Drake Democrats

Drake Dems website

2006-04-01T14:42:00.000-08:00

You might have noticed we're overhauling our website right now and so we haven't had much time to post on the blog.

We encourage you to check out the new look for the website, at www.drakedems.com. For some reason, Google isn't picking it up correctly, so this blog is the first thing that comes up and people have been thinking this is all we've got.

Dems Fest '06 Tomorrow!

2006-03-07T15:26:00.000-08:00

The Drake Democrats are holding a Dems Fest '06 tomorrow night at 9pm at Pomerantz Stage. It should be a pretty good time - we're having four major candidates for office coming:
- Mike Blouin, candidate for Governor
- Michael Mauro, candidate for Secretary of State
- Dusky Terry, candidate for Secretary of Agriculture
- Ako Abdul-Samad, candidate for Iowa statehouse

They'll all be talking about their vision for Iowa and taking questions from anyone who attends. We're welcoming the general public and the media to come as well, so if you've got time late tomorrow night, feel free to stop by Drake and meet some of the leaders of the Democratic Party!

Drake Democrats on the News Again

2006-03-02T13:34:00.000-08:00

Our protest at Jim Nussle's headquarters was on KCCI tonight, putting us on the evening news twice in the last three days. They gave a perfect description of it, noting that Jim Nussle had made it much harder for us to attend college because of his cuts to higher education. The protest itself was well-attended and lots of fun. When we delivered petitions signed by about 500 students from Drake and Morningside College in Sioux City, their staffers seemed kinda dumbfounded. Little do they know the growing effect we're having. Especially on Drake's campus now, we hear everyday someone talking about our latest protest against Nussle. The College Republicans' effort to get signatures for Nussle to be put on the ballot was made a lot harder by all our work - even people who didn't know Nussle were very hesitant and refused to sign their petitions considering all the bad press they've heard about him from us.

A Successful Day!

2006-02-27T21:40:00.000-08:00

It was a busy and successful day for the Drake Democrats on the student loan cuts issue. We started off the day with a nice front-page picture in the Times-Delphic of us protesting Jim Nussle last Thursday. But the big event of the day was our press conference with Congressman Boswell.

We invited Congressman Boswell, who has been very helpful in providing more Pell Grants for college students, to come to Drake and hear students give their personal stories on the kinds of hardships that they have faced in affording college. We had several news outlets show up, and I know that we were shown on KCCI this evening - I can't remember who the other news groups were - if anybody knows, leave a comment on that so we can search for it. Also, school board member Ako Abdul-Samad came and talked about some of the hardships he's been hearing from young people and their families in Des Moines as they prepare to pay for college.

Both Boswell and Ako seemed to really enjoy the event and we were very happy to have them. We've been wanting to get Boswell by for quite some time and this was a really great event for him to come to. We'll get some more info up on the main website, under the press release section, and perhaps start a new page if we can find online copies of the stories that the news ran on us. Thanks so much for everyone who helped out today!

Spreading the "Nussle-Hates-College-Students" Message

2006-02-23T17:31:00.000-08:00

Drake Democrats members took to the intersection of Ingersol and MLK Blvd today with numerous signs protesting Jim Nussle's attacks on our education. It turned out to be quite the glorious victory, with surprisingly no accidents as drivers slowed down to read our signs, with our hands nearly freezing, and with us finding that Ingersol and MLK is perhaps the most dangerous street to cross in Des Moines. Among the highlights were: the van of high schoolers on their way to the state wrestling tournament that screamed several anti-Nussle slogans we can't quite put on signs; the crazy homeless guy that agreed that all politicians are evil; and the guy in the Lexus SUV that yelled at us to get jobs.

The actual responses from people were positive by about a 4-1 margin. Though I think most people were unsure of who Jim Nussle is - which just helps out even more, because their first association of his name will be with making college less affordable.

All in all, a successful and just really fun event.

A Fun Time With The UNO Democrats

2006-02-20T18:32:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend I was able to meet a lot of great folks from the UNO Democrats out in Omaha. They were holding a training session for college democrats groups and brought in a good amount of people to learn about several campaign strategies.

But probably the most productive part was hanging out with them afterwards and exchanging ideas of good programs and events to put on. The UNO Dems have been quite successful with events and fundraising, and are thinking of holding their own Liberal Date Auction, which we'll happily give them assistance on ideas for. We're also hoping they can come out to Drake at some point in time. Perhaps Relays might actually be a good time to hold several events that we can invite other college dems groups to.

Anyway, the "Students Can't Afford Jim Nussle" campaign is continuing, as we have a few good events planned for this week and are working on a big press conference for next week.

-Patrick Rynard

Nussle Campaign Updates

2006-02-16T18:48:00.000-08:00

We had a really great story about us in the Times-Delphic today - we'll try to get it up on the website soon. We didn't end up getting much news media out to our first press conference, but we're quite optimistic about our next one. We did have to cancel a protest today, as we figured the several inches of snow and below 10 degrees weather just wasn't quite worth it.

