Thursday, September 4, 2008

Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Joe Biden spoke today at the George Mason University’s Prince William Campus’ Verizon Auditorium. Biden spoke this morning in Virginia Beach about national security but chose to hold this town hall meeting on the economy, bringing up issues such as crime, taxes, education and the price of gas and healthcare.

In his introduction of Biden, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, who’s name had been on the short list for the Democratic vice presidential nomination, acknowledged George Mason University President Alan Merten, who was in attendance, and the University’s status as the “Number One Up and Coming University” and underscored Biden’s experience and his own support for the VP nominee.

Biden discussed his experience not in government but with the average American and as an American from a small state. This is the] singe most important election for anyone in this room,” said Biden, “We are either going to get this country back on its feet…or our children and our grandchildren are going to be in a real tough situation.

Intertwining stories from conversations he has had while campaigning, he painted a grim picture of a problematic economy that is strangling citizens through the high costs of healthcare premiums, taxes and gas.

“I don’t expect the government to solve my problem; I expect them to understand my problem,” said Biden, quoting his father.

Responding to attacks made last night by Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, in her acceptance speech, Biden extolled the virtues of universal healthcare, Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obam’s tax plan and questioned the need to provide incentives to oil companies for drilling.

We’re not saying lets take care of all these [people’s] problems, we’re saying lets give these people a fighting chance,” said Biden. “Folks the middle class has built this county…as the middle class begins to shrink we’ll find ourselves in the circumstance where this country is fundamentally different.”

Biden asked five Virginians to tell their stories of economic despair and then asked the audience for questions and comments.

“I’m really tired of the republican pandering the woman voters,” said a female audience member.

Other questions were raised about illegal immigration, the price of education and the deficit.

“A country that out teaches us will out compete us,” said Biden in a response to a George Mason University faculty member’s comment about her inability to send her children to Mason due to her low salary, “We’re going to have to pay teachers more.”

The auditorium, which seats 300 people, was almost completely full with supporters who interrupted Biden multiple times with applause, laughter and shouted comments.

Posted on September 4th, 2008 by Christian Yingling
Filed under: Mason Votes, Top Stories | 1 Comment »

by David L Pierce

Governor Sarah Palin accepted the 2008 Republican vice presidential nomination Wednesday night, September 3 2008, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Palin, a relatively unknown governor from Alaska, became the second woman to be nominated on a major party’s ticket in United States history, the first as a Republican.

Other notable speakers in this, the third night of the convention, included former 2008 Republican presidential hopefuls Governor Mitt Romney (R-Mass.), Governor Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.) and former New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani.

Mitt Romney greeted the GOP by urging voters to make, what he called liberal Washington, a conservative town. He criticized Democrats on the economy and the war in Iraq. “Radical violent Islam,” said Romney about McCain, “is evil and he will defeat it.” The crowd immediately chanted “U.S.A.”

Mike Huckabee began his speech by criticizing the integrity of recent media reports. “The reporting of the past few days,” said Huckabee “has proven tackier than a costume change at a Madonna concert.” He stood up for Sarah Palin, claiming that Joe Biden, during his run in the national Democratic primaries, received fewer votes than Palin did in her mayoral run in Alaska.

Rudy Giuliani called McCain a proud foot soldier in the Reagan revolution, praised his role as a prisoner of war, and outlined his plan on improving the American economy. Giuliani then attacked Obama’s lack of experience. “He’s the least-experienced candidate for President of the United States in at least the last 100 years,” Giuliani said, and with reference to Obama’s flip-flopping, he even made a suggestion to Joe Biden: “I’d want to get that V.P. thing in writing.”

Standing ovations and applause shook the Xcel Energy Center as Governor Sarah Palin was introduced. Palin proudly accepted her party’s nomination and showed her support for John McCain.

After introducing her family, Palin quickly began her attack on Barack Obama. She likened her experience as mayor to Obama’s experience as a community organizer, except for the fact that she had responsibilities and, as she believes, he didn’t. She went on to echo the fact that she was a Washington outsider and that, unlike Obama, Palin would go to Washington to serve the country and not to appease the media.

Palin shifted her speech’s focus to her own experience. She claimed to cut costs to Alaskan taxpayers by suspending the state fuel tax, ending the oil lobbyist’s monopoly on state power & resources, and even stated that she sold the governor’s personal jet on eBay. She then continued her criticism of Obama, stating that he hasn’t created one reform or law in the Senate, and that the presidency isn’t supposed to be a journey of personal discovery.

