I stepped down the cement stairs that were slightly damp from the flurries
Friday, February 8, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
SUper Tuesday
Sen. Barack Obama’s appeal to the younger generation did not appear to be strong enough to beat out Sen. Hillary Clinton in the New York state primary, as she led the Illinois senator by 23 percent an hour after the polls closed Tuesday night, according to CNN.com.
SU Students for Barack Obama, a
"I only saw one rally and didn't know they were groups on campus," said senior David Vassallo. “I'm more an anti-Hillary person and I knew more than the Obama supporters at the rally. It's only effective if they knew what they were talking about."
The
Its Facebook group has 60 members, but only 10 students participated in more than one of the group’s events, said Spevak.
“We've been trying to be more visible—holding up signs and cheering,” he said. “I hope a lot of students vote, but I don't even want to speculate numbers. I wouldn’t even dare to guess.”
Despite working alongside the city of
“Obama really engaged the youth,” said the political science major, who is originally from
Junior Rita Aidoo, from
“I'm only really interested in health care so I don't think anything would have changed that,” she said.
Freshman De'Marcus Woods said that campus groups could potentially swing students who did not have a specific interest in policy or a grasp on politics.
"I think people are stuck in between,” Woods said. “I don't think people really know and if groups can open their eyes and explain how a candidate can affect their lives, you never know.”
The Democratic primary race’s top candidates were whittled down to Obama and
Spevak stayed at the Obama Headquarters,
Sandra Frio, of
She said she was surprised with the voter turnout within the first hour of operation.
"We're hoping a lot of students come,” said
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Prog rocks politics
Jeremy Vecchi was never intending for his vote to count towards a primary win for Senator John Edwards, had he stayed in the presidential race.
“I'll be honest, I didn't think he'd actually win it,” said Vecchi, who was an Edwards supporter until his Jan. 30 withdraw. He was going to cast his ballot for the senator from
Vecchi is one of the many leftists in
Progressive Democrat Aynne McAvoy, of North Syracuse, supported Edwards after her first choice—Congressman Dennis Kucinich of
“There is a community of us in the United States that have backed Dennis right along, but unfortunately it just isn't big enough or strong enough or powerful enough right now to make it happen,” McAvoy said. “I was disappointed that he dropped out but I wasn't surprised.”
According to a
Vecchi said Kucinich may have been the most progressive candidate out of the Democrats, but Edwards shared the political spotlight with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
“His voice in the campaign, as long as he went, was able to continually push the debate leftward, or at any rate to in a more progressive direction,” the graduate student said.
Progressivism focuses on social justice and workers’ rights, as well as regulation of large corporations.
McAvoy ranks the economy and
“He was going to go after big business and pharmaceutical and the whole thing, which I really really wanted to see,” McAvoy said.
Vecchi also liked Edwards’ focus on corporate influence and his plan against it.
"With Edwards, he was willing to take on the fact that
With Edwards gone, progressives have to look to other candidates, both new and old, to represent their interests.
A national exploratory committee was launched since Edwards’ departure to investigate the feasibility for Independent Ralph Nader to run for president. Found at Naderexplore08.org, the committee involves Peter Camejo, Nader’s 2000 vice-presidential running mate, as well as other politicians. Volunteers can offer time or make the suggested $300 donation, in exchange for free DVDs and books.
It is unclear if Nader started the committee himself. Representatives from Naderexplore08.org were unable to be reached.
Nader’s entry to the race could replace the progressive voice now absent from the campaign trail, but it is hard to gauge its affect within the Democratic Party.
“I'm really not sure how Hillary or Obama would respond,” Vecchi said, who is intrigued by the prospect. “At this point I'm voting for Obama, and I will almost certainly vote for the Democrat in the general election. I have to admit, I may be willing to support Nader's entry to the race to push it more in a progressive direction.”
McAvoy has watched all the debates and remains undecided between Clinton and Obama, she said.
“If they want to pick up his voters, but the mere fact that they jump onto his bandwagon a day after he leaves the race isn't really going to make that big of a difference as far as the voters go,” she said. “We're all going to have to wait and see.”
Kucinich has not made an official endorsement of any of the Democrats, but encouraged his supporters to vote for Obama, according to his presidential campaign website.
Central New Yorkers may gravitate toward
“She's been a real leader and she's helped us with technical assistance for my city,” Driscoll said. “She has worked on a number of initiatives with me. Broadband is something she has been very involved with and weaved into discussions year round. Her office has been very helpful.”
Vecchi does not think of Clinton, and her husband, in quite the same way.
In the ‘90s, “there was a big shift away from economic populism and [the