But we're looking ahead to next week and organizing another press conference in which we get several stories from students that are facing much higher costs for college thanks to Nussle's cuts to student loans. We're also hoping to get other colleges in on the effort and make this a state-wide campaign to increase awareness. We already have a few other colleges expressing interest, and hopefully we'll be able to organize a state-wide response here very soon.

We're doing very well with our signatures on our petitions - we collected well over 300 from students on Monday and Tuesday from just standing out several places on campus and asking people as they passed by to class. I'm quite surprised we got so many considering most people are pretty hesitant to sign anything, much less slow down when late to class. But many students that aren't usually all that interested in politics have been very upset about the loan cuts and are very enthusiastic and supportive when we approach them. Thanks to our nine members who stood out in the cold to ask students to sign the petitions. We're still working on collecting many more from people that just didn't happen to pass by while we were out there, and I figure we'll get a few hundred more. And we're also hoping to get other college democrats organizations to start up petitions at their schools too.

That's all for now, check back soon.

First Day of "Students Can't Afford Jim Nussle" Campaign

2006-02-13T10:50:00.000-08:00

Our campaign to hold Jim Nussle accountable for his cuts to the student loan program is off to a great start! We got close to 100 signatures on our petition in our first day, and that was with just two people asking students on campus. Tomorrow we plan to have many more out on campus collecting signatures.

Also tomorrow, we will hold a press conference at 10am in Olmsted (at Pomerantz Stage) to announce to the media all of our plans for the campaign, and to explain just how much Jim Nussle's cuts hurt Drake students. We found the average amount a Drake student will pay more thanks to the new interest rate: $1,540!

We will also be having a meeting on the student loan cuts this Wednesday, at 9pm, at Pomerantz Stage in Olmsted. We'll be discussing how much this will affect us, and organize students for our upcoming events to protest Nussle. Keep checking back throughout the week for more updates!

Holding Jim Nussle Accountable for Higher Education Cuts

2006-02-07T14:49:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone-

The Drake Democrats are going to soon set out on a campaign to demonstrate our outrage that Republicans in Congress are putting college students deeper into debt in order to fund tax breaks for millionares (and also to show the Democrat alternatives to reducing higher education costs)

Republican Congressman Jim Nussle of Eastern Iowa is largely to blame for selling out our education and our future, but we're going to show him that college students do, in fact, pay attention to what he's doing in Congress. Keep checking back for upcoming actions - we're finalizing a campaign strategy this week.

Here's an editorial from yesterday's Times-Delphic that explains the situation:

Republicans Raising Student Loan Costs
By Patrick Rynard

If you don’t have a part-time job right now, you might want to start searching the classifieds section. Because if you’re paying your Drake tuition with federal loans, Republicans in Congress just made your life a whole lot harder.

On Wednesday, just one day after President Bush vowed in his State of the Union speech to make America more competitive by improving education, the Republican-led House cut the federal student loan program by $12.7 billion. It was the largest cut in that program’s history, and accounted for about 1/3 of the deficit-reduction package the President soon hopes to sign.

The consequences for college students couldn’t be much worse. What it basically means is that when you reapply this summer for your federal student loans to pay for next year’s tuition, your interest rate is going to rise from 5.3% to 6.8%. And if your parents have a PLUS loan (as I believe mine do), their interest rate is going to shoot from 6.1% to 8.5%. And keep in mind that Drake is raising its tuition once again, so those loans are going to have to be for even more money.

While the bill does increase borrowing limits for some students, overall it will send many of us into more debt for more years. And it will likely even close the door on the dream of attending college for some high school students who simply can’t afford it anymore.

But what can you really do about our government’s lack of concern for our financial future? Well, on a personal level, you might want to see if you can graduate early. However, if you really care about your and your fellow Americans’ education, you should look at who supported these cuts.

Some people think the Republican and Democratic parties are pretty similar, but the differences couldn’t have been clearer this week. The vote for the bill in the House was 216-214, with every Democrat voting against it. The same occurred in the Senate with a vote of 51-50, with Vice President Cheney casting the tie-breaking vote.

Democrats fought very hard to prevent the cuts, and have consistently called for making college more affordable by setting lower fixed interest rates on student loans, providing more and larger government scholarships, and even looking into the idea of making college tuition tax-deductible.

Republicans, on the other hand, further demonstrated how little they care about college students and their families when they also called this week for another $70 billion in tax cuts, overwhelmingly aimed at the richest in society.

The priorities of Republicans couldn’t be more backwards: help those who already have wealth; hurt those who seek to gain it. In his State of the Union speech, Bush even specifically said that his budget would cut or eliminate programs that weren’t working or “not fulfilling essential priorities.” So either we’re all mistaken in thinking our low-interest student loans actually help us, or we’re just simply not an “essential priority.”

This is the perfect case of how the low voting turnout among college-aged students directly affects whether government cares about us or not. So if you want to do something about the affordability of your education, keep in mind how some Iowan legislators voted on the issue.

Republican Congressman Jim Nussle, from eastern Iowa, didn’t just vote for the cuts, but helped create the plan as the chairman of the House Budget Committee. This fall, he is likely to be the Republican nominee to be Iowa’s next governor.

