by ignoring them. “Problems of race, unemployment, economic instability, crop production, education, and poverty exist, and must be taken care of. The Democratic party is the party of the dissatisfied, a party that feels the country is just beginning to move. In the state of Montana the population will double in the next 35 years. We need the kind of leadership that will look ahead to solving these problems that will affect the whole state and the whole nation,” explained Sen. Kennedy.

Kennedy pointed out that a major responsibility of Montana citizens is to recognize that our problems are our country’s. Recognizing the problems of other countries and their effects on the United States and the world is also the citizen’s responsibility. “All problems affect all of us,” added Sen. Kennedy.

The Senator went on to say, “It is our obligation to help others by getting good leadership.”

The concluding portion of the program included questions from the audience.

When asked what he thought of the voting age as it is now, RFK glibly replied, “It should be lowered to eighteen.”

A question about draft deferment brought forth Kennedy’s statement, “Our present system does have its injustices. I think the lower economics groups have served our country more. In the middle income groups there is also a high percentage of young men serving because of the deferment of university students. I feel a lottery system should be initiated. Life is filled with unfairness, many times we can make it more fair.”

On the question of labor arbitration Kennedy remarked, “Striking and bargaining are essential for labor and management. When the strike affects national security we must go beyond the present Taft Hartley Act. This will be taken up in the 1967 Congressional Session. There are strikes now taking place that are damaging the general public’s welfare.”

Sen. Kennedy has spoken in the three Montana cities of Great Falls, Butte, and Billings during his autumn tour. His flashing smiles and quick wit have captured many. It has been said that Bobby is violently campaigning for nothing – except the Presidency of the United States itself.