Hattiesburg American from Hattiesburg, Mississippi • 13

Sunday, November 1 1 1 990 Hattiesburg AMERICAN 1 3 A 5th District voters look beyond party ties p-M. i. Joe Atkins Best bets for '92: Cuomo and Chiles fi I Allen H. ff Neuharth OXFORD With his landslide victory over Republican Sheila Smith last week, Democratic 5th District Congressman Gene Taylor finally laid to rest talk of South Mississippi as a Republican oasis in the Deep South. However, Taylor needn't get too comfy.

Folks in his district aren't particularly devoted to the Democratic Party either, and a lot of eyes are going to be closely watching how he does over the next two years. South Mississippi's white, sandy beaches and sleepy inland towns have often invoked a deceptive sense of calm in what may be the state's most politically turbulent section. Biennial landslides by former Republican Rep. and now Sen. Trent Lott between 1972 and 1988 confirmed the notion of many that the 5th was GOP territory.

Taylor didn't really disrupt that notion much when he defeated former Lott aide Tom Anderson in the 1989 race that followed Smith's death in the August 1989 plane crash in Perry County. After all, Anderson's campaign had been tainted by widespread feelings that he and the GOP unfairly nudged Sheila the late congressman's widow aside early in the running and that Lott was trying to force-feed his former homebase with a faceless In Washington, he has a close and valuable friend in veteran 3rd District Rep. G.V "Sonny" Montgomery, a mentor and Boll Weevil extraordinaire. Taylor needn't expect too much help from Lott, the most partisan of Republicans. Working in Taylor's favor in 1992, of course, will be the fact that he is an incumbent and thus the beneficiary of all the financial and political assistance incumbents enjoy when they run for re-election.

Still, back home in Mississippi, Taylor will need to be watchful on several fronts. A loner who as a state senator repeatedly fought with powerful Lt. Gov. Brad Dye, Taylor doesn't have a lot of IOUs to collect when the Legislature draws up new congressional borders over the next two years. There are plenty of Republicans who will always feel he has taken a seat that rightfully belongs to their party.

And, finally, he has a district full of voters who may cbuld care less whether he's a Democrat or Republican but who cares quite a bit about what kind of job he's going to do. Joe Atkins is a former Gannett News Service reporter who now teaches Journalism at the University of Mississippi. disaffection with his own party. Just as Smith's party essentially shunned her in 1989, the official Democratic Party was among the last to join Taylor's bandwagon. His fiscal conservatism, pro-life position on abortion and pro-defense views hardly put him in the mainstream of national Democratic thinking.

Despite his big victory last week, Taylor has done little yet to distinguish himself as a congressman. He has basically struggled to keep his head above water as the White House and Congress eyed favored defense projects in his district for extinction. "I don't have a feeling that there is a great deal of strong support for him or depth of support," says former Larkin Smith aide Cy Faneca, a Gulfport lawyer who doesn't rule out a future bid for the set himself. "I think one factor that entered into this race is that we've had three campaigns for the set within a two-year period. People are tired of the campaigning.

Taylor has been in the campaign from the beginning." Faneca feels the 5th District voters wanted to give Taylor who first ran for the seat in 1988 when he lost to Larkin Smith a chance to prove himself over a full two-year term. So, now Taylor gets his chance. I Now watch them come out of the woodwork. The 1992 Democratic presidential nomination suddenly appeals. Two reasons: The pinch on President Bush's popularity.

The strength of some Demo-' cratic victories on Tuesday. Five Democratic governors now I are national players. Mario Cuomo, I 58, New York, won a third term easily. Lawton Chiles, 60, Florida, wiped out a Republican incumbent, Bill Clinton, 44, Arkansas, elected I to a fifth term. Ann Richards, 57, won what a USA TODAY headline cleverly called a Texas "mudslide." Doug Wilder, 59, the only black governor, who won in Virginia earlier.