Our own Congressman, Democrat Leonard Boswell, voted against the bill, and has often pushed for increasing the size of Pell Grants. He will be up for what may be a tough reelection fight.
My suggestion to you is to remind our political leaders in Washington that college students would prefer to not be driven deep into debt in order to pay for more tax breaks for millionaires. So when November 7th rolls around, you should go out to the polls and thank Congressman Boswell, and tell Congressman Nussle that he shouldn’t continue destroying our future as Governor of Iowa.

(Printed in Drake University’s Times-Delphic newspaper, February 6th, 2006)

Liberal Date Auction a success!

2005-11-20T09:22:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Liberal Date Auction! It was a huge success: we had a turnout somewhere between 150 and 175 students (making it one the best organized events on campus this year), and we auctioned off 20 dates, bringing in an amazing $611! That way more than makes up for the cost to put on the event, so we'll have quite the budget for this upcoming semester... we just need to figure out what to spend it on.

And thanks again to everyone who worked on it; it was a lot of work, but paid off very nicely. I think we got a lot of new people interested in the Drake Democrats and showed them that politics can be pretty fun. All the advertising and organization of the event so well, in fact, that some folks from the Iowa Democratic Party want planning notes from it to show other College Democrats organizations how to put one on. I know that Smith College has done some in the past and so UMass Amherst has one coming up I think. But it looks like few others, so hopefully we'll be able to help some other groups raise some money.

We'll have a general meeting before the semester is out, on a Thursday night at 7 like usual. But there isn't enough time left and everyone is busy with finals to do any other major events. So we'll just get a good plan down for next semester. If you've got any ideas on events we can do then or what we can spend the money on, leave a comment.

-Patrick Rynard
President, Drake Democrats

Liberal Date Auction--TONIGHT!

2005-11-17T15:38:00.000-08:00

Alright guys, its time to bring the $$$ and buy some hott Drake Dems. Tonight is our biggest event in years: the Liberal Date Auction. Our event starts off tonight with a rally at 7 PM on Pomerantz Stage in Drake University's Olmsted Center.

Here is the official order of those being auctioned off (with Greek representation next to name):

Laurel Herold (Alpha Phi)
Chris Lueth (FIJI)
Christina Motilall (Kappa Kappa Gamma)
Cale Johnson (Sigma Chi)
Rachel Manuel (Alpha Phi)
Sam Kelly
Brianne Lucke
Steven Amos
Sarah Seidman (Alpha Phi)
Mike Goldberg
Rachael Stanger (Kappa Alpha Theta)
Nate Koppel (Tau Kappa Epsilon)
Alix Sanchez
Jordan Oster
Megan Hill (Alpha Phi)
Jen Coppa (Alpha Phi)
Tim Tesar (Sigma Phi Epsilon)
Kailyn Heston
Patrick Rynard

Pictures and slogans can be found here.

Please come out tonight--there's free punch, even if you don't bid on/buy someone. Come support your Drake Dems: We fight for freedom with fun, not insults and attacks.

First-ever Drake Democrats Liberal Date Auction

2005-11-16T12:17:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow night is the first-ever Drake Democrats Liberal Date Auction (and Rally!) at 7 PM in the Olmsted Student Union--Pomerantz Stage. Here is a message from Drake Dems President Patrick Rynard about the auction:

"It's here! Thursday night at 7:00pm we will hold our biggest event of the year with the Liberal Date Auction. Make sure to bring lots of your friends out to a really exciting and fun night, over at Pomerantz Stage in Olmsted.

And in response to the many negative feelings over the College Republicans' "Freedom" Week, we will hold a short, really exciting rally. We will have a quick RALLY speech about the Democratic Party, and we absolutely promise you, you will not want to miss it. The rally will be at 7:00pm, and we'll get right into the auction very quickly, but be sure to come for it all.

A whole, whole lot of work has gone into this event, so please come out and bring lots of people, it's going to be an amazing night. And thank you so much to everyone who has helped in making it a success."

It should be an amazing time. Oh, and we're having a competition among the Greek houses on campus as well with a special award for the fraternity/sorority representative who garners the largest bid--the Greek Greek 'Hottest Piece of Ass Award'.

If you're interested in seeing some of the dates up for bidding and their hilarious slogans, check them out here.

Liberal Date Auction - ideas?

2005-11-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

Our biggest event of the semester is coming this next week - the Liberal Date Auction. It should be a lot of fun with liberals getting auctioned off - it'll be hopefully have the largest attendance we've had for any event yet.

This weekend we're working on posters and other publicity for it - if you've got any ideas of fun little slogans or lines to advertise with, leave a comment. We're trying to be funny/suggestive without going too far. Some slogans we're working on so far:
- Come for love, not war
- She's very liberal on social issues
- He'll turn you into a red state
- I want YOU, to bid on me
- Lookin' for a first lady
- He can outlast any filibuster (too far?)

There's numerous much worse/obscene ones we've come up with...

Anyway, get excited for the auction and bring all your friends!!
See www.drakedems.com for all the precise information

Chet Culver speaks--TONIGHT!