Governor Palin emphasized that John McCain was not afraid to take on our enemies, and that he isn’t looking for a fight, but isn’t afraid of one either. “There’s only one man in this election that has ever really fought for you,” Palin explained, “In places where winning means survival, and defeat means death, and that man is John Mc Cain.”

John McCain appeared briefly at the end of Sarah Palin’s speech to a roaring crowd and thanked the night’s speakers, including patting the shoulder of Governor Palin’s nearly 4 month old son Trig, who has Down syndrome.

Posted on September 4th, 2008 by Noah Martin
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Tonight, students are invited to watch Arizona Senator John McCain accept the presidential nomination of his party. Mason Votes is co-sponsoring a Republican National Convention watch party which begins at 8:30 p.m. and McCain’s acceptance speech is expected at 10 p.m.

Mason Votes will feature video responses to the speech, live blogging from our Democratic and Republican bloggers and a roundtable podcast following the event. Everyone is invited to join to the live blog.

Posted on September 4th, 2008 by Christian Yingling
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Content Editor Christian Yingling hosts a roundtable of Republican and Democrat student commentators to give their reaction to Obama’s acceptance speech.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Posted on September 3rd, 2008 by Christian Yingling
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President George Bush was in Washington to oversee the federal government’s response to Hurricane Gustav along the Gulf Coast. That did not stop the president, however, from speaking via satellite to the audience at the Republican National Convention, which is being held in the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Prior to introducing the president, Laura Bush listed the strong Republican women that had held leadership. Among the mentioned were former first lady, Barbara Bush, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

In her introduction, Laura Bush praised President Bush’s steadfastness, delivery of drugs to Africa, faith based educational initiatives, and the rise in minority standardized test scores, as some of the highlights of his leadership.

President George Bush opened with a warm thank you to all of those that were helping along the Gulf Coast to insure that there was no repeat of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
Before he began his thoughts and reflections on Presidential nominee John McCain, President Bush insisted on recognizing two persons in the RNC crowd. “I could have no finer examples of character, decency, and integrity than my mom and dad. I love you.”

Bush then launched into the heart of his address. He emphasized that there is no greater knowledge than experience and no greater sacrifice than one’s life. “I know the hard choices that fall to a president…” claimed Bush. “If the Hanoi Hilton could not break John McCain’s resolve to do what is best for his country, you can be sure the angry left never will.”

John McCain suffered over five years of beatings as a POW during the Vietnam War. All the speakers at the RNC continually emphasized Senator McCain’s unwavering resolve under torture and refusal to relinquish any military information.

President Bush recounted the integrity that McCain showed in not retracting his call for more troops in Iraq and Afghanistan even after advisors told him it could hurt his presidential campaign. “He told them he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war,” said Bush.

Reiterating the sentiments expressed after 9/11, Bush explained that, “ we live in a dangerous world. And we need a president who understands…that to protect America, we must stay on the offense, stop attacks before they happen, and not wait to be hit again.”

Though a short address, the president’s message was clear: “The man we need is John McCain.”

Posted on September 2nd, 2008 by Noah Martin
Filed under: Top Stories | 1 Comment »

The Republican National Convention began in St. Paul, MN yesterday, September 01. Convention business was shortened because of Hurricane Gustav’s landing on the Gulf Coast. After video appeals for assistance from Gulf Coast governors Laura Bush and Cindy McCain addressed the need to put away political differences in a time of national crises and contribute to Americans in need. The slogan “Country First” hung behind them during their speech.

“I would ask that each one of us commit to join together to aid those in need as quickly as possible. As John has been saying for the last several days, this is a time when we take off our Republican hats and put on our American hats,” stated Cindy McCain during the address.

Officials stated that the convention will resume on a full schedule today. President Bush, who was scheduled to deliver his address on Monday at 9:00 P.M. will deliver his message tonight, Tuesday September 2, at 9:30 P.M. via satellite.

Those individuals or organizations interested in donating to hurricane relief should visit www.causegreater.com.

Posted on September 2nd, 2008 by Noah Martin
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Senator John McCain’s vice presidential pick answers Obama’s challenge that change must go to Washington, not come from it.

Sarah Palin, the 44-year-old Governor of Alaska, made her national political debut today with her acceptance speech at Dayton, OH. In the gubernatorial race of 2006 Palin defeated former democratic Tony Knowles on a clean government platform and became Alaska’s first female governor. Palin is the first woman to receive a Republican vice presidential nomination. A member of Feminists for Life, Palin emphasized in her acceptance speech that if Hillary Clinton had cracked the glass ceiling then with McCain’s election they could shatter it.

McCain’s selection will appeal to two important demographics in the 2008 presidential election: women voters disappointed in Senator Barrack Obama’s vice presidential selection and Republican voters disillusioned with insider politics in Washington, D.C.

