Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

COLUMN: Just one week left until the revolution begins
By Amelia Veneziano
Daily Evergreen (Washington State U.)
11/01/2006

(U-WIRE) PULLMAN, Wash. — The time has finally come.

After 12 years of Republican control, after enormous amounts of time spent by volunteers across the country with no greater desire than escorting Republicans to the door, it's finally open.

Next Tuesday is the day. The revolution will begin.

Whether Democrats really manage to turn the nation blue, we've achieved something major. The Republicans are running scared, their scandals exposed, their failures glaring, their moral ineptness siphoning away the Christian Right in droves. Their last desperate attempts at dirty ads are falling on deaf ears as the electorate turns off the TV in disgust.

Today, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell will speak to WSU students and Pullman residents at noon at Reaney Park. Last Friday, her Republican opponent, Mike McGavick, took the stage at 9:30 a.m. at The Bookie. Just the times of the speeches makes it apparent who's more in touch with students. Only the most devout supporters will show up for their candidate at 9:30 on Friday morning - most of us would rather stay in bed.

For those who didn't notice, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris hit the town during Homecoming weekend. The Republican didn't make a side trip to talk to students or address their concerns. No, McMorris had a catered lunch waiting for her at the President's House, to which she arrived late and I saw her miss on her first drive by the house. Instead of circling the relatively small block, I saw her throw her little pickup into reverse and squealed backward down Campus Street, her vehicle nearly hitting a group of students trudging to the game.

When her democratic opponent, Peter Goldmark, came to town in September, he was here for one reason only: to talk to students, answer their questions and attempt to quiet their concerns about the situation across the nation. He stood on Glenn Terrell Mall on a beautiful day and talked to us; he didn't skip over to a gourmet lunch and leave without a word to his (future) constituents.

But isn't that what Republicans are famous for? President Bush once addressed a roomful of tuxedo-clad millionaires as his "base"; McMorris was only following the lead of her commander-in-chief.

At the risk of seeming like yammering college student who can't see beyond partisan lines, I'll be brief: If the Libertarians had a chance of winning an election, I would wholeheartedly throw myself into their campaigns. But frankly, they don't. At this time, in this nation, there are only two parties with a chance at national power. Maybe one or two independents can squeak by, but the nation won't be run by them.

When it comes to voting for regional purposes, I would normally wholly support that. But this election, please think outside the wheat-colored box - the nation needs more than a vote cast on local issues. War, poverty, deficits and even WSU tuition depend on it; election 2006 isn't just local.

If there's an honest perception that somehow McGavick and McMorris can "McFix" the problems their party created, then by all means, let's send them back to ride the coattails of the president they adore. But if doubts linger, then do the homework and help fix the nation on a local level by voting for a Democrat.

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