Co-President Bree Dallinga with Alex Cornell du Houx working on election day
Alex Cornell du Houx
by Sara Schlotterbeck & Clark Gascoigne
Alex Cornell du Houx (Bowdoin ’06) served two consecutive terms
as co-president of the Maine College Democrats. By the time you are reading this, he will be fighting in Iraq.
For Alex, there is no inconsistency between his political
activism and military service. In an interview with NBC this fall, he explained his
position: “It’s not a contradiction to be actively involved in the Democratic
Party and actively involved in the military. In fact, they should go hand in hand because
both should be a service to one’s country.”
Until recently, Alex served as the development director for
the College Democrats of America (CDA) in addition to his work with the Maine College
Democrats. Under Alex’s leadership the state federation grew from two to 23 chapters,
published the only statewide College Democrats newspaper in the nation and became one of
the strongest political organizations in Maine. In addition, the Maine College Democrats
earned the title of State Federation of the Year (2005) during Alex’s tenure. As
president of the Bowdoin College Democrats, Alex helped to expand the chapter’s
membership to include over a quarter of the student body.
Alex grew up in the rural, economically deprived town of
Solon, Maine. He joined the Marine Corps Reserves out of high school and is currently a
senior at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Originally an astronomy major, he spent
most of his first year at Bowdoin founding the Community Service Council, working for
Habitat for Humanity and running track. He became politically engaged after returning from
eight months of training with the Marines and learning that the Bowdoin College Democrats
had only five people attending meetings as the 2004 election approached. He also realized
that most of the military and community service work he had been participating in was
undeniably related to politics, and he was disturbed by the gap that he saw between
participation in community service and civic engagement. His motivations have always been
grounded in the same principles of service to his country, and he has learned that he is
best able to live up to these principles through participation in community service,
military service and political activism.
For the past couple of years Alex has worked in the
Governor’s Office in Augusta. He worked at Bowdoin and statewide on the 2004 election
and the No-on-1 campaign, which maintained antidiscrimination laws protecting Maine
citizens of all sexual orientations. When he was not organizing for the Democrats, he
could be found building houses with Habitat, training with the Marines, tutoring students
in local schools, and promoting youth’s voice with AdCare Educational and Campus
Compact. He is pursuing a degree in government and history and plans to write his thesis
on the relationship between political engagement and community service.
On December 1, 2005, Alex was put on active duty with the
Marines. He has been in training since then, and leaves for Iraq at the end of March.
Although he must put off his educational pursuits for the time being, he plans on resuming
his studies at Bowdoin after he returns from Iraq in November. We wish Alex the best of
luck during his time in Iraq, and we are looking forward to welcoming him back home after
the midterm elections this fall.
Maine College Democrats Leading the
Way
Clark Gascoigne and Brandon Mazer
working hard on election day
Energy and excitement filled the campaign headquarters of
the Maine College Democrats’ (MCD) No-on-1 effort at Bowdoin College. The majority of
workers had been up to all hours in final preparation for the event.
“We’re running on adrenaline. This is an issue
that forces us to see how we’re holding up as a tolerant society — whether we
can look at ourselves in the mirror and ask whether our generation is fighting as hard for
a standard of equality as previous generations have done. Discrimination is
discrimination, no matter how many times one falsely evokes religion to mask their own
intolerant behavior,” said Frank Chi, co-president of the Bowdoin College Democrats.
“We are going to win this election because in Maine there is a deep sense of decency
in how we treat one another.”
And win they did.
The MCDs helped to ensure 70 percent of voters got
to the polls in Brunswick and the surrounding mid-coast region, compared to 55 percent of
voters statewide. Their efforts clearly made a difference.
That’s not unusual for these motivated, enthusiastic
individuals. During the Kerry campaign they traveled the state from Presque Isle to the
University of Southern Maine and grew their chapters from 3 to 23. At the University of
Maine at Orono the MCD’s effort increased voter turnout by over 200 percent to cast
their support for Kerry by 68 to 29 percent. These results mirrored other state, community
and private colleges across Maine.