Both McCain and Palin have earned reputations as scrupled politicians willing to dissent from their party line if principled otherwise. McCain emphatically stated, “She’s got the grit, integrity, good sense and fierce devotion to the common good that is exactly what we need in Washington today.”

Matt DeLeon, 1st vice chairman of the college republicans, expressed, “I really think its good for a couple of reasons: one, her conservatism is in no way questionable. She’s been a conservatist from the very beginning. That’s going to help unify the ticket at the very end. I think her being a woman will come into play, especially with the undecided and Hillary Clinton voters and I also think her and Senator McCain are going to work well together. They both have a history of tackling the party when they thought it was necessary.”

Palin began her political career as a city council member in Wasilla, Alaska. After serving on the city council for four years from 1992 – 1996 Palin ran for ,and was elected, mayor of Wasilla.

Upon entering gubernatorial office, Sarah Palin spearheaded a governmental ethics reform, her administration immediately passed a state ethics law overhaul.

Sarah Palin is fiercely pro-life and refused to terminate a pregnancy after discovering that her child would have Down Syndrome. During her second term as city council member Palin supported the teaching of Intelligent Design alongside Evolution in public schools. She is opposed to same-sex marriage.

Governor Palin is a lifelong member of NRA, hunts moose and is a candid defender of 2nd Amendment rights. Palin’s official website claims that she is a supporter of privatizing the healthcare system in order to drive down health costs and reduce government healthcare subsidies.

Though experienced in state and national politics, many pundits have expressed worry over her lack of foreign policy experience. Concerning McCain’s choice, Grant Herring, president of the college democrats at George Mason University, said, “I don’t think she has any experience in foreign policy and obviously McCain is not concerned with experience in the vice presidency. John McCain needed to find someone who is ideologically like George Bush so it’s a good fit for him.”

Some Republicans were confident in Senator McCain’s nomination. Joshua St. Louis, second vice chairman of the college republicans, said, “it’s a very strong choice. I think it surprised people and I think she’ll be ready to take on Joe Biden in the vice presidential debate.”

Posted on August 29th, 2008 by Noah Martin
Filed under: Mason Learns, Mason Votes | 2 Comments »

Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska has been confirmed as McCain’s running mate. Republicans are standing by in Dayton, Ohio, along with reporters, as Palin is expected to join McCain on stage as his campaign officially confirms the selection of the 44-year-old. She will be the first female Vice Presidential nominee by the Republicans and the second by a major American political party.

According to CNN: “Palin made her name in part by backing tough ethical standards for politicians. During the first legislative session after her election, her administration passed a state ethics law overhaul.”

Palin’s experience outside of her state includes chairing the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, which is a group “that promotes the conservation and efficient recovery of domestic oil and natural gas resources while protecting health, safety and the environment,” according to her biography. She is also the chair of the National Governors Association’s Natural Resources Committee.

Born in Idaho, Palin has an 18 year-old son in the army who is slotted to go to Iraq September, and chose to give birth to a son with Down syndrome, saying “I’m looking at him right now, and I see perfection…Yeah, he has an extra chromosome. I keep thinking, in our world, what is normal and what is perfect?”

Palin is pro-life and belongs to the group Feminists for Life. She opposes same-sex marriage but has stated that she is concerned about discrimination against the homosexual community. Her first veto was used to, effectively, grant Alaska state benefits to same-sex couples, but she did support a constitutional ban on gay marriage. She is on record saying that marriage is only between a man and a woman.

She supports opening up ANWR and has often talked about energy policy, initiating a number of significant reforms in her state.

McCain called Palin “a tough executive who has demonstrated during her time in office that she is ready to be president.” He also released a statement saying “She leads a state that matters to every one of us – Alaska has significant energy resources and she has been a leader in the fight to make America energy independent.”

She is considered the nation’s most popular governor. This “hockey mom” was also declared to be” America’s Hottest Governor” by the magazine Alaska.

Posted on August 29th, 2008 by Aram Zucker-Scharff
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In the aftermath of Obama’s rousing acceptance speech, the next big question on everyone’s mind is who will be McCain’s Vice Presidential pick. A number of candidates who were thought to be high in the running have said that they are not McCain’s pick and the press has been crossing names off the top of the list one at a time. In the last hour a candidate has emerged unexpectedly. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has been in her position since December 4, 2006, has been leaked as McCain’s choice of VP. The rumors were confirmed only minutes ago on CNN.

Posted on August 29th, 2008 by Aram Zucker-Scharff
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Posted on August 28th, 2008 by Noah Martin
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