2005-10-13T14:59:00.000-07:00

Unofficial candidate for governor Chet Culver will be at Drake tonight in the second of Coffee with the Candidates series, where we'll be serving hot apple cider instead (because it tastes better).

Culver will speak at 7 PM at Pomerantz Stage at the Drake University Olmsted Center. Please come out, hear what he has to say, and ask him some questions about his candidacy and his politics. I know I've already got a couple of questions lined up.

We hope to see you there!

Thoughts on the Fallon Event

2005-10-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

I know this is a bit late, but I just got the chance to really sit down and put out my thoughts.

I can't speak on behalf of the Drake Democrats and issue our consensus opinion. Personally though, I can say that the question and answer session was a great time for the students and the candidate to interact and get to know each other.

And a quick disclaimer, I was unable to hear any of his stump speech or the beginning of the Q & A session because I was at class.

The Q & A portion that I was there for was quite good and Fallon really seems to have a grasp of both local and national issues. He isn't your typical Iowa Democrat either. He's definitely further left of the establishment...but for the most part it's a left position that is sold phenomenally well and just makes sense (at least for myself).

The other thing about Fallon is that he's simply a good guy. And he employs former Drake graduates, which finally gives me hope for a job after college and maybe not having to go immediately to grad school.

Ed Fallon to speak tomorrow night!

2005-09-27T17:31:00.000-07:00

Democratic Bulldogs, its time to get pumped for our first big event of the year.

Tomorrow night at 8 PM gubernatorial candidate Ed Fallon will be with us to speak about his candidacy and the issues that affect us as college students in Iowa. It is the first in what we hope will be a series of a "Coffee with the Candidates" events this year (even though we'll be serving apple cider!). Please make sure you come by and hear this man speak. You won't regret it.

But, if you can't make it, please check out Ed Fallon's website and learn about his campaign and how you can help (if you're interested).

Various Updates

2005-09-23T14:08:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone-
Just a couple updates:

- Drake Democrats will have meetings on Thursdays at 7:00pm, sometimes officers' meetings, sometimes general meetings. We're working on when to do general meetings since a lot of times an event we have that week will basically serve as a general meeting.

- If you want to get more involved, e-mail me (Patrick; ptr003@drake.edu). We're working on setting up a seperate e-mail list for folks who want to help out on random events and publicity that come up.

- We all had a great time at the Harkin Steak Fry - about 30 Drake Dems went; we were definetely the largest student group there. Here's two pictures from that (we'll get it on the acutal website soon):

- A big THANK YOU to all the Drake Democrats who made/are making the campus-wide Hurricane Katrina Relief Week a huge success! We had about 10 members help sell beads and t-shirts throughout the week, making us one of, if not the biggest, contributer of volunteers. And our members often worked alongside College Republicans, who also helped out a lot. Thanks to our former-Finance Director Jason Boothe, who helped lead the effort, and helped us all do our part to help in the recovery. Good work everyone!

- And on an amusing note, at the Date Auction for the relief effort, I decided to help out by buying College Republican President Sarah Mayberry for a date. How's that for bi-partisanship?
Have a great weekend everyone!
-Patrick Rynard
President, Drake Dems

New officers!

2005-09-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

Well, movie night didn't turn out like we had hoped for, but at least we got elections done!

President--Patrick Rynard
Vice President--Mitch Stehlik
Secretary--Kasey Friedrichsen
Legislative Liaison--Chris Woods
Outreach Director--Nate Koppel
Publicity Director--Steven Amos
Freshman Representative--Michael Goldberg
Finance Director--Amy Huynh
Events Director--Jordan Oster
OC Representative - Kailyn Heston

I think that's everyone. If I missed anyone or screwed up some peoples names, leave a comment and I'll correct them soon.

Elections Info

2005-09-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, here's the details for our upcoming Officers Elections:

At the beginning of Thursday's Meeting/Movie Night we're going to elect all the officers for the 2005-2006 school year. We will start off with electing the President, and then move down the list one-by-one, so in case someone doesn't win a higher-up position, they can still run for one down the list. Each candidate can speak for about a minute about why they'd be good for the position. Here's a list and short description of each officer position in the order we'll elect them:

President: lays out the direction of Drake Dems, chairs meetings, acts as official representative, delegates out tasks

Vice President: Assists President in duties, fills in for President when absent

Finance Director: Organizes the budget, plans fundraising events

Events Director: Plans the details of most major events

Publicity Director: Organizes efforts to publicize events across campus through posters and fliers

Outreach Director: Coordinates events with other organizations, both on and off-campus

Secretary: Takes all notes and official minutes at meetings

Legislative Liason: Acts as link between the state party and elected officials

OC Representative: Attends all Student Senate Organizational Council meetings to represent the Drake Democrats

Freshmen Representative: organizes efforts to attract new members to Drake Dems

I hope everyone shows up to either run or support who they think will best undertake each position's jobs. You don't need to give any prior Good luck!

