New Semester!
Terp Democrats
Wow it's been awhile since anyone posted here...let's get the ball rolling.
This semester is going to be one of recouping and reorganizing ourselves after last semester's election letdown. I know how easy it is to give up and turn away from politics, but now is the time we most need to dedicate ourselves. We've got the beginnings of a gubernatorial race on our hands thanks to Martin O'Malley and Doug Duncan, and let's not forget a number of pressing local issues which could greatly benefit from our attention. In the coming weeks we should focus on flooding City Council meetings, redeveloping our Professor's Lecture Series, and maintaining and increasing our membership, but let's not forget to have fun too! Let's really make an effort to come together as a group this semester!
There are a couple places where you can stay up-to-date on College Democrats activities:
www.umcpdemocrats.com
www.umddemocrats.cjb.net
Check these sites regularly for meeting minutes, important announcements, and action alerts. And make sure you join us at our next meeting, Tuesday March 1st at 6:30pm. We'll be meeting in 2120 JMZ...hope to see everyone there!
-Melissa Wright
VP of Programming
A Decisive Kerry Victory Last Night!!
Hands down. Decisive. On all sides of the spectrum there is a consensus that John Kerry won last night. He appeared.... Presidential. See for yourself! And please use the blog to chime in with your take on the debate!
FROM THE NATIONAL CAMPAIGN:The debate was a decisive victory for John Kerry because America saw him as our next president. He showed strength, conviction, and a steady command of the facts. He offered clear plans for Iraq and fighting terrorism. George Bush has a record of failure to defend, and he failed to defend it. The president just gave us more of the same shallow promises.
The Polls Point to Kerry as the Clear Winner:
CNN / GALLUP POLL ON WHO WON DEBATE
Kerry: 53 Bush: 37
CBS POLL ON WHO WON DEBATE:
Kerry: 44 Bush: 26 Tie: 30
ABC POLL ON WHO WON DEBATE:
Kerry: 45 Bush 36: Tie: 17
Philly.com: Kerry 87%, Bush 10%
MSNBC: Kerry 70%, Bush 30%
Houston Chronicle: Kerry 87%, Bush 11%
Wall Street Journal: Kerry 60%, Bush 33%
Florida Sun-Sentinel: Kerry 71%, Bush 16%
LA Times: Kerry:89% Kerry, Bush 8%
CNN: Kerry 79%, Bush 18%
Atlanta Journal Constitution:
Kerry 62%, Bush 30%
The Pundits and Experts Agree:
Mort Kondracke: “This is the President's turf, this is the place that the President is supposed to dominate, terror and the war in Iraq. I don't think he really dominated tonight. I think Kerry looked like a commander-in-chief."
Kate O'Beirne, National Review Online’s the Corner: "I thought the President was repetitive and reactive."
Jonah Goldberg, National Review Online's the Corner: "The Bush campaign miscalculated on having the first night be foreign policy night."
Bob Schieffer: “The President was somewhat defensive in the beginning” Mark Shields: "The President showed a few times obvious anger"
Bill Kristol, Weekly Standard: “I think Kerry did pretty well tonight, he was forceful and articulate.”
Bob Schieffer: “Kerry got off to a very good start.”
Joe Scarborough: “It was John Kerry’s best performance ever…As far as the debate goes, I don’t see how anybody could look at this debate and not score this a very clear win on points for John Kerry.” (MSNBC)
Andrea Mitchell: “This is the toughest we’ve ever seen John Kerry. He attacked the very core of the President’s popularity. He’s basically saying, who do you believe?” (MSNBC)
Tim Russert: “Tonight he seemed to find his voice for the Democratic view of the world.”
The debate also turned created some extra work for the Kerry/Edwards internet team, who were happy to deal with the following facts:
$1,000,000 raised online from debate start until midnight ( 9-12 PM)
20 fold increase in traffic to democrats.org
Thank you all for coming out to the Debate Watching Party at Bentley's in College Park, MD. The Young Democrats of Maryland plan on having a debate watching party for each debate, and we will keep you informed as we propel from this first debate and carry the momentum on until November.
Adam Goldberg
First Friday for Kerry
Six of us went down to Kerry headquarters today to do some volunteering. It was a lot of fun and we ended up having dinenr together at Au Bon Pain on Eye Street.
Remember, Fridays for Kerry happens every Friday (surprise, surprise). You can either meet us at the College Park Metro Stations by the fare card machines at 1:00 or meet us at the Headquarters at the corner of 15th Street and Eye Street, NW. (Take the metro to McPherson Square, exit to 14th Street, make a left down Eye Street, then a right on 15th Street and enter the McPherson Building. Go to the 7th floor).
The stuff we do at headquarters keeps the campaign running. It's necessary work and you get to meet a lot of great fellow Democrats!
Sarah
Wow
Amazing turnout at tonight's meeting guys. The (semi) official count says 70 +.
In other counting news, we registered 109 new voters at our voter registration drive outside the Maryland Book Exchange during move in week and the first two days of school. Thanks to the MBE, Melissa for coordinating the table, and Adam, Greg, Katrina, Jackie, Mary, and everyone else who stopped by for working it.
Your very tired President,
Sarah
Social Events!
If you didn't catch this at the meeting, here are a few quick announcements:
1. Fahrenheit 9/11 is showing Friday at midnight at the Hoff...tickets are only a couple bucks...let's show our support for the man John McCain calls a "disingenuous filmmaker." Those damn documentaries-always telling the truth at most awkward times. ;-)
2. "Outfoxed" will be shown in my apartment at some point in the next week or so...maybe after a general meeting? If you're as sick of Fox News as I am, you MUST see this film!
Any questions? IM me at PolitikGirl99 and ask away! Also, be sure to let me know when a good time would be to view Outfoxed!
Your super-caffeinated VP of Programming,
-Melissa
Welcome to the Terp College Democrats Blog
Adam, our treasurer, has been a major advocate for a University of Maryland Democrats blog, so I tried to be a responsive President and start one up. Hopefully, all of the officers will be able to post here, and everyone else can comment as often as they wish.
We'll try to add things to this blog that would be interesting to members, including events, articles, and opportunities in DC.
-Sarah
