The George Washington College Democrats

By Brittany Grimm
Staff Writer

On Sept. 19, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) spoke to a crowded room of supporters at the Elliot School of International Affairs. Her message was clear: the Democrats are stronger than ever and ready to take back the reins of government. The War in Iraq was a key topic of the evening. Sen. Boxer told the audience how she keeps four easels outside of her Senate office, displaying the name of every Californian who has died in the war.

“Every time we have to add a name,” she said, “it breaks my heart.” Sen. Boxer believes that America’s soldiers are being cheated. “They deserve equipment, the best in the world, they deserve our support … and most importantly, let me tell you, they have to have a clear mission.” Boxer said, “I’ve served four presidents, Republicans and Democrats. I’ve never seen a president with no plan. It’s almost like he takes pride in it,” she said of President Bush. She argued that the “War on Terror” and the War in Iraq, so often pushed into the same category, are completely separate entities.

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By Emma Marie Martin
Staff Writer

The College Democrats kicked off the 2006-2007 school year on Sept. 13 in the Marvin Center Grand Ballroom, providing opportunities for increased participation from members. In previous years, the General Body Meeting allowed time for executive board members to lecture. The new self-serve format proved to be a much more efficient and fun alternative. The meeting functioned as a fair about organizations and trips available through College Democrats this election season. College Democrats President Sean Smith said that the change in format “allowed [the club] to do a General Body Meeting that would have taken 1.5 hours and do it in a half hour.” In addition to the national organizations present at the meeting, there were tables that catered specifically to GW students. Students learned how to obtain an absentee ballot in all 50 states and were encouraged to make their voices heard on Nov. 7, especially in key states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania. Campaign GW, the official University public relations initiative advancing the GW Campus Plan, rallied students for a Sept. 14 zoning meeting. The group hopes to turn Square 54, the empty plot of land across the street from the GW Hospital, into a shopping center that would create revenue for the school. Campaign GW has a tough battle, as many Foggy Bottom residents oppose the idea. At the meeting, Campaign GW recruited students to attend meetings to help influence the community opinion on Square 54.

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By Andrew Stone
Staff Writer

As a British student studying American Studies and Politics at the University of Sussex, I’m here on a year abroad exchange program. Throughout my stay I will provide the British perspective of a year studying in Washington, D.C., focusing on my views of American politics. In spite of his uptight stuffiness and all too great desire to defend various right-wing politicians (today’s recipient was Pat Buchanan), I have very much taken to “The Tucker Carlson Show” since being here. Admittedly in part because “Dancing with the Stars” reminds me of home (we invented it – just like most U.S. television), but mainly because we don’t have opinionated anchormen in England. While watching Carlson’s show, I saw something that most adequately fits the phrase “Only in America.”

As the program went to commercials, a picture of a suburban street lit only by streetlamps came onto the screen. Quickly, a black SUV guzzled down the road as the banner for the company flashed up. This scene was intended to advertise burglar alarms. It was neither the SUV nor the shoddy quality of the production that made me feel this ad could only be American. It was not even the use of an actor whose main talent was a wonderfully deep, dark and gravely voice aiming to scare soccer moms into rigging their house up with a new alarm system. What left me dumbstruck was when the camera dove inside the vehicle. Apparently, the three men had failed to realize that a security system provided by the advertisers had recently been installed at the home they planned on ransacking. Frustrated, the burglars removed their masks.

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By Scott Weinberg
Staff Writer

The ABC television miniseries “The Path to 9/11” claimed it was based on the 9/11 Commission Report. But was it really? One day before the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the network aired the highly controversial two-night “docudrama,” which was riddled with glaringly obvious biases towards the Clinton administration. ABC drew criticisms from the Democratic National Committee, the Senate Democratic leadership and former President Bill Clinton himself.

Within 24 hours of learning about the piece, the DNC collected over 100,000 signatures petitioning ABC’s parent company, Disney, to cancel the broadcast.  The House and Senate Democratic leadership even condemned Disney, sending letters to CEO Robert Inger questioning his company’s commitment to its “reputation … as a corporation worthy of the trust of the American people and the United States Congress.” Bill Clinton’s attorney admonished Disney for producing a “factually and incontrovertibly inaccurate” miniseries, walking the network through three scenes in particular that misrepresent people and events of his administration.

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By Sean Redding
Staff Writer

The tragic genocide currently going on in the Darfur region of Sudan could be an important campaign issue for the Democrats in 2006. In the Senate, only 30 senators have received a score of “A” or higher from the Genocide Intervention Network.  These grades are based on both the senator’s voting history on legislation for Darfur and their commitment to raising awareness about the genocide. Of the 30 “A” senators, 24 of them are Democrats. It’s clear that the issue of working to stop genocide isn’t political; it is humanitarian. But the Democrats are the ones working the hardest. That fact could be used to our advantage in this year’s midterm elections.

With the PATRIOT Act and domestic spying tainting the Bush administration, the Democrats are attempting to emerge as the champions of civil rights, while maintaining a strong position against terrorism. The Democrats’ record on Darfur shows that they are in the prime position to be seen as champions of human rights as well, contrasting themselves with the administration’s slow-moving diplomacy and pro-torture positions. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) said that the American people as a whole want to intervene and stop the genocide in Darfur.

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By Jennifer Carter
Staff Writer

When I first saw “Hotel Rwanda,” one line stuck out: “I think if people see this footage, they’ll say ‘Oh, my God, that’s horrible.’ And then they’ll go on eating their dinners.” Throughout the film, I found myself contemplating upon that line, as tears streamed down my face at the horrors depicted. Upon further reflection over the time since, I realized that, sadly, we have become an apathetic society.

I heard someone last week say that our generation is lucky, because we know more about the meaning of the term “world peace” than anyone before us. Now, I understand that no, we didn’t live through a World War. I understand that some of us weren’t even born when the Cold War ended, and I understand that until a few years ago, we knew nothing about being a nation at war ourselves.

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By Sean Redding
Staff Writer

It’s almost impossible to understate the importance of the upcoming midterm elections to the Democratic Party. We need to take back the Hill: plain and simple. And in 2008, we need to take back the White House. The Democratic Party hasn’t had a congressional majority since before the so-called Republican revolution of 1994. True, the only presidential election we’ve actually lost since 1992 is the last one, but even the 2000 election was too close for comfort. And the 2004 presidential election left even hard-core Democrats wondering exactly what it was that the party stands for. Obviously, the Democrats need to do something strategically different if they want to start winning.

That’s where James Carville and Paul Begala come in. Famous for their role in the 1992 Clinton campaign and their role on CNN’’s now-defunct “Crossfire,” these two strategists teamed up to write “Take It Back: Our Party, Our Country, Our Future.” Put simply, this is a book that every Democrat should read. Though the book certainly has its funny moments, don’t expect an Al Franken-esque hilarious attack on the Republicans. The point of the book isn’t to be funny. Don’t look for beautifully written prose either; I promise you won’t find it. Carville and Begala like to put things simply.

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