-Patrick Rynard

Next Meeting

2005-09-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

Hey there guys, just passing along the email from Pat:
"Drake Dems-

We're going to be having a general meeting this Thursday night:
8:00PM
Pomerantz Stage

We will have someone there to sell tickets for the Harkin Steak Fry (which is on Sunday the 18th, and John Edwards will be speaking). So if you want to go to the Steak Fry, please come to buy tickets. If you can'tmake it, either give money to someone else, or e-mail me back quickly and we'll figure a way to get you one. They are $15 for students. We'll also figure out how we'll all carpool there (it's in Indianola).

Also, we will be having elections for Drake Dems officers next week. If you areinterested in running, it would be good to come to this meeting. We'll sendout an e-mail on exactly how the elections will run in a few
days."
Make sure to get involved; its the best way to make things happen.

Bring Them Home Now Bus Tour to stop in Des Moines tomorrow!

2005-09-01T18:21:00.000-07:00

Ok guys, I've got all of the information that I can get out of the folks coordinating the bus tours. They're getting swamped with lots of press calls and calls from other activists looking for ways to help or be there tomorrow. So, here's the info:

Bring Them Home Now Bus Tour: Des Moines
Nollen Plaza (Locust Ave. & 3rd St. in Downtown)
10 AM to 2 PM
--11 AM press conference
--Noon brown-bag lunch

For more information about the tour, please click here. Make sure you take lots of pictures if you can; I can get them put up at a lot of big name websites. Also, if the Campus Republicans are there, make sure to get some shots of them making asses of themselves.

Sheehan bus tour to come to Des Moines

2005-09-01T07:35:00.000-07:00

I’ve just found out that Cindy Sheehan’s bus tour, the "Bring Them Home Now Tour", will swing through Des Moines tomorrow night and stay overnight and be here Friday as well. I’ve also heard that the Drake College Republicans plan on making a scene, as found out through Jesus' General.

I'm working to find out more details as I write this up in class. Any Drake Democrats who are interested in attending should keep checking back here for regular information as it becomes available. As far as I know, the group plans on staying overnight tonight in Des Moines and the bulk of their activities will take place on Friday before they head back out on the road.

OYE: Time for some posters!

2005-08-31T12:40:00.000-07:00

Jesus' General, in conjunction with other folks at Operation Yellow Elephant, has launched a contest that I think a lot of Drake Democrats would be interested in.

In case you haven't heard of it, Operation Yellow Elephant (OYE) is a reaction to pro-war wingnuts who demand sacrifice to some kind of "noble cause" that is the Iraq War. What OYE is trying to accomplish is getting these Republicans to sign-up and join the ranks of America's armed forces. We're facing a recruitment crisis in our armed forces, and if they have time to sit at their keyboards and support the war, or to attend Campus Republican activities and blabber on about supporting the troops, why not sign up and really help out?

The details are below:

Description

Create signs relating to Operation Yellow Elephant's mission to expose the hypocrisy of hawkish College Republicans and other young conservatives who are too cowardly to fight in the war they demanded. Post these signs near roadways and pedestrian pathways on or near college campuses. Photograph your work and send it to me. I'll post them here. In early October, the OYE Contributing Writers and the Freeway Blogger will pick a winner.

How to Make Your Sign

It's always a good idea to learn from the masters.

How to Win

Send us a photo featuring a sign with a great message and lots of people or cars traveling past it. If it generates press, it wouldn't hurt to send us a url or a clipping.

Rules

Signs must be placed near roadways or pedestrian pathways on or near campus.
Photos of the signs must demonstrate that the sign can be viewed by many people (people or cars in the foreground)
Submit your entries here no later than September 30, 2005.

That's it, folks! Make your posters, take pictures, host them at Flickr or your preferred hosting service, and then drop a comment with a link here!

Wes Clark in Iowa; a question on values

2005-08-31T10:12:00.000-07:00

Today, as Jason mentioned below, former 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, and possible 2008 candidate, General Wesley Clark is touring northern Iowa with IDP Chair and Lt. Governor Sally Pederson. It is a good trip for Clark to take, considering he neglected Iowa during primary season, and it will help him get his name recognition up among Iowans.

It also helps when he makes posts like this over at TPM Cafe, where he is guest-blogging this week at their Table for One.

The post tackles the tough issues of faith and values and how Democrats should address them, particularly among the folks in the Heartland and in states like Iowa. To me, his post seems a bit vague in specifics, but has a good overall message.

So, here's my question for anyone interested, particularly Drake Dems: How much of a role should values and faith issues (not religion, but moral stuff) play when it comes to elections and politics?

And as a follow-up, I guess: How do we frame this stuff so that we win?

Drop a comment below, we'd love to hear your thoughts and to get the discussion going.

Hurricane Katrina

2005-08-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

As I'm sure you're all aware of, Hurricane Katrina has struck the Gulf Coast of the American southeast and unleashed catastrophic and, dare I say, biblical destruction in areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Miscommunication between leaders and the fact that President Bush stayed on vacation have not helped the situation at all.

But instead of turning it to a political debate here, let me just make this plea:

Give what you can to the Red Cross right now. Click here to donate.

It is imperative that these people get help. The Coast Guard and the Navy are already in their way in to help because the LA National Guard is in Iraq right now. Civilian assistance through volunteering and monetary means is desperately needed.

