FIRING LINE DEBATE, A: RESOLVED: GOVERNMENT IS NOT
THE SOLUTION; IT IS THE PROBLEM (TV)
Summary
One in this talk/interview series hosted by William F.
Buckley, Jr. This special episode, filmed outdoors at
Hillsdale College in Michigan, opens with archival
footage of President Ronald Reagan declaring in his 1980
inaugural address, "Government is not the solution to
our problems. Government is the problem." Moderator
Michael Kinsley then appears and explains that two
panels will debate whether this statement is valid ten
years later. The panel arguing for the resolution is
made up of actor and National Rifle Association
spokesman Charlton Heston, Buckley, United Nations
Ambassador Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, and Congressman Dick
Armey (R-Tex.). The panel arguing against the
resolution consists of former Screen Actors Guild
president and actor Dennis Weaver, former senator
George McGovern, Congresswoman Pat Schroeder
(D-Colo.), and former senator and presidential candidate
Gary Hart. Buckley delivers the opening statement, in
which he mockingly proposes a tribute to the opposition,
claiming that the task set before his side is
"embarrassingly easy" and that the opposition must have
incredible "raw physical courage" to challenge him on
this subject. He goes on to cite a lengthy list of
history's most notorious wars, tragedies, and scandals
-- all of which, he suggests, can be linked directly to
roots in government. In a final joke, he declares that
the only worthwhile government agency is the Bureau of
Weights and Measures. McGovern delivers the
rebuttal/opening statement for the opposition. He
points out that eliminating government means
eliminating protection from foreign attackers,
eliminating a good environment, and eliminating social
programs and financial security. He concedes that the
U.S. government is an imperfect institution but insists
that the answer to Americans' problems is not to weaken
government. "This resolution reminds me of Groucho
Marx's famous comment that marriage is the chief cause
of divorce," McGovern says. Heston takes the podium
next to express his disgust with current government,
claiming that there is no aspect of American life,
public or private, that the Federal bureaucracy does not
invade, instruct, and finally coerce to its will.
Schroeder offers a quick rebuttal, referring to the
tendency she sees in conservatives to legislate
morality. "Then be consistent," she argues. "Stay out
of people's bedrooms." Heston dismisses her comment
with a joke about his obligation to adhere to the Ten
Commandments, alluding to his cinematic portrayal of
Moses. Hart lists a number of programs that he believes
would suffer if the role of government were limited,
including Social Security, workers' safety, airline
services, and aid and housing for poor children.
Kirkpatrick says that she thinks that the government is
simply too big and overbearing, even on state and local
levels. Heston and Buckley both concede that the
military is an absolute necessity and that government
would not be overstepping its boundaries to help
maintain the nation's defense. Hart balks at what he
calls this "backpedaling," and Heston suggests that the
sides are having trouble with this debate because they
do not agree on basic terms. Buckley then asks whether
Hart would allow an organization in the private sector
to take over a project that it could do better and
faster than the government. Hart replies in the
affirmative, but says that he can't think of any
examples in which this has ever happened. "How about
Donald Trump's new ice skating rink?" suggests Buckley,
referring to an arena that took the financier three
years and that the city of New York had estimated would
take nine. Schroeder then takes umbrage with Buckley's
use of Trump as a reference point.
(Network affiliation varies; this program was also
syndicated from 1966 to 1971 and from 1975 to 1977.)
Cataloging of this program was made possible by Mr. and
Mrs. Theodore R. Stanley.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: November 30, 1989
- RUNNING TIME: 1:57:47
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:61217
- GENRE: Talk/Interviews
- SUBJECT HEADING: Federal government; U S - Politics and government
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1971-1999
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Warren Steibel … Producer, Director
- George Kahookele … Direction (Misc.), Assistant Director
- Paul Sweeney … Associate Producer
- Jim McQuinn … Associate Producer
- Dorothy McCartney … Researcher
- John Virtes … Researcher
- Russell Jenkins … Researcher
- William F. Buckley, Jr. … Host
- Michael Kinsley … Moderator
- Dick Armey … Guest
- Gary Hart … Guest
- Charlton Heston … Guest
- Jeane J. Kirkpatrick … Guest
- George McGovern … Guest
- Pat Schroeder … Guest
- Dennis Weaver … Guest
- Groucho Marx
- Ronald Reagan
- Donald Trump