4
Clackamas Print
Campus
Poll:
Who
might
you vote
for in the
upcoming
election?
“I’d vote for
Al Sharpton
before I
would vote
for Hillary.”
Clark
Hickman
“I’m so
undecided
at this point.
I’m leaning
towards
Barack. I’ve
listened to
several of his
speeches and
conferences.” Barbara
Simington
“The
Republicans
have been
in office too
long. So, I’d
like to see the
Democrats or
Greens take
over.”
April
Smith
Is CCC a party campus?
Ott Tammik
The Clackamas Print
“We’re Right, Are You?” asked
a recent flyer posted by die college
Republicans Club. The Democrat
Club responded with their poster,
“We’re Not Right, we’re Correct.”
And so the majority believes they are
both right and correct - but what of
the minority?
Many voices go unheard or per
haps unvoiced on campus. Currently,
there are only two political parties
represented, the largest being the
Democratic Party; the college
Democrat Club has about 50
members.
But lately, there has been talk
that some college Democrats
might break away to establish
an alternative voice, specifical
ly, the Libertarian. According to
the Libertarian Party of Oregon,
there are about 15,000 registered
members in the state. The number
is small in comparison, but none
theless shows that there are more
than two ways of thinking in a
democracy.
Others, however, like Bret
Bemhoft, chair of the Democrat
Club, are satisfied with the.cur-
rent efforts and accomplish-
“[.just want
to vote for
whoever is for
stopping the
war.”
Kimbdrly
Schiewe
Campus Poll compiled
by Nicholas Baker and
Brandy-marie Faulhaber
party club.
“Activism starts young, and the
need to address political issues that
pertain to youth is also important. So,
while we are interested in having fun
as a group of like-minded friends, it
is important to begin to understand
how our world, and especially our
country, functions from a practical
perspective,” said Bemhoft.
So, where are the
Libertarians,
Constitutionalists and the Green i
Party?
Anyone can start a club on cam
pus, and die first thing to do is to ;
create a constitution for ASG. There
are a number of responsibilities that
go along with leadership, yet after
fundraising and recruiting new mem
bers, the Democrat Club is planninJ
lighter events, like their next paint
ball game.
In the end, ASG hopes that clubs
will enrich the community. In the
club start-up packet, it states, “Your
enthusiasm, creativity and Torts
are the tools that will make your
club a success.”
Oftentimes we may be more
similar than we think, and it is
only our diverse paths that maw
us different. This excerpt from the
flyer produced by the Republican^
Club seems to depict more than just
their
values:
“The strengtBof
our nation lies with
the individual, and
that each person's
dignity, free
dom, ability and
responsibility
must be hon
ored.”
■
a
The premature plots of presidential people i
Ott Tammik
The Clackamas Print
Andy
Prince
“We will
hopefully be
having our
first female
president here
at Clackamas;
hopefully it’ll
carry into
office.”
ments of their party.
“A third party candidate is a waste
of a vote, as it does not ultimately
improve the circumstance of our sys
tem,” Bemhoft said.
Still,Bemhoftcontinuedto expand
on the importance of being politi
cally active, and both the Democrat
Club and Republicans Club mem
bers encouraged those seeking to
express their views through a third
I»
Alot of confusion drifts on campus
and elsewhere as citizens wonder
about the country’s political future
and next year’s election.
Decreasing popularity in the
handling of the Iraq war is clearly
present in the media, as well as among
politicians, as several resolutions in
the Senate resist President Bush’s
troop “surge.”
Furthermore, there * is no
clear candidate from the current
administration, as it is the first time
since 1928 that neither the incumbent
president nor vice president has at least
entered the candidacy. But perhaps
the most interesting feature of the
upcoming election is that two of the
individuals, who have thus for been
the most outspoken of their ambitions,
are both minorities.
Senators Hillary Clinton and
Barack Obama have both launched
exploratory committees on their
Web sites in the past few weeks.
Chris
Friesen
Commentala
Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2007
Polls have been fairly even, with one
conducted by Rasmussen in Clinton’s
senatorial state ofNew York, claiming
a 22 percent to 21 percent win for
Clinton. Both, of course, are highly
accomplished individuals, but in a
country so deeply rooted with civil
discrimination, a minority in the
president’s office is unprecedented,
especially considering that inequality
was a reality "for some of the older
members in Congress today.
The trend has been clear, though,
and minorities have found themselves
in power more and more after the first
black presidential candidate ran for
office in 1964. Now, the new Speaker
of file House, Nancy Palosi, is the
closest woman to the presidency in
American history, being second in the
line of succession.