And finally, if you're a person of faith, pray for all of those affected by this horrendous natural disaster.

Labor Day Parade

2005-08-29T21:59:00.000-07:00

I just got this email from Tamyra Wissmiller of the Polk County Democrats and thought I'd pass it on to any Drake Dem interested:

Reminder:

The Labor Day Parade is next Monday, September 5th. The start time is 11am (not 10am as in a previous email). Line-up is on the east side of the Capitol (Lucas Building lot). We will be trying to coordinate the arrival of vehicles so we will be in line with the Boswell and IDP groups.

If you would like to join us, please arrive no later than 10:30am. We will however need help decorating the vehicles that morning and encourage anyone willing to help to show up closer to 10am.

If you have trouble locating the groups when you arrive, you can call Chris at 515-865-8740 to find out where they are located.

After the parade, be sure to come by the 4-H building and visit all the booths and grab a bite to eat. Polk County Democrats and Congressman Boswell will have booths out there as well as many others.

The Labor Day parade is always a fun one and a good time. Definitely check it out if you can!

Candidate? Clark to Visit Iowa

2005-08-26T09:46:00.000-07:00

General Wes Clark, who ran for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2004, has been touring the country since then and will be visiting Iowa next week. It is not clear whether he will be making a run again in 2008, but it seems certain that if he does, he will definitely have enough time to compete in Iowa this time around.

August 31st - September 1st: General Clark will be in Iowa
Start: Aug 31 2005 - 8:00am
End: Sep 1 2005 - 9:00am

General Clark will be at the following events in Iowa. For more details please call the Iowa Democratic Party at 515.244.7292.

August 31st:
- 7:30AM Breakfast at the Hotel Winneshiek, Decorah
- Luncheon in Mason City
- Event in Emmetsberg
- 6:00PM Dickinson County Fundraiser, Okoboji

September 1st:
- 7:30AM Breakfast at the Holiday Inn, 701 Gordon Drive, Sioux City

Activities Fair & A Few Clarifications

2005-08-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is having a great first week, we've been doing quite well with the Drake Dems so far. The Activities Fair last night went very well; we actually had more people sign up this year than last year (despite not having any big elections coming up). So we're all very excited that we're going to have a great year with a lot of new students getting involved.

We nearly sold all of the buttons we had left over from next year and we know that there's still a lot of people who want some. We will try to make more before the Ice Cream Social to sell then, but we may just not have enough time - we'll make more for sure in the next few weeks though. If you didn't see them last night, check out the fundraising section on the Drake Dems website.

Now importantly - a clarification on e-mail communication: just because you got an e-mail from the Drake Democrats facebook group for the ice cream social, doesn't mean you're on the Drake Democrats e-mail list. We're using facebook to advertise events, but there's also a lot of important stuff that will be in the e-mails that you won't get through facebook. So sign up for the official e-mail list at the social, or e-mail ptr003@drake.edu with your name and e-mail address.

Hope to see you all Saturday at 3:00! And for first-year students who may not know what Pomerantz is, it's the stage area in the Olmsted building where they've been having the poster sale the last few days.

-Patrick Rynard
President, Drake Democrats

Ice cream social!

2005-08-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

Make sure all of you wonderful Drake Democrats come to the Ice Cream Social this Saturday at Pomerantz Stage at the Olmsted Student Union, 3 PM. Nothing like a bunch of liberals and ice cream chatting it up and planning for the semester.

You all better come. Be there or be a Republican!

2005 Harkin Steak Fry

2005-08-22T16:16:00.000-07:00

First of all, welcome back to Drake. Enjoy the 2005-06 school year; study and party hard.

Now, I've got some fun information. You're all invited to the 28th Annual Harkin Steak Fry at the Warren County Fairgrounds in Indianola, Iowa. The steak fry will be on Sunday, September 18, from 1 PM to 4 PM. For information on tickets, contact Citizens for Harkin at (515) 277-9966 or visit TomHarkin.com.

Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Student tickets with ID are $15. I'm not sure if we'll be getting free tickets, but that's definitely something I'll be investigating with some folks soon. I'm sure they'll also have volunteer opportunities for some students soon, I'll get you contact information on that sometime soon.

Volunteer with Polk County Democrats

2005-08-09T09:15:00.000-07:00

Howdy fellow Drake Democrats! Since the 2005-06 school year is almost upon us, I figure its time to start gearing up again for another busy (though, hopefully not as much as last year) year in Democratic action.

I just got an email from the Polk County Democrats and they're looking for volunteers to help man a booth/table at the Latino Heritage Festival in downtown Des Moines on September 17th. Here is all the vital information:

Sept. 17th Shifts

10a - noon,
noon - 2p,
2p - 4p,
4p - 6p
6p - 8p
8p - 10p

See you at the Latino Festival downtown!!

General Information

Date
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Hours
10am to 11pm
Admission
Adults: $3.00
Children 12 and under: Free
Location
Downtown Des Moines, Iowa
Court Avenue Bridge
Walnut Street Bridge

Volunteers do get in free, and when you're done with your shift, its an excellent chance to indulge in the Des Moines area's latino heritage. Trust me, I've been before and its a great time.