Washington bureaucrat who happened to be a personal friend. Sheila Smith got her chance this year, but Taylor Tuesday effectively put an end to her congressional aspirations as well as any lingering sense of real partisan GOP strength in the district. "People in this part of the country are more sensitive to individuals and their individual abilities than party affiliations," says Hattiesburg Mayor Ed Morgan, a Democrat. "(To) those who might perceive it to be a strong Republican district, it is not necessarily that. We have benefited from strong individuals who have by chance been Republican." While the district may be partisan, it is conservative.

That's why Morgan, along with Taylor, calls himself a "conservative Democrat" a political brand name better known in Washington as "Boll Weevil." Ironically, Taylor shares with Sheila Smith a certain history of Best bets among Senate Demo crats: Majority Leader George Mit chell, 57, Maine, who a coalition of senators has been quietly pushing. Al Gore, 42, re-elected in Tennessee with 70 percent of the votes. Jackson, 50 to 1. Congresswoman Pat Schroeder, Colorado, 100 to 1. Dukakis says he hasn't ruled out another try.

Odds against him: 10,000 to 1. Feedback: Other views on the '92 ticket: "3,081,871 New Yorkers voted for George Bush in 1988. 2,098,784 voted for Mario Cuomo on Tuesday." B.J. Cooper Republican National Committee "I would wager that not a single person on Al's list will be in Iowa preparing for caucuses a year from now." Rep. Pat Schroeder D-Colo.

"I've got a full plate before me. My work and my interests are in Texas." Ann Richards Texas "I have enjoyed my friendship with Al Neuharth, and I'm really flattered, but I've got a job to do." Bill Clinton Arkansas governor "Cuomo will head the ticket and drive Bush crazy by talking in complete sentences. But the veep candidate will be Nebraska's Sen. Bob Kerrey. Can you imagine a contrast more stark than the wounded Vietnam vet and the National Guard cop-out? Victor Kamber Democratic consultant "Al's assembled a very good list, but a few of them should be longer shots: Chiles at least 25 to Richards, 100 to Jackson, 1,000 to Wilder, 50 to 1.

Dukakis I'd make 1 million to 1, and Bradley I'd bring down to 10 to 1." Danny Sheridan sports analyst and oddsmaker Allen H. Neuharth is former chairman of Gannett Co. parent company of the Hattiesburg American. The betting odds I'd offer (against) each of them heading the 92 ticket: Cuomo: 3 to 1. Chiles: 5 to 1.

Mitchell: 7 to 1. Gore: 8tol. Clinton: 10 to 1. Richards: 12 to 1. Wilder: 20 to 1.

I'm politically independent, so these are not endorsements. Just my judgment on candidates' chances. The strongest vote-getting ticket would be Cuomo-Chiles or Chiles-Cuomo. The New York governor probably could capture the nomination if he got in soon and seriously. But if he vacillates as he did in '88, he may be too late.

Southern Democratic leaders are fed up with Northern liberal losers like Mondale in 1984 and Dukakis in 1988. They might rally 'round Chiles if he sent a signal early. Without Southern solidarity, a Yankee will be nominated again. Few Demo leaders think a woman can recapture the White House. But, ironically, if Bush looks unbeatable and top male Demos wimp out, the party might "sacrifice" a female to build Brownie points for the future.

Richards, a Bush baiter and hater, would jump at that chance. And she just might catch the country's fancy. Others worth handicapping: Sens. Sam Nunn of Georgia and Chuck Robb of Virginia, 15 to 1. Congressman Richard Gephardt, Missouri, 20 to 1.

Sen. Bill Bradley, New Jersey, 25 to 1. The Rev. Jesse Make AIDS transmission a crime? Yes: Law would specify in advance prohibited behavior The town, the man: Atlanta, Holyfield health offense for having sexual intercourse with a partner without informing him or her that the person is infected with HTV. The four elements of the offense would be that the person knows he or she is infected with HIV, knows it can be transmitted sexually, has sexual intercourse, and fails to inform the partner of the infection.

I have in mind a minor public health offense. Draconian criminal penalties are not necessary, such as statutes in some Southern states imposing a maximum sentence of $5,000 and 10 years imprisonment with or without hard labor. Nor is it appropriate to charge a person with attempted murder or manslaughter. It is very difficult to know what was said and whether a condom was used in the privacy of a bedroom. Having sex is also a "highly indirect modus operandi" if the purpose is to kill.

