The view from Tehran – getting rid of the competition.
A busy news day for June 25, 1981.
Calling it a “slice of Salami”, President Ronald Reagan accused House Democratic leaders of trying to sabotage his budget-cutting plans and issued a public appeal for voters to speak up fast if they want to overcome “backroom politics” that would “allow special interest groups to triumph.” Escalating his attacks on the House leaders, Reagan called their refusal to give him a single up-or-down vote on his alternative to the House’s own committee actions “a scheme. . . that would effectively sabotage our attempts to cut federal spending.” In a statement released aboard Air Force One on a flight from San Antonio to Los Angeles, Reagan said the Democratic leadership was pursuing a strategy that would “once again allow special interest groups to triumph over the general economic interest a of the nation.’ Insisting his administration has “the best opportunity in years to achieve real change in this country,” Reagan said: “We just can’t surrender it to backroom politics in the halls of Congress.” In Washington, Reagan spokesman David R. Gergen said the administration’s allies in Congress would fight a rule denying Reagan the floor vote he wanted.
The House Rules Committee, which called for six votes on the package, believes single vote would give the president a better chance. Reagan and aides denounced the Rules Committee action even before it was officially reported.
In other news – Iran moved swiftly yesterday to replace Abolhassan Bani-Sadr and fill other Government vacancies blocked by the fugitive former president who security forces believe is still hiding in the country. In the aftermath of Mr. Bani-Sadr’s removal from office, authorities executed by firing squad another five people Tuesday night, raising to 37 the number shot since anti-Government demonstrations broke out last weekend. Four, were accused of collaboration with Israel and participation in the minority Bahai faith, regarded as heretical in Iran. The 48-year-old former president, dismissed on Monday by the country’s supreme ruler, Ayatollah® Ruhollah® Khomaini, after the Majlis had declared him politically incompetent, has gone into hiding.
Iranian officials believe he is still in Iran, and have a warrant out that he be arrested on sight. State radio announced that elections would be held on July 24 to choose a successor to Mr. Bani-Sadr, who had long been at odds with the country’s clergy-dominated leadership.
And finally, Congress has the right to exclude women from the military draft, the Supreme Court ruled today, upholding the male-only draft registration system. The court said Congress is not guilty of sex discrimination when it exempts women from a possible draft, because it has broad authority under the Constitution to direct the national defense. The 6-3 decision reversed a ruling by a special district court, which invalidated male-only registration on grounds it discriminates against men by excluding women from the pool of potential draftees. Women are exempt from combat duty, the high court noted, and Congress reasonably decided to leave them out of the draft pool.
The court’s historic ruling endorsed Congress’ decision last year to exclude women when it approved registration of 19 and 20-year-old men. There is no draft now, and President Reagan has said he believes the all-volunteer service can meet the nation’s needs if incentives for service are improved. The ruling came in a 10-year-old case that sprang from protests against the Vietnam war. After languishing in lower courts, the case resurfaced in 1976 with the charges of sex bias and flared to life when registration resumed. Registration was renewed at the urging of President Carter.
Although Carter wanted women to be registered, Congress refused to go along.
And that’s just a sample of what happened, this June 25, 1981 as reported by CBS Radio News.