One member, Kevin Larviee, got so involved in the election
he worked nonstop for two days without sleep, canvassed in the rain and ended up with
pneumonia.
The MCDs were honored as State Federation of the Year at
last year’s College Democrats of America Convention.
So what’s the key to their success? Part is due to
their obvious drive to bring about positive change, and they are not intimidated by new
challenges. They were the first in the nation to hold a College Democrats Convention and
the first to start a College Democratic newspaper.
They continually have key speakers at events, including Al
Franken, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Governor Baldacci, our Maine Congressmen, and
leading members of Maine’s House and Senate.
“To have a governor that’s so accessible
is awesome,” said Brandon Mazer. “He has always come to our events and really
listens to what we have to say.”
“Congressman Allen believes strongly in the common
good. When he comes he always makes clear concise sense of complicated issues, which is
great,” said Larivee.
They hold workshops during their conventions and help their
local Habitat for Humanity chapter. “I liked the community service activities,”
said Sara Schlotterbeck.
They travel out of state to attend the National Democratic
Convention and conferences, meeting with Howard Dean, President Clinton, and Senator
Clinton.
Every week they appear on a Bowdoin College TV program like
Crossfire, and in Portland on the TV show, Youth in Politics.
At Bowdoin, during the week many members eat an informal
dinner together before their weekly Tuesday meetings. During the dinner they joke around
and discuss current political issues. Sometimes they get together and watch The West Wing
series, just to enjoy each other’s company.
When the meeting time rolls around, business is conducted
in a professional yet friendly manner, and issues of importance are discussed extensively.
“It’s always great to see students engaged in the
political process. Their energy, enthusiasm and commitment are exciting,” said
Governor Baldacci during a College Democrats convention, “It’s contagious.”
Governor John E. Baldacci speaks at
the second annual Maine College Democrats Convention
Second Annual Maine College Democrats Convention
— A Great Success
by Alexander Reed
The Maine College Democrats held their second annual
convention in October, ’05, at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. As the only
College Democrats convention of its kind, the political event drew upon the support of
every College Democrats chapter in the state, as well as loyal Democrats from all over New
England.
Maine Governor John Baldacci, Representatives Tom Allen and
Mike Michaud, and political satirist Al Franken gave keynote speeches praising the work
Democrats have done throughout the many years of the party’s history, from its roots
in the Jeffersonian era all the way through the present-day struggle to promote civil
liberties, equal rights, and social justice.
The message was clear: young, politicized students such as
the Maine College Democrats are the future leaders of the American liberal movement.
“We wanted to promote dialogue on campus about the impact of young people on
politics, and at the end of this weekend I think we really did achieve that,” says
Bowdoin College Democrats Co-President Frank Chi.
Nowhere was this more evident than after the
much-anticipated performance by comedian Al Franken, whose speech drew a crowd of over a
thousand people at Bowdoin’s Morrell Gymnasium. He urged the audience to
“celebrate Democratic family values” by supporting equal rights for gays and to
stay well informed by marginalizing the right-wing media. Similarly, Franken called on
young Democrats to “stay connected” so as to remain an organized, cohesive
force, capable of leading the United States to new horizons.
Such enthusiasm was especially apparent when Maine Governor
Baldacci proclaimed October 1st as Maine College Democrats Day, for which he urged
statewide observance. With the support and passion of so many Democrats, future
conventions will be sure to make even more of an impact on young voters who support
Democratic ideals.
Thanks are due to all those who attended the convention
from all the Maine College Democrats chapters, as well as all those who made the
convention possible through their financial and organizational support. We look forward to
an even bigger convention next year.