It is also inequitable to prosecute people infected with HTV for biting, spitting, or splattering blood, as has occurred more than 100 times in the United States. In some cases, people have been convicted of assault with a "deadly weapon," the weapon being the AIDS virus. The risk of transmission of HTV from biting or spitting approaches zero. It is fundamentally unfair, as well as a waste of public resources, to prosecute a person for behavior which is non-dangerous. Even if harsh criminal penalties could deter people from By LAWRENCE O.

GOSTIN I recall early in the AIDS epidemic the case of a man who was followed by a national television crew which paid him small sums of money for his story. The man openly stated that he was having sexual intercourse with anonymous partners without informing them about his infection. The Public Health Department, together with national experts, wrung their hands in torturous indecision about what to do. The man died of AIDS before any public health action was taken. Clearly, the behavior of an individual who has sexual intercourse without informing his partner of a potentially lethal infection poses a risk to the public health.

Anal and vaginal sexual intercourse are primary modes of transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus that can cause AIDS. It is not unreasonable for society to establish clear parameters as to behavior it will not tolerate. By drawing a bright line around behavior that poses serious public health risks, the law gives clear notice of the conduct which will be subject to criminal penalty. The recent Ryan White legislation passed by Congress requires states to demonstrate the capacity to prosecute people for the knowing transmission of HTV as a condition for the receipt of federal emergency relief funds. The best state laws would create a public biting or spitting, this would have no effect on the spread of HTV.

Such prosecutions are designed more to make a name for the district attorney than to achieve any public purpose. Public health prosecutions can hardly be considered unfair to people who engage in high risk behavior because it protects them and the community against the spread of infection. Nor can it be considered unfair to the very few who have sex without informing their partners because it gives them clear forewarning of conduct which is unacceptably dangerous to the public health. The advantages of criminal law in preventing knowing sexual transmission of HIV is that it clearly specifies in advance the prohibited behavior, requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and imposes a period of confinement proportionate to the gravity of the harm. AIDS is not a "politically protected" disease as the Reagan administration once said.

People with AIDS ask only what any other person in society would ask not to be discriminated against, reviled or punished for non-dangerous behavior, but to accept responsibility and fair criminal consequences for knowing or intentional decisions to do harm. Lawrence O. Gostin is director of the AIDS Litigation Project of the U.S. Public Health Service and director of the American Society of Law and Medicine. I Lewis Grizzard rdP ATLANTA They just can't mess with Atlanta anymore.

The city's been the laughingstock of the sporting world for years with its pretenders in the major leagues, but so what? Atlanta went out and won the 1996 Summer Olympics and now it can boast of Evander Holyfield, champion of champions, the king of heavyweights, Atlanta's own. I watched the fight on television. Buster Douglas, the former champion, comes out in a white robe with a hood on it. Somebody watching the fight with me said, "If he'd turn that hood around and put some eyeholes in it, he'd look like the Grand Kaboola of theKlan." Then Buster took off his robe. You knew he didn't have a chance then.

He looked pregnant. I've seen better bodies on a pulpwood truck grinding up a steep hill. When he danced up and down, the excess fat rolled up and down. The announcer said, "He looks like jelly." But Holyfield. Black steel.

He 4.1 1 1 n-n No: Deceptive quick fix won't solve complicated problem And he did. First round goes easy for Holyfield. He looks like lightning. Buster has all the moves of a tub of lard. Second round.

Holyfield again. Upside the head. In your belly. Now I'm here. Now I'm not.

It's as delicious as it might be if the Braves had a 15-game lead in the National League West. You knew it couldn't go much further. The guy who wanted Buster said, "I've got a wife and kid at home. Can I get out of the bet? Not in this life. Buster's big right hand upper cut missed in the third round.

And there he stood. Off balance. Chin exposed. And Holyfield's right struck quickly and decisively. Ever been run over by a beer truck? That's probably what it felt like to Buster.