If you can volunteer at any of those times, please call (515) 281-0639 or (515) 285-1800. You can also email a confirmation to this address polkdems@polkcountydemocrats.org with "Volunteer for Latino Heritage Festival" as the subject.

Walk in a parade with Congressman Boswell!

2005-07-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

To any Drake Democrats who are in Des Moines over the summer or who will be in Des Moines this Saturday, I've got a fun offer for you.

On Saturday, July 30, Grimes will hold its anual Funtastic Days Parade. Congressman Boswell's office is looking for volunteers to walk in the parade with them. If you're interested please email Heather Matson or call her at (515) 883-2254.

The parade starts at 10 AM, but they'd like volunteers to arrive by 9:30 AM. Registration will be at the Grimes Fire Station, north of Interstate 80-35 on US Highway 141.

If you go, make sure to take pictures that way we can try and get them up on the website when class starts in less than a month!

Justice O'Connor to Retire

2005-07-01T07:50:00.000-07:00

Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is retiring from the Court. The first vacancy since 1994, when Justice Stephen Breyer was appointed. For many (myself included,) this came as a surprise, as most eyes had been on Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, after his October 2004 diagnosis of thyroid cancer. This, of course, leaves open the possiblity of two appointments in the near future, should Rehnquist retire before the next term starts in October.

There has been intense speculation on who will be the next nominee. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has been mentioned, as has Justice Janice Rogers Brown, who was recently confirmed for the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Names of senators (such as Orrin Hatch, R-Utah) have also been tossed into the pool.

Me? I like the Hon. Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals--he's exceptionally smart, articulate, and most importantly, a fair justice.

Good news for all you Democrats out there: In a recently released Gallup poll, a majority of Americans want Democrats to fight an unacceptable Supreme Court nominee. Unfortunately, a plurality of Americans want the court to move in a more conservative way, though it fell 10% short of a majority.

As for a recess appointment, yes, the President could, in theory, appoint a Supreme Court justice in the recess appointment, but his poll numbers are low as it is, and they'd drop immensely if he did that.

But expect a recess appointment for John Bolton, nominee for ambassador to the United Nations. I know I am.

Prediction time!

I predict...President Bush will make a shrewd pick--a moderate--that the entire country will approve of, and then, in the next vacancy, move laterally toward a far-right candidate.

-Nate Koppel

Operation Yellow Elephant

2005-06-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

Fellow Drake Democrats, I come to you to ask your help to recruit young College Republicans to join in the war they so proudly defend.

May I introduce you to: Operation Yellow Elephant

Let's get to recruiting!

Check out the rest of Jesus' General's weblog for more information.

A Caveat

2005-05-23T20:36:00.000-07:00

All posts to this blog by Chris Woods, myself, and others in the past and in the future should not be considered as a representation of the official view of Drake Democrats as an organization unless such a statement has been approved by our membership and executive council. In such a case, the post would be marked as such. Carry on. :-)

A Great Day

2005-05-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

As we all now know, the crisis over the filibuster in the U.S. Senate has now been averted after a deal was struck among 14 Senators (7 Democrats and 7 Republicans) involving an agreement to allow a vote for cloture on the nominations of Owen, Brown, and Pryor in exchange for not changing the Senate rules to eliminate the filibuster for judicial nominees in the future.

While the pundits argue over who wins and loses by this agreement, I look on in admiration of those 14 Senators who had the willingness to engage in the art of compromise. Neither side of a battle wins completely when a compromise occurs. That's the whole point! Both sides have to be willing to give up something in order to reach a decision that is in the best interest of the common good.

However, the American people as a whole, who really are not a part of this battle between the extremes, are the real winners today. The institution of the U.S. Senate as a whole has been protected and preserved by the actions of these Senators, and that consequence is in our long-term best interest as a collective people. The balance of power among the branches of government and between the two parties of our American political system is a crucial component to the continuation of democracy in America.

Given all I have stated, we should not fool ourselves into thinking that a situation such as that which has been averted will not possibly occur again at some point. After all, the passions that brought about this deal can (and undoubtedly will) fade with time, personal political motivations will once again rise to the surface, and men and women who possess high regard for the common good and respect for our institutions may not be in a position of power as this group was today. Furthermore, in a more practical sense, squabbles over the definition of "extraordinary circumstances" may prove to be too much for some level of civility to be maintained and for the compromise of today to hold up.

Nonetheless, I think we should be satisfied with today's developments and hope that this situation serves as a reminder to those who represent us in Washington that their purpose is one that extends beyond themselves and beyond this time in support of a higher ideal.

A compromise has been reached

2005-05-23T18:43:00.000-07:00

Here are the details from CNN:

"Under the deal, judicial nominees would only be filibustered "under extraordinary circumstances," McCain said.

McCain said the group of 14 pledged to vote for cloture -- an end to debate -- for three judicial nominees: Janice Rogers Brown, William Pryor and Priscilla Owen.

He said the group made no commitment to vote for or against cloture on two nominees, William Myers and Henry Saad."