College Democrats with Al Franken
during their convention
An Indictment of Incompetence: Returning
Democrats to Washington in 2006 Means a Return from Rhetoric to Reality
by Frank Chi, co-president, Bowdoin College
Democrats
It is competence and expertise that we expect
first from our leaders. This prerequisite of leadership is what allows our national
discourse to focus on issues and ideology that determine the path of this country. But
when Washington, DC turns into a Republican wasteland where competence is never met, the
structure of our government collapses into bundled bureaucracies, broken chains of
command, unregulated corruption, and false rhetoric.
When examined from this perspective,
Republicans nationwide have failed to even meet this first requirement of leadership:
competence. By monopolizing the White House and Congress, Republicans have endorsed a
reckless culture of corruption that knows no limits. Jack Abramoff’s tentacles into
the corridors of power expose the lax ways in which Republicans conduct business —
allowing corporate power to expand while average Americans suffer. When Republicans
swindled our country’s mourning on September 11 to mislead us into Iraq, they ignored
even the most respected tenets of warfare. While those such as Colin Powell and Eric
Shinseki warned of the consequences of a war without an exit plan, Vice President Cheney
told our nation of a compelling story, where our soldiers would be greeted on the streets
of Baghdad as liberators. Despite former Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz’s tales
of a war paid from the profits of Iraqi oil, Iraq’s war costs now reach $420 billion
taxpayer dollars.
Yet when America was most in need of our
government, this administration failed us. When floodwaters sent New Orleans into chaos,
President Bush remained at his Crawford ranch. Yet just months prior, he regarded the
saving of Terri Schiavo as an event that required his return from Crawford to Washington
in time to sign emergency legislation. Was the drowning of a city and the loss of
thousands less important than a media phenomenon geared to rally his political base? The
betrayal of Hurricane Katrina exposed to this nation an administration of distorted
priorities, and finally connected a narrative that reveals a government wasted in false
promises, political maneuvering and rhetoric that does not live up to reality.
The national conversations we have today
should never have been problems in the first place. Instead, they are the result of
incompetence. As Democrats, our platform is one of common sense, while our first priority
is to insure that our government is capable, not delinquent. We want capable policy that
works for all Americans. We want a Medicare prescription plan that makes sense to our
seniors. We want higher education to open more doors for our children, not to close them.
We want our government to manage its budget while we are expected to manage our own. We
want priorities and substance that match lofty rhetoric. The true guidelines to leadership
measure not the strength of political machinery, but the competence of ideas put forth.
Tragically, the difficulties we confront today are the result of leaders who fail to reach
the level of competence required to lead. It is here where Republican recklessness, not
ideology, has failed us.
Let this not be an election of overemphasizing
one issue or another. Whether it’s Iraq, corruption, terrorism or fiscal
responsibility, these issues are intertwined in a compelling narrative of incompetence. We
disapprove of Republicans not because we disagree, but because they cannot perform the
fundamental functions of government.
A strong Democratic presence will jolt
Washington into action by holding the Bush administration responsible for the casual way
they’ve abused their dominance in the White House and in Congress. A strong
Democratic presence will return common sense back to the legislative branch that insures
the expectations of government will never again fail the American people.
In November, 2006, indict Republicans
nationwide, not on the measure of their ideas, but on the measure of their incompetence.
A Bowdoin College Democrat voting
for the first time
What are we to focus on?
by Dan Herzberg
Gay marriage. Abortion rights. Distraction. Diversion.
These monikers have something in common: they are all tools used to draw a college
student’s gaze away from arguably the central issue waiting on the doorstep of
America’s future: fiscal security.
Let me make one thing clear, I feel that same-sex marriage
and a woman’s right to choose are important issues. They focus on personal freedoms
— the cornerstone of our country. Yet, how can the government of the United States
possibly protect individual liberties when we do not adequately fund it to administer its
agencies and carry out its programs? If the FBI cannot provide all its agents with e-mail
accounts today, what tools will they be rationing in twenty years?
