Last Friday, the Arizona State University Young Democrats meet, just as we do every Friday. The meeting itself was not special, a few speakers, a few calls for action and volunteers, and an overview of upcoming events. What was significant was what our actions mean for our local party and the national party. Young Democrats are the foot soldiers of our progressive revolution, but we need your help. We can staff campaigns, lobby officials, and influence local government, but not without you.
Our primary speaker was Bob Lord, running for Congress in the Arizona 3rd district against John Shadegg. Lord provided a great overview of his positions, particularly on the need for sustainable energy for America. Knowing how much support our chapter provided for Harry Mitchell in 2006, he asked for us to help with his campaign.
Here is the one of the great strengths of Young Democrats: our ability to staff a campaign. From canvassing to lit drops to phone-banking, YDs make our campaigns successful. I know many of you out there have volunteered in the past for campaigns, the Young Democrats are a ready source of volunteers who can provide energy and momentum to a campaign. We can get the message out to our communities, but one thing we can't do as well is donate. Unfortunately, Young Democrats tend to be broke, so while we can deliver the campaign literature, I would like to ask each of you to consider donating to help buy more literature for us to distribute. You can donate direct to the Bob Lord campaign here. You can visit his campaign website at www.lord2008.com.
We had a call for action on Sex Education. I am particularly proud of our history of activism. In 2005 the ASU YD's got a major reform passed to the Arizona Sexual Crime laws. Before our efforts, spousal rape, the rape of a woman by her husband, was a misdemeanor, in the same category as littering. Thanks to the hard work of Young Democrats accross the state, spousal rape is now a full felony, the same as all rape. In 2006 we helped to lead the fight for civil rights in Arizona and won a landmark defeat against the anti-gay rights anti-civil union Proposition 107, the first such defeat in the nation. Now, we're lobbying Governor Janet Napolitano to choose medically accurate, age appropriate sex education to include birth control. While this might seem like an obvious choice, the wingnuts in the Bush administration have tied 1.6 million dollars in education funds to abstinence only sex ed. It's a difficult choice, but we hope to convince the Governor to give the schools and students of Arizona the information they need to make good decisions. If you can, please contact Gov. Napolitano to let her know the importance of real sex ed. Also, check out the Arizona Young Democrats website and contribute if you want to support our ongoing efforts.
We are also currently supporting several candidates for the Tempe City Council, including Mark Mitchell, a local small business owner and son of Rep. Harry Mitchell, Joel Navarro, a firefighter and high school football coach, and Corey Woods, a recent ASU graduate and Director of Government Relations for the American Lung Association of Arizona. Unfortunately, only Corey has a website up right now, but we will be active in supporting the Democrats running for local office. This effort illustrates another great strength of Young Democrats: our engagement in local government. Local government doesn't get on the rec list, it doesn't get in the diary rescues, but it gets change. Wherever there is an important issue or a local election, you will find Young Democrats working to support progressive policies and candidates. Mark, Joel, and Corey may never have a page on ActBlue, but they have the ASU Young Democrats and that can be enough to make the difference.
With your help, Young Democrats across the country are working to get progressive candidates elected up and down the ballot, to support our Democrats in office, and to effect real change in policies. But we need your help to keep fighting. Please consider donating to help us keep fighting.