Seems like a good deal for Democrats, so far.

The full text of the memo can be found here in html, or in PDF here.

Filibusters and the Nuclear Option

2005-05-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

The Nuclear Option (changing the Senate rules by breaking them) to end filibusters on judicial nominees will most likely be launched on Tuesday. To discover more about the events surrounding this debate, as well as what the Nuclear Option really is, visit my weblog, The Political Forecast.

On a more important note, any Drake Democrats who are still in Des Moines this summer, please come up to Iowa State University in Ames on Monday to join part in their student emergency filibuster to protest Senator Frist's use of the nuclear option. If you can't make it, you can follow along with their adventures and stories at their blog: ISU Filibuster.

Have a great summer!

2005-05-14T09:50:00.000-07:00

Well, since it looks like everyone's Finals are now completely over and everyone is headed back home, I'd just like to take the time to wish everyone a safe and fun summer, more fun than safe!

I'm not sure how much blogging will be taking place here, but I'll do what I can with issues that effect Democrats here at Drake and in central Iowa.

If you're looking for a constant national politics read, check out my weblog The Political Forecast.

The General isn't leaving just yet...

2005-03-16T15:56:00.000-08:00

Today, all of us connected to Wes Clark received a clear signal that the General isn't going away soon. WesPAC - Securing America announced a revamped website, and folks are speculating about a possible 2006 run for governor of Arkansas as well as thoughts about 2008. As you might imagine, I am happy to hear about this, as a Clark supporter since the "Draft Clark" movement days. Wes Clark is the real deal. Stay tuned.

An Evening with Ed Fallon...

2005-03-03T20:51:00.000-08:00

Hey folks...just thought I'd make a post to say thanks for those of you who attended the meeting with Representative Ed Fallon from the 66th district on Wednesday night in the Pomerantz Student Union. He gave us all a nice sense of where he stands on the issues and the kinds of ideas he would want to put into action if elected governor in 2006. He knows it's an uphill battle, but he's fought those before...and he's working hard to build up his grassroots campaign. For more information, check out: http://www.fallonforgovernor.org.

Gmail invites

2005-02-27T11:36:00.000-08:00

I've got about 100 Gmail invites if anyone would like one. Leave a comment with your email address and I'll send you one as quickly as I can.

If you're not familiar with Gmail, it is hosted through Google and gives you a 1 GB of storage space. That is a lot.

Reframing the debate

2005-02-17T22:17:00.000-08:00

There's a great post today on NewDonkey entitled Pro-Life Pragmatists and Ideologues that I think is representative of the kind of thinking that needs to be going on among Democrats across this country right now. If we're interested in moving beyond the useless pro-life vs. pro-choice debate and actually taking a position that reflects our values, then we must begin to make some changes in how we deal with these issues.

From Kevin Drum at the Washington Monthly

2005-02-17T10:48:00.000-08:00

...maybe this will renew calls for Paul Wolfowitz to take the job, a slice of poetic justice that would surely have broad support on both sides of the aisle. // the job: the MacArthur of the Middle East; on the issue of Bush nominating John Negroponte to director of national intelligence and pulling him out of his current position as US ambassador to Iraq.

Poetic justice indeed. I'm for it. Wolfie can take care of his baby...and he can call in his old buddy Richard Perle if he needs a hand.

The President Passes the Buck

2005-02-14T07:19:00.000-08:00

In all the talk about the newly released federal budget from the White House, an unsurprising (but wholly irresponsible) fact has become known: the President intends to pass the buck yet again by making the bulk of the budgetary deficits come into play after he's out of office. From a story in the Washington Post, "numbers released in recent days add up to a budgetary landmine that could blow up just as the next president moves into the Oval Office." Read the article yourself to find out more...

Our new DNC Chair

2005-02-13T20:37:00.000-08:00

Former Governor of Vermont and presidential candidate Howard Dean was elected Chairman of the Democratic National Committee yesterday.

I realize we're all poor college students, but to encourage grassroots and local activism for Democrats in elections, the DNC needs our help. In an effort to congratulate Chairman Dean and help him get the DNC back to work across the country, BlogPAC has set up an online contribution account. If you'd like to contribute, type in your amount and click contribute below.

Oh, and here's a great link to a short Quicktime video entitled "The Battle for America." The battle has begun.

Welcome Post

2005-02-11T15:04:00.001-08:00

Welcome to our new blog for Drake Democrats! We've got a website, a blog, and a whole week of fun activities to kick off our real activity for the second semester. We've been spending the last month planning in many meetings and committees all the details of this week, so make sure you come out and join our events.

You can find the complete calendar of events on the DrakeDems.com website, but the most exciting will certainly be on Thursday at 7 in Pomerantz with Secretary of State Chet Culver. Culver is widely expected to run for Governor in 2006, so this will be a great opportunity to see him in a smaller location before any possible campaign starts up.

We'll post regularly on this blog, any of the ten officers, and strongly encourage you to respond and post messages too to keep it active. So check back often to the blog and website for information on fun events that we have coming up. Hope to you see next week at our events!

-Patrick Rynard