Under the current administration, our country has been sent
on a crash course towards a gloomy fiscal setting. Our current national debt hovers at
around $8.5 trillion and the White House predicts 2007 will see our debt reach its highest
level in the last 50 years. In addition to continued tax cuts and heavy federal borrowing
from foreign nations, our country has yet to absorb the cost of caring for today’s
workforce in the decades to come. By 2015, health care is projected to cost Americans 20
percent of the country’s GDP — $4 trillion per year.
The good news is that, historically, our country has shown
an unparalleled ability to rebound from a pulseless economic state (as in the 1930s with
the New Deal). Despite this traditional resilience, must we allow economic conditions to
reach sickly levels before we focus on restructuring our national pocketbook? The future
of our economy must not only be seriously and adequately addressed by our present
officials, but its importance must be thoroughly emphasized to today’s young people
who will need to generate much of the resources to sustain the country in the future.
I must admit that, at least on my college campus, the
national budget and health-care costs are NOT at the forefront of most students’
minds. Although these issues reside in only the most remote part of our consciousness, we
can and must be educated about their consequence. It is true that focusing on the national
budget is not as romantic as fighting to preserve a chunk of Alaskan wilderness from the
hazards of probing for oil, but it is an issue much more pressing for younger generations
to tackle.
Elected officials, governmental organizations, and
concerned Americans must constantly — and conspicuously — discuss economic
issues and expose American youth to all facts and arguments in the debate. How can adults
help younger folks learn and care about America’s future economic stability? Well,
elected officials could limit time spent discussing less-than-imperative issues such as
steroids use in professional baseball, and the media could stop sensationalizing these
topics. That would be a start. But all American adults owe it to themselves and to their
children to learn about — and remain informed on — national and local economic
issues. You tell your child that it’s wrong to cut taxes — great, but why? What
could the government provide if more taxes were collected? How will a stronger government
bankroll benefit your family?
Old taglines such as “A proud Democrat believes in
strong government programs and the taxes necessary to fund them” will not put a
sufficiently hot fire in the belly of a college student or young person. Give us numbers
and facts that illustrate how improving our state and national finances now will make our
futures so much better.
So go ahead, keep on talking about issues like the war in
Iraq (again, another important issue) — but please keep us informed on issues like
taxes, the national debt, and the future costs of keeping America running strong. When we
are painted a thoughtfully-crafted picture of our country’s economic forecast,
believe me, we’ll listen.
The car pool that students arranged to have to take
voters to the polls on election day
A message from the MCD’s co-president, Oliver
Radwan:
The Maine College Democrats are energized and excited for
both the 2006 election and the future of progressive politics in Maine, as well as the
nation. Our goal is threefold: to elect, energize, and educate. We seek to elect Democrats
at all levels of government through our volunteering with campaigns. From a town council
race to the governor’s election, up to the 2008 presidential race, Maine College
Democrats will be working campaigns and helping Democratic candidates across the state.
We seek to energize Maine’s youth, and engage them in
the civic process. By bringing speakers to schools and facilitating campus discussion, we
strive to get youth involved in political thought and discussion. If our actions can help
mold a future candidate for public office, we’d consider that a triumph. If our
actions help mold a future citizen who votes in November, that too would be a great
success. Energizing the next generation of Democrats is a crucial role for us to play.
And perhaps most importantly, we work to educate. Through
our panel discussions, debates, television shows, literature, and all outreach, we want to
inform the youth of Maine and the nation. We know that if the youth of this country learn
about what the Democratic Party stands for, they will flock to our cause. Because the
Democratic Party is the party of the people. It is the party of the students, the party of
the youth of our country.
If you’d like to help with our goals, we welcome you
to join the Maine College Democrats. If you’d like to come to our lectures, hear our
speakers, or help write our literature, we welcome you. Together we can elect, energize,
and educate the future of Maine and the country. I invite you all to join us in this
endeavor. |
