(cross-published today in UCONN's The Daily Campus)
The College Republicans are probably best known for making Ann Coulter $16,000 richer to come here and tell us that if she had a gay son, she would tell him he's adopted. But providing easy money to Ann Coulter is not all they are known for. Some famous former College Republicans include super conservative lobbyist & admitted felon Jack Abramoff, as well as the almost-indicted Karl Rove. Yesterday's college republican is today's indicted or un-indicted co-conspirator.
The Current College Republican national organization has had their own share of ethics troubles. From the Washington Post: "The College Republican National Committee is under fire for using front organizations to collect millions of dollars in contributions, including money from elderly people with dementia." This particular fund raising scandal included sending out requests for money under false and misleading letterheads that misrepresented who was actually asking for money. The median age of the solicited donors was 85.
College Republicans across the nation have been waging a campaign to enforce their conservative orthodoxy on your professors free thought. A minor newspaper here on campus every issue publishes a call to "expose" your professors for saying things conservatives disagree with. This is part of a well funded and coordinated national campaign run by right-wing super-activist David Horowitz whose ultimate goal is to have your classrooms sound like Fox News. One campaign included paying students $100 to rat out their professors. Extra credit is given to those who tape record professors saying things like "Native Americans did not like having their land taken away from them" so the tape can be relayed to first local, and then national conservative talk radio & TV like the O'Reilly Factor & Sean Hannity. The pundits then whip their listeners into a frenzy over just how horrible this indoctrination is, and call for the professors to be fired.
Not content controlling the House, the Senate, the White House, the Judiciary & cable news conservatives have set their sights on college. And their intimidation campaign is having a chilling effect. In the words of one right-wing anti-professor activist: "Academia is the last unbreached citadel of the left, and I believe we are today over the moat.".
College Republicans, like their parent organization can't seem to run even clean internal elections. The election for their head position, College Republican Chair, was reminiscent of the "voting irregularities" that surfaced during the election for the new House majority leader, after Tom Delay (R) was arrested on money laundering charges. So how sleazy was the campaign? According to Franklin Foer of The New Republic it involved: "speaking sotto voce of your opponent's "homosexuality"; rigging the delegate count so that states that support your candidate have twice as many votes as those that don't; and using a sitting congressman to threaten the careers of undecided voters. " The person who won as Chair, Paul Gourley who is said to represent the old-money interests once taught members how to win a mock election. From Salon.com: "Can anyone tell me," asks Gourley, a veteran mock electioneer, "why you don't want the polling place in the cafeteria?"
Stephen, a shy antiabortion activist sitting toward the rear of the class, raises his hand: "Because
you want to suppress the vote?"
"Stephen has the right answer!" Gourley exclaims, tossing Stephen his prize, a copy of Robert Bork's "Slouching Toward Gomorrah."
The College Republicans have also recently been planning symbolic political assassinations of elected American Senators. The event, called Fun With Guns, consisted of shooting effigy's of John Kerry (D) & Hillary Clinton (D) with paintball & pellet guns. Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee responded by saying "These un-American activities cannot go unchallenged." Howard Dean should have been our nominee in 2004, but he has been making a great DNC chairman by standing up to the Republican Party, and their college farm team.
Dean has been implementing a 50 state strategy, a plan to build up the grassroots of the democratic party and compete in all 50 states. In 40 years the Republicans have built up a strong organization, funded by right-wing money and with it they have been able to frame issues in their favor. We are catching up with blogs like DailyKos.com, organizations like moveon.org and a fledgling liberal media made up of Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Kieth Olberman & Air America Radio. We are taking back the party from big-money interests & centrist triangulators in the Democratic Leadership Council.
I know all the criticisms of the way the Democratic party has been led, and the new grass roots movement agrees with a lot of them. This new movement, which is also known as the Progressive Movement believes in people powered politics. Progressives are willing to stand up to industry in situations where there is a clear choice between the public good and short term industry greed. This is who supported Ned Lamont to victory over the establishment forces. The Democratic party is just a tool, we can wield it any way we wish, but it's not ours to use if we take our ball and go home. If you are sick of the Republican politics of fear, and angry at the Democrats for not always standing up to them, work for change in the Democratic party. Volunteer for Ned Lamont. Ned Lamont will stand up to the Bush Administration, and as I said last week, there will be a sweet party after the polls close with an open bar for all volunteers. The November elections are the last chance we have to get some oversight of the Bush administration. With a Democratic congress Bush's numerous crimes will be investigated and dealt with. Victory is far from certain, we need you.
PS:
I posted a draft version of this here yesterday. The version that ran today in the Daily Campus is slightly worse as I sent in a slightly revised version to be published but I guess sit was too late. I am posting it here so that the sourcecs for my quotations can be publicized and for your enjoyment!