Die two Democratic candidates
also have strong support from the
entertainment business and the media,
as Fox’s TV show 24 has prepared the
American public for such a scenario.
Certainly a lot is at stake with
the upcoming presidential race, which
will also likely be the most expensive
in U.S. history. According to the
Herald Tribune, the Federal Election
Commission expects the final two
candidates to raise about $500 million
in the election. Many are already
calling it “the billion dollar race.”
Whether or not the two Democratic
candidates will play hardball with
each other when the election draws
closer is yet to be sure.
The widespread confusion in the
Republican Party also makes it more
likely for the Democrats to win the
White House, as the campaign lacks
tiie unity of the 2004 election. The
question of who will be the main
rallying force of the Republicans
remains vague at best.
Among
the
better-known
Republican candidates is Sen. John
McCain of Arizona, who already
announced his exploratory committee
as well, though controversy surrounds
him among his fellow Republicans.
For one, he would be 72 years old by
the time he would step into office.
The election is still almost two
years away, however, and while the
Republican Party currently lacks a
focused center, the Democrafl i
political landscape has proverlt j.
change drastically in the same shffl
period of time. Sea Obama did nc
even appear in the public eye ®
2004.
■
For now, though, Demo®
already seem to have confirm ■
favorites as fans rally behind C J
in Iowa and Obama tours the co®
considering his candidacy. Thiln
itself is already a historical changlfq
minorities, and there is the inevi®
question of whether or not the peB
will empathize with the discrimin®
that the candidates have experien®
Indeed Obama’s statement see®
to pertain to both the state o®
country and the changes that haw
already occurred when he annou®
his dream for candidacy one day ®
giving a memorial speech on M
Luther King Day:
“As I’ve spoken to many of yi
my travels across the states these fig
months, as I’ve read your e-mail^^_
read your letters, I’ve been struc^K
how hungry we all are for a
kind of politics.”
1
1
Letter to the Editor:
Hockey fan speaks out for sport of choicel
I am a little upset [about] tire
issue that was just printed. In The
Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
section, listed under “Bad,” was the
comment, “The NHL recently held
their mid-season All-star festivities
... who even knew the season
started?”
This upsets me for a couple
reasons. One, I am a hockey fan,
and I have watched every game
on VS since tire season started, and
watching the All-star festivities was
not only exciting, but entertaining.
This isn’t the only reason I am upset;
I understand that there may riot be
as many hockey fans as there are
football, basketball, or baseball, and
everyone is entitled to their opinion.
If all you can think of to put hockey
under the “Bad” category is [that]
you didn’t know the season had
started yet, then maybe you just
shouldn’t mention it at all.
Diere are millions of people who
love hockey. If hockey was a sport
that didn’t make money (the fans
pay for sports, really), then there
wouldn’t be the NHL packages
on Comcast, or multiple NHL
channels on XM Radio. VS shows
commercials houriy for the NHL.
I don’t understand how you
can throw hockey at the top of
the “Bad” list without even having
any reason for it to be bad. If
you have something legitimately
bad to write about hockey* that’s
completely understandable, but I
don’t understand why you feel the
need to speak negatively towards
something just because it isn’t one
t
of your interests.
For the record, I personally can’t
stand foolball or basketball, so I
guess if I wrote the column, those
two sports would be in the “Bad”
column with all the antics of the
players. Funny how you almost
never see hockey players on the
news for drag, rape, or other similar
charges.
I also can’t remember the last
time I heard of a hockey playa
leaving a game and being out for
who knows how long because of a
sprained ankle, or a broken nose, or
pretty much any other injury. These
guys play with broken fingers,
broken feet, concussions, and all
sorts of other injuries.
If a baseball player gets a bad
bruise,- he’s out ff-a football player
sprains a finger, he’s out If I a
basketball player twists his ankli
he’s out Give me the choice to
watch a bunch of overpaid, wliiney
babies, or watch hockey... I’ll late
hockey any day of the week.
In my opinion (everyone? is
relative, I know), hockey is the most
fast-paced, entertaining sport on TV
I just wanted to voice my “concern«
Being a student there, I appreci®
that you guys put a paper out and
I enjoy reading it; I was just a li
perturbed when I read this partic
column.
Thank you for your time.
Enn Green, Student
To send a letter to the editd
e-mailittochiefed@clackam
edu, or drop,it off at The Pri^
office, Roger Rook 135.
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