News

Republicans ramping up in final weeks before Nov. 7

By Brian Sylvester

Posted on Oct. 19, 2006, at 12:00 a.m.

With less than three weeks before the November elections, the University of Maine chapter of the College Republicans is working hard to raise voter awareness and campaign for their candidates.

Group members are manning phone banks to talk to potential voters about current issues, and will soon be handing out literature explaining the Republican Party’s platform, all while campaigning for Republican candidates like gubernatorial hopeful Chandler Woodcock, and re-election campaigns like that of Sen. Olympia Snowe.

In this election year, the group is also focusing its energies on trying to address tax problems. Co-Vice Chairman Cameron Wise said that one of their biggest goals was “getting business back into Maine.”

“We really need to encourage businesses to boost our economy in Maine,” he said. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) is thought to be one way of addressing rising taxes, especially for small businesses. TABOR would establish limits on the growth of year-to-year expenditures for all levels of government, and establish limits on the abilities of the government to make new taxes. The College Republicans are working to convince voters to write TABOR into law by voting ‘Yes’ on Question 1 on the November ballot.

One of the biggest hurdles to getting the word out about Republican platforms and encouraging people to vote is the negative reputation of the Republican Party.

“We consider ourselves a minority on campus, as far as political views,” College Republicans chairman Luke deNatale said.

On the whole, the student body at UMaine leans towards liberal, rather than conservative, and Democratic, rather than Republican. “There is a lot of bandwagon dislike for the Republican Party,” Erik Harriman, Co-Vice Chairman.

But they are not as small a part of the student body as one might think. This past year, the group saw an increase in their membership of roughly four hundred. Many students have become more attracted to politics in the last few years, because of the introduction of hotly debated topics into the political atmosphere, such as the legality of same-sex marriage, or more recent state issues like the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

The new members come as a welcome boon to a party whose image has been suffering as the War in Iraq continues to draw negative publicity. The recent scandal with former Republican congressman Mark Foley has not helped matters.

“I think it’s definitely a lot harder,” said deNatale, referring to membership drives. “That’s not helping our cause.”

While the relatively small size of their group may sometimes seem like a hindrance, it has its advantages. “We’re a small group, but we’re very close-knit,” said deNatale. The group works closely with candidates and its members to outline strategies and to design and implement projects that go on throughout the year, not just during election time.

“As a group, we try to meet one-on-one with the candidates as much as possible,” said deNatale. This kind of interaction allows the group to be more effective in its campaigning and advertising.

The UMaine group is part of a statewide network, with 24 branches in various colleges and universities across Maine. The Maine College Republicans have more than 3,000 members in the state of Maine, and according to Chairman Nathaniel Y. Walton, “has become the national standard for promoting conservative values on college campuses and leading grassroots activism on behalf of local, state and national Republican candidates.”

For more information about the College Republicans, contact Luke deNatale, Mark Harriman, or Cameron Wise on FirstClass, or visit the Maine College Republicans Web site at http://www.mainecr.org/.

Campus Currents: College Republicans