Down he goes. And stays. "Think he's dead?" somebody asks. 01' Buster just stretched out with his eyes closed. I couldn't feel too sorry for him, though.

He came in fat, and that was his fault. It's been a great year for my town. The Olympics, now Holyfield, and I read a story in the papers the other day that murders are down 14 percent in the city. Evander Holyfield gets hit with a divorce suit and wins the heavyweight boxing championship in the same week. That's my kind of man.

This is my kind of town. Lewis Grizzard writes for the Atlanta Constitution. themselves from the risk of infection. Unfortunately, in the years since we have known how HTV is transmitted, our government has made few serious attempts at AIDS education. Experience to date teaches that HIV transmission laws are used to imprison people accused of spitting at or biting others.

While those actions should never be encouraged, the fact is that there is no evidence of spreading HTV through saliva. Irrational fears have fueled the prejudice and discrimination suffered by people with AIDS. And it is the people already suffering the devastating effects of this epidemic who are most likely to be targeted for prosecution by bigoted or ignorant judges and juries. Laws and misguided prosecutions that reinforce fear and prejudice will undermine efforts to help people sort fact from fiction. Punishing a few individuals will reinforce the dangerous and false notion that avoiding people, rather than avoiding risky sexual or drug-using behavior, will keep us safe from AIDS.

Without accurate information everyone will have a harder time figuring out what steps to take to protect themselves. Criminalizing HTV transmission is a deceptive quick fix that will do little to advance the fight against AIDS. David A. Hansell Is deputy executive director for policy at the Gay Men's Health Crisis. ment is reminiscent of the decades-old statutes that make it a criminal act to expose others to sexually transmitted diseases.

These laws are almost never enforced indeed, because the diseases are transmitted through private sexual conduct, it is virtually impossible to enforce them. Do we really need another useless law that tries to regulate people's intimate behavior? Treating illness as a crime only deters people from seeking the counseling that would enable them to change their behavior, and getting the medical care they need to live longer and remain healthier. The seductive fantasy created by criminalizing transmission of HTV is that the threat to our own health comes from dangerous individuals who can be locked up then we'll be out of danger. The more difficult truth is that each of us has the power and the responsibility to protect ourselves and others from the spread of AIDS. The most common ways of spreading HTV are unprotected sex and sharing of needles used to inject intravenous drugs.

The dangers created by both of these activities are avoidable. Rather than singling out HIV-positive people for punishment, we should work aggressively to educate everyone about how AIDS is transmitted, and how people can protect By DAVID A. HANSELL Last year, a Texas court sentenced Curtis Weeks to life in prison simply because he spit at a prison guard. Weeks was infected with human immunodeficiency virus, the virus that can cause AIDS. Despite overwhelming evidence that HIV cannot be transmitted by spitting, and that the guard was in no danger of infection, Curtis Weeks was tried and convicted of attempted murder.

Laws that try to stop HTV transmission by making it a criminal offense will do little to stop the spread of AIDS. What they will succeed in doing is sending a misleading and dangerous message to the general public about how AIDS is transmitted, and hinder the real education needed to stem the epidemic. Every state has laws on the books that can be used to prosecute people with HTV infection who deliberately engage in acts that could threaten others. The criminal justice system has the capacity to deal with, for example, those who "recklessly endanger" other individuals in any manner. A report of the American Bar Association concluded that existing legislation is adequate to combat the AIDS epidemic, and that there is little need for additional measures to criminalize HIV transmission.

Singling out people with AIDS for punish wore me race oi swin aeam. ine only way it could have been a fair fight is if Buster Douglas had had a knife. The betting started. Somebody still wanted Buster. I love a pigeon.

I made gas money for a month. The only thing that worried me about Holyfield was that his wife had filed divorce papers against him earlier in the week. She charged him with adultery and physical and mental cruelty. That will cost him some bucks. I had to wonder if he was thinking to himself, "I wonder if she's already got my stereo." It has been my personal experience that the first thing an angry wife does when she decides it's time to split is she takes your stereo.

Then, I thought, "Maybe that's good news. Maybe he'll take it out on Buster.".