To the Editors of the CRIMSON:
Your silhouette of John Gilligan was a well-deserved salute to a hard-fighting Ohioan. Unfortunately, Mr. Geoghegan seems to have felt the need to built up Mr. Gilligan by tearing down his Republican opponent, the now Senator William Saxbe of Ohio. Lest your readers be misled into believing that last year's Senate race was really between "a liberal dove candidate named John Gilligan" and a 'non-entity" (Saxbe) running a multimillion dollar demogogic campaign against "arson and rape," and "Ohio's Red Threat" (Gilligan), I would like to state the following facts:
1. Saxbe spent $750,000 in his campaign (check the official records or show me better proof), not the two million which Mr. Geoghegan dwelled upon and Mr. Gilligan somehow "knew" we "had" six months before election day. (As proof of our poverty: over 80 per cent of the paid campaign staff, including myself, received no salaries after the month of August.) Mr. Gilligan spent $650,000.
2. Saxbe and Gilligan did debate, for an hour, four days before the election. The debate was televised in full in most Ohio cities. Having watched it, I can understand why Mr. Gilligan and Mr. Geoghegan might prefer to forget it.
3. Senator Saxbe's stand on the war was unwavering, though we experienced the same frustration as Mr. Gilligan in communicating through the media. Saxbe's position was: "We cannot 'win' it; we cannot afford to continue it, therefore we must end it--now. We should pull our troops out by July 1, 1969."
Since the election, Senator Saxbe has:
1. Outspokenly opposed the ABM.
2. Been the only Republican sponsor of the Conference on Reevaluation of National Priorities (the anti-MIC conference).
3. Been praised by John Kenneth Galbraith who said (3/31/69): "Saxbe was the most impressive junior Senator I have seen in a long time even though John Gilligan is one of my oldest and dearest friends."
In short, it does no discredit to Mr. Gilligan to recognize that the man who defeated him was and is an outstanding liberal and intellectual-- who happens to be a Republican. Indeed. Mr. Geoghegan should be glad that his next-door neighbor was defeated by a better man. Terry A. Barnett '67 2L Saxbe Research Director President, Ripon Society
