With Election Day only a week away, many campaigns are trying to ensure that their supporters make it out to the polls. That often means that Republicans will be trying to appeal to the ultra conservative right, while Democrats will be working on their grassroots campaign of knocking on doors, making phone calls, and utilizing various other methods to remind voters of how important it is that the Government once again be held accountable for its actions. Since it is often difficult to predict the turnout of college students, many candidates are taking the time to ensure that they attend events at the local colleges. This can plainly be seen by the fact that Jim Webb and Tim Kaine recently spoke at the Northern Virginia Community College. Andy Hurst, however, has also taken the time to reach out to younger voters. (Although there are already several college students who are on his staff or frequently volunteer in one form or the other.)
Yesterday evening, Andy spoke to an audience of students at George Mason University. (There were also some members of the community in attendance.) Since many of the students (including myself) still had their backpack and school supplies with them, you could easily notice that the crowd was filled with younger voters who knew how important it was to take time out of their busy schedules to hear what Andy had to say. Melissa from Monstrosity, for example, wrote a post about how she attended the event even though much of her time over the course of the next few days will be devoted to completing various assignments.
I came tonight, even though I've got an exam tomorrow, an exam on Wednesday, a take-home exam due Wednesday, a paper draft due Wednesday, a catalog due Friday, a quiz Friday, law school apps to work on this weekend, and an exam next Wednesday. Oh and I had an exam today too!
The very first question came from a student who appeared to be fairly knowledgeable about the issues, but disappointed by the fact that many campaigns, in his opinion, were simply focusing on the faults of the Bush Administration and how much better everything would be after the Democrats took over Congress. He believed that the Democrats weren't proposing enough specific goals. The student supported his argument by stating that the Contract With America, which was used by Republican candidates in order to gain control of Congress during the 1994 elections, laid out some promises of what the Republican majority would do in order to institute the proper Government reforms. Despite the fact that analysts widely believe that there will be a change in power this election, it was this student's belief that the Democrats have failed to lay out specific ideas during the current election.
AndyGÇÖs response to the question clearly illustrated not only why there are so many people who are frustrated with the way things are going, but also how a Democratic majority would help to ensure that the Government is held accountable for its actions. To sum it up, Andy used his response to draw attention to the fact that Tom Davis and his fellow Republican colleagues had not lived up to the Contract With America. There is still corruption, Members of Congress are having inappriopriate contact with Congressional pages, and the fact that Tom Davis is running yet again shows that they have blatantly ignored their promise to institute term limits. And if they have failed to accomplish those goals (and in some cases blatantly ignore them), they cannot be trusted to properly lead our country while we facing extremely difficult times.
As Andy stated last night, however, voters can trust that Congressman Hurst will work towards instituting campaign and lobbying reform, both of which are unfulfilled promises that were promoted by the Republican party in the mid '90s, and make sure that Congress puts the best interests of the American public before playing partisan politics. Furthermore, unlike Congressman Davis who is running for a 7th term -- despite previously advocating a 6 term limit-- Andy guaranteed that he would keep his promise to only serve six terms as a Member of the House of Representatives.
As I stated earlier, Andy was also asked about his views on the Republican lead CongressGÇÖs recent decision to cut higher education funding by $12.7 billion. As Andy pointed out in his answer, these cuts will result in the average student having to pay an extra $2,000 on student loans. With the cost of college already resulting in students facing enormous amounts of debt, an extra $2,000 ultimately means that there is even more unnecessary stress on students and those still paying off their loans. Since billions of dollars are being spent on the War in Iraq, however, Bush and the Republican lead Congress felt that this was a burden that students just had to pay.
Andy argued that by cooperating with his fellow Members of Congress, however, a solution could be found that would ease the burden of college debt. Although he admitted that the answer to this problem is not simple and would have to involve a discussion among his future colleagues, Hurst suggested that by expanding programs such as the HOPE tax credit and the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit, Congress could help make it easier for college students to pay off their loans. These programs could save students large amounts of money, which could then find it's way back into the economy. Furthermore, it could also potentially be the difference between whether or not a student can attend college.
Throughout the hour and a half long event, the discussion touched on several topics that were not discussed in depth in this post. Other people who attended the event, however, can feel free to comment on what they took away from the Andy Hurst's appearance at GMU.
She also asked why the Bush administration was taking blame for Katrina when New Orleans was under water. Andy pointed out that the tragedy struck 4 states and the purpose of Homeland Security was exactly to addess tragedies too big for a state to handle alone. Also, let's not forget the Federal Government had invoked the powers under Homeland Security, which REQUIRED local governments to defer and cede all their authority to the Feds. The Governor had requested that long before the storm hit (2 days, I think). Bush and the White House wouldn't produce the records and Tom Davis and his Committee would not subpoena them but the Louisiana governor in 2005 released every little email and phone log.
But when it comes to a speech or a Q&A or a debate, Hurst combines his command of the issues with an enthusiastic delivery that comes across as natural and heartfelt. He has a knack for energizing an audience.