As the Democratic Party gears up to challenge President Bush in the 2004 election, politically active Northwestern Democrats already have begun rallying behind candidates.
Two student-led groups supporting the candidacies of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry are being formed on campus. NU-recognized student groups, such as College Democrats, are not allowed to endorse candidates running for political office.
Dean and Kerry are among a crowded field of Democratic challengers that includes Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Missouri Rep. Richard Gephardt, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, Florida Sen. Bob Graham, former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, former Cleveland Mayor Dennis Kucinich and the Rev. Al Sharpton. The primaries kick off at the end of January in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Pegging himself as a Washington outsider, Dean’s liberal policies have attracted attention — the former governor spoke out against the war in Iraq and has strong views on health care, the environment and gay rights.
Weinberg sophomore Alex Golobof said she was inspired by a friend and member of Students for Dean, a group at Washington University in St. Louis. Golobof decided to start an NU chapter; the group had its first meeting May 13 and currently has seven members.
“Right now we’re just trying to get people together and get the word out, coordinating with other groups that would be interested and doing events together,” Golobof said.
She said she admires Dean’s stance on a number of issues.
“He’s in favor of free health care,” Golobof said. “He’s eliminated budget deficit in the state entirely. He’s made deals with a lot of state factories to clean up the environment, and Vermont is the only state that allows same-sex marriages.”
Madhuri Kommareddi, a Weinberg junior, has talked with members of the Illinois Young Voters for Kerry Committee about starting a chapter of the group at NU. Although she has not yet received any feedback, Kommareddi is sending information on Kerry over the College Democrats listserv and hopes to get one of the heads of the committee to speak to the group.
“Without a doubt I think he’s the best candidate our party has to offer at this point against President Bush,” Kommareddi said.
She said Kerry’s military and Senate experience make him likely to unite the Democratic vote.
“He’s one of the most progressive candidates in this race,” Kommareddi said. “But (he) can appeal to all the segments of the party, from the progressive to the more conservative wings.”
College Democrats President Alicia Pardo said she is thrilled to see Democratic activists organizing early on a typically apathetic campus.
“The more debate within our party, the more issues that are being talked about, the more people challenging the Bush administration and its policies, the better,” Pardo said.
Although Golobof and Kommareddi support their respective candidates, they said they will back the Democrat who wins the nomination.
“Ideally I think the party should be unified,” Golobof said. “If it came to any Democrat getting the vote, I don’t care who it is. Among the candidates that are running right now, I think any of them would be better than a Republican.”
College Republicans Sen. Aleksandra Gadzala, a Weinberg freshman, said students are entitled to promote candidates and platforms, but they shouldn’t launch smear campaigns against the other party. “The groups will have to be careful to focus on advocating their candidate and not attacking the other candidate.”
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